March 2007 (Part 2)

Dear Music-lover,

On 28th March we were treated to an astounding piano recital by Anna Kavalerova, the young ("I'll be 19 on Wednesday!") Russian winner of the senior class of the Moray Piano Competition 2006. A frail, charming teenager, she gave a performance of Schumann and of Chopin that was simply jaw-dropping.

There were many lovely moments:- when, during a Nocturne, she played more and more quietly; no-one rustled the programme, no-one coughed, I am sure no-one even breathed; the sight of Helen Standen's piano pupils in the front row, sitting unmoving, wide-eyed in amazement; Anna's excitement, as she played one encore (a Chopin Nocturne), then another (an Etude) and then...."I could have played all night", she said later.

There is no doubt that the intense reaction of the Inverness chamber music audience communicates itself to the performers, who give even more of themselves and their music.The enthusiasm of the audience led us to conclude that we should offer a recital to the winner of the 2007 award. Edith Cook, the competion secretary, who was in the audience, was delighted.

The drama didn't end there. As Anna, James and I walked up Castle Street to James' car, we noticed that a tyre was punctured. A long, frustrating evening ensued which otherwise might have caused tempers to fray. As it was, the goodwill generated by the lovely recital worked wonders and the incident became "just one of those things".

Our final 2007/8 concert is a lively evening on 11th April at the hands of Thistle Brass, a wonderfully talented, humorous, prize-winning ensemble from the Royal Academy of Music in Glasgow. I'll see you there.

Paul