The Rite of Joy

The final day of the Ragged Music Festival opens with a lively morning concert. The percussion of the HIIIT ensemble, imbued with a Spanish-infused rhapsody by Maurice Ravel, propels the two pianos with a flurry of castanet fire. The surging waves with which the two pianists immerse the audience in Philip Glass’ minimal classic Mad Rush are equally exhilarating. And Steve Reich’s Clapping Music, with its sharp, hand-clapped rhythms, is in the capable hands of the HIIIT percussionists.

Classical balance prevails in Mozart’s sunny Sonata for two pianos in D, a tonality he associated with the warmth of summer. Violinist Alina Ibragimova performs a set of variations by Olivier Messiaen in which his ideas about the blending of colour and harmony sound so powerful that you can almost experience the music as colour – the way Messiaen heard all music.