ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary

An eclectic programme of three blocks culminating in a monumental performance of the Schumann Carnaval op 9 played more in the style of Serkin than Rubinstein . Playing of dynamic drive rather than stylistic freedom with a scrupulous attention always to the composers indications with a musicianship of intellect rather than spirituality. From the very first notes of the Prelude of the Sixth English Suite there was a beautiful flowing simplicity and purity erupting into a rhythmic dance of clarity and brilliance. An architectural line of aristocratic importance of nobility and inevitability.The Scriabin poem grew out of this noble edifice with playing of radiant improvised beauty and a sense of style of pulsating energy. Ravel’s ‘Jeux d’eau’ closed this first block of pieces with luminosity and glowing beauty with wafts of sounds of remarkable fluidity and technical mastery.

‘Ondine’ from Ravel’s ‘Gaspard de la Nuit’ was paired with Chopin’s Three Mazurkas op 63. ‘Ondine’ was played with liquidity and radiance with a sumptuous sense of balance and formidable sense of line. A technical mastery at the service of the music with a transcendental technical control that allowed the musical line to sing no matter how many notes were accompanying this water nymph on her fleeting journey of extraordinary exhilaration. Chopin’s three Mazurkas op 63 were played like ‘canons covered in flowers’ and if a little fast it was because there was an inner nobility and nostalgia of poignant significance that was exulted by a kaleidoscope of full rich sounds and beguiling counterpoints.

The main work on the programme was Schumann’s Carnaval that in many ways was one of the most remarkable performances I have ever heard. It reminded me of Ursula Oppens playing it to Agosti in his studio in Siena, her teacher Rosina Lhevine had said she should never play in public. It was a performance that gave nothing to tradition or so called style but looked closely without rhetoric at what the composer had actually written. Agosti ,a student of Busoni, loved it just because it was shorn of all the usual ‘tricks of the trade’ and Ursula a month later went on to win the Gold Medal at the Busoni Competition in Bolzano. She has since made an enormous mark playing works by contemporary composers with the same mastery and microscopic precision that she uses as the basis for all her interpretations.

It was the same today with this young man who not only played with an astonishing technical mastery but he played what he saw in the score following with scrupulous attention the composers very precise indications. It reminded me of Serkin playing it in London with a rhythmic energy that was breathtaking and if this young man on occasion appeared breathless the dynamic drive and searing intensity were astonishing. Has ‘Chopin’ ever been depicted as the man that covered canons with flowers as Richard showed us today? Of course he allowed the music to breathe because this young man is also a great musician and those moments were to cherish for the radiant unexpected beauty that was allowed to blossom. A rhythmic drive but also a great architectural shape to ‘Pierrot’ , very impressive with masterly playing of nobility, rhythmic drive and beautiful contrasts. ‘Arlequin’ was given great character as the ‘Valse Noble’ entered with searing intensity and a central episode of sweeping beauty. ‘Eusebius’ was allowed to unwind with disarming simplicity as ‘Florestan’ just sprang from his fingers quoting from Papillons op 2 on a cloud of magical sounds. Distilled by the nonchalant ease of ‘Coquette’ and very intelligently playing the ‘Sphinxs’ that are often left out – even by Schumann’s wife, but if played with fantasy can be of great effect, as Rachmaninov (he himself a great composer) realised. Richard played them simply as mysterious bass octaves covered in a cloud of pedal. ‘Papillons’ bursting onto the scene with bristling clarity and youthful energy, as the ‘Lettres Dansantes’ just leapt from his agile fingers.’Chiarina’ was allowed to sing with passionate intensity as Chopin entered with subtle beauty and a remarkable control of sound . ‘Estrella’ was played with more ease than Chiarina before bowing out with a decisive slam of the door. ( She had been Schumann’s first lady friend!) ‘Reconnaissance’ was played with masterly shape and clarity contrasting with the remarkable finger legato of the central episode .The eager chattering of ‘Pantalon et Colombine’ was contrasted with the beauty and simplicity of Richard’s legato central episode. He brought a respite to the ‘Valse allemande’ and astonishing technical mastery to the transcendental difficulties of Paganini, playing with fearless brilliance. A beautifully flowing ‘Aveu’ was played with glowing beauty as the ‘Promenade’ entered with capricious insistence and ravishing beauty building to a climax but finishing in the same nostalgic whisper as the last of the Davidsbündler op 6. The final march could well have been Serkin in person such was the animal like intensity of this young man , where any difficulties were swept to one side as the music took us by storm.

This was a first outing ,I believe , for Richard with Schumann’s Carnaval and I look forward to hearing him play it live in St Pancras next Thursday at St Pancras Church and again on the 13th August in the St Pancras clock Tower by which time it should fly on wings of song and have learnt to breathe with the same innocent mastery of this thinking musician.

Richard Zhang was born in Jiashan, China in 2005 and showed a great interest in music at a very early age. He began playing the piano when he was six, studying with William Zhou. In October 2015 he met the harpsichord maker Ferguson Hoey at the China Music Exhibition, and tried a harpsichord for the first time. Immediately realising his exceptional talent, Mr. Hoey arranged for him to come to the UK and audition at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Here he continued his piano studies with Marcel Baudet. Richard has given various solo performances in China and Europe, taking part in a number of concerts in the Menuhin Hall and other venues since joining the school. In December 2017 he was the soloist for a performance of Finzi’s Eclogue with the school’s Junior Orchestra, a mature performance much praised for its meditative qualities. In February 2018 he performed Liszt Transcendental Studies in Amsterdam to considerable acclaim. His love of chamber music came to the fore in the Menuhin School’s Summer Festival 2018, when he performed Schumann’s Piano Quintet with other pupils. In March 2019 he progressed to the finals of the Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark and in June performed with other students at London’s Wigmore Hall. In the Summer Festival he joined string players at the school in a dazzling performance of the Dvorak Piano Quintet. Then in October he partnered Alina Ibragimova in the Violin Sonata by Debussy at Zamira Menuhin Benthall’s 80th Birthday Concert in the Menuhin Hall. In 2021 Richard was awarded Distinction in the Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition. Richard has taken part in master classes with many distinguished teachers including Cristina Ortiz, Angela Hewitt, Klaus Hellwig and Jacques Rouvier. His musical interests and repertoire are wide-ranging, from early C17th keyboard masters up to contemporary composers. He also composes and has been a contributor to the “250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven” international composition project.

He has been awarded a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and in addition to this generous bursary, he has been selected by the Keyboard Trust to receive the 2024 Dr. Weir Legacy Award to help support his further studies. He will also be joining Talent Unlimited since his study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Presented in association with Talent Unlimited

Richard Zhang at St Pancras Euston Power and beauty of poetic vibrancy

Richard Zhang with refined musicianship at St James’s Piccadilly

The first of two concerts by the Maestri of the master classes for the Pontine Festival in the castle of Sermoneta this year. A magical place which has been the summer seat of master classes since Menuhin and Szigeti brought their music to the Caetani Howard castle in the 1960’s

Marco Rizzi , Giovanni Gnocchi and Andrea Lucchesini playing in the antique infirmary of the Fossanova Abbey, continuing the tradition of sharing their mastery with aspiring young musicians .

The infirmary was beautifully restored some years ago by the founder of the Campus Musicale di Latina , Riccardo Cerocchi.

A large wooden platform like the Horse of Troy standing so proudly in the middle of this beautiful simple edifice allowing all those that mount this mighty beast to share their music with the public seated below.

I remember listening to artists such as Alicia de Larrocha, Charles Rosen and Fou Ts’ong seated in a caravan outside the unrestored infirmary waiting to walk across the field to enter a rather rustic but noble edifice that has always been blessed with a superb acoustic.

Elisa Cerocchi now presiding over her father’s legacy fills the hall each year with a public starved of culture in a land that is blessed with beautiful beaches rather than concert halls.

It is an oasis eagerly awaited by people happy to enjoy the unique beauty of this part of Italy just 100km from Rome and Naples , but are also happy to have the opportunity to feed their souls in the balmy evenings with the glorious sounds of great music.

And great music their was tonight with the radiance of a Shigeru Kawai piano placed on high, carefully prepared by that technical magician Mauro Buccitti and placed in the masterly hands of Andrea Lucchesini ready to make music with his illustrious colleagues.

First on the cello with a Beethoven of unusual charm and grace with his variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ op 66 . Followed by the mellifluous simplicity of his early ‘ Spring ‘ Sonata for violin.

Crowning the evening with Schubert’s Trio in E flat D 929 with its ’Ghostly’ shadows creating an unearthly sheen on a very long and complex work often overlooked by it’s B flat partner, both prophetic works written in the last years of Schubert ‘s life so cruelly cut short at the age of 31.

The E flat trio with it’s slow movement which uses a Swedish Folk Song is better known as the music for the films Barry Lyndon or the Pianist rather than in the concert hall where Schubert’s sublime length can in lesser hands be overpowering!

A lesson in music making as our three masters listened and moulded the music together with chameleonic sensibility. A piano with it’s lid wide open that gave a glistening resonance to the sound but with such a masterly driver never devouring or dominating his fellow passengers on a voyage of discovery on high that they shared so generously with us below

61 FESTIVAL PONTINO RIZZI- GNOCCHI-LUCCHESINI and Friends ‘Brahms and Schumann, a love without confines’

Mario Caroli and Pietro Ceresini ‘On Wings of song’ dedicated to Maria Teresa Cerocchi

Pontine Festival 2018

50th Anniversary of the Pontine Festival Foundation streamed live from Sermoneta and Ninfa

Eleven ‘cellists in Giovanni Gnocchi’s class in the beautiful San Michele Arcangelo hidden away in an angle of Sermoneta the hilltop town overlooking Latina and the beautiful gardens of Ninfa.

It was here that a teenage Jaqueline Du Pré came in the 60’s to the festival that Menuhin had founded with Szigeti in the castle of the Caetani-Howard family. Now in it’s 62 year the long tradition of serious music making continues every year under the eagle eye of Elisa Cerocchi who has inherited this important mission from her father Riccardo who founded the Campus Internazionale di Musica.

This year Giovanni Gnocchi shared his mastery with generosity and paternal warmth with cellist’s from talented teenagers to young musicians already in the profession.

Movements from three Bach Suites to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Pablo Casals , the first cellist to perform the suites of this Universal Genius in public . Creating a technique that could do justice to such sublime music. And it is this that is the backbone for all serious cellists and it was to Samuele Notar Francesco , Allegra Britton and Marco Mauro Moruzzi that this important celebration was entrusted . From the rhythmic drive , architectural shape and noble sounds of Samuele and Allegra to the refined playing of great authority of Marco.https://youtu.be/iTAfVa0uO70?si=-u7VuT8YRDytjrC7

Solo cello too with the third Sonata of Hindemith played by a deeply committed Luca Palummo . Playing not only by heart but with a heart beating strongly and a sense of colour and character of passionate disturbing intensity.

Elene Lamartora playing from Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante that I have only heard before from the hands of Rostropovich , but that this very young cellist already plays with golden rich sounds of impressive authority. Alexandra Ducariu adding the complex orchestral sounds with mastery at the piano.

It was the same musical mastery that Alexandra shared with Mia Perulli’s burning intensity and poetic sensibility of Shostakovich ‘s Sonata op 40 and Andrea Castellani’s beauty and nobility of Beethoven’s Sonata op 5 n 2 . Alexandra throwing off Beethoven’s notes with brilliance as her partner played with dynamic drive and her same infectious rhythmic energy.

No class could be complete without Dvorak’s noble concerto op 104 and there were two remarkably professional performances from Jacopo Sommariva and Mattia Geracitano . A solidity and weight from Jacopo of imposing authority which was mirrored by the poetic sensibility of Mattia.

I remember Jaqueline Du Pré and Daniel Barenboim playing this work in the Royal Albert Hall in London as a response to the Russian invasion of Prague. Barenboim had been threatened with assassination if he went ahead with such a protest but no one but he knew of the threat and it was the noble voice of Dvorak that quelled all evil in the end.

https://youtu.be/U_yxtaeFuEQ?si=wXLcys-YsNvb0kR_

Schumann and Brahms were entrusted to the poetic intensity and poignant beauty of Matthieu Hassid and Tobias Ingrosso together in true duo playing of rare sensibility with Alexandra Ducariu.

On Sunday Giovanni Gnocchi, Andrea Lucchesini and Marco Rizzi will share the platform with their masterclass students with music making between equals. It is a magic moment when music will reign as it has done for over half a century in this beautiful hill top town filling the surrounding hills with the sound of music.

Giovani Artisti dal mondo a cura di Giovanni Gnocchi ‘An infectious joie de vivre with poetry and mastery’

Giovanni Gnocchi :‘ Giovani Artisti dal Mondo’ in Sermoneta

61 FESTIVAL PONTINO RIZZI- GNOCCHI-LUCCHESINI and Friends ‘Brahms and Schumann, a love without confines’

Ferschtman-Gnocchi-Lucchesini Trio Glorious tribute to Rocco Filippini in Sermoneta

Giovani Artisti dal Mondo a cura di Andrea Lucchesini ‘The Pillars of Hercules’ Strength with Humility and Integrity

Andrea Lucchesini the supreme stylist conquers all in Ninfa

A grandiose opening to the recital by MinJung Baek with the Bach Chaconne. A sumptuous tone palette with refined sounds that allowed her to shape Busoni’s reworking of one of the most original works of Bach, allowing it to expand with an anchor in the bass on which she was able to maintain a constant forward movement. An architectural shape from the simple opening to the grandiose final declamation of nobility and grandeur.A sense of building up from the bass that gave a sumptuous richness to her playing that was always of a crystalline clarity of impeccable style and technical mastery.

Five preludes from Rachmaninov’s op 23 showed the intensity and beauty of her playing as the first demonstrated her sense of balance with the melodic line passing from the treble to the bass in a passionate question and answer of sensitivity and flexibility, leading almost imperceptibly to a climax of passionate commitment. She brought an aristocratic beauty to the fourth in D major with its melodic line embroidered with wisps of golden strands whilst building in burning intensity. The sixth was a romantic outpouring of luminosity and beauty with an ending thrown off with refined elegance. The ninth was a little slow but she imbued it with such beauty that the quite considerable technical difficulties just disappeared as she allowed the music to speak with unusual eloquence. The Prelude in B flat usually played in a barn storming way, was played with sumptuous rich sounds of controlled elegance. The tenor melodic line allowed to emerge surrounded by sounds of refined mastery. Playing with great intensity but always with an architectural sense of line and sounds that were never hard but of sumptuous Philadelphian richness.

To Franck she brought flowing fantasy and architectural shape where she manage to incorporate three movements into one whole. A palette of sounds that could shape the fantasy of Franck which in lesser hands can sound rather segmented. A fluidity to her playing not only of the mellifluous opening but also of the chords that follow that were played with horizontal beauty, imbuing them with a sense of shape and colour as she moved toward the chorale. Playing of ravishing beauty with a wonderful fluidity as wafts of sounds illuminated the piano as the Chorale grew in intensity. Moments of brilliance were balanced with masterly control as Franck incorporates the three main themes into a sumptuous climax that MinJung played with exhilaration and passionate intensity. The final glorious bars were played with glowing radiance and control as she brought this remarkable work to a brilliant conclusion.

Persuaded by Dr Mather to play just one more piece before St Mary’s closes for the summer break and a refurbishment for the next season of over 100 concerts. An affectionate thank you from MinJung who I noticed has now returned to St Mary’s as a mother – I had noticed two small children at the back of the hall. She was happy to play Schumann’s love song for his wife Clara that MinJung told us she had learnt when she was expecting her first child. Playing of refined beauty and of passionate involvement but always with aristocratic nobility and beauty of sound.

Award-winning pianist MinJung Baek is one of the leading pianists of her generation. A winner of more than fifty national competitions in Korea, she has also won numerous international competitions, including the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe, Rachmaninoff (Italy), Pietro Argento, Giuliano Pecar, Liszt (Italy), Lyon (France) and Skokie Valley (USA) competitions. She gained international recognition when she debuted with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of ten, and by the age of thirteen she was performing on international stages in the USA, Russia and Switzerland. Since then, she has performed in prestigious concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Barbican, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Seoul Arts Centre, Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford and King’s Place in London. She has also performed as a soloist with leading international orchestras such as the Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kiev Symphony Orchestra in Ukraine, the Bellini Symphony Orchestra in Italy, the New World Symphony Orchestra in the USA and the Zhengzhou Philharmonic Orchestra in China, among others. She has also received numerous awards, including the ‘Gold Medal’ from the Worshipful Company of Musicians, the ‘Artist Proclamation Award’ from the Senator of Illinois in the USA, the Mannes Presidential Award and the Earl Wild Teaching Fellowship from Ivory Classics. The award led to the rare honour of performing for the legendary Mr Wild in Palm Springs, California. Her solo and teaching engagements have taken her to major international festivals including at such as the Dino Ciani Music Festival in Stresa, Imola in Musica, the Haus Marteau International Masterclass series, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany and the International Keyboard Institute & Festival in the USA. MinJung completed all her studies on full scholarships at Mannes College of Music in NYC under Jerome Rose and at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale “Incontri col Maestro” di Imola under Leonid Margarius. She also completed a Master of Performance and an Artist Diploma both with distinction at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama under the guidance of Ronan O’Hora. Her critically acclaimed recordings have been featured om major media such as KBS, SBS, ITV, and Rai3 radio, Radio Classica and Kyiv national TV. They are played every year on major music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music in over 134 countries. She is also passionate about chamber music and actively collaborates with renowned quartets and musicians on the scene. In 2014, as the youngest candidate she won a teaching position on the piano faculty at the Kyunghee University in Seoul, South Korea. Many of her university and pre-college students have been awarded first prize in numerous national and international competitions. Graduates of her studio have been accepted to master’s and doctoral programmes at major universities and conservatoires in the UK, Germany, and the USA. She has also served as a visiting professor at the Conservatorio Nazionale di Musica L. Canepa in Italy and at the University of Oxford. She is active as a performer, a recording artist, a jury member in international competitions, an educator, and the director of the international piano festival. Following her recent recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, she was invited to return to the city immediately for the next season. Her engagements for the 2026/27 season include the release of her new albums, Beethoven Sonata Vol. 2 and Liszt, as well as a debut concert in Croatia. She will also be touring the US and China, giving concerts and masterclasses, and performing at important venues such as the Carnegie Hall, Palau de la Música in Barcelona and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. 

MinJung Baek at St Mary’s – crystalline clarity and intelligence at the service of music

On the eve of the final two days of ArtePiano International Piano Competition in Castelnuovo di Farfa the soprano Erica Eloff together with Pavle Krstic gave a recital of songs ranging from Britten’s beautiful Sally Gardens to Lehar’s enticing Vilja’s song from the Merry Widow.

The inhabitants out in force to take advantage of the ‘Wings of Song’ that illuminate their beautiful village once a year in the month of July .

But it was Vilja’s song that concluded the party atmosphere created by music in Farfa, when Erica encouraged the audience to join in the chorus of Lehar’s Merry Widow

Pavle playing always with refined elegance and mastery with the lid of his Steinway concert grand fully opened sharing the sounds together with Erica, creating a wonderful amalgam that resounded around this imposing edifice. Pavle a masterly musician who has learnt how to drive in Salzburg, winning the first competition in Farfa in 2021 and has been invited to return every year since as soloist and jury member

The grand finale tomorrow with the three chosen finalists playing in the Abbey of Farfa with the orchestra delle Cento Città.

Ryugo Yoshino was the first of seven selected semi finalists here in Farfa (Yu-Ting Su had to withdraw at the last minute ).They were invited to play a 30 minute programme to the distinguished jury chaired by Niel du Preez, the artistic director and founder of Arte Piano Festival .

Ryugo Yoshino at 17 is the youngest competitor and was born in Tokyo where he studies with Emanuel Rimoldi . A quite astonishing mastery of sound and colour allied to a technical mastery that seems to know no difficulties. The Carl Vine Sonata showed a technical mastery at the service of the music with a poetic fantasy and sense of line of astonishing maturity. Playing always of crystalline clarity and poetic imagination with a masterly use of the pedal and a chameleonic sense of touch allowing only him to find the sounds that were ingrained deeply inside this magnificent Fazioli Concert Grand.

Brahms’s Paganini Variations Book 1 revealed not only a technical mastery but a sense of style with a chameleonic sense of colour and weight. He may be a monster technically but he is most definitely a master and at 17 someone to watch. If his new found mastery was sometimes overwhelming and even too demanding for the listener, with maturity he will learn to control his youthful passion and energy and not allow it such free rein.

Mohammed Alshaikh at 23 is a master as he demonstrated with a performance of Ravel’s Ondine that was of such a refined transcendental mastery that it did not need to call attention to itself, as notes just slid from his fingers with gossamer ease and radiant beauty. A sense of balance that could allow the musical line to float on the magic sounds that he was creating. I heard Mohammed in Trapani last spring and know that he has been mentored by Oxana Yablonskaya.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2026/04/13/oxana-yablonskaya-the-return-of-la-regina-a-sparkling-jewel-in-the-crown-of-trapani/

Now studying in Berlin at the Barenboim – Said Academy it is the aristocratic authority and simple unadorned musicianship that he has inherited from one of the great ladies of our time. Chopin’s mischievous chromatic scale study op 10 n. 2 held no terror for Mohammed as he turned a problem into a miniature tone poem of beguiling insinuation. His Bach Prelude and Fugue was a courageous choice and showed the pedigree of a true musician but I found the Prelude a little too fussy missing the architectural shape that is so fundamental to every strand of this Universal Genius. It was the Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns transcribed by Liszt and jazzed up unnecessarily by Horowitz, where Mohammed could show us what artistry really is! A memorable performance from a master musician who could turn a bauble into a gem with a wondrous sense of colour and sounds of sumptuous opulence. A poetic fantasy that kept us on the edge of our seats as this young artist brought every note vividly to life with exhilaration, excitement and seduction.

Yuna Nakagawa is from Japan and at 27 showed herself to be a professional pianist with a golden sound of opulent beauty. It was in the whispered opening of Bartòk’s Night Music that showed an artist of extraordinary sensitivity with a masterly control of sound as the repeated clashing cluster of notes was hypnotically maintained whilst all around the screeching and scratching of night creatures were revealed from Yuna’s chameleonic palette of sounds. Her performance of Chopin’s lesser known Nocturne from op 48 revealed an artist or rare understanding of Chopin’s elusive Bel Canto. She brought a controlled freedom and radiant beauty to this much neglected masterpiece. Chopin’s song ‘The Maiden’s Wish’ in Liszt’s arrangement has long been a favourite of the pianists of the Golden Era of piano playing. In particular Rachmaninov and Rosenthal and later even Arrau who could bring a charm and sense of colour of a different age that just eluded Yuna, where her ‘wish’ was a little too earthbound for this particular maiden. It was in ‘Los Requiebros’ from Granados’s Goyescas that she revealed her true artistry with her sumptuous golden sound and fiery temperament bringing to life this miniature masterpiece as only Alicia de Larrocha could have done.

Nikita is a true kapellmeister with performances of Beethoven and Liszt that were played like a true thinking musician. ‘Les Adieux’ held no terror for him as he allowed the music to unfold with a scrupulous attention to the composers indications. Even the ‘Andante espressivo’ was played in two not four and had a continual forward movement of ‘Absence’ that was to be short lived, making the vivacissimamente of the ‘Return’ even more enticing with playing of remarkable clarity and control. The ‘Spanish Rhapsody’ by Liszt was played very musically with a palette of colours and subtle phrasing that is rarely heard from pianists who are principally showmen rather than musicians. A remarkable technical control and fearless mastery that allowed the music to unfold with poetic fantasy and bravura. Nikita told me afterwards that he could have added some improvised cadenzas but preferred not to intimidate a jury that may not wish to get involved in discussions about performance practices of the day!

Momoko Kimura played ‘Le Cloches’ by Debussy with a refined tone palette of great beauty and ‘Poissons d’or’ revealed a great sense of style with insinuating sounds of capricious intent. Medtner’s Sonata ‘Tragica’ was a courageous choice which she played with commanding drama and masterly control. It is a long and difficult work but where she was able to give an architectural shape to Medtner’s sometimes overloaded intricacies, with a powerful committed performance of colourful fantasy and deep brooding drama of mastery.

Arsen I heard last spring in Trapani when he played the ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata! https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2026/04/18/trapani-rules-the-waves-the-fourth-scarlatti-international-piano-competition/

He is a superb musician with a range of sounds and a technical mastery which he brought to all he played, beginning with three Studies from op 42 by Scriabin. Playing of capricious etherial radiance with a sumptuous outpouring of colours and the final op 42 n. 5 in particular was played with a masterly control of sound and a romantic sweep that was of breathtaking audacity. He was able to give a great architectural shape to Liszt’s ‘ Dante’ Sonata where he produced sumptuous orchestral sounds contrasting with moments of ravishing whispered beauty all played with a dynamic drive and fearless passionate intensity.

Jiwon Kim played Szymanowski’s notoriously complex Schéhérazade with an extraordinary range of colours with masterly playing of musical intelligence and imagination. Chopin’s Fantaisie on the other hand sounded rather over pedalled and lost much of the clarity of one of Chopin’s longest single movement works. An overall sound of plummy richness missing much of the filigree detail and contrasts that she had brought with such mastery to Szymanowski!

Seven short recitals all played with great commitment and mastery filling this beautiful San Nicola with music making even more remarkable than last year. I do not compare performances but listen and talk about what I hear, and the above comments are my own personal reactions to some of the remarkable performances that I have heard.

Unfortunately there is the circus element of competitions and a winner has to be found. But it is the platform and experience that it provides for these young musicians that is the most important thing. As Neil Du Preez says: ‘ Farfa is a place where music and humanity meet. At a time when the world often feels increasingly divided, we believe that music has the power to unite, inspire , and bring people together’ https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2016/05/16/piano-competitions-a-consideration/

And so to the final in the Abbazia di Santa Maria di Farfa with the Orchestra delle Cento Città directed by Alesandro Alonzi . Two Rachmaninov Second Concertos and the Tchaikovsky B flat minor. The early start of 14.30 in the blistering heat because the Abbey must be vacated for Mass by 18.30 .

Yuna Nakagawa the oldest of the three finalist was rather overawed by her surroundings and did not play as well as she had in her solo recital. Always beautiful golden sounds but moments of doubt arose where we expected passionate intensity. A rather disappointing performance that in the end robbed her of a prize.

Nikita Shestakov on the other hand is a true musician and played even better with his musician colleagues than he did on his own. He was intent on making music by listening very attentively to the orchestra and adapting and moulding his performance giving a great freedom that the orchestras reciprocated by entering on this voyage of discovery together.

Arsen Dalibaltayan gave a solid musicianly performance of Tchaikovsky’s well worn concerto. There was never a moment’s doubt that Arsen was very much in charge and although the orchestra got into some difficulty due no doubt to heat fatigue having rehearsed for three hours before the concert, Arsen attacked the solo part with dynamic drive and with moments of poetic beauty. The valiant Alessandro Alonzi had been a very considerate policeman at the helm of three very varied performances, never tiring of dedicating to each of the three young artists the maximum of his attention.

The final result was that Arsen came in first and Nikita second but real winners were all those that have been touched by the wind of music that has been blowing over the Sabine Hills in the past few weeks.

Castelnuovo di Farfa ‘The Land of Dreams’ The 5th International ArtePiano competition of Niel du Preez

The second concert for Umbria classica in Bevagna saw Daniele De Paola playing two very important works for piano: Beethoven’s Sonata op 10 n 3 and Mussorgsky’s monumental Pictures at an Exhibition.

Daniele is in Bevagna to play in the Masterclass of Federico Nicoletta but studies at the Academy in Rome with Benedetto Lupo.

His musical pedigree shone through all he did, from the dynamic drive of Beethoven to the monumental authority in Mussorgsky. Finally the refined simplicity and crystalline Scarlatian clarity of Rachmaninov’s transcription of the Gigue from Bach’s violin suite in E.

Throughout the recital though I was continually surprised by his kaleidoscope of colours and his understanding of the architectural line and realised that what I had heard in the class earlier had been a work in progress of a craftsman learning his trade, where the ultimate goal is that of a artist of integrity and humility as he pays scrupulous attention to the composers indications.

The three Sonatas op 10 are early works as the three of op 2, where in the last of each set Beethoven breaks away from his master Haydn, and the slow movements become dramatic statements of great significance. The Sonata op 7 too, is where the genius of Beethoven develops the form that the has inherited and turns it into something quite original and unique.

It was in the ‘Largo e mesto’ that Daniele played with a burning inner intensity and if the opening chords could have been played with even more weight the beauty and almost religious fervour of the central episode was of poignant significance. The opening ‘Presto’ had been played with dynamic drive and a palette of colours that gave great shape to the burning urgency always beautifully controlled and played with great clarity. The ‘Minuet’ was allowed to unfold with simplicity and radiance as the ‘Trio’ suddenly took wing with the pastoral ‘joie de vivre’ of question and answer over a bubbling accompaniment. The unanswered question of the ‘Rondò’ was played with extraordinary mastery where the fleeting jeu perlé scales just flowed from his fingers with the bass insisting on an answer which remains unanswered in the bass of the piano.

The Mussorgsky was a pleasant surprise too as it was played as the piano piece that Mussorgsky originally intended and not the orchestral transcription that was to come much later from the hands of Ravel and many others.

Instead of the usual strident declamation of the opening promenade Daniele played it with nobility but also with beauty. ‘Gnomus’ struck fear into us and was played with an authority that soon gave way to dynamic contrasts and shape. The final closing scale was played with remarkable technical mastery too. A whispered Promenade to the beauty of the ‘Old castle’ that Daniele played with poetic beauty and a remarkable sense of balance . ‘Tuileries’ was played with absolute clarity and sense of character as ‘Bydlo’ came lumbering on with sumptuous full sounds. The ‘Ballet of the unhatched chicks’ was played with charm and style of lightweight mastery. Interrupted only by the strident voice of Goldenberg and the whimpering of Schmuÿle, where Daniele’s remarkable sense of colour brought these two characters vividly to life. There was again a contrasting clarity with the ‘Market Place of Limoges’ that was contrasted with the disturbing resonance of ‘Catacombs’ which dissolved with remarkable control and ravishing beauty into the ‘cum mortuis in lingua mortua’. It was here that Daniele now let rip with the strident ugly sounds of ‘Baba-Yaga’ but was contrasted with the beauty of the central episode where Daniele’s remarkable control of sound and balance brought an orchestral feel to this remarkable movement. Arriving at the vision of the imaginary ‘Gate of Kiev’ that Daniele played with great architectural control. The bells peeling all over the keyboard and played with almost too much control but that Daniele relinquished for the final monumental appearance of ‘A Great Gate’ of such actual significance.

A remarkable performance of a work that always strikes terror into me for how it can be manhandled and abused by pianists who use it as a vehicle for bravura rather than the poetic images of the works of Mussorgsky’s friend Hartmann that Daniele showed us today.

I remembered that I had heard the same transformation in Lupo’s Graduation Recitals at the Academy this year. Federico Nicoletta a disciple of Lupo is continuing the same great lesson of integrity, mastery and humanity that are the ingredients of all true artists.

Accademia di Santa Cecilia ‘The making of an artist’ Benedetto Lupo points the way for Pier Carmine Garzillo, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, Federico Manca & Federico Pische

Filippo Odobashi youthful mastery for Umbria Classica in Bevagna

After a day of Masterclasses with Federico Nicoletta one of the students was chosen to give an evening recital.

Filippo Odobashi, a sixteen year old student of Nicoletta, had presented the ‘Emperor’ concerto in the class and now just a few hours later he was ready to play works by Bach,Haydn, Schumann and Rachmaninov. A recital that belied his anagraphical age with playing of maturity, personality and technical mastery.

Bach’s Italian concerto was played with great clarity where a beautiful non legato touch was contrasted with a mellifluous legato, contrasting the solo with the concertante . A dynamic drive but with a refined sense of colour and dynamic contrasts. An aristocratic nobility but with a musical personality where freedom intelligence and style could combine to beguiling effect.

An opaque lifeless left hand in the Andante was the base on which Filippo floated a melodic line of radiance and poignant significance. Giving an architectural shape to this Gothic cathedral of monumental solidity and beauty.

The Presto just shot from Filippo’s well oiled fingers but was given always an extraordinary shape with contrasting dynamics whilst with a hypnotic forward propulsion.

Haydn’s two movement sonata in G was allowed to unravel with playful innocence. A sense of style but a rather dry opening that as he gradually found his way he was able to add his personal voice with a palette of colours and teasing rubato. A coda of startling originality that he played with a great sense of character. Haydn’s chattering Presto was with a playful frenzy and a ‘joie de vivre’ of verve and masterly control.

I remember Richter on his first visit to the West opening his recital with Schumann’s op 1. It was a revelation for how he could float the opening melody on a wash of sound. It was a performance where bar lines just disappeared as he threw off the jeu perlé streams of notes with jewel like lightness.

Filippo gave a very accomplished performance but it was too earthbound as the theme seemed to be tied down rather than just floating in one ethereal arch. Technically it held no terror for Filippo who dispatched the brilliant variations with fearless mastery. But this is an early salon work they needs above all charm, grace and a wondrous sense of improvised fantasy. Even Richter missed the charm as the brilliance of the writing like Mendelssohn seemed to slip from his fingers with such well oiled mastery . Filippo showed us too with his encore of the first of Schumann’s Kreisleriana that if you take Schumann’s indications too literally it can seem too teutonic instead of poetic.

It was the world of Rachmaninov that ignited the passion and poetic intensity of this very talented young man. Just five preludes from op 23 were enough to show how Filippo’s extraordinary technical mastery was at the service of passionate outpourings of great intensity. A kaleidoscope of colours that ignited the torrid atmosphere of this beautiful antique auditorium.

The first played with a glowing radiance tinged with nostalgia. The imperious nobility of the second bursting onto the scene with sumptuous sounds and fearless technical mastery. An improvised character to the third was played with an extraordinary sense of character and multi coloured palette of sounds . The beauty of the melodic line of the fourth where the gossamer accompaniment of golden sounds wove their way around this beautiful rich melodic outpouring to sublime effect. The seventh was an outpouring of continuous notes on which Rachmaninov floats a magical chorale like melody . A rather strange rubato at the beginning was soon forgotten as the passion and sumptuous beauty brought the recital to a magnificent end .

Unfortunately not a big audience but it was a very appreciative one.

Boris Berman would quite simply have quipped ‘If they don’t want to come you cannot stop them ‘

A remarkable recital for a pianist of any age but as Filippo is only 16 it bodes well for his future performances guided by the remarkable Federico Nicoletta at Rovigo Conservatory invigorated by the presence of Nicoletta and his colleague Roberto Prosseda.

Terrific recital, very well received in Deal. 

I lack the skills  to give a proper musical critique. 

Substantial Deal audience in large Church auditorium likely to be mostly well educated retired people many of whom will inevitably be home pianists

Their silent spellbound attention therefore, is not to be disregarded – even the overheard comment ‘He’s the next Pollini’ 

J.S.Bach: Toccata BWV 911 (11 mins)
L.V.Beethoven: Waldstein (23mins)
A.Bocedi: Ninfee (4mins)
J.Brahms: Walzer op.39 (16mins) and Scherzo op.4 (9mins)

Andrea’s natural Grace serves him very well in the short perfectly pitched comments he made about the music he was to play and is matched by both grace and fire in all his playing. His final comment about being grateful to the audience for letting them hear him play this music for the first time showed rather stylish overall performance skills. Unsurprisingly he sold all CDs available for sale. 

One audience member, a well regarded composer in his eighties, was especially impressed by the Waldstein. I teased him gently with an invitation to write a critique of the recital but unsuccessfully. A conversation followed about whether  Andrea’s  tempo of the Waldstein’s first movement could be sustained. All agreed it could be and was.

The rest of the programme – Bach, Bocedi Brahms and a Scarlatti encore – constructed to leave the audience excited throughout by what they heard – grew pretty well equal exhilarated applause.

Not for nothing did Luke styles open the recital with glowing praise for the Trust  but he and others remarked how over the last four years the Trust has provided extraordinary highly talented pianists. 

Andrea could not have done better for the Trust, for himself or for the pleasure of the audience of Deal

Sir Geoffrey  Nice

The final concert and the culmination of the Spoleto Academy was in the beautiful church of Sant’Eufemia just a stone’s throw from the Cathedral.

If music be the food of love …please play on .

A glorious outpouring of music making of rare sensitivity and passionate intensity. From the refined beauty and sumptuous freedom of Dvořák dances with Benedetto Lupo, the anchor around which revolved three young musicians from his class.

The subtle insinuation of Lupo’s bass, accompanied the refined intensity of Antonin Bonnet, but it was the subtle humour of Lupo that brought a real smile of recognition. Fulvio Nicolosi playing with great delicacy with Lupo again echoing comments of beguiling insinuation before both building in intensity and passion dying away to a music box radiance and glitter. Herman Cerisha brought energy and rhythmic drive to the last of these three dances. A whispered energy from Lupo brought radiant beauty from Herman as he floated Dvořák’s magic melody on a cloud of subtly moving sounds.

There was the tragic intensity of Mahler’s one movement piano quartet with Andrea Obiso reaching for the heights as he led his young colleagues to places they had never been before. The pulsating menace from Massimiliano Soriente on the piano was the undercurrent that ran through the entire movement with the ‘cello of Francesco Angelico in duo with Andrea Obiso with an unforgettable burning intensity of yearning and liberation. Scott Storey’s viola found a voice of his own as he mirrored the beauty of Andrea’s whispered comments.

The final cry from the Guarneri of Obiso was a solo cadenza that was a blow to the heart indeed. A remarkable performance helped by the magnificent acoustic of Sant’Eufemia which made one realise that Mahler could never have even contemplated adding other movements to what is an ‘Unfinished’ masterpiece.

A refined and scintillating performance of Haydn’s Gypsy Rondo Trio with Benedetto Lupo and Andrea Obiso taking eleven year old Riccardo Laganà with them on a journey of a lifetime. Some very stylish playing from Andrea encouraging Riccardo with a twinkle in his eye as together they added to the radiant simplicity of Benedetto Lupo’s beautiful playing. Lupo just ready to pounce with the Gypsy rondò that leapt from his fingers with a dynamic drive of refined control and enticing brilliance . All three united in a build up of energy of exhilaration and excitement. What a journey they had shared together and what an experience for a young ‘cellist on the crest of a wave and the youngest performer ever at the Spoleto Festival.

But the crowning glory was a glorious full throttle performance of Schumann’s wondrous piano quintet. Benedetto playing from memory or should I say from heart . This was a performance to lift up your heart indeed and realise what emotional power music making of this mastery and conviction can exert on a world too ready to accept quantity rather than quality. The passionate opening dissolving into the liquid beauty of Lupo’s playing on a magnificent Steinway Concert Grand with the lid fully open, where he could control the magnificent kaleidoscope of sounds within without ever allowing them to overpower his colleagues. A sumptuous radiance as the cello of Martino Tazzari communed with Andrea’s Guarneri with playing of youthful passion. There was an improvised beauty as the viola and cello joined forces with heartrending beauty. The second movement was played with a whispered intensity of a desperate yearning passing from one instrument to the other until Lupo added his magnificent bass to this pulsating journey of intense beauty. There was a beautiful diminuendo to the ending that seemed to drift into oblivion. Rudely awoken by the scintillating playing of Lupo and the equally energetic playing of Obiso ,two masters with a burning light driving these young musicians to ever greater heights. Heights that ended in a glorious outpouring of nobility and radiance all united with Schumann in a poetic outpouring of sumptuous beauty.

This was the true legacy of Menotti whose presence this year under Daniele Cipriani and friends has never been felt so strongly.

The Spoleto Festival Academy with 22 superb musicians dedicating their youth to art .

What music making, but what fun they are having . Created by Massimo Spada and Beatrice Rana this is the true rebirth of Menotti’s Festival where the concerti di Mezzogiorno saw a youthful Jacqueline Du Pré, Richard Goode Renée Fleming and many others making their first appearance in an Italy that Rostropovich considered ‘The Museum of the World’

With Daniele Cipriani at the helm of his first edition he has created a cultural fervour that will continue to grow in significance.

Spoleto has not savoured this for years since Edinburgh and Spoleto were the guiding light in a post war state of shock.

Menotti of course had a castle in Scotland as he also had a house overlooking the Cathedral in Spoleto.

A guiding light that is reignited today

First day in Spoleto with the Festival dei Due Mondi Academy of 22 specially selected musicians taking part in master classes of renowned soloists . Together making music in public concerts at mid-day in the Sala Pegasus whilst all around in every part of the city there is Ballet, Opera, Theatre and Symphonic concerts .

Today I spent with Benedetto Lupo inspiring young musicians to listen more closely and delve even deeper into the scores. As he told Fulvio Nicolosi who gave a very fine performance of Liszt’s transcription of Wagner’s Liebestod – you play it Liszt’s way but I play it Wagner’s! Wheras a later performance of the Dante sonata was truly Liszt at his most theatrical. Lupo pointing out that you need to ration the energy and to sing not run!

The fifth midday concert was dedicated to the Strauss violin sonata with Oleksii Tyshchenko and Antonin Bonnet and the Franck Quintet with Piero Cinosi Francesco Venudo, Alberto Bongiovanni, Martina Bonaldo and Viola Sommariva. Superb performances playing to a full and very enthusiastic audience. Infact it was to Oleksii and Antonin that Beatrice Rana and Daniele Cipriana awarded a special prize at the end of these two weeks of intense music making. An award that will see them returning in 2027 to perform officially in the festival programme.

Piero Cinosi had played just an hour earlier Chopin’s 4th Ballade to Lupo, and Bonnet an hour after the Strauss ,Chopin’s 2nd Piano Concerto!

I was only able to hear the last three of these midday concerts. The sixth was with the twenty year old Giulia Falzarano playing Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G minor. A very flamboyant player who feels the music intensely and could communicate her burning energy to Moritz Defregger,Daniele Valabrega and Daniele Ferraro in a performance that was of sublime youthful freshness and invention. The other work was in G major and it was Brahms’s later Quintet for strings played with great beauty and depth by Lisa Fediukova,Francesco Venudo, Davide Pizzo,Daniele Valabrega and Francesco Angelico.

Benedetto Lupo rushing off to rehearse Schumann Quintet and Haydn Gypsy Trio that he will play with Andrea Obiso and others on Saturday .

Just time for a bit of dance in the beautiful Teatro Nuovo that is now named after Menotti who very much put Spoleto on the map and would yesterday have been 115 !

The curtain about to go up on ‘Du Bout des Lèvres’ directed by Benjamin Millepied. What a breath of fresh air this was in a theatre that would do any capital city proud and has been so beautifully restored . Seduced by the beautiful poetic songs of ‘Barbara’ with eight dancers floating in through white etherial drapes as they danced to the music with poetic elegance seeming to float on wings of song.

And another performance of dance after a day spent with the class of Benedetto Lupo was with pianist ,Kirill Richter, performing with his trio, his own suite of seven movements, commissioned especially for the ‘Seven Ages’.Russian trained Paris-based composer and pianist is associated with a style often characterised as expressive minimalism and with a dancer that the choreographer Marco Goecke wanted to express the uncertainty and intensity of the human spirit. In the fortress that overlooks Spoleto with the musicians in the middle of a circle and the dancer revolving around them, they were even helped by a violent wind that swept across the fortress with thunder adding even more suggestive sounds to a remarkable score by this young musician.

Miracles in Spoleto as Benedetto Lupo and Andrea Obiso reach for sublime heights with students of the Festival Academy

Magic in the air here in Spoleto with Massimo Spada’s Festival Academy where 22 super gifted young musicians are together for three weeks of sublime music making

Beatrice Rana just forty days after giving birth to Margherita is ready to stand in at the last minute for an indisposed Yuja Wang ……what a triumph she had ……….I had heard her play this in London last summer. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/08/11/beatrice-rana-takes-london-by-storm-rachmaninov-of-poetic-beauty-and-ravishment-conquers-the-proms/

Francesco Piemontesi stood in at the last minute with a recital that I had heard in London.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2026/05/05/francesco-piemontesi-beauty-and-imagination-with-humility-and-dedication/

Beatrice Rana the musical consultant who has risen to the occasion finding superb solutions for last minute problems that can arise in a Festival of such magnitude and importance.

FINAL PRESS RELEASE

Spoleto 69: An all-time record for box office takings, cultural programme and excitement. The success of Daniele Cipriani’s first term as Artistic Director paves the way for the 2027 edition which will mark the Festival’s 70th anniversary.

Spoleto, 12 July 2026 – The 69th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, the first under the leadership of the new Artistic Director Daniele Cipriani, draws to a close this evening. For 17 days, the
Umbrian town has once again been the beating heart of the international arts scene: with debuts, avant-garde productions and others by established masters, t he Festival has rediscovered its most authentic energy, drawing on Gian Carlo Menotti’s precious legacy to relaunch it with renewed international vigour,
open to dialogue between music, opera, drama, dance, theatre and the visual arts.
This edition has put Spoleto back on the map at the centre of the world, restoring that special atmosphere which, over the years, has made the Festival unique: lively piazzas and streets bustling with people until late night, artists mingling with the inhabitants and the public, bringing theatre onto the streets so that it becomes a collective experience for the whole town.
Artistic Director Daniele Cipriani has stated: “It has been a great honour, but also a huge responsibility to direct, for the first time, the Festival that was conceived, created and cherished by Gian Carlo Menotti. I decided to have two outstanding consultants by my side: Beatrice Rana and Leo Muscato. I have worked to place myself at the service of the Festival, to listen to its history, to rediscover its roots and, from those roots, to nurture new branches and new perspectives. The real value-added lies not only in the success of
each single event, but in the ability to transform a town into a community united by art. The 70th edition will take place from 25 June to 11 July 2027: following this year’s theme ‘Roots’, next year’s will be ‘Visions’.
Because roots only make sense if they continue to shape the future.”
A few figures from the 69th edition
The 69th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi, the first directed by Daniele Cipriani, saw over 35,000 tickets sold and record-breaking takings of almost 1 million 100 thousand Euros: the highest financial
result ever.
Daniele Cipriani further adds: “These are impressive figures, but what makes them truly significant is the way in which they were achieved: by considerably expanding the Festival’s artistic programme, not merely to ‘pad the numbers’, but to offer an even richer and more varied programme – ranging from classical to contemporary dance, from chamber music to major symphonic concerts, right through to pop performances by Arisa and MIKA and to David Szauder’s artificial intelligence research. Our choices stem from the belief
that a festival like this should invite everyone to step beyond their own boundaries: those who come for a concert may discover dance, whilst those who come for an opera may be surprised by digital art. Our mission is not to confirm the audience’s tastes, but to broaden them, creating opportunities for curiosity to make new discoveries.”
This year, the Festival presented 121 shows and cultural events, totalling 290 performances. 1,057 artists
from 28 countries were supported by a team of 354 people, including employees, collaborators, technicians and staff at the various venues. Simonetta Allder

Accademia di Santa Cecilia ‘The making of an artist’ Benedetto Lupo points the way for Pier Carmine Garzillo, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, Federico Manca & Federico Pische

Beatrice Rana Motherhood next to Godliness with ‘canons covered in flowers’

I have heard Paul Mnatsakanov many times over the past few years as he reached for the heights at the Royal College of Music. A complete musician who could fill a vast auditorium with the orchestral sounds of Mussorgsky as he could draw the audience in to overhear the barely audible sounds of the clavichord. Conducting and working with singers has given his playing a sense of architectural shape but above all bringing a sense of character to all he does.

The music is made to speak with the same inflections as the human voice and nowhere is this more evident than in his playing of Mozart. Today he chose to open with the Sonata K 332 which he had played at his graduation recital last year …………..’A Mozart sonata in F K 332 of impeccable style and discreet ornamentation that just highlighted the beauty of the ‘Allegro’ played with refined good taste and character. Not the colours of Horowitz but much more restrained and classically orientated that nevertheless spoke with the same operatic voice. Ravishing beauty of the ‘Adagio’ where his superb sense of balance allowed the bel canto to sing but also the audacious accompaniment to be an equal partner. An ‘Allegro assai’ that just burst onto the scene with scintillating energy and high spirits and where Mozart’s surprise ending was judged to perfection without ever giving the game away.’ A performance that has grown in depth and simplicity where his self identification with the operatic characters as they enter and exit the scene is quite remarkable. The inflections of a human voice that do not disturb the style and absolute clarity of the performance. Playing with controlled passion as he allowed the final ‘Allegro’ to erupt with a burning drive having played the ‘Adagio’ with exquisite radiance. Ornaments in the ‘Adagio’ as in the ritornello of the opening movement just added to the character, not disturbing but enhancing the simplicity and beauty of Mozart’s genial creation.

The Schubert Moments Musicaux I have not heard from Paul before, and it was here that he managed to imbue these miniature masterpieces with a sense of recreation that was as spontaneous as it was convincing. Slight inflections, a gentle underlining or underplaying certain passages allowed the music to speak with the same directness as the human voice. The first played with the simplicity of a ‘ländler ‘ of impish good spirts with a beautifully flowing central episode of a question and answer over a gently moving bass. The ‘Andantino’ was played very sensitively where every note spoke with poignant significance. A whispered central episode played with an extraordinary palette of colours of radiant beauty and eloquence. The third in F minor was played like a march of the fairies with refined charm and simplicity and a beguiling sense of character. No one can compare with Curzon here but Paul came pretty close to that controlled elegance mixed with charm. The whispered meanderings of the fourth were played with sublime clarity and the central episode of beautiful self effacing elegance. The return of the meanderings disappearing into the distance that he played with remarkable control of sound. Bursting into the ‘Allegro vivace’ with a burning intensity and remarkable technical mastery. The ‘Allegretto’ was the calm after the storm, played with the same sublime simplicity as all that Paul did ,but here was with a sumptuous full harmonic sound. A sedate central episode was with radiance but tinged with a religious fervour floating on a glorious wave of sound. This was one of the finest performances of these elusive Moments that I have heard from a young musician where selfless musicianship is combined with a unique sensitivity of eloquence and character.

The ‘Appassionata’ was given a performance from a musician who could see the whole architectural shape of this tempestuous outpouring. From the very opening there was a scrupulous attention to detail where the silences are so important and throughout the work there was a continuous flow like being engulfed by a great wave. If there were some rough corners it was of no importance for a musician who could imbue this work with the very temperament that had inspired such an audacious outpouring. Scrupulous attention to Beethovens’ pedalling was at times too literal and became muddled rather than mysterious. Big sweeps of arpeggios that Beethoven marks to be played with one gesture were divided between the hands to avoid mishaps or in Paul’s case to save on practice time in the life of an eclectic musician who has so much to fit in within a short space of time. The important thing was that the intention was so firmly embedded in the interpretation that these technical details became of lesser importance for a musician who could see the vast landscape that Beethoven had set before him. The coda of the first movement, as with the last, was played with passionate intensity and the Beethovenian temperament of irascible impatience. The ‘Andante’ was indeed ‘con moto’ and was a procession of religious intensity. A set of four variations in D flat on a theme remarkable for its melodic simplicity combined with the use of unusually thick voicing and a peculiar counter-melody in the bass. Its sixteen bars (repeated) consist of nothing but common chords, set in a series of four- and two-bar phrases that all end on the tonic that Paul allowed to unwind with well oiled simplicity. The final variation ending with a deceptive cadence containing the dominant 7th chord instead of the tonic that resolves to a soft  diminished seventh on B♭ marked pp (pianissimo), followed by a much louder diminished seventh, marked ff (fortissimo), at an octave higher that serves as a transition (without pause) to the finale.A shock wave indeed! The final Allegro was played with controlled drive bursting into moments of inflamed passages that Paul played with technical mastery. Keeping a reserve for the final coda that he played with fearless abandon and driving rhythmic dynamism.

Paul Mnatsakanov is an emerging young American-Russian-Armenian pianist, collaborative pianist/répétiteur, historical keyboardist and conductor. His artistic vision is that music, as a universal language of sound, conveys thoughts, stories, experiences and emotions. Every piece, whether instrumental or vocal, is an expression of what it means to live and be a part of the universe.  He attained a first-class degree in his undergraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in London as an RCM scholar and as a Joint Principal Study student with the Head of Piano, Prof. Vanessa Latarche, fortepiano professor, Dr. Geoffrey Govier, and Chair of Historical Keyboard Instruments, Prof. Terence Charlston. Currently, he is in the second year of his postgraduate studies as a collaborative pianist with Prof. Vanessa Latarche, Seb Wybrew and Caroline Dowdle, as well as organ with Charlie Andrews and conducting with Peter Stark. He also studies piano with Philippe Raskin at the Gulda School of Music in Vienna, Austria, and historical keyboards (harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano) privately with Carole Cerasi.

Paul is a laureate of multiple international competitions including    “Kendall Taylor Beethoven Piano Competition” (London, 2024, 1st prize), “Valsesia Musica International Competition” (Varallo, Italy, 2023, 1st prize), “Città di Cantù International Piano and Orchestra Competition” (Cantù, Italy, 2022, 1st prize and special prize for the best performance of a Beethoven piano concerto) amongst others.  He has performed in Wigmore Hall, the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall, St George’s Hanover Square, and many other concert venues in England, Wales and abroad. For the 2026-2027 season, he has been offered a place on the National Opera Studio Young Artist course in London. 

Paul Mnatsakanov ‘I could have danced all night’ The poetic mastery of a true kapellmeister

Paul Mnatsakanov graduation recitals at the Royal College Music

Paul Mnatsakanov ‘s monumental Mussorgsky ‘Pictures’