Scarlatti  Piano Sonata in A major, K. 208
Mozart  Sonata No. 8, in A minor, KV. 310
Rachmaninov  Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op. 42
Ravel  Pavane pour une infante défunte
Chopin  Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22

George Todica at St Jude’s Prom from the whispered delicacy of Scarlatti’s Sonata K 208 to the dynamic drive of Mozart’s K 310 he immediately demonstrated the refined tone palette of an artist who lives every moment of creation as if discovering the music for the first time. Luminosity and radiance of sound struck deep in Scarlatti as he allowed the music to speak with disarming poignancy especially the whispered beauty of the ritornello where it was the occasional deep bass note that helped illuminate all the stood before it.

There was a dynamic drive to the Mozart Sonata K.310 one of only two in the minor key and particularly dark and dramatic as was Mozart’s life in that period,with the tragic loss of his Mother whilst he was far from home.The music sprang from George’s fingers with elegance and beauty but also with a scintillating coloratura of subtle shape with the operatic characters that entered and exited with the same air of theatre that figures in all of Mozart’s works.

There was a crystalline beauty to the Andante cantabile played with disarming simplicity and delicacy with absolute clarity as the drama unfolds in the extraordinary central episode .Orchestral colours of civilised times but of searing intensity and extraordinary architectural sense of line.There was magic in the air as the Andante cantabile returned after such turmoil with ever more simplicity and ornaments of grace and lightness with the question and answer of the leaping turns I have never heard played with such eloquence .The Presto entered with whispered urgency with a ceaseless flow of notes like a torrent of water on which the genius of Mozart could suddenly reveal glowing golden sounds as the music changed from minor to major.To watch George’s face as the music moved back to the minor was to be witness to the way he was living the drama that was unfolding from his hands with mastery and quite considerable artistry.

Eloquence and charm too as he likened the Corelli Variations to the star of Rachmaninov that is born, transformed and in the end redeemed.
Not only in words but a performance of breathtaking beauty and transcendental control. A clarity of playing ,as of thought ,always building up sumptuous sounds from the bass ,of this magnificent Steinway Concert Grand.This ,of course, is the key to the great school of Norma Fisher with whom George had completed his formal studies and who lives just a stone’s throw from this magnificent Central Square in Hampstead.’La Follia’ theme was played with extraordinary poignancy and was to lead to a kaleidoscope of colours but also chameleonic changes of character.The third variation was played with impish characterisation before the ravishing beauty of the fourth with it’s whispered asides of harmonic comments.Dynamic eruptions of five,six and seven were played with scintillating virtuosity from ‘marcato’ to ‘leggiero e staccato’ until the nobility and cascades of notes on the pedal note of D .The ninth ‘un poco piu mosso’ was extraordinary for the sense of line that George found in the bass and the twelfth was of almost Prokofiev like sarcasms. The sense of line in the ‘Intermezzo’ cadenza was extraordinary for how the melodic line could continue in George’s hands,unimpeded by the myriad of notes that Rachmaninov adds in between.

The theme returning in D flat was quite magical as was the gentle prelude like variation that follows.The final three variations were remarkable for the sumptuous full sounds and the transcendental technical command.But it was Rachmaninov’s ‘redemption’ on the pedal note of ‘D’ that revealed the great sensibility and artistry of this charming young man.

A Ravel’Pavane’ of great intimacy had been promised but it was also of deeply felt sentiment without ever becoming sentimental.It was the last work that my teacher Vlado Perlemuter was to play in public at the age of 91 as he dedicated it to his lifelong friend Basil Douglas in a commemoration at the Wigmore Hall in which Vittoria de Los Angeles ,Larry Adler and many other artists from his illustrious roster paid tribute to a true Gentleman!

It was a genial idea to link the last note of the ‘Pavane’ with the gentle undulations of Chopin’s Andante Spianato. Of course how could it be otherwise as one ends and the other begins in G. Aristocratic elegance and timeless beauty moulded this early Chopin work with the same magic that Caballé used to weave with her wonderful voice.George with only two hands and two feet wove the same magic because it is the soul not the means that arrives in places where words are just not enough.What fun he shared with us as he relished every moment of Chopin’s poetic virtuosity where delicate fiortiori and crisp acciaccaturas went side by side in a Polonaise of aristocratic elegance and style.The breathtaking jeux perlé of the final pages had subtle pointed left hand chords surfacing like jewels shining in the bright sunlight as the excitement increased and the key of E flat was embellished with notes that sailed up and down the keyboard with the exhilaration and excitement of a pianistic Genius.

A Ravel ‘Pavane’ that George thought could achieve more intimacy on the piano than in its better known orchestral version.His playing certainly proved his point as out of this magic land floated the ethereal sounds of Chopin’s Andante Spianato.Played with chiselled delicacy and refined aristocratic good taste and even George had no idea that one would evolve from the other .A true voyage of discovery sharing with us with unstinting generosity and a characterisation that was truly hypnotic .The great orchestral introduction to the Grande Polonaise erupted out of such ravishment as George with relish let his hair down and with scintillating bravura and streams of golden notes gave us the same beguiling and tantalising brilliance that Chopin himself would have shown as he took the Parisian salons by storm and had Schumann declare ‘Hats off ,a Genius’
George Todica a name to remember of a great artist with a star in ascendence and also one of the nicest people I know.
How old is he the elderly lady next to me asked as she was charmed and delighted to find such a magical midday performance at St Jude’s.She was delighted to know that he is just 30 ,but not a little sorry when she saw a wedding ring on his finger!

He and his wife , the soprano Charlotte Hoather, had tried to get married during the pandemic and only succeeded afterwards but not before they had given recitals together on their balcony for all their neighbours unable to leave their homes in that tragic period .
When they did get married they were inundated by gifts from neighbours who were only too happy to thank them for their wonderful music in such a bleak period.
An infectious ‘joie de vivre’ where life is music and music is life and his delight of sharing such discoveries with us all was demonstrated by the utter simplicity and mastery that we were witness to today.

A red rose was a fitting gift from one of the young volunteers ,dressed like the ball boys at Wimbledon, for such a joyous occasion .

Romanian pianist George Todică completed and Artist Diploma degree from the Royal College of Music in 2019 after previously undertaking his Bachelor of Music and Masters of Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating in 2017. George had his Wigmore Hall debut in October 2018 as a Tillett Trust Young Artist, and his competition success includes first prizes at the Norah Sande Award in England, the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales, ‘Stefano Marizza’ Piano Competition in Italy, the Moray Piano Competition in Scotland and 2^nd prize at the International Piano Campus Competition in France, as well as the Ligeti prize and the prize for the best performance the contemporary work for piano and orchestra.

During his studies in Glasgow, George was also winner of the RCS Classical Concerto Competition, the Walcer Prize Competition for Chopin repertoire and the Governors’ Recital Prize for Keyboard. He studied under Jonathan Plowright, Norman Beedie and Graeme McNaught and his training was supported by two scholarships from the RCS, scholarships from The Tillet and Colin Keer Trusts and two ‘Britton Awards’ from Help Musicians UK. His Artist Diploma Course at the Royal College of Music was supported by the Charles Nappier Award and the Tillett Trust, and he was under the guidance of Norma Fisher. George was selected to be a Tillett Trust Young Artist in 2017 and is currently being supported by Talent Unlimited where he has been featured as Artist of the Month in August 2019.

His international performances include prestigious halls such as the Philharmonic Hall in Trento, the Mozarteum Concert Hall in Salzburg, the Dôme de Pontoise in France. His UK appearances include concerts at the Wigmore Hall, St. Martin-in-the-field, Yamaha Music London, Charlton House, Lichfield Festival, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Buxton Festival, King’s Lynn Festival, Brunton Theatre, Inverness Town Hall, Ardkinglas Castle, Theatre Clwyd and various other venues. George is also a keen chamber musician, performing regularly with soprano Charlotte Hoather, and with violinist Maria Gîlicel and cellist Jobine Siekman as part of the Chloe Piano Trio.

George had his orchestral debut at the age of 14, with the Moldova Philarmonic Iasi playing Haydn’s D Major Concert. He has since been performing as a soloist with the New Edinburgh Orchestra, the Cambridge Graduate Orchestra, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Chamber Orchestra, Cergy Pontoise Orchestra Paris, The Learig Orchestra from Aberdeen, and Stewart’s Melville College Orchestra.

 Born in Iasi in 1993, he started his musical training when he was six, under the guidance of Silvia Panzariu. He went on attending the Octav Bancila School of Arts, later joining the classes of Raluca Panzariu, Andrei Enoiu-Panzariu, and having private lessons with pianist Iulian Arcadi Trofin. He started going to piano competitions at the age of 8 and has since obtained over 20 prizes in international piano competitions. In 2010, George won the ‘Constantin Silvestri’ Scholarship which allowed him study for one year at the Stewart’s Melville College in Edinburgh. A year later he entered the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he would study for the next six years.

George Todica at St Mary’s-Duality and Transformation

George Todica Master Musician at St Mary’s