Sarah Beth Briggs, Kendal Town Hall

When - on a recent cheerless, depressing day - one of Kendal Midday Concert Club’s most loyal and, indeed, most welcome guests graced the town hall’s stage, she was doubly appreciated; not only did her pianistic dexterity delight her admirers, but her elegant, emerald green gown was truly magnificent. Both helped to dispel all memories of the drab, dismally-wet conditions outside.

Sarah Beth Briggs reminded us that Kendal audiences are extremely fortunate in being able to attract musicians of high calibre. Sarah is a powerful player, able to generate ardour and virtuosic intensity where necessary and, whilst there were many such occasions to admire in her realisations of Beethoven’s Op 90 Sonata and Chopin’s 3rd Ballade, it is onto her quieter, more reflective passages that my memory focuses.

Mozart’s K475 Fantasie and Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque offered opportunity for delicate, limpid passage work, subtle pedalling, spacious phrasing, effective chord-voicing and clear textures wherein could be heard the weaving of different melodic strands. Her Chopin and Beethoven choices had identical requirements and, generally speaking, they were finely-honed and lovingly-presented.

Brian Paynes