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# Review: Joanna MacGregor @ Lichfield Cathedral
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/review-joanna-macgregor-lichfield-cathedral/
- Published: 2011-07-11T06:36:29.000Z
- Updated: 2011-07-11T06:36:31.000Z
- Author: Annette Rubery
- Tags: What's On, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:32

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/joanna_macgregor-credit-pal-hansen-2-620x280.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2011/07/11/review-joanna-macgregor-lichfield-cathedral/joanna%5Fmacgregor-credit-pal-hansen-2-620x280/)

Joanna MacGregor. Pic: Pal Hansen.

Even those tentatively interested in classical music can’t be unfamiliar with [Joanna MacGregor](http://www.soundcircus.com/interview/biography.htm?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk): a dreadlocked pianist famed for her virtuoso playing, funky style and for collaborations with the likes of [Nitin Sawhney](http://www.nitinsawhney.com/nitinsawhney/Home.html?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk) and the [Britten Sinfonia](http://www.brittensinfonia.com/?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk). For this solo recital in the Cathedral’s Lady Chapel as part of the [Lichfield Festival](http://www.lichfieldfestival.org/?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk), the dreadlocks were gone, but the spirit was still very much in evidence as MacGregor attacked a beautifully constructed programme beginning with a sequence of pieces by Bach and Shostakovich.

As the evening light streamed into the Lady Chapel, MacGregor explored the synergy between the two composers, weaving a delicate series of Bach Preludes and Fugues with excerpts from Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues. This was followed by Chopin’s Five Mazurkas: attractive pieces whose intimacy perfectly suited the space.

But if this gentle opening showcased her intelligence, the second half was a musical grenade thrown, thrillingly, into the audience, as MacGregor let rip on a series of jazzy pieces, the Lady Chapel’s architecture now lit up with vivid purple and pink lights.

Samuel Barber’s Excursions Op.20 – a sprightly slice of Americana – was the perfect match for MacGregor’s style, cycling through the jazzy rhythms of Un Poco Allegro to the sassy In Slow Blues Tempo to the rip-roaring barn-dance finale. Bringing the evening to a close, MacGregor played her own arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s Six Tangos: a glorious finale, full of hot-blooded tunes and urgent, driving rhythms.

Although always fiercely in control of her material, MacGregor is an energetic artist whose work is witty, joyous and never, ever dull.