ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary

An extraordinary concert in St George’s Hanover Square, opposite the original Steinway Hall, which was where Shura Cherkassky had his funeral in 1996 .

I have not been back since, and Steinway is now Sotheby’s having moved to fresher pastures on the other side of Bond Street .

Sitting next to Handel’s organ in the loft of the church, suddenly there appeared a familiar face I had not seen for twenty years, from when we had been on the Monza jury together. Marcel Baudet, renowned teacher of so many wonderful musicians at the Menuhin School two of whom live in my house : Damir Duramovic and Can Arisoy. He is now based in Amsterdam where for many years he has founded a piano competition. It was he and the composer,the former director of the Menuhin School, Malcolm Singer, who had tipped me off about a truly exceptional talent who would be performing in London tonight

We were privileged to hear this year’s YPF winner, Paul Salard, playing Beethoven Third Concerto with the Orpheus Sinfonia.

A programme that included two London premiere’s by Judith Weir ,Master of the Kings Music and Malcolm Singer, former director of the Menuhin School

A young teenage pianist who is already a mature master. Playing stripped of all rhetoric but with penetrating musicianship of refined beauty. Fluidity and luminosity allied to a great temperament and masterly control . From the very first entry of the piano it was clear that here was a true interpreter with something to say. A penetrating look at the score, delving deeply to find the original inspiration when Beethoven would sit at the piano and often improvise. What a surprise when this young man instead of attacking Beethoven’s cadenza he treated us to his own improvised one, taking in Beethoven’s fifth and a fugato on the themes of this third . Finding the trail back to the entry of the orchestra with the same magic that Beethoven reserved for this and his fourth concerto.

A ‘Largo’ of such beauty , where the opening chords were voiced in a way that the bass became the anchor that I had never been aware of until today . This is an ‘artist ‘ who really listens to himself, and the orchestra, with x ray vision where even the undulating waves of notes accompanying the orchestra were truly miraculous. What fun he had with the Rondo that with mischievous rhythmic elan he brought to life as it shot out of the final imperious orchestral chord of the Largo. Octaves played alla Rubinstein not for self indulgence but to give the same rhythmic edge to the sound before it dissolves into a moment of sublime Schubertian beauty. What a wonder was his aristocratic control with the irresistible charm he gave to the Presto after Beethoven’s short cadenza . Usually played helter skelter, here was a control of Arrau proportions. Instead of a call to arms it brought a smile and a raised eyebrow to our face .

This young man is also a master pianist in love with the piano, and although there were one or two ‘ tricks of the trade ‘ as Sidney Harrison, my mentor would have called them. They were just a kick start to certain brilliant passages always allied to a musical end. But this young man is in love with the voice of the piano just like Cherkassky whose funeral I attended in this very church in 1996 . Shura seduced us again even on that occasion with the unique wondrous sounds of the Saint -Säens / Godowsky Swan . It was of course a recording as the congregation including Alfred Brendel and Murray Perahia had a tear in their eye, touched by the sublime beauty from a magician who had been called to a far loftier place.

Paul is a remarkable musician with a palette of sounds, an integrity and humility as he delves deeply into the scores, but like Shura he is also a man in love with the piano. He is a true magician who can persuade us that there is far more to this box of hammers and strings that can be made to sing with the voice of a Caballe or make the sumptuous sounds of the Philadelphia

And so it was that Paul put aside his refined classical training, letting his hair down with a spine tingling account of the Wedding March in Horowitz’s diabolical transcription inspired by Liszt

Breathtaking brilliance and heart stopping beauty as Paul, the showman, was a man flying high on the trapeze with us waiting to see if he would fall off. Risking all and creating the same voluptuous excitement that was Shura’s .

After such pianistic fireworks he came back to play Rachmaninov’s D major Prelude op 23 n 4 but not with the plummy cantabile that we are used to hearing, but with a subtle whispered searching radiance of a man delving deep into the piano and finding gold dust that he disseminated into our very being

What an evening of music making, with the sumptuous richness above all from the cellos in Judith Weir’s Planet piece . Thomas Carroll , renowned cellist himself , extracting rich wonderful sounds from his Orpheus Sinfonia .

And a much augmented orchestra that gave more atmospheric possibilities to Malcolm Singer’s extraordinary London Landscapes

Ending with the sunny brilliance of Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony from an orchestra living up to the highest standards as it brings together outstanding emerging and established musicians delivering exceptionally fine performances

Cremona day 1

The city where dreams come true

The enterprising and multi talented Roberto Prosseda uniting music operators great and small to enticing, stimulating and at times even shocking innovations and discoveries in the world of classical music .

The eclectic Jed Distler with Alexandra Papastefanou showing us that Bach is not only next to Godliness but also sits on high with the Beatles. A quite extraordinary performance in which the unstoppable creative invention of Jed Distler combined with the authority of Alexandra Papastefanou as Bach goes to town with the Beetles. Four hands but one heart, as they unite in a genial invention of Beetles melodies sitting very comfortably in the framework created by the genius of Köthen. Solos too, where Jed’s luminosity of sound and freedom of spirit were given full reign, as Alexandra showed us her extraordinary understanding of the world of Bach. A perfect duo as the two differing characters of the performers complimented each other much to the amusement and admiration of the public.

Fazioli presiding with an array of future star pianists including the past winner of the amateur competition Alain Marie with a performance of Chopin op 10 n 1 that would have put many ‘professionals’ to shame.

Roy Howat showed us that there is no such thing as definitive Chopin scores whilst demonstrating his extraordinary Peter’s edition of all the Chopin studies. Faites vos jeux indeed!

An afternoon dedicated to Chopin in the Amati room where we were intrigued to hear Paul McNulty talk about Chopin and his pianos and the tuning and temperament in Classical and Romantic Times.

A fascinating introduction by Aleksander Laskowski of the International Chopin Competition on Period Pianos now in its third edition in 2028, with the Chopin Institute amassing a collection of antique instruments.

A presentation by Jakub Puchalski of a direct descendent of the so called Chopin Mikuli tradition with the complete acoustic recordings of Raoul Koczalski.

And we also found the eclectic Julian Trevelyan with baby Luisa patiently waiting while he played Schumann on a modern copy of a Pleyel piano. The youngest Professor at the École Normale, would play the next day : Liszt’s complete Consolations and Soirées de Vienne

Cremona day two.

The revelation Kit Armstrong with Bruno Monsaingeon together with Fabrizio von Arx and above all Stradivarius……..But the day had begun with Olli Mustonen talking about his ‘Heavenly Lights’ and the day came full circle as in the evening he and Vilde Frang played Bartòk together at the Cremona Musica Galà Concert in the Auditorium G.Arvedi of the Violin Museum. An extraordinary performance from two masters united with such freedom and searching invention.

After Mustonen another eclectic genial musician Kit Armstrong in conversation with the extraordinary Bruno Monsaingeon. This was a conversation in words and music between giants. A fascinating conversation about transcriptions and their meaning and worth and whether they add or subtract from the birth of the original.’Music beyond the Instrument.’

If we do not play on the instruments that the works were conceived for should that already be considered a transcription ? Kit who was mentored by Alfred Brendel from a very early age has the entire musical repertoire at his fingertips, as he demonstrated with nonchalant ease, playing examples to illustrate a point. Monsaingeon was not less either, and sat at the piano to explain how and why he had transcribed various works.

An extraordinary conversation of humility and genial inspiration with Bruno and Kit stimulating each other to reach into the depths of the very meaning of music. I just hope this discussion was recorded as it was truly a revelation and for me one of those magic encounters that only seem to happen in Cremona. A meeting of minds where anything is possible on a true voyage of discovery.

I was sorry to have to dash off at the end, but Alessandra Ammara was presenting her new CD with the third in her series of the complete works of Debussy. Alessandra is the wife of Roberto Prosseda and they met at the Casagrande Competition. It would be mentioned in the media lounge round table shortly after the concert :The Future of International Competitions.’ Alessandra came second and Roberto third but they were both winners with a successful life together and large family too! Alessandra is now back on the boards and her refined playing of Debussy is being much appreciated world wide. A range of sounds that contains delicacy but also strength but above all a poetic fantasy that does not deny the very precise indications that Debussy marks in the score. This is real interpretation where the composer’s intentions are so fully understood that they become a vibrant living thing as though the music was still wet on the page. I was sorry to miss the whole of her Estampes but ‘La Soirée dans Grenade’ that I did manage to catch a glimpse of, was sensuous and atmospheric, but with Kit and Bruno next door I decided to return to hear the extraordinary late masterpieces that are the studies. Arriving in time for a ‘Pour les Quartes’ of remarkable improvised freedom but with a control of sound that was mesmerising.’Pour les degrés chromatiques’ was played with a clarity in an extraordinary stream of sounds that rose and fell with a poetic fantasy and dynamic contrasts that was quite extraordinary.Thrown to the wind at the end with nonchalant ease.Have sixths ever been played with such capricious fantasy and masterly control or repeated notes played with such fingerfertigkeit? But it was the ‘Sonorités opposées’ that revealed a palette of colour of a true master painter in sound.

Masques that closed her recital is a work I have never heard in concert, although I have had a copy on my piano for the past fifty years. An early work that she played with the conviction and poetic beauty of a great artist.

When Alessandra got married I gave her a silver mirror and she very spiritedly told me that every time she would look in it she would think of me! But it is you that have a magic mirror, dear Alessandra, where you can see things that no-one else can see!

Rushing now to the Media Lounge where Francesco Libetta and Alessio Zuccharo were presenting their book about Sergio Cafaro, with Roberto presiding. It was an affectionate look back with thanks to a very humble servant of music.

Immediately after this the decks were cleared for a very important discussion about the future of International Competitions.

A fascinating discussion that made one realise that competitions are not only for the winners or sponsors, but a way of discovering and nurturing the talent of the future. It can be heard on the Cremona Musica web site.

No lunch today as Julian Trevelyan was to play Liszt on Chopin’s Pleyel . The complete Consolations and Soirées de Vienne.

I have heard Julian play this same programme on a modern day piano but listening to the deep bass notes and extreme delicacy of the bel canto I much preferred this performance. The ‘Soirées’ that require a more robust approach are not quite so successful, but Julian once again brought works to the concert platform that we have rarely if ever heard performed. The youngest Professor at the École Normale with an appetite for music and life, having won top prize at the age of 16 at the Marguerite Long Competition in Paris, he is like Kit Armstrong, an important voice in the wilderness.

And finally a showing of the remarkable film about Ivry Gitlis – ‘IVRY WHO?’ by Gäi Tordjman . A remarkable documentary about an extraordinary violinist who lived to the age of 97. Befriended by Martha Argerich and many of his colleagues he had made his debut in New York with George Szell and became a heart throb in Paris in the sixties. A long very moving film that I look forward to seeing again as I missed the last few bars, because our bus was beckoning to take us back to the centre where Kit Armstrong and Fabrizio von Arx were waiting in the church of Santa Agata, in the street where Stradivarius lived. He was also married in this church and Kit was giving a recital with Fabrizio von Arx ( director of the Stradivarius Foundation ) .

A concert to raise funds to restore the mechanics of the organ. In fact it was Kit who asked me if I had noticed that Jesus had not been able to make an appearance in one of the works of Bach that he played.

I honestly had not noticed as I only had the glorious sounds of the Widor Toccata still ringing in my ear.

And finally the Cremona Musica Galà Concert and Award Ceremony in the Auditorium G . Arvedi of the Violin Museum.

Cremona the last day

Fazioli reigns ‘The King of Piano Makers’

Some major events in the Fazioli studio starting with that perfect English gentleman, actor, writer, broadcaster, lyricist, musician and piano file, Jeremy Nicholas presenting his new book ‘The Great Piano Makers’ . Did I hear makers or breakers ! An enlightened and hugely enjoyable panorama of piano makers who were strangely enough not pianists but cabinet makers, engineers and business men with a vision, but there were no women !

Well it was a woman, Viviana Sofronitsky, who had shown us in an early morning panorama in the Amati Studio, the different sounds and techniques between modern day pianos and the period instruments of Chopin’s time. What a difference to hear the magical sound world of Chopin’s Pleyel as compared to the modern day Yamaha . And a technique that is decidedly horizontal and certainly not vertical and a search for sound with a masterly use of the pedals. It was enlightening to hear the difference of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ on the period instrument as compared to the modern one . Chopin studies, in particular op 10 n. 8, that just flew from her fingers with the magic of an artist with a brush, painting in sound . What a difference from the modern day piano where verticality and strength are too often the name of the game!

It was interesting to hear again Aleksander Laskowski of the Warsaw Chopin Institute telling us of the antique instruments that they are acquiring in the search for the ‘sound world’ that Chopin truly inhabited ! 2028 will see the third International Chopin Competition on period instruments . The last one three years ago saw Martha Argerich and Bruce Liu playing in the Gala concert on Chopin’s own piano ! A revelation for all!

So, on to the Fazioli studio with Ing Paolo Fazioli presiding with the same passion and love that inspired him in the early 80 ‘s to take Mimi Martinelli’s advice to start making pianos. Mimi the much loved wife of Serghio Cafaro, who together created a household similar to the Craxton’s in London, where warmth, humanity, integrity and humility offered a refuge and inspiration to all those that accepted their warm welcome. Disciples that include Roberto Prosseda, Alessandra Ammara , Francesco Libetta , Luisa Prayer ,Laura Manzini and many others.

It was Ing Fazioli that I had noted in the historic Sala Accademica of S Cecilia, sitting in the front row with a Steinway on stage, at the Final of the Sergio Cafaro Competition that Mimi together with her students had instigated in memory of her beloved husband !

Premio Sergio Cafaro

I asked Mimi how was this possible?! She told me that Ing Fazioli had been her student whilst studying engineering at Rome University.He obtained his diploma in piano at 18 and Mimi with her usual wisdom, intelligence and warmth, knowing that a career in music was fraught with difficulties, advised Paolo, who was part of a family of cabinet makers, to construct pianos by using his engineering skills and undying love for the piano to create the wonderful instruments that the world knows today.

All this and much more is recounted in Jeremy’s fascinating and highly informed book. I did not know that the original founder of Steinway & Sons blew the bugle at the Battle of Waterloo! Jeremy even offered a reasonably full bottle of Ballantine whiskey to any member of the audience who would care to claim it. The reason being not to let it be gobbled up by security at the airport, to which I added a can of shaving foam. All enjoyable banter from an actor who fell in love with the discovery of the mysterious figure of Godowsky many years ago, which he researched and his first book was published with a series of CD’s and it became the only definitive biography . Now a similar love affair with the piano and the birth of a new book not about pianist or piano playing but about the piano makers . Generous with his treasured whiskey but also with his book, giving us a secret code of a 27% discount from his publisher Chiselbury. ‘Cremona 27’ ….. the secret is out!

There are so many fascinating events but one has to choose. I was sorry to miss a chance to hear the extraordinary Ruben Xhaferi or the presentation of William Kinderman’s book: ‘Beethoven.A political Artist in Revolutionary Times’ especially as we are nearing his bicentenary year in 2027.

But my priority is always to listen to young pianists at the start of their long arduous journey into an overcrowded profession.

And so it was the two recitals in the Fazioli studio that commanded my attention. Two young pianists ,one from Poland and the other Portugal already making waves in the concert world.

Tomasz Marut already with a Doctorate and Professorship at the Karol Lipiński Academy in Breslavia and demonstrating his musical pedigree and mastery with Debussy Suite bergamasque L 75 and Chopin’s 24 Preludes op 28.

The Debussy played with a crystalline clarity from a pianist listening to every sound and creating a luminosity with the ecstasy of the Minuet bursting into a passionate outpouring of sumptuous sounds. Contrasting with the simplicity and ravishing beauty of Clair de lune restored to its aristocratic beauty of poise and wonderment. And the Passepied that just flew from his fingers with beguiling insinuation.

It was in the Chopin Preludes that he showed his true pedigree and these were certainly not the 24 problems that Fou Ts’ong used to talk about. Playing of great clarity and beauty from the very opening Prelude with controlled freedom leading to the mysterious whispered left hand of the second, where he listened carefully to the balance between the sombre melodic line and the disturbing turbulence of the left. The third was played with a technical brilliance, helped by sharing between the hands but where his masterly musicianship allowed the melodic line to sing out above this brilliant wave of sounds. What poise and poignant beauty he brought to the fourth with its left hand heart beating so intensely as it accompanied the simple beauty of Chopin’s bel canto. A clarity and architectural shape to the busy fifth was followed by the wonderful sense of balance in the sixth . The tenor melody allowed to sing with luminosity as it was accompanied by the delicate palpitations of the right hand. The seventh is the shortest but which Tomasz gave a particular voice to, of utter simplicity. A timeless passionate intensity to the eighth where he could shape the melodic line giving time and space to its passionate nobility. The seventh was played with weight and although rather slow was imbued with aristocratic significance. The brilliant ‘jeux perlé’ of the tenth caught the melodic line shaping it into a whole accompanied by these cascades of notes. A beautiful legato to the eleventh contrasted with the boiling turbulence and passionate intensity of the twelfth. He brought a radiance and beauty to the most beautiful bel canto of the thirteenth which he savoured with extraordinary sensitivity. The wind blowing so musically too, in the fourteenth, before the radiant beguiling story that unfolded as the ‘Raindrop’ prelude was allowed to sing with extraordinary luminosity. The disturbing question and answer of the central episode just highlighted the heart rending return of the droplets falling from heaven. A deep added bass to the opening chords and the brilliance of the sixteenth that he played with fearless abandon and mastery. A stream of undulating notes that were played with a technical and musical perfection that was astonishing . The seventeenth was allowed to unfold without any rhetoric but with a simplicity as long lines were allowed to undulate with great beauty. The cadenza of the eighteenth was played with a sense of improvisation that led so beautifully into the ‘Aeolian Harp’ of the nineteenth. One of the technically most difficult to play but that Tomasz allowed to unfold with disarming radiance and beauty with the melodic line floating on a wave of wondrous sounds. He brought great poise to the C minor Prelude that has been used as a basis of variations by many composers. Playing very slowly and deliberately, but with an extraordinary mastery of sound as three layers were unfolded with ever more whispered radiance. The beautiful bel canto of the twenty first was answered by the tempestuous octave intensity of the twenty second. The twenty third just flowed from his well oiled fingers with aquatic simplicity before the masterly turbulence and fearless abandon of the twenty fourth.

I cannot understand why such a masterly pianist would want to play the final flourish with alternating hands, though. Surely this is like a painter with a single brush stroke from the top to the bottom of the keyboard, with one horizontal stroke to the final three mighty ‘D’s’?

An encore by great demand from a very full hall, was greeted by more Chopin. The waltz op 34 n. 2 played with the same extraordinary style and mastery that I remember from Artur Rubinstein’s unforgettable performances fifty years ago.

A round table ‘From research to Performance :Bringing Musicology to Life’ with Roberto Prosseda in the chair bringing together many of the greatest minds that we had heard in previous talks. Jeremy Nicholas, Roy Howat, William Kinderman ,Jacub Puchalski ,Prof Borio,with a fascinating discussion that can be heard on the Cremona Musica web site.

And now a final concert before having to leave for the airport. Fazioli presenting a young Portuguese pianist of Ukrainian descent much lauded recently by Martha Argerich : Máximo Klyetsun. Two sets of variations by Schumann and Rachmaninov. When I suggested to Máximo that he make some cuts because we all had to catch the afternoon bus to our various airports. I may leave out some repeats but I would never cut the posthumous studies as they are the most beautiful of them all. I even suggested that I should cough during the Rachmaninov Corelli Variations as the composer famously said that when someone coughed in the audience he would leave out one or two variations and had never been able to play all twenty together!

Well this young pianist who recently was praised in the International Competition in Vigo by Martha Argerich proceeded to show us in sound why he would not cut the Schumann Variations. Five posthumous variations that were added after Schumann’s death and are sometimes inserted separately in-between the published variations, or in this case all five played after the third (Butterfly ) variation. After his playing of exquisite delicacy and beauty Jeremy Nicholas turned to me and said that this was the most beautiful playing he had heard in Cremona. It was a performance of such strength and delicacy with a technical control and mastery that seemed to known difficulties. But it was the musical shape and sense of colour that was of a mature artist and not of a young man of barely twenty. The opening theme played with aristocratic control with an extraordinary palette of sounds. The first variation played with a whispered rhythmic drive of demonic insinuation on which he floated the legato theme, allowing the staccato and legato to move inexorably forward to the passionate outpouring of the second variation. A sense of balance where the duet between the outer voices was accompanied by pulsating, harmonically vibrating sounds . The so called ‘Butterfly’ study was played with fleeting lightness with the tenor melody of voluptuous refined elegance. The five posthumous studies that followed were played with a poetic fantasy and radiant beauty. A rare sense of imagination that allowed these afterthoughts to reach into glorious realms with golden strands of sounds reaching deep into the soul. The swirling magical sounds of the first .The disarming simplicity of the second that is transformed into a nightmarish moment of anxiety.The majestic third contrasting with the poignant simplicity and glistening beauty of the fourth. But it was the fifth where the heavens truly opened as Máximo played with a chiselled beauty of purity and disarming simplicity.The magic spell broken only by the strident chords of the third variation played with impish good humour and remarkable control of sound, as the chords took flight with featherlight ease. A passionate intensity and sense of melodic line to the outpouring of the fifth only to be interrupted by the driving movement to the sixth. The seventh, that Agosti likened to a Gothic Cathedral for its noble structure, was played with an architectural shape of knowing musicianship. An extraordinary technical mastery in the Mendelssohnian flight of notes of the ninth study with playing of fearless ease and masterly control. Imposing brilliance to the eighth variation was interrupted by the beauty of the ninth with its Chopin like bel canto played that was played with a sense of balance that allowed the melodic line to be revealed floating on a wave of vibrating harmonies. The Finale bursting onto the scene with dynamic drive and pulsating brilliance. Exhilaration and excitement added to moments of glistening beauty as Máximo moved inexorably to the final bars that he played with passionate authority and masterly control.

I was just able to hear the Rachmaninov Corelli Variations before running to catch my awaiting chariot to fly me back to reality. A glowing beauty to the theme of ‘La Folia’ ,that Rachmaninov attributed to Corelli, was the basis of variations for his and many other composers. A work where Máximo’s palette of colour and technical mastery combined in a performance that he managed to shape into an extraordinary architectural whole. Perhaps on occasion taking liberties, that he certainly did not allow himself in Schumann, but that still allowed him to convey the architectural shape with a continual forward movement of variations of subtle beauty, technical intricacy and passionate immediacy. But it was the final appearance of the theme after a tumultuous climax that Máximo played with the same disarming simplicity that Bach was to bequeath to us with his Goldberg Variations which are the shining genial example for us all.

As I ran for the door I could hear the thunder and lightening of the encore of Liszt’s Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody. Playing of mastery and power allied to a beguiling style of teasing brilliance. It was this Liszt that obviously brought such glowing praise from the Queen of Pianists, Martha Argerich.

Máximo too now running to the airport in his concert suit and patent shoes – not the usual garb for the customers of Ryan Air !

And last but not least Roberto Prosseda’s Piano Faculty in Rovigo

Tomasz Marut in Cremona ‘Masterly playing of crystalline clarity and luminosity’

Máximo Klyetsun takes Cremona Musica by storm with exquisite delicacy and passionate authority

Tomasz Marut already with a Doctorate and Professorship at the Karol Lipiński Academy in Breslavia demonstrated his musical pedigree and mastery with Debussy Suite bergamasque L 75 and Chopin’s 24 Preludes op 28.

The Debussy was played with a crystalline clarity from a pianist listening to every sound and creating a luminosity with the ecstasy of the Minuet bursting into a passionate outpouring of sumptuous sounds. Contrasting with the simplicity and ravishing beauty of Clair de lune restored to its aristocratic beauty of poise and wonderment. And the Passepied that just flew from his fingers with beguiling insinuation

It was in the Chopin Preludes that he showed his true pedigree and these were certainly not the 24 problems that Fou Ts’ong used to talk about. Playing of great clarity and beauty from the very opening Prelude with controlled freedom leading to the mysterious whispered left hand of the second where he listened carefully to the balance between the sombre melodic line and the disturbing turbulence of the left. The third was played with a technical brilliance helped, of course, by sharing between the hands, but his masterly musicianship allowed the melodic line to sing out above this brilliant wave of sounds. What poise and poignant beauty he brought to the fourth with its left hand heart beating so intensely as it accompanied the simple beauty of Chopin’s bel canto. A clarity and architectural shape to the busy fifth was followed by the wonderful sense of balance in the sixth. The tenor melody allowed to sing with luminosity as it was accompanied by the delicate palpitations of the right hand. The seventh is the shortest but which Tomasz gave a particular voice to, of utter simplicity. A timeless passionate intensity to the eighth where he could shape the melodic line, giving time and space to its passionate nobility. The seventh was played with weight and although rather slow was imbued with aristocratic significance. The brilliant jeux perlé of the tenth caught the melodic line, shaping it into a whole, accompanied by these cascades of notes. A beautiful legato to the eleventh contrasted with the boiling turbulence and passionate intensity of the twelfth. Tomasz brought a radiance and beauty to the most beautiful bel canto of the thirteenth that he savoured with extraordinary sensitivity. The wind blowing so musically too in the fourteenth before the radiant beguiling story that unfolded, as the ‘Raindrop’ prelude was allowed to sing with extraordinary luminosity. The disturbing question and answer of the central episode just highlighted the heart rending return of the droplets falling ,once again, from a heavenly descent. A deep added bass was added to the opening chords that announced the brilliance of the sixteenth that he played with fearless abandon and mastery. A stream of undulating notes of technical and musical perfection that was astonishing . The seventeenth was allowed to unfold without any rhetoric but with a simplicity as long lines were allowed to undulate with great beauty. The cadenza of the eighteenth was given an intensity with a sense of improvisation that led so beautifully into the ‘Aeolian Harp’ of the nineteenth. This is indeed one of the technically most difficult to play but that Tomasz allowed to unfold with disarming radiance and simplicity, with the melodic line floating on a wave of wondrous sounds. He brought great poise to the C minor Prelude that has been used as a basis of variations by many composers. Playing very slowly and deliberately, but with an extraordinary mastery of sound, as three layers were unfolded with ever more whispered radiance. The beautiful bel canto of the twenty first was answered by the tempestuous octave intensity of the twenty second. The twenty third just flowed from his well oiled fingers with aquatic simplicity before the masterly turbulence and fearless abandon of the twenty fourth.

I cannot understand why such a masterly pianist would play the final flourish with alternating hands, though. Surely this is like a painter with a single brush stroke from the top to the bottom of the keyboard, with one horizontal stroke to the final three mighty’D’s’.

An encore by great demand from a very full hall, was greeted by more Chopin. The waltz op 34 n.1 played with the same extraordinary style and mastery that I remember from Artur Rubinstein’s unforgettable performances fifty years ago.

And now a final concert before having to leave for the airport. Fazioli presenting a young Portuguese pianist of Ukrainian descent much lauded recently by Martha Argerich : Máximo Klyetsun. Two sets of variations by Schumann and Rachmaninov. When I suggested to Máximo that he make some cuts because we all had to catch the afternoon bus to our various airports. I may leave out some repeats but I would never cut the posthumous studies as they are the most beautiful of them all. I even suggested that I should cough during the Rachmaninov Corelli Variations, as the composer famously said that when someone coughed in the audience he would leave out one or two variations and had never been able to play all twenty together!

Well this young pianist who recently was praised in the International Competition in Vigo by Martha Argerich proceeded to show us in sound why he would not cut the Schumann Variations. Five posthumous variations that were added after Schumann’s death and are sometimes inserted separately in-between the published variations or in this case all five played after the third (Butterfly ) variation. After his playing of exquisite delicacy and beauty Jeremy Nicholas turned to me and said that this was the most beautiful playing he had heard in Cremona. It was a performance of such strength and delicacy with a technical control and mastery that seemed to known difficulties. But it was the musical shape and sense of colour that was of a mature artist and not of a young man of barely twenty. The opening theme played with aristocratic control with an extraordinary palette of sounds. The first variation played with a whispered rhythmic drive of demonic insinuation on which he floated the legato theme , allowing the staccato and legato to move inexorably forward to the passionate outpouring of the second variation. A sense of balance where the duet between the outer voices was accompanied by pulsating, harmonically vibrating sounds . The so called ‘Butterfly’ study was played with fleeting lightness with the tenor melody of voluptuous refined elegance. The five posthumous studies that followed were played with a poetic fantasy and radiant beauty. A rare sense of imagination that allowed these afterthoughts to reach into realms with golden strands of sounds arriving deep into the soul. The swirling magical sounds of the first .The disarming simplicity of the second that is transformed into a nightmarish moment of anxiety.The majestic third contrasting with the poignant simplicity and glistening beauty of the fourth. But it was the fifth where the heavens truly opened as Máximo played with a chiselled beauty of purity and disarming simplicity.The magic spell broken by the strident chords of the third variation played with impish good humour and remarkable control of sound as the chords took flight with featherlight ease. A passionate intensity and sense of melodic line to the outpouring of the fifth only to be interrupted by the driving movement to the sixth. The seventh that Agosti likened to a Gothic Cathedral for its noble structure, was played with an architectural shape of knowing musicianship. An extraordinary technical mastery in the Mendelssohnian flight of notes in the ninth study with playing of fearless ease and masterly control. Imposing brilliance to the eighth variation was interrupted by the beauty of the ninth of a Chopin like bel canto. It was played with a sense of balance that allowed the melodic line to be revealed floating on a wave of vibrating harmonies. The Finale bursting onto the scene with dynamic drive and pulsating brilliance.Exhilaration and excitement added to moments of glistening beauty as Máximo moved inexorably to the final bars that he played with passionate authority and masterly control.

I was just able to hear the Rachmaninov Corelli Variations before running to catch my awaiting chariot to fly me back to reality. A glowing beauty to the theme of ‘La Folia’ ,that Rachmaninov attributed to Corelli, was the basis of variations for his and many other composers. A work where Máximo’s palette of colour and technical mastery combined in a performance that he managed to shape into an extraordinary architectural whole. Perhaps on occasion taking liberties, that he certainly did not allow himself in Schumann, but that still allowed him to convey the architectural shape with a continual forward movement of variations of subtle beauty, technical intricacy and passionate immediacy. But it was the final appearance of the theme after a tumultuous climax that Máximo played with the same disarming simplicity that Bach was to bequeath to us with his Goldberg Variations which are the shining genial example for us all.

As I ran for the door I could hear the thunder and lightening of the encore of Liszt’s Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody. Playing of mastery and power allied to a beguiling style of teasing brilliance. It was this Liszt that obviously brought such glowing praise from the Queen of Pianists, Martha Argerich.

Máximo too now running to the airport in his concert suit and patent shoes – not the usual garb for the customers of Ryan Air !

Nelson Goerner returns to the Wigmore Hall with a programme in ‘C’ .Bob Dylan claimed the key of C ‘to be the key of strength, but also the key of regret’.Many masses and settings of the Te Deum in the Classical era were in C major. Mozart and Haydn wrote most of their masses in C major. Gounod stated that “only God composes in C major”. Six of his own masses are written in C.

The Toccata in C minor by Bach, the Schumann Fantasie in C major and finally the Schubert Sonata in C minor and an encore in C sharp minor!

The Toccata in C minor was played with crystalline clarity and driving rhythms with the improvised opening given a shape and direction of great authority and an Adagio of disarming simplicity. The toccata bursting onto the scene with insistence and teasing importance with Nelson allowing the theme to be shadowed with an echo effect of hypnotic forward drive.

The Schumann Fantasie was played with authority with great lines of nobility and grandeur as this was a performance of Beethovenian solidity but just missed the sense of colour and imagination that Schumann describes in his preface by Schlegel.

‘Resounding through all the notes In the earth’s colourful dream There sounds a faint long-drawn note For the one who listens in secret’. Schumann had written to his betrothed Clara ‘The first movement may well be the most passionate I have ever composed – a deep lament for you‘ .He even quotes from Beethoven’s ‘An die ferne Geliebte’ in the coda of the first movement ( and at the end in the first edition ) ‘Accept then these songs beloved, which I sang for you alone.’The faint long drawn out note is the opening G in the bass that creates a wash of sounds on which Schumann can float his heartfelt message with passionate outpourings and whispered asides. Andras Schiff in this very hall had shown us a first movement bathed in pedal for this reason ). Nelson played with an extraordinary sense of balance and aristocratic musicianship but just missed moments to cherish that were to come later with his exquisite playing of a simple Chopin Nocturne also in C ( sharp minor ). Masterly playing from a musician who leaves nothing to chance but plays with quite extraodinary mastery. Even the final note of the Adagio that interrupts the romantic effusions ,in the first movement, that so often is missing at the end of the phrase was timed to perfection and played with whispered sounds but missing a sense of glowing fluidity. Masterly playing of the ‘Im Legendenton’ played with contrast between passionate Beethovenian intensity and whispered floating waves of sound.And the whispered ending played with enviable control but lacking the sense of improvised discovery.

Masterly playing of the second movement with a coda where Nelson relied on the left hand as an anchor to the treacherous leaps that he played with extraordinary accuracy and mastery. A long silence between this movement and the last just allowed us to savour the wonderful change of colours and character as Nelson allowed the music to unwind with poetic beauty but always with an architectural sense of line.

This was a masterly performance of aristocratic musicianship and extraordinary technical refinement but for me missed a sense of magic to cherish. There was enormous admiration for a master, but I felt excluded from this magical world and that I was an observer of a magnificent monument but from the window of a passing train where the atmosphere and the air could not be savoured to the full.

Schubert in C minor is of course Beethoven’s key and this is the most Beethovenian of all Schubert’s sonatas . Opening with burning authority and vehemence followed by an agitated cauldron of sounds with moments of magical mellifluous outpourings that Nelson played with beauty and radiance. His use of the sustaining pedal was masterly and his finger legato exemplary but the magical gossamer sounds like in Schumann were missing for me . Here though was a master, playing with burning conviction and even the mellifluous outpourings were imbued with a sense of urgency and dynamic drive.The development in particular showed an absolute mastery of balance as the ghostly chromatic scales created the atmosphere of fear and trepidation before bursting again into the open. The ‘Adagio’ was played with simple beauty where Nelson allowed the melodic line to unfold with simplicity building to dramatic outbursts with the heart rending return of the theme embellished with beguiling innocence. A ‘Menuetto’ that was played with Beethovenian charm with a Trio played with orchestral colouring. The ‘Allegro’ just burst from his fingers with a menacing buoyancy and irresistible drive. What fun he had with the question and answer of the central episode before the miraculous apparition of one of Schubert’s unexpected magical outpourings a true glimpse of the paradise that was awaiting too soon . A monumental performance from a master musician where the spirit of Beethoven was joined by that of Schubert in a marriage made in heaven.

We were now ready to be seduced and ravished as Nelson after many calls back to the stage decided to share a moment of ‘Godliness’ with us. A performance of the C sharp minor Chopin Nocturne that I have only heard similar in this very hall by his look alike Shura Cherkassky. The clouds had passed and the heavens opened as we caught a glimpse of the paradise that has alluded us up until now.

Shura was a great admirer of the young Goerner and they shared the same agent,Christa Phelps, who brought him to us in Rome in 1998 and 2002 when Shura was indeed in Paradise !

Nelson Goerner at the Wigmore Hall The magic world of Albeniz revealed in all its glory

Nelson Goerner at the Wigmore Hall Supreme mastery of a Golden Age reborn

Alexander Ullman the supreme stylist at the National Liberal Club. The only pianist to have won the International Liszt Competitions in Budapest aged 20 and Utrecht aged 25 .Now in his early thirties making an all to rare appearance in London with works by Liszt and Chopin but also the works of Grieg from his latest CD.

An eclectic programme for Alex’s long awaited return to London . An unexpected telephone call from his friend and fellow student at Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Ben Westlake, with an invitation to play for the Kettner society of which he is co artistic director with Cristian Sandrin. Alex cruising around Greece was able to catch a plane and arrive in the morning of the concert to please his friend and judging from the packed hall not only him!

A chance to hear the last book – the 10th – of Grieg’s much neglected Lyric Pieces. Rarely heard in concert since Gilels programmed a handfull of the 66 miniature tone poems in his concerts.

Hans von Bülow had described Grieg as ‘The Chopin of the North’ because like Chopin’s Mazurkas he could capture the spirit of his homeland with just a few strokes of his brush, creating miniature tone poems of extraordinary poetic evocation. Is it a coincidence that Grieg penned 66 Lyric pieces as Chopin too penned almost the same number of Mazurkas? Schumann described them as ‘canons covered in flowers’. I know from Janina Fialkowska that Rubinstein loved the lyric pieces, which she too programmes regularly, and of course Rubinstein’s performances of the concerto reached sublime heights of poetic beauty. Alex too has played the Grieg concerto in BRNO with great success recently, where he substituted an indisposed Elisabeth Leonskaja .

Today he arrived in London happy to share with his friend a programme of unashamed romanticism showing us what it means to be naturally gifted, as he had spent the last two weeks almost without a piano! Alex after his youthful studies at the Purcell School with William Fong won a scholarship to go to Curtis in Philadelphia to study for four years with Leon Fleisher, only returning afterwards to the Royal College in London to complete his studies with Dmitri Alexeev. In the meantime he had won the Liszt competition in Budapest at the age of only 20. I heard him for the first time in Sermoneta in Italy when he played in Eliso Virsaladze’s class, and I was so bowled over by the very Paganini Study he played today, that I dared ask Madame Virsaladze what nationality he was. English like you , she barked ! Alex had been prepared for Fleisher’s precious lessons by Robert Mc Donald and it was he, through hours of grilling with all the Chopin Studies and works like the Hammerklavier Sonata that gave him the technical preparation that allows for such freedom of expression now!

The seven Lyric Pieces were played with extraordinary sensitivity and a palette of sounds from the nostalgia of ‘ Once upon a time’ , ‘Peace in the Woods’, ‘Gone’ with ‘Summer’s Eve’ that despite busy passages could be a picture of the aging Grieg and his wife looking at the sun setting on the fjord of Troldhaugen. There was the mischievous ‘Puck’ and the lively ‘Norwegian Dance’, finishing with the exquisite ‘Remembrances’ that recalls the sublime ‘Arietta’ that opens the very first Lyric Piece of book one, written almost forty years earlier.

As a contrast Alex offered one of the most loved pieces by Liszt. His Liebestraum n 3 in A flat, played with an improvised beauty as though discovering this well known work for the first time. Subtle rubato and the flexibility of a singer, as the music flowed with whispered beauty bursting into a passionate outpouring of heartrending intensity. Cadenza’s that in Alex’s hands became washes of golden sounds like a halo glowing with radiance and glistening beauty. Alex has the gift of making the music sound freshly minted, as there is no rhetoric but just the music that is allowed to unfold, in the hands of this poet of the keyboard, with refreshing simplicity and mastery.

From the Grieg of concentrated whispered emotions to Alex’s own transcription of the orchestral Peer Gynt Suite n. 1 op 46. Here Alex was able to produce the sounds of a complete orchestra with a sense of balance and use of the pedal with the beauty of the ‘Morning Mood’ spread over the entire keyboard, followed by the intense depth of sound of ‘The Death of Ǎse’ and the spirited ‘Anitra’s Dance’ leading to the transcendental antics ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King ‘.

Contrasting now with Liszt’s Paganini Study n. 6 with the famous theme that Rachmaninov and many others were to use for a basis for their variations. It was the first piece I had heard Alex play fifteen years ago in Italy and it just highlighted his poetic invention, transcendental command and innate sense of showmanship. The opening theme was, even here, beautifully phrased as it was allowed to breathe and not just be played like a mechanical study. A palette of colours from variations that were mere whispers of glowing beauty and others of spritely fingerfertigkeit tantalisingly played with impish good humour. But it was the grandeur and breathtaking daring that he imbued in the final variation with a sumptuous sound born deep in the bass that allowed the whole piano to vibrate with passionate intensity.

This had been preceded by Liszt’s ‘Nuages gris’ where the genius of Liszt was looking to the future and was ‘A master of freedom’ according to his disciple Busoni. Arguably, Liszt was the first composer to establish the augmented triad as a truly independent sonority, to consider its implications for modern dissonance treatment and to ponder its meaning for the future course of tonality. The restless, unresolved dissonances of Nuages gris, the isolated figures, the sense of alienation—these have a clear affinity with the somewhat later expressionism of the Viennese composers Mahler and Schoenberg that indicated what was happening and what would happen in European music. Sound, with the assistance of symmetry, would take over, harmony would be absorbed into colour and lose its cadential function. A very short piece of whispered sounds played with remarkable control and extraordinary range of subtle colouring. It is interesting to note that a scene at the morgue in Kubrick’s last film ‘Eyes wide shut’ is accompanied by ‘Nuages gris‘!

It was Liszt who had encouraged Grieg to write a concerto and when Grieg presented it to him Liszt famously sightread the entire score. Rachmaninov had used the Grieg Concerto as a model for his own First Concerto and the Grieg concerto like the Tchaikovsky B flat minor concerto are the evergreen concertos even for people who do not usually listen to classical music. Of course it was made even more famous by Morecambe and Wise with Andre Previn. https://youtu.be/uMPEUcVyJsc?si=97GQOFaBN7N7XQA

It was this study that Rubinstein was to surprise his audience with at his very last performance at the Wigmore Hall in 1976. He was partially blind and could not see out of the corners of his eyes but had agreed to accept William Lyne’s invitation to play, in order to try to stop the developers from moving in. His last piece was Chopin’s B flat minor Scherzo that he had played all his life, but now the treacherous leaps were not possible. He stopped and proceded to play a series of Chopin Studies that we had never heard him play before. ‘The Bees’ was the first followed by op 10 n. 4. and at the end of the concert he made a speech saying he had started his career in the Wigmore Hall in May 1912 and was happy to finish it here in May 1976, but please do not let them demolish this beautiful temple of music Afterwards the public were invited to go back stage, and suddenly Rubinstein asked for silence: ‘ I may be blind, but not too blind to know a beautiful lady when she is standing next to me’. It was Lauren Bacall!

Alex played the Fourth Ballade with a masterly architectural understanding allowing the music to unfold on the wave of a series of variations of ever more passionate intensity.The climax was played with undulating waves of sound in the left hand and a melodic line of intoxicating exhilaration. Chords thrown off with fearless abandon as he plunged into the coda with a technical mastery that was breathtaking in its fearless burning drive. Whatever the difficulties Alex shaped the music with masterly control and sumptuous chameleonic sounds bringing this ‘pinnacle of the romantic piano repertoire’ to a sumptuous close. The Polonaise – Fantaise is one of Chopin’s last works where his mastery of form could combine the Polonaise with a free form of poetic beauty. Alex played the opening chords with imperious authority allowing them to vibrate with one circular movement of the arm as the reverberations were visible as well as audible, and where he was revealed as a true painter in sound. There was a whispered intensity of the Polonaise after the opening and the heartrending outpouring of mellifluous beauty of the central episode. An aristocratic control of the build up to the final climax, played with passion and fearless abandon as it dissolved with dying gasps to the final glowing A flat shining on high, the true undying symbol of a Genius.

Just one encore, of course by Grieg. What more appropriate than Grieg’s song ‘I love you’ especially as Alex had seduced every one of us with a mastery and style that will long be remembered. A hall that had seen the last concert of Rachmaninov, brought by his great friend and club member Benno Moiseiwitch, before leaving Europe for the very last time in 1939.

Alexander Ullman – The Supreme Stylist at the Wigmore Hall

Martin Bartlett may have kept the best to last with a dream performance of ‘The Man I Love’ as a tribute to Gershwin on his birthday .

But it was much more than that as this is a man who loves the piano, sharing with us an infectious ‘joie de vivre’ and a ravishing palette of sounds. A sense of balance of a true magician of the piano allied to a showmanship and a delight in taking the audience by surprise. I am reminded of the much missed Cherkassky whose concerts were a voyage of discovery together. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DZFumJqMprEA&ved=2ahUKEwiD4JySt5GXAxUHa0EAHYOqBMQQtwJ6BAgaEAI&usg=AOvVaw2w0eABqgPEUBrpsWYN4K3x

I remember Fou Ts’ong in Rome listening to a clamorously famous pianist and I dared make a comparison between him and Cherkassky. Ts’ong always spot on shrieked but Shura loves the piano, this man hates it!

It is a love where every note, every strand is coaxed out of the keys with a caressing movement and with a Cheshire Cat delight at the beauty of the jewels he could unlock from this box of hammers and strings !

The concert had begun with the Busoni transcription of Bach’s ‘ Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’ a work that has long been in Martin’s repertoire. Today with the Chopin Society Steinway tuned to perfection, it was full of subtle colours where counterpoints shone like light on a prism as their rays filled the Chorale with a colour and ravishing sounds that seemed to come from within. A gradual crescendo leading to the final triumphant outpouring of a true believer with inner voices that never disturbed the main line but enhanced it and filled it with glorious sounds of sumptuous richness. Martin visibly enjoying this voyage of discovery as he lingered over certain notes or emphasised others, but never allowing the natural flow of the music to be disturbed. We were on a great wave of undulating sounds never hard or ungrateful but like water flowing and inviting.

The Sicilano in Wilhelm Kempff’s magical arrangement of Bach’s Flute Sonata in E flat created even more magic, as Martin with an extraordinary mastery of balance and sound could allow the gentle flowing accompaniment to seem as though it was always present as the melody was played with glowing radiance and subtle shading. I had last heard it played by Idil Biret ,a student of Kempff. When my wife directed ‘Whose afraid of Virginia Wolff’ she chose Idil’s performance as the closing moments of the play when the couple suddenly are able admit that their child was dead. A work for me of poignant significance that Martin played with refined good taste and masterly control, no tears but a smile of recognition re-lived with an artist who loves it as much as I do.

Martin admitted that the Handel Chaconne was a relatively new discovery and addition to his repertoire, and had become one of his favourite pieces. I have heard it played in Rome by Annie Fischer and Fou Ts’ong ,but today I heard a work completely reborn. An ornamentation of such mastery that I had to know who was the genius who could embellish such a well known work with such style and astonishing showmanship. Martin is never the most modest of people and he readily admitted that the embellishments were his own! Such an ornate opening where the Chaconne is stated before the string of ever more elaborate variations over the same bass. An opening I hardly recognised but was totally won over by the beauty and ‘fingerfertigkeit’ of such mastery that the theme could be enveloped by such a web of beautiful gold and silver strands. Building to the climax that Handel intended but with variations that were varied by Martin with such beguiling insinuation I was completely enraptured by such mastery. Like a tornado passing over the keys with featherlight jeux perlé but also great bass notes, which may have been out of style, but who cares when the architectural shape and respect for the composer’s original thoughts are transmitted with such immediacy and urgency. An electric shock on this sumptuous voyage of discovery that Martin was enjoying every bit as much as his audience.

Mozart Sonata K 331 was the final work before the interval and it was here that Schnabel’s famous remark of Mozart being too difficult for adults but too easy for children was upper most in my thoughts. As Martin said in his very entertaining introduction, Mozart for him is opera. There are the characters, the story, the panorama all depicted in sound by Mozart. It was exactly this that Martin could so miraculously portray also with great personality allowing Mozart’s notes to speak as eloquently as the human voice. Slight inflections, unobtrusive flexibility of tempo but above all a glowing radiance and beauty to the sound. Has the theme of the first movement ever been played more beautifully, as he allowed the music to breathe as only a Schwarzkopf could do with very slight inflections and colours of impish mischievousness and teasing beauty. An occasional embellishment did not disturb as it can do in lesser hands these days of blind authenticity, but enhanced the meaning of music that became a conversation. The beautiful fourth variation where the left hand floats above the right in a question and answer of whispered beauty.The Adagio played with heartrending radiance before the final Allegro bursting into life with operatic high jinx. A ‘Menuetto’ almost too pompous but with a ‘Trio’ of a beguiling question and answer. A ‘Rondo Alla Turca’ that Lang Lang admits was the inspiration for him as a child from the Walt Disney films of Mickey Mouse, and he plays it brilliantly at tempo record. But Martin today revealed another ‘Rondo Alla Turca’ every bit as exciting because played at a leisurely ‘Allegretto’ and varying the acciaccatura’s as is historically valid. There was no need for speed as it was the beguiling insinuation and tongue in cheek enticement that made this so irresistible. Even the ‘chorus’ when there would be drums beaten on historic instruments Martin played with refined good taste and a tonal range that never outstepped the world in which he had entrapped us. A remarkable performance that I would gladly have re lived a second time ……but it was time for a break .

Martin of course was not going to hide away in the Green room but like Badura Skoda loved to chat to his public that was sharing the party atmosphere that he was creating.

After the interval the two nocturnes op 27 opened up a magic world and in that moment the colours , pedal effects and poetic touch, I doubt I have heard anything so beautiful since Cherkassky or Rubinstein. But always a man of surprise Martin pulled out of his hat a little ‘Romance without Words’ by Fauré op 17 n.3 that like Elgar’s ‘Salut d’amour ‘ is one of those pieces that remain in the head for long after the performance is over. A sound world of delicacy and glowing beauty that Martin played with exquisite finesse and improvised freedom. It was as though the melody was allowed to flow as Chopin had described the meaning of rubato: like a tree with the roots firmly planted in the ground but the branches allowed to sway with the breeze.

‘Los requiebros’ of Granados was played with extraordinary fluidity and virtuosity but always bathed in a sound world of sumptuous passion and joy. Transcendental difficulties just did not exist for Martin as there was just the message of the music that consumed him and united us to the magic world of a true magician of the keyboard .

‘ The Man I Love’ of course what else as an encore! I think Martin had indeed conquered us all by now and it was time to enjoy tea and cakes made by the indefatigable Gillian Newman’s valiant helpers , as we gathered around Lady Rose to wish her a full recovery from the serious operation she has had to undergo this summer.

Mariam Batsashvili and Martin James Bartlett a dream team of wondrous music making

Martin James Bartlett seduces and charms us all at the Wigmore Hall

A Rose for Martin Bartlett

Four young masters ranging in age from 13 to 17 astonished the public in Belgravia where many outside in the restaurants and cocktail bars that abound in these parts , were intent on enjoying this Indian Summer . But those who wanted to replenish their souls and admire the dedication and talent of four teenagers had sought refuge in the beautiful edifice of St Paul’s in Wilton Place The words of Artur Rubinstein are much better than any others to describe talent .

.https://youtu.be/gex0sOR7XZ0?si=LR1LUG_OvOZnZ559

Congregated under the baton of the eclectic George Hlawiczka and his very fine youthful orchestra that includes many recently graduated top musicians, as we watched astonished as he who greeted us at the door and was seen behind the bar and even moving the piano, stood in front of his orchestra with masterly authority and humanity as he followed each of these young masters with cat like intensity and encouraging warmth .

George is himself also a wonderful violinist so it was no surprise that he conducted his two violin soloists with inside knowledge of subtlety and burning intensity.

Fifteen year old Piehan Francesca He, mentored by Dr Robin Wilson of the Royal Academy and Menuhin School . Menuhin of course was a child prodigy playing with Elgar his own violin concerto as a teenager with the composer anxious only to get to the race course in time, as the young Menuhin in breeches took the world by storm under the baton of conductors such as Bruno Walter and Arturo Toscanini.

Francesca played the Bruch concerto with searing intensity and mastery where every note was played with the weight of an artist of a maturity well over her actual age .

If one thought this was a performance to cherish we were astounded by the thirteen year old Muqi Yuan who played with such assurance and authority that had one closed ones eyes they would have thought this might be a youthful Menuhin or Perlman. Wieniawski’s second concerto , like that of Bruch, is a brilliant showpiece full of romantic ardour and astonishing virtuosity. I was not surprised to discover later in the Green room that she is left handed and as every violinist knows it is the left hand that calls the tune. I remember Ruggiero Ricci playing many times for us in Rome and Uto Ughi would be in the gallery to marvel at the left hand mastery of a violinist who had been a child prodigy at the time of Yehudi Menuhin and Ida Haendel. This was truly an astonishing performance and the jewel in a crown already shining brightly .

After the interval it was the turn of the piano and St Paul’s can boast a king of pianos with a Steinway D, that our valiant conductor moved into position with a little help from his more endowed colleagues, ready for concertos of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky .

Fifteen year old Matt Zhao, a scholar of Westminster School and the Junior Royal Academy, gave a musicianly account of Beethoven’s Third Concerto . A beautifully shaped Largo encompassed by an authoritative Allegro con brio with its brilliant and the dynamic cadenza by the composer himself where Matt was able to transmit the improvised character of an irascible composer . The Rondo third movement was played with infectious ‘joie de vivre’ with a young man who was now evidently enjoying Beethoven’s ebullient virtuosity .

Throwing off Tchaikowsky’s octaves, that Nikolai Rubinstein had declared unplayable , with a velocity and fluidity that would strike fear into most pianists but that David Chen relished with the simple natural mastery that obviously is in his genes. Ravishing beauty too with whispered playing of great projection and glowing beauty .

It was not surprising the ovation that greeted his astonishing final assault on the keyboard.

It reminded me of Sir Thomas Beecham admonishing a young Horowitz saying his orchestral players just could not keep pace with such Lisztian antics.

Well this orchestra did keep up under the eagle eye of the ever attentive George Hlawiczka , concert violinist, , conductor, impresario, barman, cashier, piano remover and general stage manager.

Hats off to a Renaissance man who, to quote Menuhin, with ‘mutual anticipation ‘ can give a platform to such astonishing young talent.

Victor Borge comes to mind on encountering a teenage Evgeny Kissin in a New York restaurant. ‘I saw your reviews from Carnegie Hall Mr Kissin. They make me sick ! ‘

Genius is not always easy to live with !

Alberto Portugheis Premio Sorrento Classica alla Carriera 2026 A prize for his life’s work ‘A piano for peace’

Fulvio Nicolosi flying high in Milan at the Steinway Flagship where he gave a recital of Bach, Clementi, Rossini and Beethoven as part of a long-standing collaboration between Steinway & Sons and the Keyboard Trust.

Just returned from concerts in South America and heading tomorrow for Hamburg where he will embark on a five day tour for the Keyboard Trust.

From the scintillating brilliance of Clementi played with a clarity and a remarkable sense of character and contrast. An imposing authority and a palette of colour that enriched one of the composers over a hundred neglected sonatas . A ‘Largo’ of disarming simplicity bursting into life with an ‘Allegro’ of passionate intensity and a ‘Presto’ of scintillating jeux perlé.

To the improvised mastery of Bach’s D major Toccata where the fleeting changing moods were played with extraordinary depth of detail and an ornamentation that did not disturb but enhanced the flowing drive until the poignant beauty of the fugato leading to the exhilaration and hypnotic insistence of the Toccata . Showing a great sense of style in four of Rossini’s ‘Péchés de vieillesse’, from the salon charm of the ‘Sicilienne ‘ to the hesitant lightweight beguiling insistence of the ‘Marche Slave’ and the beautiful mellifluous outpouring of ‘Les petits pois’. And ending this group of salon pieces with the scintillating ‘Danse Sibérienne.’

Fulvio’s recital ended with Beethoven’s last of his trilogy of op 31. The so called ‘Hunt’ because of the exuberance and excitement of the last movement.

It had opened with the pastoral simplicity of the ‘Allegro’ that just flew from Fulvio’s well oiled fingers with refreshing simplicity and ‘joie de vivre’ . Clarity and sparkling brilliance brought this opening picturesquely to life. A ‘Scherzo’ played with a rhythmic insistence of great character with its cheeky ending thrown off with knowing nonchalance. It was followed by the noble beauty of the ‘Minuet’ which seemed rather fast for its ‘moderato’ marking but contrasted with the ‘Trio’ that Fulvio shaped with grace and beauty. In fact it was to be the theme that Saint-Saëns chose for his Beethoven Variations.

The hunt was on in the last movement ‘Presto con fuoco ‘ that Fulvio played with burning dynamic drive.

The finest performance, though , was kept to last , with a sumptuous encore of Charles Trenet’s ‘April in Paris ‘ in Weissenberg’s beguiling transformation into a piano piece of extraordinarily enticing beauty that Fulvio played with style and simple mastery.

Fulvio Nicolosi at Steinway&Sons for the Keyboard Trust, showing us the Bel Canto of Bellini with Paganinian bravura

The triumph of Rachmaninov with Lugansky and Kochanovsky in Rome .

The first concert of the complete concerto cycle

with a standing ovation from a wildly enthusiastic public.

The Prelude in G sharp minor op 32 n 12 played as an encore , revealed in condensed form, the supreme mastery of Lugansky that we had heard all evening in the first two concerti.

https://youtu.be/53i5zrb2kpk?si=23jDFyBY5M08SZIw

The opening of the second , in particular , was astonishing for its seductive range of sound. From barely whispered chords, each one full of subtle colour, to the final enormous sonority with which the magnificent orchestra led by the dynamically charged Andrea Obiso could join the soloist with their sumptuous Philadelphian sounds of romantic ardour directed by an inspired Stanislav Kochanovsky.

The concert had opened with two early works The Rock written in 1893 and the first Piano Concerto written in 1891.

The Rock, Op. 7 (or The Crag) written in the summer of1893 was dedicated to Nikolai Rimsky- Korsakov . It is prefaced by a poem of Mikhail Lermontov

The golden cloud slept through the night
Upon the breast of the giant-rock

He later admitted, however, to a second musical programme, drawn from a story by Anton Chekov titled “Along the Way”, in which a young girl meets an older man during a stormy, overnight stop at a roadside inn on Christmas Eve. The man shares with her the story of his life, beliefs, and past failures, as a blizzard rages on through the night.

Rachmaninov had great admiration for Tchaikowsky and in a meeting between the two at the home of Rachmaninov’s former teacher Sergei Taneyev the younger composer was given the opportunity to perform his newly completed piece at the piano.  The Rock had a positive effect on Tchaikovsky, who had been unhappy with an earlier performance of a four-hand piano arrangement of his sixth symphony by another young composer, Lev Conus The composer Mikhail Ippolitov – Ivanov described the evening

At the close of the evening Rachmaninov acquainted us with the newly completed symphonic poem, The Crag. […] The poem pleased all very much, especially Pyotr Ilyich [Tchaikovsky], who was enthusiastic over its colorfulness. The performance of The Crag and our discussion of it must have diverted Pyotr Ilyich, for his former good-hearted mood came back to him.

Tchaikovsky asked to be allowed to includeThe Rock in the programme of a forthcoming European concert tour. This was never realized, however, as Tchaikovsky committed suicide later that year.

It is a work for full orchestra with lavish sounds and passionate outbursts. A quite imposing brass section but that the conductor incorporated into the overall architectural line with a masterly sense of line. Moments of typical Rachmaninovian passionate intensity that saw Andrea Obiso driving his colleagues on as he sat up in his chair with an intensity that the conductor with few undemonstrative movements could lead with masterly control and subtle attention to balance.

The first concerto is from 1891, when Rachmaninov was only 17–18. The first two movements were completed while he was still only 17; the third and the orchestration   shortly after he had turned 18. He dedicated the work to Alexander Siloti but revised it thoroughly in 1917.He wrote Natalya Skalon on 26 March 1891, “I am now composing a piano concerto. Two movements are already written; the last movement is not written, but is composed; I shall probably finish the whole concerto by the summer, and then in the summer orchestrate it.” He finished composing and scoring the piece on 6 July and the first movement was premiered on 17 March 1892 at the Moscow Conservatory with the composer as soloist and  Vasily Safonov  conducting. The model for the concerto was the Grieg Piano Concerto  which was a favourite work of his and one with which he had been familiar from Siloti practicing it during the spring and summer of 1890 for future concerts. Rachmaninov adapted the entire musical structure of the outer movements to the Grieg concerto, literally building his music into it. He completely revised the work in 1917 with the experience gained from his second and third concerti: “I have rewritten my First Concerto; it is really good now. All the youthful freshness is there, and yet it plays itself so much more easily. And nobody pays any attention. When I tell them in America that I will play the First Concerto, they do not protest, but I can see by their faces that they would prefer the Second or Third.”

Lugansky brought great romantic flamboyance to the opening with the octaves played with enormous sonority dissolving into one of those heartrending romantic outpourings of unashamed opulence. Lugansky has a strange way of throwing his hands into the air which could be very distracting if it was not for his superb musicianship and a technical perfection that is always made of beautiful sounds. There are never any hard edged metallic sounds but always sumptuous richness and whispered radiance. Of course the centre piece of the first movement is the cadenza that Lugansky played with excitement and exhilaration and at moments reaching the same volume that we had heard from the orchestra who when they entered brought the movement to a scintillating if rather abrupt stop. The Andante was played with subtle colouring from the orchestra inspiring the soloist as he embellished the poignant melodic line with wafts of magic sounds. The last movement just sprang from Lugansky’s fingers with extraordinary brilliance and dynamic drive. A beautiful central episode of question and answer between the soloist and the orchestra was played with quite extraordinary radiance and beauty before erupting into an ending of astonishing brilliance.

It was interesting to read in the very well prepared programme notes that the first performance had taken place in London in 1899 with Evelyn Stuart playing with Henry Wood conducting. The most famous recordings are those by the composer himself but also remarkable performances by Byron Janis and Sviatloslav Richter. Byron Janis, a pupil of Horowitz, who actually never seemed to play any but the third concerto of his great friend Rachmaninov who exclaimed that Horowitz played him well and they would often play two pianos together ! Looking at the very interesting archive of the Santa Cecilia Orchestra the First and Fourth concerti have in fact received very few performances compared to the 2nd or 3rd and Paganini Rhapsody.

The second concerto Lugansky played with sumptuous sounds and passionate intensity. I have never noticed before his way of throwing his arms into the air and hope it is just a momentary phase due to his unbelievable work load. His performance though was impeccable and played with aristocratic good taste never allowing the wondrous melodies to become sentimental, that can so often happen now, where after a visit to the doctor they flowed from his pen like Tchaikovsky’s before him.Knowing when to hold the tempo very firmly in control with the conductor and orchestra extracting the very life blood from every one of the sumptuous notes that Rachmaninov weaves with such intensity. The Andante was played as chamber music with a heartrending interplay between the soloist and the orchestral soloists before combining in passionate outbursts of wondrous beauty. Astonishing pyrotechnics from Lugansky were played with breathtaking audacity and had the audience on their feet at the end as we had all been involved in a performance that will long be remembered in a hall that has seen some very great artists but rarely reaching such enthusiasm.

Nikolai Lugansky Miracles at the Wigmore Hall

Nikolaj Luganskij nasce a Moscow nel 1972 da due ricercatori scientifici. Quando ha cinque anni arrivano, inaspettati, i primi segni di un talento musicale innato. Dice lui stesso «ero semplicemente predestinato ad essere un pianista», riferendosi a un episodio risalente a prima che imparasse anche solo a leggere la musica, quando andò dal vicino, si sedette al pianoforte e suonò una sonata di Beethoven a memoria, imparata solo ascoltandola. Dopodiché inizierà a prendere lezioni dal vicino stesso, Sergej Ipatov, un pianista e compositore.

A sette anni entrerà nella Scuola centrale di musica di Moscow, studiando con Tat’jana Kestner, un’ex allieva di Aleksandr Goldenvejzer. Nel 1985 la Kestner muore, e Luganskij diventa allievo di una sua amica stretta, Tatiana Nikolaeva, con cui studiò per nove anni, durante i quali ascoltarono insieme molta musica. Nel 1988 Nikolaj vinse il primo premio all’All-Union Competition di Tibilisi e la medaglia d’argento all’ottava edizione dell’International Bach Competition di Lipsia.

Nel 1990 vince il secondo premio nella Rachmaninov competition di Mosca. Nel 1992 all’Accademia Estiva Internazionale “Mozarteum” di Salisburgo vince il premio speciale “miglior pianista”. Nell’estate del 1993 subisce, in un incidente, lesioni a un piede e alla schiena, e solo dopo diversi mesi poté continuare la propria attività. Nel novembre dello stesso 1993, Tat’jana Nikolaeva muore durante un recital a San Francisco. Nella sua ultima intervista aveva dichiarato che Luganskij era destinato a essere il prossimo grande pianista russo. È in questo periodo che Luganskij deve decidere se partecipare o no al decimo Concorso Internationale Tchaikowsky, che si sarebbe tenuto nell’estate del 1994, decidendo alla fine di partecipare. Continuò a studiare con Sergei Dorenski, che era stato per qualche tempo l’assistente della Nikolaeva. Nel 1994 vinse il concorso, essendosi però aggiudicato soltanto il secondo premio, mentre il primo non fu assegnato.

Nikolai Lugansky in Rome pays homage to a legend- Maurizio Pollini.