Cherie Broome
St Cecilia’s Hall
Edinburgh University is a vital part of Edinburgh's rich musical heritage. First they are the custodians of the superb St Cecilia’s Hall, the oldest concert hall in Scotland, built in 1763 before today's composer Beethoven was born! It is also the centre for the University's wonderful collection of historic musical instruments, open to the public and well worth a visit. Today an Erard was used by our pianist and she told me that Beethoven had used an earlier one. Finally the University puts on a series of excellent free lunchtime concerts on Tuesdays and Fridays which are a great part of our musical life.
Today's concert features New Zealand born pianist Cherie Broome, who trained at Sydney Conservatoire and since then has become an international piano scholar, particularly on historic pianos. She is also as we were to discover a fine pianist. For today's concert she is playing a piano by Erard, built in Paris in 1909, or possibly earlier. It was the kind of piano that Beethoven would have played and indeed he had used an earlier model. Apparently he didn't like it - though our pianist tells us he didn't like most of his pianos! Cherie told us that to make this piano work you have to strike it really hard unlike the 'Ferrari’ pianos of today which you merely have to caress!
Cherie chose to celebrate Beethoven by playing two of his great sonatas, No 1 & 2, written in 1802 and commissioned by his Swiss editor. It is fascinating to listen to Donald Macleod's Radio 3 Composer of the Week programmes on Beethoven (on alternate weeks) telling how composers had to hustle to make a living in Vienna in those days. Cherie in her programme notes says Beethoven described these sonatas as "the beginning of a new path", a deeper and more emotional approach to the piano. Cherie certainly showed this in her committed and colourful playing of the sonatas - at once loud and striking, then gentle and reflective, and also showing the influence of Italian opera on his compositions. In the perfect acoustic of St Cecilia’s, on a period piano, this was the authentic sound of Beethoven. I have never heard these works better played, even by some of the famous pianists we get passing through the Edinburgh Festival. Cherie got a great response from the big audience at St Cecilia’s and as she is studying Bach with John Butt in Glasgow promises to give further concerts in Scotland. As for me I'm sending this review to Fergus Linehan, Director of the Edinburgh Festival, suggesting he books Cherie for the Festival!
