The Wykehamist
first cousin. It was not until the debut of his Second Piano Concerto that he was finally rescued from this misery.
The concerto starts off slowly and solemnly, perhaps reflective of Rachmaninoff’ s state when composing, an atmosphere which Laurie( H, 22-) captured wonderfully in what adjudicator Toby Purser described as‘ the best Rach-2 opening crescendo [ he ] had ever heard’. Everything felt controlled and calculated, topped off by some immaculate ensembleship with Dr Salwey.
His solo moments were wonderfully expressive and his voicing was clear. I felt that he could have maybe driven forward a bit more in places, further building more of an expressive presence in more intense moments, even though he did maintain a very calculated sense of rubato and lyricism throughout. His pedalling was also very effective, never smudging or muddling even the quickest of runs, masterfully bringing out the Bach-inspired staccato. I do think, though, that he could maybe have brought
out the bass a touch more in quieter moments lower-down in register, as this would have helped to acquire a sharper sound, as well as improving the overall timbre.
The opening to the finale was an undeniable masterclass in technique, a real testament to Laurie’ s many hours of dedication and practice. Lush bass and chords reminded me of Bruce Liu’ s Kurhaus recording, soaking up the most of Rachmaninoff’ s wonderful harmonies without any sense of hurry, as so many other lesser recordings fail to do. His ascending chords were crisp and rhythmically even, whilst his emphasis on certain clusters in the last few runs even brought out a surprisingly enjoyable folk-like sentiment.
Laurie was certainly the audience favourite, even being met with a sizeable standing ovation( though no doubt swayed by the great number of Quiristers in the audience). His performance was incredibly enjoyable, and certainly an enormous feat. I am glad that he won, and look forward to playing with him in SO.
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