A PASSIONATE CAMPAIGN

Tamami Honma's Wigmore Hall solo recital début
impresses KEITH BRAMICH

What a shame that the auditorium was less than half full for Tamami Honma's Wigmore Hall solo recital début in London on 2 October 2003. Those who could have occupied the empty seats missed a real treat. A glance at a flyer should have been enough to convince anyone unsure about attending -- Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit, the world première of Cascades-3 by Lithuanian composer Osvaldas Balakauskas and Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No 2 in D minor Op 14. And all this before the interval!

Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit (completed in 1908) showed various of Honma's strengths as a pianist -- elegance, gentleness and the most fluid, silky smooth runs in 'Ondine', the water sprite; beautifully poised, introspective playing in that strange central movement, 'Le gibet'; drama, wide-ranging dynamics, detail and changing colours in 'Scarbo'.

Born in Japan, Tamami Honma lived and studied in the USA from an early age, making a concerto début there at the age of seven, and becoming a protégé of Byron Janis in New York City. She now lives in London, where her recordings win awards, and where she and her husband Adrien Cotta are passionate campaigners for Lithuanian music.

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