When ex-Chetham's pupil Peter Donohoe is on form, there is no-one like him, and this evening he was on fire! Watching him this evening play in the region of 30 notes per second (both hands) and dashing up and down the keyboard with eagle-precision, and making it look effortless and sound sublime is a gift that only a select few have. Donohoe was in excellent shape this evening and he even delighted us with a brief introduction to the pieces he played adding background, personal anecdote and humour to the concert.
It must also be noted that Donohoe played everything this evening from memory, not relying, like the previous concerts, on the score and able page-turners.
Making the piano sing, Donohoe started the evening with two pieces by Schumann; Toccata in C and Arabesque in C. He followed these with a delightful 'Dumka' by Tchaikovsky.
The show-piece and finale though was a real rarity and absolute gem. As a huge Tchaikovsky fan, this is now the second piece of piano music from these concerts that I am discovering for the first time and being absolutely delighted by them. Here, Donohoe played his Sonata No 2 in G (opus 37). In his introduction he stated that to his almost certain knowledge this would be only the second time that this piano piece has been performed in Manchester. He knows this because he also performed it the first time. And after having played the first movement for a piano competition in Russia, he was even told that the work isn't very popular over in Tchaikovsky's homeland either. Donohoe proffered a suggestion that the reason for this was perhaps because of the rather surprising and unusual enigmatic ending to the sonata, and the fact that the work is in G major; a key Tchaikovsky usually reserved for heroic deaths. Perhaps the use of G major is because of Tchaikovsky's synesthesia, and G major was a very dark colour for him? Who knows.
All Tchaikovsky's music sounds very symphonic. His structuring; lovely melodies, thick harmonies, lush 'colours', flamboyant and extensive passages full of decoration and Russian pomp. No wonder he is one of the world's most accessible composers, and this Sonata was no exception. A behemoth of a work, with an extensive first movement, followed by an equally extensive second movement and Donohoe's nimble fingers were put through their paces, showing incredible skill and precision. The end is a little strange, but not as much as I had expected after such a build-up by Donohoe. A series of a few chords, almost hymn-like, takes you to the final perfect cadence.
Donohoe accepted several rounds of hugely deserved applause and gave a short encore. An absolutely mesmerising and emotionally charged concert.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 24/8/19
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