ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary

Elisabeth Leonskaya one of the elite trio of Russian women pianists that includes Eliso Virsaladze and Oxana Yablonskaya all now in their Indian summer .They all have something in common that they do not play the piano but the piano plays them .

After a lifetime dedicated to music with humility and mastery music pours from their being as they place their long drawn out arms above the keys allowing the music to be transmitted to us with a simplicity and directness that I can only remember hearing from Kempff and Agosti .

Tonight we were at the Barbican to listen to the last sonatas of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert that Leonskaya transmitted to us with the experience of a lifetime of delving into the very core of their creation . A simplicity and directness that united the audience in this vast Symphony Hall and drew us into a magic world where time stood still as we lived together an extraordinary moment of creativity of which we too were an integral part.

Ending with the slow movement of Mozart’s Sonata ‘Facile’ K 545. As Schnabel famously said ‘ too easy for children but too difficult for adults’.

With Madame Leonskaya it was simply sublime!

A disarming simplicity to her public appearance as she is a servant at the service of the composer. Walking on stage and seated at the piano immediately she opened the D major Mozart with a whispered understated opening of disarming simplicity. She was giving us an architectural view of this movement so often played like a call to arms. She was leading to the remarkable development where Mozart completely transforms this opening into a multitude of varying patterns, from a knotty twine of counterpoints to sounds that seemed like horn calls from one mountain top to another. An extraordinary range of layers of colour and a poetic vision that was simple and radiantly beautiful. Bursting into the recapitulation like rejoining an old friend , with the same whispered ease with which she had opened, adding a meandering coda where Mozart’s final words were this cell like figure that had been the pivot on which all revolved and evolved. Leonskaya showed us the simplicity of Genius without any underling or overstating . It is exactly what I remembered as a student listening to Kempff, the supremely humble Kappelmeister.

A chiselled ‘Adagio’ of luminosity and weight with a disarming simplicity as washes of sound are dispensed with, until a melody of subtle beauty appears and lingers with nostalgia and simple flowing radiance.A gentle jeu perlé of jewel like perfection was thrown into the wind with knowing mastery as this movement came to the gentlest of endings.

A simplicity to the ‘Allegretto’ with its subtle question and answer played always of buoyancy and flowing naturalness. A crystalline clarity and sense of orchestral harmonic outpourings but always returning to the disarming simplicity of the rondo theme.

The opening of Beethoven’s last Sonata was played with imperious strokes not of showmanship but of the exasperation that this sonata must have meant to the composer. Three great declarations played with the minimal of fuss and only ‘forte’ as fortissimo is still to come after this momentous introduction. The final flourishes to these three outburst thrown off with natural ease as she got on quite simply to the next one. It was the clashing dissonances that she was pointing us to, as she gradually found release in the major key with a quite undemonstrative arrival note. It was the following opening motif where she really threw herself fully into the fray, just as she was to do with the tumultuous earth shattering ending of the recapitulation of the Schubert Sonata . The music was allowed to unfold like water boiling at 100 degrees ( as Perlemuter aptly said) but in Leonskaja’s hands it was what was immersed in the water that was of such importance, the rest was mere detail. Her arrival at the development with three simple strokes but it was the prolonged rests in-between that were so overwhelming as we waited with baited breath for Beethoven’s knotty fugato and the final triumphant outpouring of the theme in all its imperious glory. The ending thrown off with nonchalant ease as this was just an introduction to the profound outpouring that was to follow.

‘Adagio molto semplice e cantabile’ flowed with glowing beauty of radiance and timeless simplicity. As though suspended in space each variation was shaped with a flowing beauty and extraordinary inner intensity. The tempo never changing as we were on a planet where the rarified air even after a momentary explosion was of otherworldliness. A beautiful simplicity to the intricate weavings and meanderings as the undercurrent of sounds were ever present . with the bass vibrations . The melodic line eventually allowed to shine with radiance and subtle calm until the final trill where Leonskaja managed to bring a jewel like precision and beauty to this final apparition etched in stone surrounded by etherial unworldly sounds . That Beethoven had these sounds in his head and could write them down for posterity was miraculous as he reached for his star with a whispered farewell.

I was reminded today of Agosti playing this Sonata in Rome on one of the rare occasions that we managed to persuade him to leave the privacy of his studio in Siena and share his discoveries with a larger world. No rhetoric or showmanship but allowing the music to unfold with disarming simplicity delving ever more deeply into the genial mind of a composer who could convey so much with so little.

The opening of Schubert’s B flat sonata like the opening of Beethoven 4 is where the whole scene is set in an opening of disarming simplicity .To come on stage and open with such a statement with ease and naturalness as though it had begun already before you sat down is the ideal that all pianists strive for…….and rarely succeed! With Leonskaja, like everything she did, it was with a naturalness and ease as she opened her arms to caress the keys. A whispered radiance to this opening song of destiny with the deep rumble in the bass leaving a slight unease. The final rumble with four very clearly pronounced notes in the bass took us to a mellifluous outpouring of simple beauty and the generous return of the opening theme. Leading to an impulsive outcry where Leonskaja very subtly slowed the tempo for the etherial duet between the voices that followed. A simple ländler appears on the scene with a ‘joie de vivre’ of infectious jeu perlé leading to a flourish thrown off with apparent gentle dismissal ( as in the opening Beethoven) before the ominous menace of the crucial bars of the repeat before the ritornello. Ever more menacing as Leonskaja like a mad woman threw herself into the keys with demanding authority of overwhelming effect. The gentle return of the opening was like a relief from this sudden vision of madness.

The ‘Andante sostenuto’ was a lesson for all would be pianists as the relaxed waving of arms just painted a beautiful background to the disarming simplicity of the melodic line that was captured within. The gentle chorale in A major was played with whispered understatement where Leonskaja allowed the beauty of the music to speak without any underlining. The return of the opening was even more poignant as Leonskaja added even more subtle detail to the landscape that she was painting in sound.

The ‘Scherzo’ played pianissimo with a radiance and simplicity as it was allowed to sing its song without any fuss, just unwinding with natural exuberance. Schubert’s bumps in the night ‘fzp’ in the Trio were played not with sharpness but with a fullness of sonority that did not disturb the melodic line but like the trill at the opening made one realise that all was not well with the world.

An imperious ‘G’ played with luminosity announced the simple outpouring of the ‘Allegro’ that Leonskaya played with generous ease. Bursting into a long mellifluous outpouring that she allowed to flow across the keys with radiance and a wonderful sense of balance where the melodic line emerged from the inner harmonies that were unfolding. ‘Fortissimo’ in Schubert is all too rare and when it occurs Leonskaja knows he means business and threw her whole body into these passionate outpourings that suddenly erupt, but are short lived as they dissolve as fast as they arrive, ending in the simplicity of a lilting dance spread over the entire keyboard with disarming ease. Suddenly a question mark as the theme is interrupted and our pivotal G turns to G flat and then F before resolving on G and a coda off lightweight brilliance played with extraordinary clarity in duplets up to the final two simple chords.

The slow movement from Mozart’s Sonata Facile just made us wonder why we do not hear such disarming simplicity and mastery on this stage more often. It can remind us that all the world is a stage and the men and women merely players, a lesson so desperately needed these days where quantity takes precendence over quality!

Elisabeth Leonskaja at the Wigmore hall A great lesson of humility generosity and mastery

Oxana Yablonskaya the return of La Regina, a sparkling jewel in the crown of Trapani

Elisso Virsaladze in Latina “Homage to Riccardo Cerocchi “

I have heard Mariamna play many times over the past year as she prepared for her Master’s Degree at the Royal College of Music under its Head of Keyboard director, Vanessa Latarche. I have heard her play many works including those that she played today which you can read more fully about in the links below. But amazingly in record temperatures she rose to new heights with a recital of pianistic and stylistic perfection.

I remember her playing the Bach in a masterclass at the RCM and she asked me my opinion of her playing as she had been confused by conflicting influences. I told her that there was no right or wrong way to play Bach but it must convince and convey the message within the notes. Should one play authentcally on an instrument that Bach would not have known in his time or should one take advantage of all the possibilities of colour and power that a modern instrument could provide? There is a way to decide and that is with a knowledge of style which allows natural musicianship and individuality, space to bring the notes to life.

Bach’s music is based on the song and the dance which is the way of Angela Hewitt ,Tatyana Nikolaeva or Andras Schiff . But there is also the school of Rosalyn Tureck , known as the High Priestess of Bach because of the monumental rock like solidity of her playing. But at the base of all interpretations is faithfulness to the composers markings and above all a sense of communication of total conviction. Anyone who saw Rosalyn Tureck bouncing on the seat in the Gigue from the First Partita as I did on the stage of the RCM when she gave a memorable lecture on the interpretation of Bach would question the so called ‘etiquette’ that is added to performers of note.

And so it was today that Mariamna played Bach’s beautiful First Partita with a radiance and beauty as she allowed the Prelude to unfold with pastoral ease. A beautiful fluidity to the ‘Allemande’ which she also brought to the ‘Courante’ where her lightweight non legato was shared with legato counterpoints of jewel like brilliance. The ‘Sarabande’ was played with timeless wonder and poignant beauty leading to the Minuet 1 of graceful delicacy with teasing ornaments added with great taste. The Minuet 2 was played with subdued colour but with ornaments of crystalline clarity with a joyous sweep into the return of the first Minuet. She brought a refined brilliance to the Gigue which she played with exhilaration and refined exuberance. This is one of Bach’s most perfect works and was played with elegance, intelligence and beauty.

A rarity in the concert hall these days are the 32 Variations in C minor where one is more likely to hear the 33 Diabelli Variations, one of Beethoven’s last works for the piano. Beethoven was not happy with the C minor variations and it was not published in his lifetime, but there are some remarkable performances by Emil Gilels, Annie Fischer and Murray Perahia that can testify to the validity of this underrated work. It is made up of 32 mostly technically based variations that if played as exercises can become rather obvious and boring. But if played with poetic fantasy and a sense of architectural shape it can become a miniature tone poem of remarkable beauty. From the very first imperious opening Mariamna played with authority but also a very sensitive sense of balance bringing a beauty and shape to this dramatic C minor theme . The variations unfolded with great contrasts between the lyrical and rhythmic, a remarkable sensitivity and masterly use of the pedals allowed the work to reach the swirling mysterious brilliance of the final variation.

The two Scherzi I have heard Mariamna play recently but today I heard the culmination of a work in progress . She brought an aristocratic brilliance to these two works but at the same time a poetic timeless beauty that allowed Chopin’s Bel Canto to soar and breathe with poetic mastery . A lightweight ‘jeu perlé’ to the Fourth with flights of fantasy of glowing brilliance with refined playing allied to moments of breathtaking lyricism. She brought a languid beauty to the central episode of both Scherzi where her sense of rubato and architectural shaping brought a noble strength to some of Chopin’s most beautiful melodies. A breathtaking brilliance to end both of the Scherzi but always with masterly control and a magisterial sense of balance which meant the sound never became hard or percussive but full of sumptuous rich Philadelphian sounds.

Opening Liszt’s 12th Rhapsody with two hands as she gave an imperious opening to one of Liszt’s most popular works. Dissolving into a tenor melody of stylistic beauty as she began to produce a subtle virtuosity of beguiling mastery with a palette of colour and sounds that were of another age. A final outpouring of grandeur and masterly authority brought this recital to an exhilarating end.

On the hottest day of the year and in a beautiful floor length gown one might have been forgiven if she did not feel able to offer more. But Mariamna is a real professional and was delighted to be able to share her discoveries just a little longer with a church full of people who preferred to sit indoors listening to music rather than outdoors listening to the traffic! The slow movement from Schumann’s G minor Sonata op 22 was played with whispered radiance and beauty and was a wonderful way to end an hour of magical music making from an artist to watch out for.

Born in 2001 into a musical family, Mariamna Sherling has emerged as one of the most compelling young pianists of her generation. Her musical formation began in Moscow, where she studied at the Gnessin School of Music, before continuing her education at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating under the guidance of the renowned pianist and pedagogue Natalia Trull. She is currently based in London, where she is completing a Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music, studying with Vanessa Latarche, one of the UK’s most respected piano professors. 

Sherling’s international career took shape at an early age. In 2014, she attracted attention with her victory at the Young Virtuosos Competition in Sofia, marking the beginning of a series of major international successes. These included first prizes at the George Gershwin International Piano Competition in New York in 2015, followed by further top awards at the Carl Maria von Weber International Piano Competition in Dresden and the Lyon International Piano Competition in 2021. Her artistic profile has continued to deepen through prizes and distinctions at the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, the Santa Cecilia International Piano Competition in Porto, and the Piano Competition for Composers of Jewish Heritage in Hannover. Most recently, she has been recognised at the Bach Competition in Leipzig and the Campillos International Piano Competition in 2025. 

Alongside her competition successes, Sherling maintains an active and expanding performance career. She has appeared as a soloist with a wide range of orchestras and has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Bashmet, Rory Macdonald, Natalia Stets, Sergei Stadler, Osvaldo Ferreira and Nayden Todorov. Her orchestral engagements have included performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen, the Orquestra Filarmónica Portuguesa and the Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto. 

Her artistic development is supported by a number of prestigious awards and scholarships, including the Christopher Hogwood Scholarship, the Steinway Scholarship, support from the Drake Calleja Trust and the Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation. Together, these honours affirm her position as an emerging artist of distinction on the international concert stage. 

Mariamna Sherling at Bechstein Hall Kissed by the Gods with beauty and poetic artistry

Mariamna Sherling Graduation Recital ‘ A scintillating voyage of discovery ‘

Mariamna Sherling at Steinway & Sons for the Keyboard Trust playing of fearless brilliance and burning authority

More masterly playing from Angela Hewitt on the eve her Trasimeno Music Festival amazingly in it’s twenty first year. Angela who was awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal in 2020 considers the Wigmore as her second home playing many time each year to her adoring public, having made her debut at the Hall over 40 years ago and has given well over 80 performances since. She turns her refined artistry to the joy and wonder of works from the heart of her repertoire, crowned with the awe-inspiring expressive shifts of Bach’s Second Partita.

Beginning with Mozart Sonata in B flat K 570 that she played with crystalline clarity and refined phrasing of radiant simplicity and ‘joie de vivre’. Playing of great weight with leisurely discreet ornamentation on the repeat. An authoritative full stop as the operatic second subject took centre stage with radiant beauty. There was a playful question and answer of the opening theme before the whispered measure elegance of the recapitulation. The Adagio was played with a string quartet richness of sound of poignant beauty with the mellifluous central episode played with disarming simplicity and radiance. If the Allegretto seemed a little slow it was because it was with such infectious buoyancy where everything was played with measured elegance and extraordinary clarity. A scrupulous attention to Mozart’s few markings led to a very bold ending of great effect.

A rich palette of sounds with a sense of timeless wonder as the ‘Pastoral Sonata’ was allowed to unwind with simplicity and luxuriant beauty. Building to a climax of Beethovenian outbursts that Angela played with dynamic drive and imperious authority dissolving always into this scenario of peace and pastoral simplicity. An ‘Andante’ that was a lyrical outpouring with its question and answer central episode played so eloquently, maintaining the same tempo as the Andante opening, which gave great strength to the architectural shape of a movement that Beethoven was particularly fond of. A beautiful meandering variant of the opening was allowed to flow across the keys with undulating insinuation where Angela’s scrupulous attention to Beethoven’s indications dissolved into a coda of remarkable originality and exquisite beauty. A whispered opening to the ‘Scherzo’ contrasted with Beethoven’s sudden unexpected outbursts and gave great energy to this extraordinarily capricious movement . Angela brought a grace and lilting beauty to the Rondo. Played with extraordinary clarity building in intensity with knotty counterpoints before returning to the gently ornamented rondo theme. The coda was played with extraordinary energy and a remarkable ‘fingerfertigkeit’ of brilliance and exhilaration.

Angela even chose another early Beethoven Sonata as an encore, playing the slow movement of the ‘Pathétique’ op 13 with the same song and dance elements that illuminated her masterly playing with remarkable freshness and originality. It is the same song and dance elements that Angela is renowned for with her Bach performances which are played with a touching simplicity and natural rhythmic impulse. This Agagio cantabile was not only remarkable for the beauty and simplicity of her phrasing but also the contrast she brought to the central episode that was of orchestral conception as the cellos conversed with the violins before the return of the Adagio with the undulating violas carrying us forward on wings of song.

As Angela had said in her brief Green Room interview she had listened to her recording of the Schubert Waltzes just to make sure that they were in fact danceable, as Angela as a child had also been trained as a dancer. And in fact they were twelve miniatures of contrasting images of insinuation, nobility, nostalgia and exuberance played with a palette of colours that brought each one exquisitely to life.

In Haydn’s own words he had written the Fantasia or Capriccio in C :’ In a moment of great good humour I have completed a new Capriccio  for fortepiano, whose taste, singularity and special construction cannot fail to receive approval from connoisseurs and amateurs alike. In a single movement, rather long, but not particularly difficult.” It is based on the Austrian folk song D’ Bäurin hat d’Katz verlor’n (“The farmer’s wife has lost her cat”) and Angela imbued it with spontaneity and hi jinx of refined exuberance where her self identification brought it vividly to life with an infectious ‘joie de vivre’.

Ending with Bach’s Partita n. 2 in C minor BWV 826 as she said it finishes with such a sense of exhilaration that rather than opening the recital she had decided to close her recital with a work that she has played many times in this very hall . The six movements Sinfonia Grave adagio – Andante, Allemande ,Courante, Sarabande ,Rondeaux and Capriccio were all imbued with the song and the dance . These were not monuments to be admired from a distance but works of compelling rhythmic energy with moments of poignant beauty all played with a clarity and mastery that Angela is renowned for. She had in fact taken her Bach Oddyssey, born at the Wigmore Hall, on a highly acclaimed world tour that has consolidated her position as one of the finest Bach players of her time.

Angela Hewitt An inspired display of hope from despair moves and exults at the Wigmore Hall

Angela Hewitt in Haslemere ‘A radiant light shining brightly’

Angela Hewitt – The 100th Anniversary season of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena.Bach shining brightly with intelligence,ravishing beauty ……and wit.

Angela Hewitt casts her spell over Rome

Angela Hewitt for the glory of Bach.The pinnacle of pianistic perfection

Angela Hewitt at the RCM a light of radiance and simplicity

‘Magic moments ‘ on the Spada farm where beauty music and friendship are linked on wings of song. Thanks to Massimo Spada and his ever growing family who together with Mario Montore and the young artists from their Avos Project kept us spellbound on this balmy night on the eve of the Giornata della Musica.

Guided with charm , extraordinary sensitivity and intelligence by Gaia Vazzoler as she lead us through a world of Music and Nature.

Man may change but nature remains a constant presence and consolation as we were guided from prophetic words to the magic world of music.

All this with tasting of the typical local produce between these two worlds

Worlds that were illuminated by the ‘Pines of Rome ‘ in the transcription by Respighi himself and played by Francesco Bravi and Adriano Leonardo Scapicchi in a consolidated duo playing as one. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/06/17/bravi-scapicchi-duo-at-st-marys-seminating-the-infernal-heat-of-the-eternal-city/

Schubert Lieder superbly sung by Sylvia Schwartz with her refined duo partner Mario Montore .

Of course such a feast needs celebrating and it was Saint -Saëns with his Zoological Fantasy that provided the fun and games for nine expert soloists guided from the piano by Massimo Spada.

Donkeys braying, pianists annoying , a ravishing swan swanning it in this balmy atmosphere, elephants awkwardly dancing the can can and even a cuckoo appearing unexpectedly from the window as she looked on with a smile on her face .

But it was the final parade where there was a free for all of exhilaration and masterly playing that by overwhelming demand had to be repeated .

Even Beatrice Rana had put Margherita to bed and came to join in the fun led by her Massimo !

Twilight had turned to night and it was time to leave this paradise uplifted as we ventured back to the Eternal City just 50 miles down the road.

‘Onde Sonore’ by Giancarlino Benedetti Corcos inspired by tonight’s works

Can it really be five years since I last ventured into these parts ?

Rana and Spada – The crossing of swords with sublime music making in Viterbo

Bravi- Scapicchi – Some Enchanted Evening- A duo playing as one with artistry and mastery.

Tamila I remember playing Prokofiev second concerto with the local orchestra in Ealing when she was studying in the UK. Playing of technical mastery that could only have been acquired from her very early training at the Moscow Conservatory. Now with many qualifications to her name from illustrious institutions including the Royal College in London and Bern University she has completed her studies with a Doctorate from the Northwestern University in America. She is based now in Chicago and St Mary’s Perivale were happy to create a special date for her on this flying visit.

Today she was playing just two masterworks by Schubert and Schumann with Ravel’s ravishing Jeux d’eau offered as an encore. Playing of simplicity and beauty where Tamila allowed the music to unfold with the natural radiance and beauty of a true musician.

The first of Schubert’s early Impromptus opened with an imperious chord that immediately dissolved into a melody of simple purity and innocence. A question and answer as demanding chords replied to the beseeching innocence of this simple voice. Bursting into one of Schubert’s mellifluous melodic outpourings of a simple melody accompanied by a flowing left hand figure, with a glistening duet between two voices of Viennese charm. Building to a tumultuous climax that Tamila played with controlled passion and searing intensity. A short lived storm as the lone voice of the opening returned with the simple chime of a bell, as this miniature tone poem dissolved into the distance. The second Impromptu opened with streams of undulating notes that Tamila played with a jeu perlé of brilliance and beauty. Washes of sound that gradually built to a savage dance of swirling brilliance before returning to the opening of serenity and undulating beauty. The dance erupting once more at the end with even more intensity and fury bringing this seemingly innocent stream of sounds to a dramatic ending of great exhilaration. The G flat Impromptu is a melody of great beauty that Schubert floats on a florid accompaniment and that Tamila played with simple radiance and beauty. Shaping the melodic line with great intensity and at times disarming simplicity allowing the music to float on wings of song with aristocratic persuasion . The final Impromptu was where the melodic line was played surrounded by embellishments of glistening beauty. A central episode played with great intensity on a pulsating bed of passionately vibrating chords before returning to the opening of disarming simplicity with the embellishments becoming ever more present.

The second work was the series of 18 dances that Schumann penned in a moment of masterly inspiration . They are amongst the most beautiful things that he was to write in this period of a continual outpouring of pianistic masterpieces from op 1 to op 26. Tamila played them with the same simplicity and poetic beauty that she had brought to Schubert. There was a clarity to the opening where her mastery of the pedal allowed for a range of sounds from a lightweight jeu perlé to the glistening flowering of the melodic line. A sense of improvisation of flowing beauty and simplicity that was capricious and seductive – a potent combination indeed! A glowing beauty to the melodic line as Eusebius was left to dream with timeless wonder. Florestan at this point bouncing onto the scene with impish good humour looking back to certain ‘butterflies’ of yore as they were allowed to invade this capricious parade. A passionate outpouring followed, played with dynamic drive before Eusebius entered with an ever more beguiling curiosity that Tamila played with teasing ambiguity. Tamila showed all her technical mastery with a brilliantly light left hand of driving rhythmic persuasion as syncopations almost managed to slow down this continual chattering of knotty twine adding a coda of brilliant etherial energy. Eusebius entered again with playing of glowing mellifluous beauty where Tamila allowed the music to unfold with timeless beauty. A cat and mouse game that Tamila played with lightweight brilliance and great rhythmic intensity. A swirling energy of Circus fun unwound with impertinent insistence before its capricious curtailing. An almost Brahmsian outpouring to the ‘Ballade’ of the tenth dance was played with sumptuous rich sounds and an extraordinary sense of architectural shape. Eusebius again with Tamila’s wise words of disarming simplicity where capricious leaps were played with mastery and infectious charm. A romantic outpouring of chordal declamations was played with passionate intensity with a beautiful central chorale that Tamila filled with glorious rich sounds. The fourteenth dance is one of Schumann’s most beautiful creations and Tamila played it with a crystalline purity of seamless ravishment. Interrupted by deliberately placed chords bursting into a glorious passionate wave of sounds on which was floated a melodic line of growing intensity. A hesitant capricious outpouring of lightweight chords that Tamila played with clumsy and lightweight brilliance as they were allowed to sink into the epilogue of magical etherial sounds. Schumann looking back with nostalgia remembering the moments we had shared together of past beauty. Soon shaken out of this indolence by a passionate outpouring of ever more intensity that was short lived as it dissolved into a whisper leaving the final delicate waltz played with extraordinary subtlety by Tamila as the bass struck midnight and it was time to pull a curtain over such heartrending beauty.

A remarkable performance by Tamila where musical intelligence and technical mastery were combined with poetic fantasy with an extraordinary kaleidoscope of sounds.

Ravel’s Jeux d’eau was a wonderful way to finish this hour of magic that Tamila had brought to Perivale from Chicago . Streams of beautiful sounds were allowed to flow from Tamila’s masterly fingers with glowing luminosity and ravishing poetic beauty.

Award-winning pianist Tamila Salimdjanova has been described as “a veritable tour de force” by Serenade Magazine. She gained international recognition after winning both First Prize and the Audience Award at the BNDES International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro. Her additional honors include top prizes at the Birmingham International Piano Competition, Massarosa International Piano Competition, Lagny-sur-Marne International Piano Competition, Animato International Piano Competition, Campillos International Piano Competition, and Virtualoso Piano Cleveland. She was also a semifinalist at the Arthur Rubinstein, Leeds, and Montreal International Piano Competitions. 

Her solo engagements have taken her to major international festivals and venues including the Radio France Festival in Montpellier, Pianos-Folies du Touquet, and Festival de Inverno Campos do Jordão, with performances at Salle Cortot, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Sala São Paulo, Bern Casino, Basel Casino, San Francisco Symphony Davies Hall, and Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, among others. 

Ms. Salimdjanova made her orchestral debut at age nine with the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto K.450. Since then, she has appeared with orchestras including the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica da Bahia, Morocco Philharmonic Orchestra, Thames Chamber Orchestra, and Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra. 

A passionate chamber musician, she frequently collaborates with distinguished artists and regularly performs with her violinist brother, Askar Salimdjanov. She is currently Artist in Residence of the Nova Linea Musica concert series in Chicago. 

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, into a distinguished musical family, Ms. Salimdjanova began her studies at the Uspensky Lyceum and continued her education at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Royal College of Music, Bern University of the Arts, and Northwestern University, where she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree.

Robert McDuffie brings his Rome Chamber Music Festival back to the Eternal City in the beautiful month of June, that he has been doing since he first fell in love with the city in 2003. Now firmly established since 2022 in the historic Teatro Argentina McDuffie brings an eclectic choice of repertoire where established artists and exceptional emerging performers join forces to fill this noble edifice with music once more .

The historic Teatro Argentina that has stood in the centre of Rome since 1732 and hosted the premiere of the Barber of Seville in 1816 and the concerts of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia for a period after Mussolini had demolished the Augusteo to bring to light the Mausoleum on which it had arisen.

An eclectic choice of music that saw the first night presenting two works by Vivaldi and Handel that had received their premieres in Rome.

Vivaldi’s Sinfonia in C was first performed in 1724 at the nearby Teatro Capranica and the cantata by Handel Aminta e Fillide was written for the Marquis Ruspoli ‘s Arcadian Academy in 1707. There were no opportunities of writing opera in that period and so the cantata form flourished with Handel writing a secular cantata each week for Ruspoli’s outdoor meetings held during his soggiorn in the Eternal City from 1707 to 1710.

Another work written in 1936 by Samuel Barber whilst on a scholarship at the American Academy in Rome was his only string quartet. Its first performance in December that year was at the American Academy of Villa Medici . The slow movement was subsequently orchestrated for string orchestra and as the Adagio for strings was launched to fame by Toscanini in 1938 with his NBC Symphony Orchestra.

All this had been prepared by McDuffie but first he had taken up his violin and opened the festival with Saint-Saëns Fantaisie for Violin and Harp . As an old man Saint -Saëns wrote it whilst touring the Mediterranean for the Eissler sisters, receiving its premiere though in London’s Aeolian Hall on July 3rd 1907 .

Mc Duffie and Virginia Vignera playing without the score as the music wove in and out in an extraordinary cat and mouse performance showing us what chamber music playing is really about .

Superb chamber music playing followed with the Barber Quartet played by four players that played as one, such was their mutual anticipation and mastery . After the interval a large group gathered around David Belkovski’s harpsichord as he drove this magnificent ensemble to heights of refined and at times passionate music making .

Maddalena De Biasi and Lilliana Zolotoukhina were the two sopranos in the Handel Cantata who added great theatricality to their extraordinary wide ranging tessitura.

Welcome back to Rome ……Robert McDuffie we have missed you.

And a second evening full of surprises and more extraordinary masterly performances.

Villa Lobos ‘Bachianas brasileiras’ with the radiant beauty of Silvia Porcellini’s insinuatingly suggestive voice of velvet richness accompanied by eight ‘cellos Followed by a string octet playing Bruch’s last work completed just a few months before his death in 1920.The original manuscript passed from Bruch’s heirs to Rudolf Eichmann in 1938 and only reappeared in 1986 in America and was eventually donated in 1996 to the Austrian National Library making this masterwork available to the public for the first time. Masterly playing of passionate conviction and radiant beauty gave birth to a work that has been lost for too long.

Roma Chamber Music Festival 2024 The Eternal city resounds to the sound of music

The final work was Brahms Piano Quartet in A op 26. A long complicated work that these fine players together with Marta Puig at the piano held the audience spellbound and brought the second evening of sumptuous music making to a radiant close.

ROME CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL- Superb music making returns to Teatro Argentina

Derek Wang A master story teller of passion and beauty

Graduation recital day for four quite considerable artists who receive their final accolade from the historic Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome

As their remarkable mentor Benedetto Lupo says ‘ each one must now find his own way ‘ .

And what better training than from an artist of a rare humanity and sensibility and how lucky they are to have uncovered with him the first steps of a very difficult career in the music profession .

Four superb recitals justly all awarded very high marks and one even given full marks and honorary mention.

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko already Gold medal winner of Leeds and Montreal decided he wanted to delve deeper in the score and become not just top of the class but an artist that like vintage wine would mature with age. Today I have never seen Jaeden give so much of himself, as did Federico Pische.

I had heard Federico three years ago and today I heard a true artist who listens to himself and has found his own very original way of swimming horizontally in sound .

The sounds he produced in Rameau even had Mauro Buccitti purring as this new Steinway D had proven that the choice of Benedetto Lupo and Andrea Lucchesini really deserved the accolade of the ‘L.L Steinway’ ( the initials of these two remarkable artists )

Pier Carmine Garzillo gave an extraordinarily intelligent performance of the Liszt B minor Sonata . Playing of fearless authority but above all of a musician following scrupulously Liszt’s very precise instructions. One or two additions of an odd bass octave or a double handed trill at the recapitulation turned out not to be arbitrary showmanship but as he told me afterwards were the express wishes of the composer as handed down to a pupil.Thanks to Maestro Garzillo from the class of Francesco Nicolosi, for this very interesting documentation.

Leslie Howard replied to my curiosity like this : ‘Horowitz had similar bad taste. These things were not done with any kind of imprimatur from the composer I think we can be quite sure that Bülow didn’t mess with the score, and even Sauer only made a few suggestions that may be safely discarded!’

I had studied the Sonata with Sidney Harrison ( winning the coveted Liszt Scholarship at the Royal Academy as a teenager ) but had also studied it later with Agosti ( Busoni) and Perlemuter ( Cortot) but had not been aware of this edition until today. What a hive of knowledge is shared amongst these very talented young musicians delving ever deeper into the mystery of Genius.

In fact today we not only heard masterly technicians but much more importantly master musicians of integrity and humility in front of the scores handed down to us by genial composers. We live in an age of quantity rather than quality. Of showmanship rather than interpretation. Here at the Accademia there is an air of discovery of delving deeply into the score to discover the real meaning behind the notes as bequeathed to us. Andras Schiff simply exclaims that a lifetime is not enough to discover the real meaning in the repertoire he chooses to dedicate himself to.

Benedetto Lupo points these young artists on the path of a voyage of discovery that will last a lifetime. The principles of humility and integrity of a great interpreter :’ Je sens , je joue, je trasmet ‘ was the title of an interview in Le Monde de la Musique and together with Rubinstein’s famous plea it underlines the principles of a true artist. https://youtu.be/gex0sOR7XZ0.

The world of an artist is unique where music can speak louder than words even if Senancour came close with ‘Obermann’, as Liszt appreciated. But it needs a special key to unlock the fantasy, intelligence and dedication that Benedetto has in his hands ready to share with his young aspiring colleagues.

‘What would I?  What am I?  What must I ask of Nature?….Every cause is invisible, every aim deceptive; every form changes, all continuance comes to an end….I feel, I exist simply to be the prey of untamable desires, to be besotted by the spell of a fantastic world, and to stand aghast at its dazzling falsity.‘ Senancour.

Nowhere more was this evident than in the eclectic choice of Federico Manca with Berg, Vine and Prokofiev Sonatas . Berg’s knotty twine given a path that illuminated and intensified a masterpiece so often allowed to meander instead of showing its real face . The set piece by Stojanov, a Bulgarian composer almost unknown, was a work that lent itself to being a preface to Prokofiev’s Eighth sonata that is a great song to humanity and the last of the War Trilogy of Sonatas .

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko at the Wigmore Hall with Mastery and poetic fantasy

Federico Pische The authority and integrity of a young artist

Lupo reigns at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia – If music be the food of love ……..this is the place for me

Benedetto Lupo ‘Il Re di Roma taming his young Lions with mastery, poetry and above all humanity’

Lupo/Gatti in Florence Lift up your hearts

I have heard Andrzej play many times but rarely Beethoven, so it was a real revelation to hear the dynamic drive and fluidity of this early op 10 n.1 Sonata. The first of three early sonatas dedicated to his teacher Haydn. In fact they take the form inherited from his mentor and begin to transform it into something ever more intense emotionally. The third of this set is in particular a revelation for the long very emotionally generated slow movement. This first Sonata is much simpler but is imbued with the genius of Beethoven where the simplicity of the ‘Adagio’ like the second piano concerto, has the same simplicity and radiance as Mozart.The outer movements though are imbued with the irascible energy and startling contrast in dynamic outbursts that are so much part of Beethoven’s genial character. Andrzej played the opening ‘Allegro’ with a vitality and energy of exhilarating daring with ornaments that were like highly wound springs. A chiselled beauty to the ‘Adagio’ with its continual mellifluous outpouring of Mozartian simplicity and with a ravishingly whispered coda. He brought an urgency to the ‘Prestissimo’ that he played with sparkling brilliance and great clarity.

Debussy’s second book of Images are touched by an etherial magic that is missing in the first book which is more earthbound. It gave Andrzej the opportunity to open the door to his kaleidoscopic palette of sounds and to reveal even more the poetic soul of a true artist who is listening to the sounds that he is shaping. There was a luminosity and glowing beauty with washes of sound as the bells are heard with the nostalgic radiance of a faded postcard. A crystalline clarity as Andrzej illuminated the entire keyboard with the bells heard with ever more glowing insistence, creating the atmosphere for a beautifully subtle ending. A simple purity to the sound as the ruins of the Temple were surrounded by magic rays.A wonderful range of sounds including the glow of an Indonesian gamelan that surround this vision that Andrzej described with beautiful florid arm movements of disarming simplicity. He gave us a final chiselled vision of these monumental remains as they were lit by passing rays from the light of the moon. ‘Poissons d’or’ had probably been inspired by an image of a golden fish in Chinese lacquer artwork or embroidery as Poissons rouge are the Goldfish in a bowl. A beautifully shaped melodic line was etched out over a stream of undulating notes as these fish seemed to flit across the keys with improvised grace. A passionate climax was of exhilarating liberation and Andrzej brought a remarkable clarity to the intricate final cadenza that dissolved into a whisper.

Andrzej bought a great sense of drama to Liszt’s ‘Dante’ Sonata allowing the story to unfold with a mastery of searing beauty. A wide range of sounds, but it was silence that spoke as poignantly as the sounds. Playing of aristocratic authority but also of ravishing beauty as feats of technical bravura and showmanship were contrasted with a ravishing whispered radiance of emotional intensity. Here was a great personality that could allow the music to breathe and speak with a voice of passion and consolation.

A wonderful sense of improvised freedom marked the opening of Chopin’s Polonaise – Fantaisie where the opening chords were played with sumptuous beauty as they were allowed to reverberate over the entire keyboard with just one single arm movement, allowing the left hand to add the final note with timeless ease. The Polonaise took flight with passion and grandeur as the central episode was allowed to unwind with subtle freedom and expressive intensity. The build up to the final triumphant outpouring was played with aristocratic control , but the remarkable thing about Andrzej’s playing is the beauty of sound even in the most exhilarating passages. It is never hard but seems to grow in beauty from the bass that gives an anchor to the freedom and fluidity of his playing. His Chopin playing, in particular , is exactly of the freedom that Chopin describes as being with the roots of the tree deeply embedded in the ground but the branches free to move naturally above.

It was this freedom and sense of style that brought to life the ‘Grande valse brillante’ op 18 which Andrzej bravely offered as an encore after his ‘ tour de force ‘ of both books of Brahms Paganini Variations.

Both books of Brahms Paganini Variations requires stamina and technical mastery as each of the variations has a technical problem to be resolved. Transcendentally complex they may be with a wide range of problems from complicated rhythmic difficulties and hair raising passages requiring great agility with octaves that are both imperious and intricate all played with a dynamic rhythmic energy. The variations are linked by moments of expansive sensual beauty of sumptuously rich sounds of an elegance where even a simple dance is elaborated with octave glissandi to be played with simplicity and lightness. All the difficulties are incorporated into a whole of architectural shape creating two great movements separated only by the repeat of Paganini’s theme. Andrzej played with a sumptuous beauty where the actual difficulties disappeared as we were only made aware of the continual outpouring of music that was exciting, expressive and at times seductive. An overall architectural shape that united these two blocks that had been inspired by the 24th Caprice for solo violin by Nicolò Paganini, the greatest showman the world has ever known. Brahms had been inspired too to transcribe the famous Chaconne by Bach from solo violin to the piano, choosing the left hand alone that in some way created the same wonder that Bach had created for single violin. A masterly performance by Andrzej where one was swept away by the passionate intensity and seductive beauty of his playing and any slight blemishes were of no significance when one is in the hands of a musician who can show us the great architectural line of a work of such transcendental complexity.

Andrzej Wiercinski studied with Professor Anna Jastrzebska-Quinn at the Zenon Brzewski Secondary School of Music in Warsaw (2010–2014), and he graduated with honors in 2019 from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice in the piano class of Professor Wojciech Switala. In 2020, he completed postgraduate studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg under the guidance of Professor Pavel Gililov. In 2024, he graduated with honors from the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied as a scholarship holder under the mentorship of renowned pianist Norma Fisher. He was a semifinalist of the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. In 2019, he won the third prize at the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, and in 2022, he won the third prize at the American International Piano Competition Ignacy Jan Paderewski in Los Angeles, as well as the Grand Prix of the “Red Maple Music Competition” in Toronto. He has won numerous awards at other prestigious national and international piano competitions, including: the first prize at the “Golden Ring” International Chopin Competition in Slovenia, the first prize at the International Chopin Competition in Budapest, the first prize at the “Masters Neapolitan Piano Competition” in Naples, the Gold Medal at the First International Music Competition in Vienna, first place at the International Piano Competition in Saint-Priest, France, along with several special awards, including a record contract with KNS Classical and a European concert tour, the Silver Medal at the Berlin International Music Competition, and an Honorary Prize at the Paris International Music Competition. 

Andrzej Wiercinski regularly performs recitals in most European countries and around the world, including in the United Arab Emirates, where he represented Poland at the World Expo in Dubai. He also performed in the Theatre of Digital Art (TODA) in Dubai. His concerts have taken place in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, China, and Japan. His cooperation with KAWAI and Japan Arts has resulted in several tours in Asia. In 2015, during an official visit of the President of the Republic of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, to Japan, he performed a Chopin Recital in Tokyo, attended by, among others, Her Imperial Highness Princess Masako Owada of Japan. He has also collaborated with prestigious orchestras such as the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck Orchestra, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, and the Warsaw National Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, under the auspices of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, he released an album with solo piano works by Fryderyk Chopin, Domenico Scarlatti, and Robert Schumann.

Andrzej Wierciński in Perivale True heir to the Golden Age of piano playing

Andrzej Wierciński ‘The birth of a great artist’

Andrzej Wiercinski at Hatchlands – The Cobbe Collection Trust.A great pianist on a wondrous voyage of discovery

Geoff Cox – A celebration The Wiercinski brothers amaze delight and rejoice

Andrzej Wiercinski at La Mortella Ischia The William Walton Foundation – Refined artistry and musical intelligence in Paradise

Andrzej Wierciński at the Chopin Society UK ‘A walk to the Paradise Garden’

The return of Martha Noguera to the Eternal city and at the age of 85 she still manages to surprise her audience, more than ever, with her technical mastery and the overwhelming authority of her performances.

Presenting three great works in a new hall especially created for her, just a stone’s throw from the Ghione theatre which had seen her performances in the ‘90’s of cycles of the 32 Sonatas of Beethoven and the complete works of Chopin.

Today she presented just one Beethoven Sonata op 13, Ravel ‘Gaspard de La Nuit’ and the ‘Four Ballades’ of Chopin.

Concluding a short Italian tour that has included Forlì, Sorrento and Capri after which she will return to Buenos Aires where her Festival Chopiniana awaits in the historic Teatro Colon.

In the shadow of the basilica of San Pietro the concert was presented by Angelo Filippo Jannoni Sebastianini with verses by Eugenio Montale and his own very poetic introduction to the programme we were about to hear.

Martha striking fear into the imperious opening of Beethoven’s ‘Pathétique’ with playing of great authority. Bursting into the dynamic drive of the ‘Allegro di molto e con brio’ with a ‘joie de vivre’ as she dialogued with the bass, seemingly chasing each other across the keys before bursting into a unified vibration of burning energy.

The famous ‘Adagio cantabile’ was allowed to flow naturally with simplicity and poignancy finding more depth to the central episode before the return of the opening which she played with even more expression, as Beethoven’s heartbeat becomes ever more fervent. The ‘Rondo’ was played with a driving energy bursting into song with Schubertian lyricism tinged with irascible Beethovenian drive. A very pointed central episode was played almost too seriously bursting with even more energy into streams of notes that were allowed to unwind with burning conviction.

Ravel’s ‘Gaspard de La Nuit’ is a ‘tour de force’ for any pianist where the composer had intentionally written a piece that out shone Balakirev’s notorious Islamey .

It was again Martha’s aristocratic authority and her ability to see the architectural line, no matter how complex the writing that gave such clarity to all she did. From the water nymph ‘Ondine’ where the melodic line was played with chiselled beauty no matter how complex the streams of sound that are being woven into a fluidity of luxuriant waves . There was a freedom as Ravel allows ‘Ondine’ to flutter with splashing delight where the ingenious piano writing could create such flowing beauty. A tumultuous climax anchored to deep bass notes allowed for a sumptuous fullness without hardness as Martha played with ever more passionate intensity. With the water nymph resting on the bank, a lone voice was allowed to echo with a long held pedal that Martha could control with mastery, creating an atmosphere but without clouding the melodic line or shape. A final plunge into these magic waters and ‘ Ondine’ drifted into the distance. ‘Le Gibet’ was played with a relentless tolling of the bell as Martha unveiled this harrowing scene with timeless desolation. Arpeggiating the massive chords adding even more atmosphere to this torrid scene . The bell always tolling, played with masterly control and relentless precision as Martha could combine two sound worlds into one disturbing whole. ‘Scarbo’ ,the impish being that flits from one end of the piano to another and which Ravel purposely penned for only the most accomplished of virtuosi. Martha played with fearless abandon and mastery as the opening repeated notes she played with the left hand as they were merely vibrations of the chord that she played with limpet like menace with the right. Streams of alternate notes between the hands followed in a knotty twine of diabolical invention with driving left hand rhythms creating a pulsating energy before exploding into monumental declamations of romantic outbursts . Coming slowly to rest in the central episode where swirling sounds were played with whispers of beauty but with devilish interruptions striking terror into the cauldron of vibrating energy that Martha was stirring up. Building in intensity with masterly control as Martha launched a fearlessly savage attack on the keys to overwhelming effect, before the impish Scarbo, depleted, was lain breathless before us, with just one glowing whispered chord, as his tail was curtailed in mid air. A remarkable performance of mastery and musical intuition allied to a technical command that would have been the envy of a pianist even half Martha’s age.

An Indian Summer of burning intensity indeed!

Martha has long been a great advocate of the works of Chopin, playing his complete works in a memorable series of recitals a few years ago in Rome and elsewhere.

Today she was happy to present the Four Ballades in performances that demonstrated her aristocratic authority and understanding of Chopin. Not the sickly, effeminate composer of the so called Chopin tradition, but the man of great conviction with the poetic nostalgia of his homeland always in his soul. A genial composer who could create new forms with innovative technical mastery of a piano that now had a sustaining pedal or ‘soul’ as Anton Rubinstein would say.

From the opening notes of the G minor Ballade op 23 there was a scrupulous attention to Chopin’s indications with long lines fearlessly played of etched beauty. Strength, passion and poetic beauty were combined in a miniature tone poem of searing intensity.

Martha brought a flowing beauty of simplicity to the second Ballade op 38, the extraordinary passionate outbursts played with brilliance and astonishing vehemence as a cauldron of sounds was created in a coda of burning intensity. Finishing in a wave of smoke out of which was heard, in the distance, an echo of the simple lilting opening melody. A real Florestan and Eusebius contrast which may be why Chopin dedicated it to his friend and great admirer Robert Schumann.

The third Ballade op 47 is the most pastoral of all four ballades and Martha played it with a flowing simplicity of mellifluous beauty. A continual outpouring even when bursting into flourishes of golden arabesques or bursting into momentary flames of burning intensity. A masterly whispered build up to the final outpouring of joyous exhilaration was concluded with a scale from one end of the keyboard to the other with one fell swoop of Martha’s masterly hand ,with a natural arm movement of a painter drawing his brush over the canvas.

There was a beautifully sedate opening to the fourth Ballade op 52 which together with the Liszt Sonata and Schumann Fantasy are pinnacles of the Romantic piano repertoire. Martha again had seen the long architectural line of what is a theme and variations, but could also see the poetic invention and ravishing beauty of Chopjn’s masterly invention. The last variation, a florid outpouring was played with extraordinary control and musical authority as she built the music to its inevitable climax of brilliance and sumptuous beauty. Five whispered chords were enough to defuse the exhilaration of this triumphant Romantic outpouring before Chopin adds a coda of astonishing difficulty, but also of genial invention, that Martha unravelled with mastery and poetic conviction.

Schumann described Chopin’s Mazurkas as ‘Canons covered in flowers’.

There were no Mazurkas today but there were certainly showers of flowers for Martha, to thank this remarkable artist for her selflessly dedicated performances. By request from an audience member Martha was only too happy to play a piece by a composer she had known and worked with.

Ginastera’s ‘Danza de la Moza Donosa’ was a touching way of concluding a memorable evening of wonderful music making.

Martha Noguera with heroism and artistry igniting the balmy nights of the Eternal City

Martha Noguera in Rome and Sorrento ‘The authority and passionate conviction of a great artist.’

An evening of great music at the National Liberal Club .

Three great works by Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, all in the minor key, which had a great significance as Cristian Sandrin was to show us with humility, simplicity and mastery

It was a concert, all too rare these days, where the performer thought more of the composer than himself.

Arrau springs to mind where three great statements were enough and there was no need for more. A sumptuous feast of music relished by a full hall with an audience who follow their young hero knowing that he can be trusted .

Andras Schiff announces his programmes on the day, as his audience know that he can be trusted to illuminate a repertoire mainly of Viennese classics leaving other repertoire choices to his colleagues.

They both know that a lifetime is not enough to delve into the genius of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or Schubert.

They say that simplicity is next to godliness and it was just this simplicity that Cristian brought to the sonata in A minor K 310, written when Mozart had heard of his mother’s death. One of only two in minor keys, the other being in C minor K 457, a key that Beethoven and also Schubert used as an attention call for something of imperious authority.
Cristian brought a rather brisk tempo to the ‘ Allegro Maestoso’ which allowed the music to unwind with a natural fluidity. His crystalline agility could allow for an undulation of sounds, not of porcelain, but of notes imbued with subtle meaning, as Mozart’s intricate weaving had a story to tell. Beautifully shaped, where even the daringly clashing harmonies of the development were played with whispered insistence of burning intensity. A sound world of purity and of subdued brilliance where the meaning behind the outward glitter was of revelatory insistence. A contrast in dynamics that was never exaggerated but played with intense conviction that gave an overall architectural shape of great significance and was where the presence of Mozart’s mother was always palpable.
A beautifully shaped ‘Andante cantabile’ with simplicity and delicate phrasing, the ornaments played with a crystalline clarity full of expressive meaning. A sense of touch between legato and a tip toed non legato was of quite ravishing refined beauty. The intense ‘sturm und drang’ of the central episode with its declarative phrases that were replied to with beseeching simplicity. A bass melodic line with a heart beating intensely above, but all this dissolved in two bars that Cristian played with subtle knowing style as the ‘Andante’ returned with ever more disarmingly chiselled simplicity.The ‘Presto’ was a whirlwind of whispered sounds – could it be the wind over the grave- the simple entry of the bass on this ocean of intense emotion brought a moment of terror into our lives. All short lived as like Schubert the cloud lifted, and we were transported into the heavenly sounds of the major key that Cristian played without any undue underlining, but allowed the music to speak for itself and was where the Genius of Mozart had written with pain in his heart. Schnabel’s famous saying of Mozart being too difficult for adults but too easy for children was exemplified here as Cristian had found simplicity and innocent purity but with the intelligence and wisdom of a searching musician.

A beautifully mysterious opening to the ‘Tempest’ Sonata where Beethoven’s very precise pedal markings showed the innovative genius of a student of Papà Haydn. Beethoven had inherited the form from his mentor and had continued the evolution not only of adding much more expression, as exemplified by the slow movements of his early sonatas op 3 n.2, op 7 and op 10 n. 3, but also experimenting with sounds that could be produced by the pedal, that was to revolutionise the keyboard instruments of the day. This opening pedal created a magical effect as it was to do later in this movement in the recitativi that interrupt the recapitulation. Cristian’s scrupulous attention to the composer’s indications created an effect of echoing reverberations that truly sent a chill down the spine. These moments were contrasted by the absolute clarity in the first bars of duplets played with scrupulous precision as were the menacing chords after the two recitativi. It was these contrasts and driving energy that created a tension of continual surprise. The coda a simple rumble to the final two chords, as the ‘Adagio’ entered, as indeed the first movement had started, with a flowering chord. This time though there was a poignant outpouring of ominous opulence with a menacing rumble in the bass ever present. Even an innocent outpouring of refreshing simplicity had the undercurrent of menace before the final drift into oblivion. The final note a simple quaver that in Cristian’s hands has never seemed so poignant an ending to such a harrowing tale. There was a driving insistence to the flowing ‘Allegretto’ that Cristian at times allowed to burst into flames of burning intensity. But it was the gentle flowering of this movement that like the last movement of Chopin B minor Sonata has the hypnotic effect of genial mastery. Whereas Chopin closes in a blaze of glory Beethoven chooses to disappear more discretely into the whispered depths of the piano from where his ‘Tempest’ had been born.

Schubert’s late A minor Sonata was full of the same mystery and majesty entwined within an ominous pulsating energy. Bathed in pedal with glowing fluidity as the opening gives way to a build up of intensity. The melodic line whispered in the bass with Schubert’s deep breathing above, but dissolving into a whispered echo of the opening motif. Building in intensity as the melody is echoed and almost hounded between the hands before arriving at the devilish pulsating now openly manifested, as it burst into a final desperate plea. An ‘Andante’ with its whispered, tentative and gentle insinuations leading to an outpouring of meandering beauty bursting into life with beguiling simplicity. A haunting ending bathed in pedal with ethereal horn calls overheard with whispered insistence, and the intuitive mastery of Cristian who dared to play the whole of this coda in a haze of poetic radiance and beauty. A heart rending ending was of pure magic. Out of which burst the ‘Scherzo’ with Beethovenian insistence relieved by its ‘Trio’ of simplistic ländler beauty. The final Rondo was a florid outpouring with its contrasting episodes that Cristian played with meticulous precision and a chameleonic range of sounds. A coda of great exhilaration and excitement brought this extraordinary work to a timely close.

No amount of persuasion from Ben Westlake, his co artistic director of Kettner Concerts, could persuade Cristian to add a single note to the three remarkable performances that he had just offered. Like Arrau, Cristian is at the service of the composer of whom he is but a humble servant.

Je sens, je joue, je trasmets Q.E.D.

Cristian moves on now to the last stop of his tour, where accompanied by the indefatigable Mary Orr on Saturday, he will knock on Beethoven’s door in Bonn.

Cristian Sandrin plays Mozart ‘elegance and intelligence combine with radiant simplicity’

Cristian Sandrin in Perivale Mastery and intelligence illuminate Beethoven Sonatas op 2