Varvara Maggs at Lunchtime Live!

 Varvara Maggs, Portsmouth Cathedral, Sept 7

At Chichester Cathedral on Tuesdays one can see in advance not only who is playing but what they are playing whereas at Portsmouth you know who but not what. At first it seems preferable to see the menu before committing oneself but I don't know so much. There might be any number of things that could be missed out on by deciding on balance against a concert and so there's much to be said for turning up and seeing what happens.  

You can hardly go wrong with an all-Chopin programme, though, and whereas most CV's are lists of mentors, performances and places visited, not all played with Mariss Jansons as a child prodigy or,

was admitted to St. Petersburg State Conservatoire after obtaining the highest entry mark possible in the piano examination which exempted her from the rest of the exams.

Varvara Maggs is an undemonstrative performer on stage, concentrated over the keyboard. It is all in the hands, with maybe a little bit on the pedal.

The Ballade no. 2 was a lilting song before the tempest was raised. The Prelude in D Flat, the 'Raindrop', was dark skies and foreboding, especially contrasted with the weather outside, and whether it was Varvara's choice of material or the way she played it, Chopin was presented as torn between a tentative joy and inner torments.

The Scherzo no.1 was blitz and energy that modulated into minor key regret before a bursting floribunda ending. Having found fault with the Chichester audience on Tuesday for not getting the applause right, the meagre turnout today weren't even forward enough to pay tribute in between pieces. This sudden crisis locally might need to be met with some guidance on proper etiquette but they did enough after an enervated and dramatic Scherzo no.2, with its upsurge of melody, to bring Varvara back for a well-deserved encore.

'More lovely and more temperate' was the Fantasie Impromptu in C sharp minor as if the inner conflicts were resolved but Chopin was a troubled man in this account and the sweetness and light were never free from some darker forces at work.

Those faithful souls that attended were rewarded with a great performance that was worthy of more but what can you do. Thank you very much for coming, the highlight of Portsmouth Cathedral's Autumn Season might well have happened already.