The Proms

In Julie Clarke we have a potentially great pianist. Her reading of the Mozart A-major Concerto was mature, sensitive and, despite some lapses of memory, convincing. Her control of staccato should be a model to every aspiring pianist. The only fault I have to find was the heavy underlining of every note in the Siciliano movement—overphrasing is one of the lesser sins, but it can lead to artistic pedantry if not curbed early in one's career. (A case in point is Schweitzer's organ-playing.)

The Brahms Symphony No. 1 in the same programme lacked both sostenuto and staying-power in the first two movements, but the last movement was a joy to hear—the orchestra goes from strength to strength in its reading of the orchestral classics. I hope there will be more opportunities to hear Brahms thus well performed in the coming symphony concert season.