We didn’t do much about getting tickets in advance, partly because there were lots of good concerts and we were happy with almost anything that didn’t sell out.
Imogen Cooper is a regular here, though it was a little surprising more didn’t come along to her recital in the Assembly Rooms. (It was good to see that these were used for several concerts – in recent Festivals they have been sidelined. A difficulty with booking that has gone away?)
She opened with Beethoven’s Bagatelles Op 33 (I played one of these at a concert when I was at school), followed by Haydn’s sonata in C minor H XVI:20, one of the more familiar of his sonatas. After the interval came Beethoven’s variations on La Stessa, la stessissima (a relatively early work), Schubert’s Klavierstück D946 no 2 (a late work and another unfamiliar piece; the first is far the most often played of this set of three) and Beethoven’s Op 110 piano sonata. I last heard this sonata in the same place a few months ago, played by Richard Goode so direct comparisions could be made. Imogen Cooper was a pupil of Alfred Brendel and so we heard his influence in her precise placing of each note.
The annual bag of Mozartkügels was purchased in the interval.
Later in the week we went to the Leonore Piano Trio in the Guildhall. Their academic approach meant they were rather happier in Mozart’s K502 than in Dvořák’s Op. 62. We liked the cellist in particular though she was rather disconcerting to watch.