Misha Kaploukhii plays Liszt at the RCM A Sea Symphony Concert…..Youth and music a joy to ‘behold’!
The indomitable Canan Maxton of Talent Unlimited presents two superb young artists in the magnificent surrounds of St James’s Piccadilly.
An oasis of peace just a stone’s throw from Piccadilly Circus.
Some magnificent playing of real artistry from Misha Kaploukhii whose playing I have heard twice over the past year or so. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/10/13/misha-kaploukhii-plays-rachmaninov-beauty-and-youthfulness-triumph/. This is not the usual barn storming Rachmaninov but playing of ravishing colour and imagination where each one of these miniature tone poems was brought vividly to life with fantasy and a transcendental control sound.Not only velocity but more importantly Misha knew how to delve deep into the notes and extract a meaning that allowed the music to speak so eloquently.There was certainly astonishing agility with the jeux perlé playing of the sixth study.Notes that just shot over the keyboard like a gust of wind out of which glistened and gleamed fragments of a melodic line.
Such nobility he brought to the seventh with it’s sumptuous almost too important pomposity bursting into a festive ‘joie de vivre’.
Delicacy and fluidity of the eighth on which floated a melodic line of searing nostalgic intensity only to be awakened by the imperious majesty of the opening of the ninth.Greeted by a cauldron of red hot sounds very reminiscent of the sound world of Scriabin with its flaming intensity.Never loosing sight of the overall musical line as the music was swept along with Misha’s youthful passion.The strident first study that could almost be Prokofiev or Shostakovich with its spiky military stance.But there was radiance with the sumptuous rays of light that suddenly appeared with the second study.The third was remarkable for it’s sense of line and a control of sound where the ravishing beauty of the murmuring meno mosso was indeed a momento to cherish.There was playful ‘joie de vivre’ in the fourth with its obstinate false start and remarkable sense of line as all the components magically were knitted together.
It was a refreshing surprise to hear the superb guitar of Michael Matthews in the second half of this short concert.
In Rome we would often invite guitarists to play for us in our Euromusica concert series.I remember being so impressed by the Duo Assad.David Russell was a much awaited annual event of concert and masterclasses.Julian Bream,Oscar Ghiglia and John Williams were amongst the stars too.
Today it is all too rare to find a guitar recital in a regular concert series so it was refreshing to be able to admire the beautiful sound and superb musicianship of this young guitarist today .I can only listen and admire what I heard and hope that in the future there will be many more guitar recitals in a church that has an ideal resonant acoustic.
Misha Kaploukhii, pianist and flautist was born on the 5/12/2002 and is an alumnus of the Moscow Gnessin College of Music, where he studied in the piano class of Mikhail Egiazarian. Misha is currently studying at the Royal College of Music; he is an RCM and Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation scholarship holder generously supported by Talent Unlimited charity studying for a Bachelor of Music with Professor Ian Jones. He also gained inspiration from lessons and masterclasses with musicians such as Claudio Martínez Mehner, Dmitri Bashkirov, Jerome Lowenthal and Konstantin Lifschitz. Misha already has experience of performing with orchestras internationally including his recent debut in Cadogan Hall with the Rachmaninoff 1st Piano Concerto and his overall repertoire includes a wide range of solo and chamber music. Recently, Misha has won prizes in the RCM concerto competition (playing Liszt’s 2nd Piano Concerto) and in the International Ettlingen Piano Competition.
Born in the UK, Michael Matthews’ flamboyant and expressive performances are placing him at the forefront of the young generation. He has been praised for a rigorous technique alongside his natural creativity by leading figures in the field. His concerts are communicative, unpredictable and provocative. He brings a new identity to traditional repertoire as well as verve and dynamism to contemporary and lesser-known works. In his youth, Michael studied with teacher and performer Rob Johns. He has subsequently performed in recitals, masterclasses and competitions across the country and abroad. From 2021, Michael continues his postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music under a scholarship. In the spring of 2017, Michael gave his debut performance of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez and performed Fantasia para un Gentilhombre in 2019. In 2018 Michael was chosen by the Tillett Trust to give recitals across the UK during the 2018/2019 season. He was also selected by the Concordia Foundation to perform in outreach projects and recitals in central London and abroad. In 2019-2020 Michael studied with Paolo Pegoraro at the Segovia Guitar Academy in Pordenone, Italy. In 2019 Michael was awarded the Sir John Manduell Prize at Bromsgrove International Musicians Competition for the best performance of a contemporary work. He was supported by Help Musicians UK in 2020 and was selected by Talent Unlimited and the Countess of Munster Trust trust in 2021. Recent engagements include giving masterclasses at St Andrews and Hull universities and recitals at Brighton Festival, King’s Lynn Festival, St James’s Church Piccadilly and his debut appearance at the Wigmore Hall.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 