Six Pieces - Fibich
Fantasia in C Minor - Bach
Sonata in E Minor - Haydn
Waltzes Op.64.2,69.1 - Chopin
Jeux d'eau - Ravel
After the Six Pieces by 19th-century Czech composer Fibich, which opened Peter Devine's recital in the John Field Room,, the pianist disclosed that they were leaves from an erotic diary, and asked whether anyone in the audience had sensed this. Devine's playing is crisp and clear, but far from sensuous: Fibich's conception of the erotic may have been different from that prevalent today; whatever the reason, the pieces were of interest only as abstract music, not as notations of an affaire.
Devine seemed much more attuned to Bach and Haydn, particularly the latter. Bach's Fantasia in C Minor could have benefited from a lighter touch, but Haydn's Sonata in E Minor (Hob.xv1.34) was a delight. The lack of sensuousness allowed the cascades of notes in the two outer movements to sparkle brightly, and the central movement, in which a highly decorated melody unwinds above the sparsest of accompaniments, had the serenity of a Gregorian chant.
Chopin's familiar waltzes, Op.64 No.2 and Op.69 No. 1, had their usual charm but nothing more, and Ravel's Jeux d'Eau was more suggestive of the fountain in Stephen's Green than of Versailles. An absence of showmanship is usually desirable, but not in this case.
As an encore, Peter Devine played Alkan's La Vision, bringing to this exquisite miniature all the necessary refinement. After the Haydn, it provided the most illuminatory moments in Tuesday's lunchtime recital.
