Gabriela Montero delivered a radiant and dazzling performance at Milton Court, London, in a Spanish-themed recital that included works by Chopin, Scarlatti, and Albéniz. The Venezuelan pianist, known for her improvisational mastery, also treated the audience to a Purcellian take on the Beatles' Here Comes the Sun.
Montero's recital was part of a three-concert residency at the Barbican. Many in the substantial audience were hoping to hear her trademark improvisations, and they were not disappointed. Before the improvisations, Montero presented a formal programme spanning 250 years of Spanish-influenced music, including pieces by Chopin, Domenico Scarlatti, Liszt, Granados, Albéniz, and Mompou.
Montero's playing was lucid and fluid, finding the internal logic of each piece with unforced ease. Scarlatti's Keyboard Sonata in C sharp minor, woven into a larger work with his G major Sonata and two by Antonio Soler, had the precise radiance of a Zurbarán painting. Albéniz's tempestuous 'Triana' from Iberia and swaggering 'Sevilla' from Suite Española, along with Liszt's Rhapsodie Espagnole, were mercurial and dazzling.
However, with so many short works, the programme struggled to go beyond postcard Spain. Granados's Eight Valses Poéticos provided a brief off-road excursion but lacked the substance needed. Montero compensated with fun: three improvisations, two on themes suggested by the audience. When a little girl requested ABBA's Mamma Mia, Montero transformed it into a lushly modal rhapsody. The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun became first an earnest Purcellian number and finally a swinging ragtime finale, providing an unexpected holiday bonus.
