This performance made me weep. I am not familiar with the work, but I am familiar with the huge amount of work and dedication that went into learning the piece. Darin Qualls made it his mission in Lockdown to learn this challenging work. Most of us made excuses about how the lockdown affected our ability to concentrate and limited our ability to learn. Darin persisted month after month, phrase after phrase and on Sunday, November 7 revealed to his audience, through both his virtuosic playing and his body language the joy of mastering an unfamiliar Saint-Saens concerto. His commitment infected the Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra and their conductor, Claudio Di Meo. The look of total concentration on the faces of the 60 strong orchestra made me smile at first. Then weep. Mission accomplished. Congratulations, Darin Qualls.

Linda Christmas, journalist and music lover

November 2021