Reformed and inspired as the stars shine brightly at midday in Pall Mall with Simone Tavoni and Mon-Puo Lee
All set at the Reform Club to be welcomed by the indomitable Michael Corby who is dedicating his 80th birthday celebrations on the 14th June to funding a twin for the magnificent ex Wigmore Steinway that has now found a truly glorious retirement home.
Simone told me Mon Puo Lee was good but he did not tell me how good!
There was magic from the first ethereal sounds from the magic world that Ades inhabits.
‘Les champs’ is the third of four movements of his ‘Lieux Retrouvés and is an atmospheric piece of whispered sounds. Deep bass notes from the piano just create even more mystery for a piece searching its way ever more secretly as it reaches for the infinite ,and probably the highest register the cello has ever been asked to reach ………finally silence with our ears now ready to listen as sounds were not projected out but it was we that were enticed into this magic world of Ades. An extraordinary tour de force to open a programme with such stillness and intensity that requires a transcendental technique from the cellist to be able to sustain and maintain such sounds without ever risking a split or misplaced note.
