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Pianist Gema Lu Cai visited Christ Church earlier today, delighting a crowd well above the 200 mark with masterful performances of Cécile Chaminade, Joseph Haydn, Enrique Granados and Maurice Ravel.
The Christ Church crowd, famously exacting in their musical standards, were quizzed today about their awareness of French composer-pianist Cécile Chaminade; most recalled hearing her last year, almost to the day, in Dominic Dawns’s performance of a movement of «Étude de concert (Op. 35)».
Enrique Granados we heard more recently with the Roth Guitar Duo, merely two months ago, but today we had the brilliant «Valses poéticos». Ms. Lu Cai conveyed every shade of emotion with superb precision and warmth; it’s hard to believe this was her first public performance of the polished, clear, deeply sentimental set.
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In a concert where every piece reached immaculate standards it’s invidious to pick a standout. For me the first two movements of Haydn’s «Sonata in C Major, (Hob. XVI:50)», and the opening of Ravel’s «Sonatine (M.40)» were pure magic—though I’ll admit a lifelong weakness for Ravel’s delicate, elegant passion.
The encore was Wang Jianzhong’s «Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon», and this might well have been the first time an encore has ever slipped in during Mr. Barker's epilogue. Charming precedent!