11 May - Tom Gould at St George’s Hanover Square

I love going to lunch time recitals; it is such a treat and it makes me feel that I’m doing something special for myself.  Tom Gould came to Breinton with pianist Alasdair Beatson in September 2009 giving a concert of Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven. I think it is rather unusual that musicians choose to play contemporary music in a church concert; at least I haven’t been to one before.

My favourite was Nico Muhly’s Long Line; during this, a tape of electronic sounds was played while Tom played his part – interesting.  I particularly liked the beginning where Tom demonstrated a very high note that seemed to last forever.  It was beautiful.

Today the stage was just for him!  His programme was:

• Bach – Largo (from Sonata No. 3 in C major)

• Nico Muhly – Long Line for Violin and Tape

• Bach – Chaconne (from Partita No. 2 in D minor)

• Anna Meredith – Charged

• Charlie Parker – Donna Lee

• John Hawkins – BoBop

• Aziza Sadikova – La Baroque

• Bach – Adagio (from Sonata No. 1 in G minor)

The way he designed and performed these pieces was very clever; he coupled two pieces and made them as one section, creating four sections in all.  In between the sections, he gave a short talk describing the pieces and why he chose them.   It is always wonderful to hear explanations and the basic ideas of what we are about to listen to.  Combining Bach and a contemporary composer with totally different styles made the concert really interesting too.  He particularly asked us not to clap after each piece, not until one section was finished, for us to enjoy the sounds and contrasts.

I loved the Bach pieces Tom chose; all of them so beautiful, and the church had great acoustics that made it feel like every sound and note soaring up in the air, filling up the space.  I just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed so much being surrounded by these gorgeous and sacred pieces.  Tom played those Bach pieces by memory – it always makes a performance extra special I think.

I wish I could spend my day time hours going to a concert like this every day!  Lunch time concerts, however, are generally shorter than full-length evening concerts so next time I would like to go to his full-length recital.

By the way Tom has an awesome homepage (www.thomasgould.com), you should check it out when you have time!