Margaret Legge Wilkinson,
piano
Wednesday Lunchtime
Live
Wesley Music Foundation
Wesley Music Centre, Forrest -
March 22
Review by Len Power
Presented by the Wesley Music Foundation at the Wesley Music
Centre as part of their Wednesday Lunchtime Live concerts, pianist Margaret Legge
Wilkinson presented an excellent program of works by Johann Sebastian Bach and
Olivier Messaien.
Canberra’s Margaret Legge Wilkinson has received critical
acclaim as a virtuoso pianist of contemporary classical music. As soloist, accompanist and chamber musician,
she has performed throughout Australia and in Europe.
‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’ is a collection of two series of
Preludes and Fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard by
Johann Sebastian Bach. The first set was
compiled in 1722 and the second followed 20 years later. Margaret Legge Wilkinson commenced the program
with three Preludes and Fugues from the second set, numbers 12, 15 and 16 in F
minor, G major and G minor respectively.
Her playing of each work was clear and crisp and with a sensitivity and
understanding that displayed every dimension of Bach’s distinctive music.
The second half of the program was devoted to Olivier
Messaien and five selections from his eight ‘Preludes For Piano’, an early work
composed in 1928–1929, when the composer was 20 years old. Messiaen considered it to be his first work of
any value. Each prelude is accompanied
by a description consisting mostly of the associated colours. For example, the second prelude, ‘Song of
ecstasy in a sad landscape’ is given the description, ‘gray, mauve, Prussian
blue at the beginning and end; diamond and silver at the middle’.
 |
| 'Song Of Ecstasy In A Sad Landscape' by Collin Murphy |
The music has a haunting quality, at times reminiscent of the
music of Debussy. Each prelude was played
beautifully by Margaret Legge Wilkinson, bringing out the full range of colour
and emotion. ‘Moments Past’ and ‘The
Impalpable Sounds Of A Dream’ were particularly outstanding.
This was an excellent lunchtime concert of fascinating works
by two quite different composers. The Wednesday
Lunchtime Live concerts are held weekly at the Wesley Music Centre at 12.40pm
and run for about 50 minutes.
Len Power’s reviews are
also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 ‘Artcetera’ program (9am Saturdays) and
‘Dress Circle’ (3.30pm Mondays).