With seating capacity of 28, the rehearsal room in Handel's House is about as intimate as a concert venue can be and ideal, if unusual, for solo and small ensemble recitals. I returned there after a few years' absence to take up the opportunity of hearing Biber's Passacaglia, not knowing how many chances I will ever get.Eloisa-Fleur Thom began with it in this brief summary of the development of baroque solo violin, it is a majesterial piece, of course, and was delivered with nimble left hand fingering and great assurance. The Westhoff Suite no. 5, remarkable for its stylings in the opening Allemande, is something to be investigated immediately, with how ever many others there are of them, but the programme stepped up a notch or two for the Bach Partita no. 2, played (it seemed to me) with more verve and confidence suggesting either greater familiarity with the piece or possibly having to rise to the challenge of Bach. It built to the torrential Chaconne that is one of many places where Bach is shown to be nothing like a mere mathematical perfectionist but a vehicle for tremendous passion, leaving one blinding passage only to launch fluidly into the next. It can be exhilarating, should be and was and I for my part will always take the soloist against the world rather than the combined, shared responsibility of an orchestra.
I hope Eloisa-Fleur Thom has a great future and it is unlikely that she wouldn't have. And, as you can see, with so little competition from the rest of the audience for her attention, I was able to add her to my recent collection of signed programmes.
And then I found my way to Ealing and the best value accommodation in London. You take the wine but drink most of it yourself, are given the most considerate hospitality and leave with two complimentary books expertly chosen by your host with that special personal attention to detail, an autobiography by the posh spiv, racing correspondent, Julian Wilson, and a book of fine academic introductions to 50 Classical Authors.
It would be unreasonable to ask for more.