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Review: Phillip Fawcett's piano recital at St Peter's Cathedral, Lancaster
PHILLIP Fawcett is quickly building a strong reputation for his inspiring piano recitals and this evening proved to be no exception. Fresh from his recent successful concert at St Cuthbert's, Carlisle, Mr Fawcett returned to his native Lancaster to deliver his best performance yet.
The concert opened with a sparkling account of Mozart's Sonata in B flat Major, a mature work of considerable charm. This rendition showed a real understanding of the composer.
Even finer were the Grieg 'Lyric Pieces', as Mr Fawcett probed into their contrasting moods, both lyrical and dramatic. The famous Wedding Day at Troldhaugen was played with genuine enthusiasm and panache.
Beethoven's stormy Appassionata Sonata set a darker tone and Phillip Fawcett guided us through its emotional journey with admirable clarity and brilliance. The huge acoustic of the Cathedral can occasionally be a little over-resonant, but not in this recital, as the pianist carefully adapted his playing to take this into account.
The highlight of the concert was undoubtedly the performance of the Three Sonatinas for Piano by Lancaster-based composer David Jennings. This was music of haunting beauty and memorable melody, all superbly realised by the distinguished soloist. We look forward to hearing more music by this talented composer, who was present at this performance.
A generous playing-time made this concert exceptional value for money and my advice would be to look out for Phillip Fawcett's future recitals.
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Weather for Lancaster
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 8 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 38 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South west
