Live 2022-07-24 -- Alice Thompson - At Home
Length: ~0:30h
Tickets: 8£
Live: no. Prerecorded.
A grand piano by Blüthner (Leipzig). Why not. It is definitely something different. A bouquet of pink roses in a vase is placed on top of it. Two mics can be seen on either side of the instrument. While walls, (*). Minimalism. The music performed this time will appear on a (forthcoming) release called Solo Piano 5 or Five ... either presumably.
What the audience is offered is only the sound of the piano. No announcements. No singing. No other instruments. Music at its purest so to speak. Whether interaction should be mandatory is a difficult aspect to answer and arguments can be made for either side. In the end though, it is up to the musician to pick a setting this person is most comfortable with and which reflects the music in the best kind of way. Whether possible preferences from audience should be taken into account beforehand is an even more difficult aspect.
It is nice how the motives wander around in the tracks. Are tossed to and fro. At times more adagio, short waves of a crescendo, oscillations around ideas. All follows a rather modern musical pattern. All flows in a nice gentle kind of way. No stark counterpoints, no violent interruptions of the play, no silent moments. It reminds on the type of piano music found in scores quite often. Short spins of ideas, but no grand long composition(s). Six or seven tracks are offered.
A good performance. Just a bit too short.
(*) It looks like there is an enormous mirror on one side of the wall, but this is guesswork.