Playing of simplicity and chiselled beauty from Matthew Mc Lachlan one of the three young siblings of Murray McLachlan .A family of remarkable musicians who have all performed many times at St Mary’s.Matthew had surprised even himself when only in his second year at the Royal College of Music in London he was awarded the coveted Chappell Gold Medal for an extraordinarily beautiful performance of Scriabin’s elusive twenty four preludes op 11.Today it was in particular his beautifully lyrical and committed performance of Prokofiev’s somewhat neglected fifth sonata that captured his imagination .A performance of such simplicity as Prokofiev in lyrical mood could show us that there is a side to his compositions that is not always hard driven with canons being fired.The beautiful second movement in particular showed off Matthews control as he allowed the melodic line to shine above a relentless pizzicato left hand .A refined kaleidoscope of sounds that Prokofiev had revealed so poetically in his Visions Fugitives .It had followed performances of Bach where there was a pastoral calm as the voices were allowed to converse with each other creating a knotty twine of tranquility and peace.He had chosen too the two movement Sonata by Beethoven ‘A Thérèse ‘ where the gentle lyricism of the first beautiful phrases opened onto a fluidity and playfulness of beguiling charm and character.The hauntingly beautiful Etude Tableau by Rachmaninov was shaped with rubato and ease just as the beautiful little piece by Alicia de Larrocha was played with simple mellifluous style.Mompou’s beautifully atmospheric Cancion was an ideal partner for such delectable flowing sounds full of radiance and colour.The Butterfly Dream by Petar Dimov was indeed the ideal introduction ,as Matthew had explained ,for the beautiful lyricism of the opening of the Prokofiev Sonata .This was a pianist in poetically lyrical vein today with playing beauty and radiance.

Chetham’s School of Music alumnus Matthew McLachlan was awarded the C. Bechstein scholarship to continue his studies at the Royal College of Music with professor Dina Parakhina. Recipient of numerous awards, Matthew has performed as concerto soloist and recitalist in Poland, Serbia, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and throughout the UK. In July of 2021 Matthew was awarded 1st prize in the Royal College of Music Chappell Medal piano competition and the Esther Fisher prize for best undergraduate performance. Last year, Matthew was a finalist in the Isidor Bajic International Piano Competition and awarded 1st prize in the Bromsgrove International Musicians Competition

Matthew McLachlan’s triumph at St Mary’s

Matthew McLachlan at St Mary’s – Dark Horses and united families of true artists