East Neuk Festival: Llŷr Williams
Crail Parish Church 2/7/26
Llŷr Williams (piano)
Back to Crail Church on the forenoon of 2nd July for the second concert of this year’s East Neuk Festival, a solo piano programme from Welsh virtuoso Llŷr Williams, some 20 years since his first appearance at the Festival. The morning after hearing early Brahms, his Op.10 Ballades, in the Opening Concert, the programme opened with late Brahms, Nos.1 & 2 of his Op.118 Intermezzi. Mozart’s (mostly) sunny Sonata in F K.533/494 was then followed after the interval by Schumann’s kaleidoscopic ‘Kreisleriana’ Op. 16.
The first Intermezzo is turbulent and brief, spending its passion in stormy A-minor, grabbing and holding the attention of the listener immediately and throughout. An important visual part of the performance was Llŷr’s intense but graceful body language surrounding his flawless articulation and elegant phrasing. The contrasting second Intermezzo in A major exuded exquisite tenderness, not without an element of bittersweet wistfulness. Brahms’ disciplined but deeply-felt romanticism found a sensitive exponent with gorgeous phrasing that revealed every nuance of feeling. These Intermezzi are not miniatures to slot in a programme between more weighty musical monuments. They are concise but profoundly revelatory expressions of the private Brahms. Superb.
The dual Köchel number of the Mozart sonata is due to its finale being written first as a stand-alone light and cheerful Rondo, the other two movements being added later and, whilst still cheerful, having an extra layer of scholarly contrapuntal gravitas, with more than a hint of reverence for the legacy of Bach. The first movement is a brisk toccata within a fully worked sonata form, virtuosically articulated by Llŷr, including some stunning rapid arpeggiation, moments of cheeky chromaticism and some adventurous key exploration. I noticed some elegant ornamentation in the recapitulation but cannot recall for certain whether they were present in the exposition. Bach’s genial ghost beamed over the lovely extended sicilienne slow movement, not without the occasional cloud shadow passing over the tranquil landscape. This was my favourite of the three movements, showing Llŷr’s skill as a communicator to fullest advantage. The uncomplicated finale was a delight, with interesting ornamentation in the rondo reprises and some more cloud shadows and key explorations in the episodes. Beautifully balanced and engaging though the sonata undoubtedly was, it was, to my personal and rather objective taste, somewhat “scholarly”. I enjoyed it immensely, but I cannot say that Llŷr Williams is ever destined to be my go-to person for Mozart. I prefer a little less gravitas and rather more in the way of “breathing space”.
No such concerns with the Schumann, a disturbingly prophetic work which is based on an ETA Hoffman story tracing the manic decline of the obsessive mind of a musician (Kreisler) through a collection of pieces of bizarre writing remaining after his disappearance. “Prophetic” because 16 years after the 30-year old Schumann attached the name ‘Kreisleriana’ to the set of 8 pieces, his own mental health had declined to the point of attempted suicide and incarceration in an institution. Llŷr’s reading of the pieces was spellbindingly characterful. I cannot imagine a more consistently fascinating interpretation and execution. Superb. The last piece in particular, with its witty “rumpty-tumpty” rhythm, full of late Mendelssohnian charm and with a Schubertian central interlude and a cheeky ending, is quite well-known and merited cheers from the appreciative audience.
There was a super encore, Busoni’s piano arrangement of Bach’s Chorale Prelude BWV659 ‘Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland’. Perfect, Llŷr could quite easily become my go-to performer for Bach.