IT WAS unavoidable. Meeting Mark Simpson, BBC Young Musician of the Year 2006, at a concert at the Philharmonic, he asked if I could go to his recital. Can you say no?
Add to that the fact it’s part of the quite incomparable Cornerstone Festival at Liverpool Hope University, a quite audacious event, put on at a time when the rest of the world has gone into repeat-mode carols way before time. It’s a brave venture with lots of thought-provoking musical events designed to entice musically-thinking (and Christmas-forgetting) people to immerse themselves in new music. Evidently it worked: a decent audience . . . again.
But then, so it should it be. This was the local boy made good: Mark Simpson, one of the best composers to come out of Liverpool for years and a seriously good performer. His career will be watched with massive interest. He needs to be a big part of the 2008 jamboree.
Simpson began with an incredible performance of Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint, a fascinating piece of never-ending energy: New York City at its best. A piece for prepared ten-part tape, it was a mature interpretation which showed consummate vigour and fine musicianship.
Gavin Higgins’s Three Broken Love Songs showed much intensity, even large elements of Gershwin in the first movement, with Simpson showing considerable ease of lipping up and down when he needed to. At times, in the second and third movement, there even seemed to be overtones of Vaughan Williams.
Robin Hartwell’s “accompaniment’’ to a film was interesting while Patrick Nunn’s Coalescence was a clever piece with some expert musical collisions.
James MacMillan’s short and moving After the Tryst as well as Simpson’s own Lov(escape) – performed for the BBC competition – were welcome asides, the world premiere of Stephen Pratt’s Short Score of 2006 produced a searching first movement, a lively second and a period of contemplation leading into a dramatic finale.
Add to that a polished performance of Gary Carpenter’s 1991 Clarinet Sonata and this was a massively successful recital.
And that was all the more so because of the accompaniment of John Wilson – note perfect, always supportive and exactly what a star recitalist needs.
