United Kingdom Clandeboye Festival 2025 [2] – Schubert, Debussy, Beethoven: Barry Douglas (piano). Clandeboye Estate, County Down, Northern Ireland, 21.8.2025. (RB)
Schubert – Impromptus Op.142 Nos. 1 & 2; Fantasy in C, Op.15 ‘Wanderer’
Debussy – Pour le Piano
Beethoven – Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op.57 ‘Appassionata’
Barry Douglas is a leading authority on the piano music of Schubert as he has recorded the complete sonatas, impromptus and ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy together with Liszt’s transcriptions of some of the songs. It perhaps came as no surprise, therefore, that he dedicated the first half of his recital to Schubert.
Schubert wrote his second set of Impromptus in 1827 towards the end of his short and tragic life. The first and last pieces are in the key of F minor which has led some commentators to argue that the set is a piano sonata in disguise. Douglas played the first of the Impromptus with enormous freedom sustaining the melodic line beautifully against Schubert’s rippling semiquavers. He used rubato in a skilful and nuanced way to highlight the harmonic twists and turns of the music while infusing different sections with rich and varied tone colours. He played with enormous restraint and was careful not to break the tone in the fortissimo sections. He succeeded in transforming the work into a miniature tone poem. I have heard Douglas play these Impromptus before and I much preferred his performance of the second Impromptu in A-flat this time round. The tempo was still on the slow side, but the chords were played tenderly, and they evoked feelings of regret and nostalgia which seemed just right for this music.
Schubert’s ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy was written in 1822, and it is widely considered his most technically demanding work. The four movements follow the same format as a conventional sonata but are played without a break and are linked by the rhythmic motif which opens the piece. Douglas adopted a muscular, virile approach in the opening movement, which had an infectious propulsive energy. While the dynamic contrasts were observed, I wondered if there was scope to introduce more widely differentiated dynamics. Douglas’s handling of the variations in the second movement was superb. He used a rich palette of colours and sonorities to help characterise each of the variations. He ratcheted up the dramatic tension in the second variation and I loved the striking extraordinary filigree in the fourth. Dazzling fingerwork ushered in the last of the variations. The Scherzo was highly exuberant and had a carefree, boisterous quality which was highly attractive. The final section of this movement is technically very demanding and Douglas’s handling of it was particularly impressive. Douglas allowed the final fugue to build incrementally before harnessing all the resources of the concert grand to drive the work to its the triumphant orchestral conclusion.
Debussy’s ‘Pour le Piano’ is a set of three pieces which pay homage to the French keyboard music of the eighteenth century particularly the music of Rameau and Couperin. It is often considered a bridge between his earlier romantic style and his more mature impressionistic works. The Prelude opened well, although Douglas seemed to lose his way a little in the first part of the piece which sounded fragmented – I wondered if he had become distracted by audience noise. He recovered well and conjured up an impressive range of contrasting textures and sonorities in the rest of the piece. Debussy described the Sarabande as ‘rather like an old portrait in the Louvre’ and it is the emotional kernel of the work. Douglas was particularly impressive in this movement, imbuing the music with a timeless quality and creating a solemn restful atmosphere. I would have welcomed a little more sparkle and brilliance in the opening section of the Toccata. However, there was much to admire here too with Douglas displaying an excellent range of colour and dynamics. I enjoyed the energetic build and triumphant conclusion of the piece.
The final work on the programme was Beethoven’s ‘Appassionata’ Sonata which was written in 1804-05 when the composer was struggling with hearing loss. It is one of his most famous and technically challenging piano sonatas. Douglas has released a recording of the ‘Appassionata’ which was well received. Douglas brought power and precision to the opening movement. The startling dynamic contrasts were very much in evidence but there was also a clear sense of Classical architecture. Some of the arpeggio figurations could have been a little clearer. The slow movement was a model of Classical decorum and refinement. Douglas paid close attention to phrasing and tempo relationships. The finale with its dark whirling semiquavers and pointed accents had an incendiary quality. The coda was a blazing virtuoso tour de force which brought the house down.
At the end of a superbly-played recital, Barry Douglas gave an exquisite poetic performance of one of the Brahms Op.116 intermezzos as an encore.
Robert Beattie