The Northern Classical Review

The 12th of January saw the arrival of Mark Elder and the Hallè to Leeds Town Hall. The program included Mozart's much loved 23rd piano concerto and Shostakovich's 8th symphony. Leeds Piano competition winner Eric Lu was to tackle the Mozart concerto. Despite the obvious decline in the standard of Leeds International Piano Competition winners, I had high expectations for Eric having heard his fantastic Schubert Impromptus on disc. And to sum it up quickly, I wasn't disappointed nor particularly 'moved'. There is no questioning Lu's virtuosity, his hands jumping and twisting, no mistakes visible.  Also, his soft playing was excellent. However, his communication through the piano was hindered by Elder's approach. The piano, to an almost ridiculous extent, took an accompanying role. For large parts it was inaudible, and the emphasis in the calls and responses was, it seems, strongly on the orchestra. I recall Elder once saying in a masterclass that Mozart Pia

For good reason, Sviatoslav Richter is a giant of the art music world. Born in Russia in 1915 (now Ukraine), Richter was a complicated artist with a notorious stage persona. There are few more iconic scenes in piano culture than Sviatoslav's shining bare head and miserable, aggressive face digging into a Beethoven sonata under the weak light of a lamp on a dark stage. His aura was cripplingly romantic and heroic. Rubinstein bounced in a courtly fashion, Gould bobbed up and down drastically (and did bizarre things with spear hands when they weren't required on the piano), Richter attacked the piano, like an annoyed Victorian headmaster he commanded his body with vicious force and intent, threw about his head in despair. This translated into his sound which was huge and piercing, however as I will go on to explain, Richter was capable of a remarkably melodic and delicate sound.  Contrary to Richter's common stage persona, his recordings of gentler repertoire such as