A piano recital by Julian Clef was recently held at the St Mark’s Cathedral and the event saw an enthusiastic and appreciative audience. In fact, almost 300 people  gathered at the auditorium to listen to the young pianist perform. It was a unique and wonderful experience to hear the artiste play on the seven-foot grand piano at the venue. The audience was silent, attentive and spellbound as Julian displayed his virtuosity and technical and music competence throughout the show.

The concert began with three Preludes and Fugues (E major, C sharp minor and Csharp major) from Book 1 of the ‘Well Tempered Clavier’ by J S Bach, which was played with great ease and projected with superb confidence. Though Bach is interpreted in different ways by different pianists, Julian’s interpretation was very positive and well-articulated, leaving the audience impressed. This was followed by Beethoven’s ‘Waldstein Sonata Op 53’, which was superb and perfect in its style and rendition. ‘The Kapustin Concert Studies op 40’, another composition, incorporated jazz compositions and was performed to perfection. The evening ended with Mozarts Variations on ‘La Ci Darem La Mano’. The last two pieces, which are considered difficult works in the music world, were performed with great skill and dexterity and mastery over the keyboard.

Gita Chacko, president of the Forum for Teachers of Western Classical Music, commented, “The concert had two things which stood out — the first being that the performer is a young artiste, and the other being that he is an Indian, who has studied music in the UK and has acquired the style and qualifications required to perfect his art from there.” Gita feels that despite being shy off stage, Julian was very confident while playing. Talking about the music scene in the City, Gita opined, “Bangalore is probably one of the most appreciative cities for western classical music.”

Deeply impressed by the concert, Sunalini Ramesh, a music teacher, shared, “It is worth appreciating that Julian’s style, which was remarkable even earlier, has improved over the years. His technique and understanding about the art is worth a mention. I’m listening to his performance after two years, and the hours of practice can be clearly seen in his recital.” She also pointed out that the way Julian progressed from each composition to the next with a different style was unique. “A pianist requires fluency and memory to perform well, and Julian clearly has both. The way he moved through the difficult pieces he performed clearly describe his composure and confidence as an artiste,” Sunalini wrapped up.