Stories from a Festive piano
Georgia Duncan
AS AUTUMN approaches, the quest for those tunes that make you excited to come home and relax as the weather gets duller looms in tandem with the clouds.
Away from the throngs of the Edinburgh Fringe, a calming oasis thrived at Saint Mary's Cathedral, where Georgia Duncan's piano recital cleared those clouds right up with such elegance. She took us on a journey from the Romantic period to the Impressionist realm of Claude Debussy, her ‘first love' in the piano world.
Set against a beautiful backdrop of stained-glass windows and a soothing echo, Georgia brought a captivating programme to life. By opening with Grieg's To the Spring, she immediately immersed us in that utopia of springtime bliss. Those uplifting treble hops cradled me into a serenity that allowed the rest of her concert to glide so easily on from.
Georgia revealed that, of all pieces performed that evening,To the Spring' held the most meaning for her; she said, "Grieg's images feel so near and familiar; I can easily picture country walks, rolling hills, falling blossom, and I'm transported to that place every time I hear this piece".
It felt fitting, then, that in a city nestled against the Pentland Hills, Grieg's rolling countryside felt right at home.
From the tranquillity of Grieg, the programme began to unfold into an evening of different textures. Rather than settling into one particular era or style, Georgia's selection moved between familiar favourites and less expected pieces, creating a sense of ebb and flow throughout the performance.
This was a deliberate choice: she explained that her concerts typically combine "crowd-pleasers, personal favourites, and new discoveries", all brought together by what she described as piano music's "unceasing capacity for storytelling". The result was a programme that felt less like a catalogue of celebrated works and more like a carefully constructed journey, each piece offering its own atmosphere.
For this listener, Georgia's performance of Debussy's works proved the most touching, as I absolutely sank into her waves and curls of Arabesque. There was a weightlessness about the piece in Georgia's hands, creating a dreamlike quality that seemed to fill the cathedral – the type of recital that hypnotises you into closing your eyes and waiting for the pianist's magic to pull the bunny out of the hat of your imagination.
And, as the cherry on top, Debussy's Cake Walk burst in with playful energy, closing the evening with extravagant character. Debussy's melodies felt worlds away from Grieg's, yet Georgia ensured to share her ability to transport the listener somewhere far beyond the walls of Saint Mary's.
Georgia's next concert will be taking place in her home town of Crosby, Liverpool, and she hopes it is not too long until she returns to Scotland to perform again very soon.
For now, Edinburgh may have to wait, but if her recital at Saint Mary's was anything to go by, there are certainly more clouds to clear when she returns.
JADESOLA OPANUGA
