Fanny Davies International Piano Series presents Tom Hicks – St James, Guernsey – 05/06/24

While I’m far more used to seeing St James set up for more contemporary music these days it remains, as it has been since it opened as an arts venue in the 1980s, Guernsey’s key venue for classical music so heading in tonight and seeing the spectacular Steinway & Sons grand piano centre stage with the former church’s full stage space open, it just feels strangely right.

But why was I here, having only attended one such similar event previously?

Well, it was for the latest instalment in the Fanny Davies International Piano Series which welcomes classical pianists from all over the world to the island to showcase their talents, and this one was all the more special as the pianist in question was Guernsey’s own Tom Hicks, who incidentally is also artistic director of the series.

Tom Hicks (Photo by Flexagon)

Before I go any further, just in case anyone reading is expecting an in-depth review of the specifics of Tom’s performance and repertoire, and if you hadn’t guessed already, classical music is not my usual forte so, as I took my seat for the first half there was a somewhat different atmosphere to what I’m used to for a musical performance.

Following a brief introduction from one of the organisers Tom emerged from the dressing room, sat at the piano, and, without a word, began the first of two pairs of Chopin nocturnes that started the recital.

This pair of nocturnes set the tone for the evening which came with the title Music At Night, inspired by a passage from Aldous Huxley, reprinted in the programme to help provide some context, along with notes on the pieces being played.

Being nocturnes, of course, meant they fit the theme but varied in sound and tone to me but what really stood out was how, in each piece, it felt like there was a journey and, for wont of a better word, conversation within the music.

Tom Hicks (Photo by Flexagon)

The most interesting piece of the first half to me was Alexander Scriabin’s Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand, op. 9 which saw Hicks play, as the title suggests, with just his left hand but made it sound like he was still playing with two – reminding me somewhat of a classical piano version of the track Mike Meinke has played in the past on his guitar composed when he had a broken wrist.

After something of an unnecessary but appreciated apology for the length of the first half of the show Tom finished off with a trio of Debussy pieces ending with Clair De Lune (which I’m sure of I’d heard of but can’t say I recognised).

While the first half had a somewhat intense feel, in both the playing and the audience’s rigidly rapt attention, the second half of the evening had something of a more relaxed tone as Tom suggested this was the fantasy side of the Music At Night theme, with their foundation in the final piece from Beethoven which the composer described as ‘quasi una fantasia’.

Before that though were a pair of Notturno’s from first Clara Schumann and then Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel which certainly fit the theme before the one piece I certainly did recognise (at least in part), Beethoven’s so-called ‘Moonlight Sonata’.

Tom Hicks (Photo by Flexagon)

Throughout the evening Hicks’ playing was, to me at least but seemingly the rest of the audience too, hugely impressive.

Not only did he display a precision that was extraordinary, this was only accentuated by the fact he appeared to be playing this all from memory, and, as the set went on, the dynamics of his playing were terrific; moving from near pin-drop quiet to truly thundering seemingly pushing even the sturdiness of the venue’s grand piano at times.

This power, both in the loud and quiet moments, may have been somewhat hidden in his mild manner and smart suit but it was evident as he played, showing how, what can often be seen as something staid and stuffy, is, when played well, as packed with power and emotion as any other music.

Following a curtain call Tom delivered a somewhat impromptu encore, totally unconnected with the rest of the programme, but that brought things back home, in Spell Of The Islands by John Ireland, which acted as something of a palette cleanser to end the night, and this run of the Fanny Davies International Piano Series, on a rather delightful note, after an undeniably impressive show.