Andrzej Wiercinski at St Mary`s as seen in the shadow of St Peters in Rome.

Glad to see that half term is over and that Dr Mather is back with his absorbing informed enthusiasm and innocent charm.

Missing Roger Nellist’s Richard Baker type introductions though!

As Hugh said at the end of a truly uplifting display of masterly playing here is the “complete pianist”For many years Krystian Zimerman and Murray Perahia have filled that slot and it is indeed refreshing to see a younger colleague at the foot of the hill that is the domain of the Gods.

It was in the encore of the famous A flat Polonaise op 53 that it became even more obvious that here is an heir apparent .

A pianist that infact holds the Zimerman scholarship.

Supreme musicianship that with his complete understanding of the music allowed such freedom of expression.
But not the usual expression of excess that many Polish pianists would have us believe is the way of playing Chopin.
This is the revolutionary Chopin of Rubinstein where all the sentimentality and sugary sensless rubatos that Chopin’s rich but hopelessly untalented aristocratic pupils would have us believe is the real Chopin style are cancelled once and for all.

In their place is a masculine musicianship full of sentiment,colour,shape and total command but absolutely no sentimentality or empty “jeux perle” virtuosity.

I missed the first Scarlatti …such is life in Rome!
I did,after all, have a morning performance of Waiting for Godot and an afternoon performance of famous Italian arias for our chinese tourists who are just longing to embrace the whole Italian Culture scene.

I did though hear a superlative account of the first Scherzo op 20.

Such clarity allied to a fantasy and shaping of phrases that can so often sound like exercises in lesser hands.
Aristocratic pauses worthy of an Arrau made his virtuosity even more breathtaking.

The C sharp minor Scherzo was played with a rhythmic energy but sometimes the octaves were slightly clipped at the ends of phrases and although very fine playing it did not have quite the authority of the previous Scherzo.

The Scriabin Fantasie op 28 was given a masterly performance with such control of sound in a work that can easily slip into the oppresive.
A great sense of control but above all sense of balance and shape were the hallmarks of a truly exemplary performance.

The 12th Hungarian Rhapsody was played with great style.

Although slightly clipped the ends of the opening phrases it had a sense of colour and overall “joie de vivre” that was every bit as irresistible as Rubinstein’s memorable performances.
I remember Freddie Jackson,that almost forgotten musician and teacher of so many fine musicians.He used to tell me how as students they used to stand on the seats to cheer Rubinstein so infectious was his sense of rhythm.

And so it was with Andrzej today.

The Corelli Variations op 42 by Rachmaninov showed off all the extraordinary qualities of this young musician.
Total control,exquisite sense of colour and phrasing but above all a temperament that could ignite the great virtuoso variations of Corelli’s seemingly innocent melody of La Folia.

Much more could be written about this young man, but I will leave that to more competant critics ,in a career that is obviously destined for great things.

I am not at all surprised to see that this 23 year old pianist just three days ago won the International Piano Competition Antoine de Saint Priest in France.

Here is what Philip Cassard wrote together with Pascal Nemirovski :

7 aprile alle ore 21:54 ·
Chers Amis, retenez bien ce nom, car le plus grand avenir lui est promis : ANDRZEJ WIERCINSKY
Ce pianiste polonais de 23 ans vient de remporter le 1er Prix du Concours International de Saint-Priest. Quel artiste ! Quel pianiste !
Je suis encore dans le souvenir de son incroyable épreuve finale, cet après-midi, avec la 12ème Rhapsodie de Liszt jouée avec une virtuosité étincelante, un chic, une maestria grisante; suivie d’une 7ème Sonate de Prokofiev comme j’en ai très rarement entendu : orchestrale, dramatique, hallucinée, constamment surprenante par la créativité de l’interprète et la sidérante réalisation instrumentale. Et hier, nous étions plusieurs, dans le jury, à être au bord des larmes en l’écoutant jouer les Variations Corelli de Rachmaninov : quelle classe, quelle noblesse, quelles inoubliables sonorités pour exprimer la mélancolie, la tendresse et les colères de cette œuvre souvent malmenée. Bravo Andrzej !

Q.E.D indeed.

Hats off to Hugh Mather and Roger Nellist for jumping the gun yet again!

Of course streaming is fine but I feel Dr Mather should now dedicate himself to providing the same refreshments of those lucky souls in Perivale to accompany his magnificent TV cameras into every corner of the world that choose to follow.