As always, the pianist comported herself regally on stage, with an 88-key smile. There was an encore, an arrangement of Sheep May Safely Graze, safely played. But overall I would have preferred a mixed recital that placed Bach alongside his contemporaries and successors and given us a wider view of Hewitt as an artist. Sarabandes, taken slowly and freely, were exquisite. 5 and Overture in the French Style, works that included between them at least a dozen courtly dance movements, more if you count the variations. Angela Hewitt at TSM (Photo: Lucky Tang)Īlso heard were the French Suite No. Hewitt is a big fan of this Italian brand. The melancholy line of the Andante had a flutelike quality as realized on a colourful new Fazioli piano. Both movements benefited from hairpin dynamics. This great work was suited to the pianist’s extroverted style and represented the highlight of the night.Īnother outgoing opus was the Italian Concerto, sharply accented in the first movement and jubilant in the finale. The bass notes emulated the thunder of an organ in the final pages. We tend to equate Bach with fingers but Hewitt showed equal mastery of the pedal, adding colour to the fugue with no subtraction of clarity. There was ad-lib flair also in the opening section of the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, its scurrying melodic line slowing and accelerating to dramatic effect. In the Toccata in C Minor BWV 911 the pianist aptly contrasted improvisatory Adagio passages with clocklike counterpoint. It was a program of her favourites, as she told the crowd, which turned out to be a sequence of hits. and the fine art of making his music sound rather good on a modern grand. Thirty-eight years (and many recordings) after winning the 1985 International Bach Piano Competition in Toronto, the UK-based Canadian has not lost her fierce dedication to the great J.S. There must have been a headliner in Koerner Hall Tuesday night, and indeed Angela Hewitt was the attraction presented by Toronto Summer Music. Packed house, stage seats, standing ovation, autograph session in the lobby. 5, Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, Overture in the French Style, Italian Concerto. Bach: Toccata in C Minor, French Suite No.
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