Pianist Duo excel at Music Club Concert

On Sunday 23 March, Cowal Music Club's concert in Dunoon Burgh Hall featuring pianists Naho Hayashi (from Japan) and Mianoora Kosonen (from Finland) proved to be a highly uplifting experience, with both players performing with enviable skill, flare and musicianship. The inclusion of piano duets on the programme as well as solo works proved to be a very successful format. Both players met at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where they have gained impressive performance degrees and experience. They manifestly enjoy playing together, and each introduced in turn the items on the programme.

First on the programme was Bach’s English Suite no 3, with its 6 movements, immaculately played (by memory) by Naho, with amazing attention to phrasing, dynamics and form.

This was followed by the French composer Faure’s ‘Dolly’ Suite for piano duet, in which the opening very restful  ‘Berceuse’ ( lullaby) may have seemed familiar to some older people as the playout music to the daily ‘Listen with Mother’ programme on the BBC’s ‘Light Programme’ (now R2) back in the 1950s.  Faure writes beautiful harmonies and colours in this work, and the ‘Ketty Valse’, -about a dog playing & jumping about, and the last movement, ‘Le pas espagnol’, with its sounds of a Spanish street party, were especially memorable.

The second half of the concert began with a fascinating  introduction by Mianoora about the Finnish composer Sibelius, whose solo piano music seems little known in the UK. Her first piece, entitled Barcarole but more reminiscent of a Legend, was highly impressive with beautiful pianistic sounds, dark colours, and a very powerful climax with lots of Nordic expression, very characteristic of Sibelius. Mianoora then continued with ‘The Trees’, a work consisting of 5 ‘miniatures’, each rather programmatically referring to trees, but also relating to the seasons in Finland, where, she pointed out, everyone is very aware of the long winters! The last Sibelius piece of the afternoon, entitled ‘Romance’, was especially effective, with its beautiful melodic lines, colours and varied textures.

The final group of pieces on the programme was for piano duet, and featured 3  arrangements from ‘Peer Gynt’ Suite no.1, by the Norwegian composer Edward Grieg.  This Suite has long been highly popular, -perhaps little wonder thanks to its attractive and memorable melodic lines and distinctive moods. The audience lapped up the performance of the 3 movements, -‘Morning’, Anitra’s Dance’, and ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’, responding with very prolonged applause.  Everyone seemed happy!

Cowal Music Club’s next concert takes place at Historic Kilmun on Sunday May 18th at 19.00, when Andrew Forbes, organist at Glasgow Cathedral, will perform.