NESCGS AGM Concert - Laura Husbands

Laura Husbands played a short but sweet programme for us on Wednesday evening following the AGM. Given that a lot of times guitar recitals can seem long, this one left me wanting to hear more! Laura is blessed with a musical subtlety that belies her young age. She also has good, solid technique and a passion for the music that is clearly audible.

First was Lauro's Suite Venezolana. This was delicately handled throughout, Laura's smooth delivery being perfectly suited to the relatively light texture of the score.

Next up we had Ponces' Variations sur folia Espana et fuge. Again these were competently handled and Laura's honest approach was appreciated by us all I think when she told us she would be omitting three of the variations as she had yet to learn them! It turned out that quality beat quantity in the end as they were played with confidence and style, the changing nuances of each variation well contrasted. During the Fugue I felt myself drift away with melody, the music was projected so well.

Last on the programme was a waltz by Ukrainian Composer Valerj Petrenko. This was composed in the South American ‘Vals' style and performed superbly by Laura. Again I was impressed both by the competence of the performance and the projection, this unfamiliar piece brought to my attention with such grace that I found myself visiting Guitar Notes when I got home. (Again!).

Laura's encore sums up the performance as a whole, it being a great piece of music played very well indeed. The Preludio “Saudade” from Barrios' La Catedral was played with the height and gravitas that Barrios intended to convey. This piece was dedicated to his wife and was played with appropriate beauty and depth here. My appetite had been whetted though and my one complaint of the evening is that I was longing to hear the other two movements afterwards!

I am convinced that Laura has a great career ahead of her and I for one am looking forward to being able to enjoy a natural musician doing what she does best, performing great music. Let's hope that in the meantime we will see her up in Aberdeen a few more times, we really enjoyed it.

Andrew Bell (NESCGS member)