Concert - Rachel Fryer

Alexander Schriabin’s great misfortune was to be born with small hands. He was an extremely talented pianist, but could span barely over an octave. His great rival and contemporary, Sergei Rachmaninoff was blessed with exceptionally large hands. Schriabin ended up trying too hard to emulate his rival, and permanently damaged his right hand while playing Liszt’s Don Juan Fantasy - his doctor told him he would never play the piano again. He took to composing with some fervour, developing a theory linking colour with music, and hence creating a new musical language incorporating a number of musical harmonies and textures. One of his most popular pieces, written to accommodate his injury - is called Nocturne for Left Hand. The piece is one of the highlights of local pianist Rachel Fryer’s concert tonight, billed as a ‘journey through Eastern Europe’.

Fryer, who is the visiting lecturer at the Lewes-based East Sussex Academy of Music, is an internationally acclaimed musician, whose broad education is reflected in the variety of her repertoire; a period in the Kharkov Institute in Ukraine deepened her knowledge of Eastern European composers. Others represented tonight, in the intimate surroundings of the Westgate Chapel, include Czech Joseph Suk (she will play his little-known piece ‘About Mother’) , Russian Sergei Rachmaninoff and Pole Frederic Chopin. She will also play a Haydn sonata. AG