REVIEW OF 'ON THE CHEQUER'D FIELD ARRAY'D' | PURCELL ROOM WEDNESDAY 15 MAY 2013

'...Hannah Kendall’s new piece was about chess. The three movements of On the Chequer’d Field Array’d, for solo piano, depict the three stages of a chess game: the opening, the middlegame and the endgame. Hence, it moves from a frenetic, combative initial phase, through an engrossing but rather slow, methodical section, to something a little more decisive at the end. Without a score, any further commentary from me would be like a critique of a chess game from someone who doesn’t know the rules, but – as with watching a chess game – there was much to admire in the way of skill, precision and depth of thought. Pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen, apparently a close collaborator with Kendall in the creation of this piece, gave a dynamic, sensitive reading.'

Paul Kilbey | Bachtrack

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