Ilya Kondratiev at St Mary’s with a continuous outpouring of mellifluous sounds. From the clarity of the Bach-Marcello Concerto in D minor where the famous Adagio was played with a luminosity and purity of sound that was the hallmark of the entire recital.
The haunting melody of the Franck – Bauer Prelude, Fugue and Variation pervaded the whole work like a yearning lament – the very sentiment that I know Ilya has been suffering so far away from the horror that is being played out in his homeland.
Liszt’s three Petrarch Sonnets were played with sumptuous ravishing sounds and a subtle rubato of great artistry. Prokofiev’s youthful first Sonata was full of romantic fervour that he was to distil in his later works leading up to his great trilogy of the War sonatas before finding peace in the last of his nine Sonatas for piano.
It was played with all the technical prowess and romantic fervour that we have come to expect from this artist who has recently been appointed Professor at the Royal College of Music.
