Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 - Liszt
Hungarian Dance No. 5 - Brahms/K.I. Yaskevich
Spanish Caprice - Moszkowski
Capriccio - A. Repnikov
De Profundis - S.Gubaidulina
Scherzo-Capriccio - A.Londonov
The first half of Dermot Dunne's lunchtime recital on Wednesday was made up of transcriptions, which was a less than alluring prospect. In the event, however, he played with such panache that one felt one had never heard the works properly before. Liszt's Rhapsody No. 6 sounded authentically Hungarian, much more so than in the usual piano performance, and the almost orchestral riches of the accordion might have been specially designed for it. Moszkowski's Spanish Caprice was equally powerful in its effect, and the Brahms was a true dance.
Of the original works the Capriccio by Repnikov and the Scherzo-Capriccio by Londonov paled into insignificance beside the startling inventiveness of Gubaidulina's anguished De Profundis. The work was a Dies Irae of the 20th century which, though it did not make use of that doom-laden melody, created an atmosphere of terror and despair that Dante would have recognised.
The groans and sighs of the lost souls were translated into a web of sound that moved in and out of cacophony in a totally convincing manner. The considerable technical demands of the piece found an extremely able and accomplished interpreter in Dermot Dunne.
