This week’s Music at Lunchtime recital was given by two Music Scholars in the Middle School, Elsa and Evie, who performed a selection of music for violin and piano by Fauré, Gershwin, Lutosławski and Paganini, accompanied by Head of Piano, Ms Anne Bolt.
Evie opened the recital with Witold Lutosławski’s Recitativo e arioso. Embracing the music’s wide leaps, rhythmic freedom and challenging harmonic language, Evie’s performance captivated the audience in this demanding piece of 20th-century violin repertoire. Next up, Evie played Cantabile by the famous violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, in a performance full of lyricism and expression.
Elsa paired Fauré’s Andante, op.75 with an arrangement of a number from Gershwin’s famous opera Porgy & Bess. The long melodic lines and warm singing tone in Fauré’s Andante rang out in the acoustic of All Saints’ Church, before Elsa’s final piece, ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ from Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess. Complete with pizzicato, slides and glissandi, Elsa swung into Gershwin’s jazz-influenced style and her finale left the audience with huge smiles on their faces. Congratulations to both our soloists- their polished performances and imaginative programmes made for a hugely enjoyable concert!
Next week’s Music at Lunchtime recital is given by Form 7 student, Ansh, who will playing music for ‘cello by Haydn, Leighton and Vivaldi.
