Tamara Stefanovich’s 20 Sonatas at Southbank Centre

Went to see Tamara Stefanovich play her marathon of 20 sonatas today, what an incredible experience. She played 20 sonatas from across the history of the sonata form, mixing Scarlatti with Hindemith, Soler with Ustvolskaya to create the most amazing cocktail of classical music I have ever tasted!

She divided the sonatas into three recitals lasting one hour each. I’m gutted I missed the first one! I was late to the second one by one Scarlatti sonata but the moment I rushed in I was captured by the music.

Stefanovich’s playing was exciting. Her range of colour and tone was so varied but not at all forced; the music she played seemed natural, whether it be the lyrical Scarlatti or the brash and bold Roslavets.

The recitals were played without break in between each piece (although we couldn’t resist applauding after the Bartok), and I loved the way the baroque sonatas like Scarlatti and Soler acted as interludes between the big Bartoks and Hindemiths and Janaceks. It made it feel less like a “task” to admire contemporary music but rather just a change of dishes; some are more spicy while others have more subtle flavours. In other words, I didn’t feel like any specific work was dominating centre stage demanding attention; I felt I was trying the tasting menu and whenever I heard something which piqued my hearing buds I would double check the menu and make sure to pick that á la carte next time. In fact, I felt like I was able to make a bit more sense of a lot of pieces which I normally would steer clear of, when they were played alongside music more familiar to my ears. Not to say I was absolutely riveted by some of the contemporary pieces, but being able to make sense of them definitely helped pique my interest rather than repel me.

Tamara read from the score the whole time, which is only fair considering the demand on virtuosity and memory from the programme. Funnily enough, it made everything feel more spontaneous, as if she just happened to be reading the music out to us, and I liked that! It didn’t feel prepared, set in stone, artificial…it allowed the music to jump out and speak for itself, and I felt I was following music that was unfolding in the moment rather than prepared through hours and years of practice. I did not have the feeling that this was another tightrope walk which we know the stuntsman would succeed in performing, but rather that the stuntsman was introducing her audience to various new tricks as she walks on the tightrope, and we’re so engrossed by these new tricks we’re not that concerned about the fact that we know she’s going to succeed in tightrope walking.

This new excitement and inspiration brought about by Tamara’s concert is of course not just the product of reading from the score, but also of incredible mastery of the music, so much so that the illusion of spontaneity is created.

I mean, to be keen to listen to something new in classical music is actually not at all typical of me, but Tamara’s concert actually made me forget about the work, but focus on the music. What a wonderful experience, and what a way to curate a concert! Bravo Tamara!

Highlights for me include Bartok Sonata, Hindemith Sonata, Janacek Sonata and Ustvolskaya Sonata. Also some of the Scarlatti, so basically almost everything.