A duo of fine pianists plays three major works, including a new piece by a composer born in Kharkiv in 1955 whose fourth opera, Rosenthal’s Children, caused something of a scandal when premièred back in 2005. Commissioned by tonight’s artists as a reflection piece for Schubert’s D940, Desyatnikov’s work debuted at the Aldeburgh Festival in 2023.
A Rite of Spring to die for as these two young artists enacted the Rite without the help of the score or policeman .They may have been dressed as in a classroom but this was inspired playing of astonishing clarity of thought .
At last the Rite as Stravinsky himself must have imagined it .Silences that became as terrifying as the enormous sonorities created by a masterly use of the pedal .To see Pavel stretched over the keyboard as he enacted the insistent obsessive hypnotic sound with the precision of a Swiss clock whilst Samson added the insinuating bolero type melody deep within the heart of the piano . A standing ovation was the way of allowing the Wiggies to let off steam as we had all sat petrified by the satanic rites that were being enacted on this hallowed stage . I doubt even Hitchcock could have directed them better . The piano tuner doing his bit too in the interval before we touch the sublime heights of Schubert prefaced by an unknown ‘Trompe l’oeil’………hold on to your seats this marvellous voyage of discovery is about to continue as I am reminded of the frescos in Orvieto Cathedral ! ……..More to come when I unfasten my safety belt much later ! Trying hard not to overtake any roaming cyclists of course!
Anything after that must inevitably be an anticlimax .It started with an amplification system that once again robbed me at least, of the bon mots of Pavel although judging by the obvious amusement of some lucky people with specially selected seats where they had more luck of picking up a signal or two!
I got the jist as we heard the piece commissioned by our valiant and gallant young artists that was every so often a mirage of phrases from the Fantasy that we were about to receive -some bits reminiscent of the Rite that we had gratefully digested .
The Schubert Fantasy suffered from trying too hard to be monumental .A scherzo at breakneck speed I would like to see anyone dance to that and a fantasy that was too fantasmagoric trying too hard to find hidden secrets that Schubert had already genially conceived himself . Pauses that in the Rite were terrifying here were rather obviously prolonged instead of allowing Schubert to know better.However it was a remarkable performance from thinking artists who had gone to great length to ponder and digest without being tied to the printed page or the I pad – if I dare I mention it without receiving a black eye.Their professional presence just highlighted the I pad that is intruding its way side by side into too many solo recitals. Hats off to these two remarkable musicians who are living searching and dreaming together.
And dream they did in Ravel’s magic ‘Fairy Garden ‘ that they played in response to the ecstatic reception that awaited them after the Schubert . Maybe they were trying again too hard and delving too deeply or dare I say too much on the surface instead of deep into the notes where the composers own heartbeat can be felt.
But all was forgiven with a barely murmured Chorale Prelude by Bach where their simplicity and sublime beauty allowed Bach to speak through them so directly to us . Heart to heart is something that will long be remembered in this hallowed hall. A remarkable concert in so many ways and the birth of a musical partnership of extraordinary importance .
Extraordinary goings on at Steinways last night and a wonderful advertisement for the resilience of their magnificent instruments .This was for me especially poignant having heard the most poetic of all pianists ,Steven Osborne suddenly turning into a violent maniac as he attacked another magnificent Steinway at the Wigmore Hall with a performance of Rzewski’s Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues.
But then tonight this young Russian trained pianist,living in exile in Germany, opened a window to a new world.’Breaking Barriers’ might well have been the title instead of ‘The Happier Eden’.Mikhail tonight reminded me of another pianist with a gigantic technique who was much promoted and lauded by the most ‘established’ of ‘establishment’ figures ,William Glock.Head of music at the BBC for several decades and having studied at Oxford and later with Schnabel he broke down all the conventional concert programming rules of the usual Overture,Concerto Symphony formula.
The start of an adventure with Mikhail Bouzine
Roger Woodward was a character larger than life – as was his piano playing – from down under he would appear on stage as if going to work in a factory.A long ponytail and whiskers to boot.He would appear at the Proms playing Takemitsu,late Scriabin and even the Hammerklavier (which turned out to be a very apposite title).He would appear at Glock’s famous Dartington Summer School where masterclasses and concerts would be held over a month long period.Glock’s teacher ,Schnabel, was the first to be invited but also favourites like Vlado Perlemuter,Andrea Tchaikowsky,Sandor Vegh side by side with Peter Maxwell Davies ,Harrison Birtwistle and later Oliver Knussen and many other young composers.
I will never forget a recital by Roger Woodwood that lasted for much longer than the more traditional 90 minutes with inerval .Infact there were two intervals in a programme that spanned from Byrd through Takemitsu,Messiaen and of course Barraqué .
Our pianist asked for the light to be off when he played the Barraqué sonata because little did we suspect that he carried in his hands a chain and hammer as he approached the piano. Well after a few minutes of ‘minimalist’ noises there was a great crash and the lights were immediately back and the concert cancelled because the sound board of the piano had been damaged! Glock was a great innovator and insisted on having Boulez at the helm of the BBC Symphony Orchestra after Sir Adrian Boult and Sir Malcom Sargent . Glock’s programmes would regularly include works where the ink was still wet on the page or plumbing was carried on by the ‘performers’ for an unsuspecting public.
Tonight with Mikhail it was a fascinating view of a world of minimalist experimentalists searching for a path but above all breaking down conventions and opening up our ears.The scratching of spoons on mugs ,a pen dropped on the floor are all sounds and Music after all IS SOUND.
Breaking Barriers as Mikhail carried on stage a mirror that he hid behind and gradually abandoned as the sounds began.
Leslie Howard asking Mikhail to explain himself after a most exhausting experience for all concerned
A series of ten works most of which even Leslie Howard had never heard or heard of before?! Infact Leslie one of the Artistic Directors who had invited Mikhail to London to play for the Trust asked Mikhail if he would like to introduce each piece.It was obvious that this would not have been ‘minimally’ possible as Mikhail was so involved in playing with such vehemence ,total involvement and dynamic drive that neither he nor we could really appreciate where one piece finished and another began! Our distinguished recording engineer who had recorded Boulez many times in his illustrious career said that he would not even attempt to add captions to the video recording that the KT will make available on their website before long.
At last we recognised the opening of Beethoven’s G major Sonata op 31 n. 1.We recognised it but it was seen with the eyes of a composer and minimalist breaker of barriers .Mikhail playing or recreating Beethoven like Roger Woodwood with a technique larger than life.Mikhail played like a man possessed – surely Beethoven must have been the same – and if there were moments when the pedal created overwhelming sonorities and the difference between loud,louder and loudest was indeed ‘minimal’ it did lead to a rethinking of our values for better or worse rather that a passive acceptance of yet another performance of a classical sonata.
Breaking Barriers the piano survived and so did we and with a drink in our hands we had the courage to face this heroic young man and demand to know what it was all about.
Of course he has no idea either and that is the whole point. The search is on.Provocative – yes ….passive it certainly is not.
George Brecht Mirror Lee Heflin Fall Peter Phillips Amarilli di Julio Romano Michael Finnissy Poor Stuff Dvořák Otázka Alkan En rythme molossique Dvořák Dumka op.35 Mitropoulos Béatrice Christophe Bertrand Haïku Cornelius Cardew Memories of you
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.16 in G major Rued Langgaard Vanvidsfantasi
Steinway Hall 44 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2DB
Wednesday, 13 March 2024, 6.30pm
Mikhail Bouzine is a pianist and composer based in Nuremberg, Germany. He is an alumnus of the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart where he studied with Nicolas Hodges. Mikhail also attended the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied piano with Andrey Shibko, composition with Vladimir Tarnopolski and harpsichord withTatiana Zenaïshvili. Mikhail is the author and performer of numerous conceptual solo piano recitals with repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to Fluxus. He won First Prize at the 14th Orléans International Piano Competition and was a finalist at the 64th Busoni International Piano Competition. Among his ensemble work are the LIMINALITY project with the Kymatic Ensemble and Thimk Collective (piano, keyboards, harpsichord). He has also participated in piano masterclasses with Alexeï Lubimov, Peter Donohoe and Maria Grazia Bellocchio, the Play&Direct Academy with Lars Vogt and Mark Stringer; and composition masterclasses with Leif Segerstam and Vyacheslav Artyomov. Mikhail is currently working on a major meta-cycle composition inspired by the pan-Slavic alphabet.
I doubt that the piano has ever sounded so beautiful as today in the sensitive hands of Steven Osborne.A poet who sculptures in sound and an artist who has a story to tell of wondrous lands and magic arabesques. Now I understand his insistence with his students of having a story to tell. Stories in his hands today that took us to places we have rarely been before.Matthay must be looking on with a glint in his eye as at last there comes a disciple who can find infinite gradations of sound in every note.Playing of a fluidity as though without being tied down to bar lines.There were moments of astonishing dynamic drive and energy where the keys seemed almost red hot as he shied away for fear of getting burnt ! Writing this in the interval and imagining that Eusebius has had the stage until now and looking at the programme I expect this will be time for the entry of Florestan with Keith Jarrett,Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson on stage . An artist of Florestan and Eusebius personality no wonder his Schumann was the most wondrous I have ever heard …..this was indeed the Poet speaking!
What a programme, that was a picture in sound that Steven had wanted to share with us,asking the audience not to break the spell with applause until after the Debussy.There was a wonderful flowing tempo to the Schumann Arabeske with a timeless beauty where bar lines were of no significance.A fluidity with a magical sense of colour where sounds would glitter and gleam as never before in the midst of this seemingly innocuous rondo melody .In lesser hands it can seem very repetitive but in Steven’s hands we never wanted it to finish.He subtly doubled the melodic line from the tenor register and took our breath away when the bass suddenly appeared from his genial palette of ravishing colours.A pointillism in sound. The Minore II that so often breaks the spell of even the most sensitive performances was here simply Florestan commenting and Eusebius replying before we overheard what seemed like the rondo in the distance.It was even more tenderly played but always remaining on the same wave that was to carry us so naturally from the first glorious note to the last.And what notes they were with the coda ‘Zum Schluss’ of such breathtaking beauty like a song where words are just not enough and where Schumann and Schubert could transport us into a world of dreams.The gentle forte of the last note was allowed to reverberated with the gently stroked final notes held in the pedal as the wondrous sounds of the ‘snow is dancing’ filled this perfumed air.The spell was set and I have rarely felt as today an audience drawn in to the performer like the Pied Piper from the very first notes of a recital.The snow ‘doux et estompe’ now we know what ‘estompe’ really means!Melodies that suddenly appeared and disappeared all within a framework of luminous ‘featherlight’ sounds that disappeared into infinity at the end where they are probably still sounding to the joy of the angels!At this point ‘Jimbo’ entered ‘doux et un peu gauche’ .Not a little but tiptoeing very carefully to an ending over cluttered with Debussy beseeching us not to believe our ears that such a clumsy beast could be so delicate!We did believe it today as the music in Steven’s wondrous hands spoke so much louder than any hieroglyphics the composer might add in desperation!The Serenade just wafted in with charm and fluidity.I have the magical performance of Horowitz always in my heart and soul from his live return to Carnegie Hall but after tonight Mr Horowitz can sit on the wall as Mr Osborne has filled that special place !The final notes reaching right to the end of the keyboard that we followed with baited breath to the final barely whispered top E .’The little Shepherd’ was played with a haunting beauty of desolation interrupted by the melancholic look over his shoulder at what he was missing – magic was still in the air as Steven just blew on the final notes – sounds – the word note already seems so positive for something that was indeed so etherial.The First Arabesque by Debussy just wafted in as the sounds rose and fell like some calm waves lapping on the seashore and was followed by the French elegance and charm of the sparkling precision like jewels of the second. The audience were now set free to release this magic bubble created by a master magician with mundane but truly sincere applause.
This is where I just sat back and relished the concert without even trying to describe the wonders that were being revealed by this genial poet of the piano.Comparative performances are not for me I listen to every performance with fresh ears waiting for what very rarely happens – je sens ,je joue je trasmets .All I can say is that the simplicity and beauty of Kinderscenen today was as revealing as Curzon or Cortot.
Poetry in sound with wondrous ‘foreign lands and peoples’ such a curious story of revealing artistry.Art that conceals art – Blind man’s bluff played with a jeux perlé that only the greatest of masters of the keyboard can match.A desperately beseeching child who in the end seemed happy enough until the grandeur and enormous sonorities of such an Important Event.Perchance to dream – if only all dreams were made of this sitting by the beautiful fireside as the Hobby horse rocked with such gentle persuasion.The technical finesse in frightening was indeed enough to scare any other pianists from thinking this was too easy for real virtuosi .But it was Steven’s insistence on underlining the left hand in ‘falling asleep’ that will remain with me for long to come ……and that final note …was to die for.A Poet Speaks of course we had been aware of that since the very first note of this wondrous event!
After the interval enter Mr Florestan! But not before the beauty of White Birches by a certain Marion Eugenie Bauer delighted us with a Chaminade type morsel of simple delight.Then the fun began with a gentle throbbing of Meredith Monk’s Railroad that collided with Rzewski’s Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues where Steven’s delicate fingers were now given over to his fists and arms.A tumultuous build up of sounds of Reich proportions that was an exhilarating release from the intense perfumed sounds that Eusebius had treated us to.An improvisation like pianists of another age who would improvise from one piece to to another liking them together by key relationships .These were gentle sounds that suddenly revealed – with a promised knowing look from our compère – to the simple beauty of Keith Jarrett’s ‘My Song’ followed by Bill Evan’s arrangement of Gershwin’s ‘I loves you Porgy ‘.
How apposite as we had been totally seduced by now but were even more astonished by the virtuosity and crazy drive of Oscar Peterson’s Indiana.This made Messiaen’s Spirit of Joy sound like a five finger exercise.Steven now let his hair down to give an all or nothing performance of incredible pyrotechnics and animal enjoyment.
This was indeed X certificate stuff and I think if it had carried on any longer the piano would have found a way of getting off stage quick! It reminds me of that famous caricature of Liszt.
Getting his and our breath back and in reply to an ovation , rarely heard even at the Wigmore Hall,Eusebius came back to show us it had all been a dream, with a ravishing and touching melody by Keith Jarrett.
Playing of great authority and aristocratic bearing from Mihai Ritivoiu who at only thirty hours notice had agreed to give this recital that was to be broadcast on live streaming .I have known Mihai since the time I heard a young pianist play the Polonaise Fantasy by Chopin in a Masterclass of Richard Goode at the Guildhall .I remember being so impressed that I asked Ronan O ‘Hora who he was. Ronan is head of keyboard at the Guildhall and a master pianist in his own right and we have a bond between us that all disciples of Vlado Perlemuter maintain.I had just decided to spend as much time in the UK as in Italy and to maintain the same interest in talented young musicians that I had nurtured for thirty years in Rome.Offering opportunities for neglected musicians Old and New in the Eternal city where I was running a theatre that I created with my actress wife next to St Peter’s Square.
I have since become involved with the Keyboard Trust where much of my activity now is centred in helping young musicians find a platform in between graduating from the various music Academies and taking the first steps on the very steep ladder to a career in music.About ten years ago I was invited by Alberto Portugheis,the then President of the Beethoven Society in London to be part of a jury of their Beethoven Prize, together with Piers Lane and Noretta Conci ( founder of the Keyboard Trust ).Amongst the very fine artists there was one that shone more brightly than the others – a student of Joan Havill – Mihai Ritivoiu with a magnificent performance of Beethoven’s Appassionata.From that victory Mihai was taken under the wing of many institutions created to help young musicians and of course he was invited for the Keyboard Trust to play in a very important concert in the Travellers Club in the presence of Sir Antonio Pappano.I have since heard him play many times and even followed in streaming his performances with orchestra at the Enescu Festivals in his homeland of Romania and also appearances with orchestra at the Cadogan Hall here in London.I had heard him quite recently play in the Liberal Club in London in a series run by a pianist colleague and co-national,Cristian Sandrin.It was a very impressive performance of the young aspiring pianist who had matured into an artist of stature and authority.It was the same pianist who performed today but there was even more of an aristocratic bearing.This young student has indeed matured as man and musician and he created a presence not only with his playing but also with his bearing and appearance that commanded attention.
This is indeed an artist to be reckoned with and his sense of style and kaleidoscopic sense of colour allied to an impeccable musicianship ( as you would expect from the class of Joan Havill – Fou Ts’ongs words not only mine) bring everything he plays vividly to life with simplicity and sumptuous beauty.From the very first notes of the Scarlatti Sonata in A K 24 it was obvious that here was an artist that could turn one of 555 sonatas into a miniature tone poem of vibrancy and scintillating subtlety.There was an architectural shape but also a luminous sound of great purity.This was a stylist and master musician that as Joan Chissell would say ‘could turn a bauble into a gem’.
Beethoven too the Sonata in D op 10 n.3 with it’s profoundly moving Largo e mesto of such maturity and poignant beauty.This is one of the first of the Sonatas where Beethoven truly breaks away from his master Haydn and allows the sonata to evolve as it was to do over Beethoven’s lifetime in 32 steps.The slow movement reveals the genius of Beethoven as he had already hinted at in the sonatas op 2 n.3 and op 7.Mihai played this movement with poignant weight and beauty with a full orchestral sound where one was made aware that this was a symphony on the piano.Not just the simple melody and accompaniment but where every strand of counterpoint or accompaniment has a meaning and an important role to play.There was ravishing beauty of the return of the opening theme where the full whispered richness of string quartet quality was so poignant with ‘rinforzandi’ within the notes themselves.The deep bass notes of the coda with the washes of sound above gaining in searing intensity until the bubble broke and we descended into a paradise of subtle sounds.The two whispered final appogiaturas are answered by a barely audible D deep in the heart of the piano.There followed a beautifully pastoral Menuetto and bucolic Trio played in the style of it’s age.The gentle questioning of the final Rondo as the intervening episodes became ever more rumbustuous and full of refined jeux perlé always with the insistence of the opening question present as it blew itself out with scintillating nonchalant ease.
It was the same ease and refined beauty that Mihai brought to the Fauré Ballade .I have often regretted not asking Perlemuter why it was not in his repertoire as he lived in the same house or just next door to the composer and would often play through the nocturnes for the composer with the ink still wet on the page.As Mihai says it a beautiful early work that for some strange reason has not entered the standard concert repertoire.Especially hard to understand when you hear a performance as the one today with its cascades of notes that were quite simply strands of colour illuminating the very individual voice of Fauré.There was a great sweep of harmonic colour out of which emerged the bitter sweet melodic invention added to great intensity and excitement. From the bel canto opening like the Chopin Berceuse to the increasing intensity and build up of sumptuous sounds all played with the aristocratic control that the composer demands.The beauty is in the music not on the surface and playing with the weight of an organist there are sounds to be cherished that are not immediately apparent to lesser mortals! Mihai and Louis Lortie earlier this season have both shown us a Fauré that makes it seem incredible that he is still one of the most misrepresented composers today.
I remember Aquiles delle Vigne giving me the urtext edition of the Fantasia Betica with the dedication to Artur Rubinstein who rarely played it as he complained it was too long!
Mihai today brought this work vividly to life and it certainly did not seem too long because there was such an extraordinary palette of colours that every episode was like a new chapter in a thrilling novel. A voyage of discovery with a range of sounds from the shrill hard edges and gleaming glissandi to the gently whispered pluck of the guitar strings and the mighty oceans of sound leading so hysterically to the chiselled final notes and stamp of the feet. A remarkable performance that makes me question the validity of Rubinstein’s remark. Certainly Mihai’s performance did not seem too long today .On the contrary I would have readily listened to it all over again!
There is a story of Rubinstein playing the Ravel Valses nobles e sentimentales in Spain that was greeted with boos and hisses.He quite simply sat down at the piano and instead of the expected Ritual Fire Dance he played them the ‘Valses’ all over again!
Born in Bucharest, the London-based Romanian pianist Mihai Ritivoiu is alaureate of numerous national and international competitions, most notably the George Enescu International Competition. Mihai leads an international career performing solo and chamber music recitals in Europe and Asia, and has played concertos with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra and MDR Leipzig, and with conductors such as Joshua Weilerstein, Robert Trevino, Michael Collins, Cristian Mandeal, Christian Badea and Horia Andreescu. He has been invited to play at prestigious festivals, including Young Euro Classic in Berlin and the Enescu Festival in Bucharest, and has performed in halls such as the Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Studio Ernest Ansermet Geneva, the Radio Hall andthe Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest He appeared live multiple times on BBC Radio 3’s programme ‘In Tune’,and his performances have been broadcast by Radio Romania MuzicalRadio Television Suisse and Medici TV. His debut album, released under the label Genuin with solo works by Franck, Enescu and Liszt, has been praised as “beautifully recorded, handsomely played – a solo recital to cherish” (The Arts Desk).A graduate with the highest honours from the National University of Music in Bucharest and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, Mihaistudied with Professors Viniciu Moroianu and Joan Havill. He took masterclasses with Dmitri Bashkirov, Dominique Merlet, Emmanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Jean-Claude Pennetier and has been mentored by Valentin Gheorghiu and Christopher Elton. In addition to his solo career, Mihai is passionate about chamber music. Throughout the years he has played with Corina Belcea, Antoine Lederlin,Roland Pidoux, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Bernhard Naoki Hedenborg andOleg Kogan. Mihai became a City Music Foundation artist in 2016. He has also received generous support from the Liliana and Peter Ilica Foundationfor the Endowment of the Arts, Erbiceanu Cultural Foundation and Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation.
Gabriel Urbain Fauré 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924 In the rigid official musical establishment of Paris in the second half of the 19th century Gabriel Fauré won acceptance with difficulty. He was a pupil of Camille Saint-Saëns at the École Niedermeyer and served as organist at various Paris churches, including finally the Madeleine, but had no teaching position until 1897, at the Conservatoire, where his pupils included Ravel and Enescu. In 1905 he became director of the Conservatoire in the aftermath of the scandal of the Prix de Rome being refused to Ravel, and he introduced a number of necessary reforms. He retired in 1920, after which he was able to devote himself more fully again to composition, producing notably two final chamber works: a Piano Trio and a String Quartet. He died in Paris in 1924.
He grew up, a rather quiet well-behaved child, in an area of great beauty. … But the only thing he remembered really clearly is the harmonium in that little chapel. Every time he could get away I ran there :’and I regaled myself. … I played atrociously … no method at all, quite without technique, but I do remember that I was happy; and if that is what it means to have a vocation, then it is a very pleasant thing.’ An old blind woman, who came to listen and give the boy advice, told his father of Fauré’s gift for music.He sent him to the École Niedermeyer de Paris which Louis Niedermeyer was setting up in Paris.When Niedermeyer died in March 1861, Camille Saint Saens took charge of piano studies and introduced contemporary music, including .Fauré recalled in old age, “After allowing the lessons to run over, he would go to the piano and reveal to us those works of the masters from which the rigorous classical nature of our programme of study kept us at a distance and who, moreover, in those far-off years, were scarcely known. … At the time I was 15 or 16, and from this time dates the almost filial attachment … the immense admiration, the unceasing gratitude I [have] had for him, throughout my life.”The close friendship between them lasted until Saint-Saëns died sixty years later.Roger Ducasse wrote ‘More profound than Saint-Saëns, more varied than Lalo, more spontaneous than d’Indy, more classic than Debussy, Gabriel Fauré is the master par excellence of French music, the perfect mirror of our musical genius’
The Ballade, dedicated to Camille Saint – Saens dates from 1877, and is considered one of the three masterpieces of his youth, along with the first violin sonata and the first piano quartet .It is one of Fauré’s most substantial works for solo piano, but is better known in a version for piano and orchestra that he made in 1881 at Liszt’s suggestion.Playing for a little over 14 minutes, it is second in length only to the Thème et variations.Fauré first conceived the music as a set of individual pieces, but then decided to make them into a single work by carrying the main theme of each section over into the following section as a secondary theme.The work opens with the F♯ major theme, an andante cantabile, which is followed by a faster section, marked allegro moderato, in E♭ minor. The third section is an andante introducing a third theme. In the last section, an allegro, a return of the second theme brings the work to a conclusion where the treble sings with particular delicacy.
Fauré appears to have first conceived his Ballade in the late 1870s as a series of related short pieces, rather in the tradition of Schumann. But in a letter of September 1879, he explained that the central B-major allegro had become ‘a kind of alliance between [piano pieces] nos. 2 and 3. That is to say, by using new but old methods I have found a way of developing the phrase of no. 2 [the E-flat minor allegro moderato] into a sort of interlude, and at the same time stating the premises of no. 3 [the concluding allegro moderato, with its bird-call trills] in such a way that the three pieces become one. It has thus turned into a Fantasy rather out of the usual way.’
Marcel Proust knew Fauré, and the Ballade is thought to have been the inspiration for the sonata by Proust’s character Vinteuil that haunts Swann in In Search of Lost Time .Debussy reviewing an early performance of the Ballade, compared the music with the attractive soloist, straightening her shoulder-straps during the performance: “I don’t know why, but I somehow associated the charm of these gestures with the music of Fauré himself. The play of fleeting curves that is its essence can be compared to the movements of a beautiful woman without either suffering from the comparison.” Bryce Morrison describes the Ballade as “a reminder of halcyon, half-remembered summer days and bird-haunted forests”.
Fantasía bética, or Andalusian Fantasy, was written in 1919 evoking the old Roman province of Baetis in southern Spain, today’s Andalusia. It was commissioned by Artur Rubinstein ,who planned to perform it in Barcelona that year but did not learn it in time and so wound up giving the premiere in New York on 20 February 1920; as it turned out, he would play it only a few times before dropping it from his repertory without recording it and years later he explained to the composer that he found it too long … It was Falla’s last major piano work and the only one that belongs to the virtuoso tradition in which Falla the pianist had been trained. ‘Guitar figurations transformed into pianistic terms abound … other passages evoke the harpsichord, Scarlatti as it were, rewritten by Bartók.’ Beyond that are the smoky, heavily ornamented lines of flamenco singers and the tightly controlled gestures of Andalusian dancing, the whole work adding up to a marvellously varied and vigorous portrait of Spain. From the structural point of view Falla’s ‘internal rhythm’, which he explained as ‘the harmony in the deepest sense of the word born of the dynamic equilibrium between the sections’. Any attempt to shorten the work would have blunted its impact.
The abstract, large-scale work is a celebration of Andalusian culture and history, but not an historical evocation. Its influences draw from Falla’s knowledge and experience of the the flamenco culture that evolved in Andalusia.
Provinicia Baetica was the old Roman name for Andalusia and so a translation of the title might be “Andalusian Fantasy.” Although the materials used are original with Falla, they strongly evoke the folk music of southern Spain: the strident, sombre cante jondo sung in oriental-sounding scales, chords derived from guitar tunings, and a harsh percussive quality reminiscent of castanets and heel stamping.
The tonal originality of the Baetica is a result of Gypsy, ‘Middle Eastern’, Sephardic, Indian and subtle French influences woven into the harmonic language.
Manuel de Falla was born in 1876 into a reasonably affluent family in Cádiz, where music was confined to annual performances of Haydn’s The Seven Last Words, occasional visits by grand opera companies, and folk songs—not as museum pieces, but as living elements of Spanish life. By 1896 the family fortunes had diminished and they moved to Madrid, where Falla entered the conservatoire and began to compose zarzuelas, the Spanish form of operetta. But his eyes were set on Paris and in 1907 he began a seven-year stay, making friends with Debussy, Ravel and Dukas. He had already begun the Cuatro piezas españolas in Madrid, but they were brought out in 1909 by the Parisian publisher Durand on the recommendation of the three above-named composers. Despite the obvious debt to Albéniz, also in Paris at the time and the dedicatee of the pieces, Falla’s mixture of harmonic invention and elegant counterpoint is unfailingly captivating, banishing any hint of the boredom that might otherwise accrue from the insistent Spanish dance rhythms. His tunes too recall Spanish folk music with its repeated notes and small intervals, but his textures are in general more economical than those of Albéniz.
The opera La vida breve was written in 1904–5 but not performed until 1913. It includes two Spanish dances which have subsequently achieved a life of their own. The first, which opens the second act, was published in a variety of settings, including transcriptions for piano solo and four-hand duet by the composer, and with the music from the end of the scene as Interludio y Danza for orchestra. It was also arranged by Fritz Kreisler for solo violin and piano (as Danza española) in 1926.
Kings Place Monday 11th March 2024 at 8 pm Jonathan Ferrucci plays the Goldberg Variations for the Kirckman Concert Society A standing ovation at the end of the 80 minutes of The Goldbergs – still only the start of a lifetimes’ journey. One that in four years has reached a peak of perfection that kept a rapturous full house in complete silence for the entire duration. Playing with all the repeats except in the final Aria he was justly greeted by a standing ovation with cat calls and whistles worthy of a football stadium at the end of this extraordinary marathon.
This is the fascinating pod cast for the Keyboard Trust with Jonathan Ferrucci ……some inspired and inspiring comments that were recorded in an improvised encounter as he prepared for his first performances of the Goldberg variations in 2021 .It culminated last night in London with a performance in 2024 where all the strands seemed to come miraculously together.Knotty twine or jigsaw puzzle it is without doubt the work of a Universal Genius.
There was lots to discuss all centred around Florence…….and Bach! It was there that I first heard Rosalyn Tureck giving a lecture on Bach in the Cristofori museum of Stefano Fiuzzi.I could not believe that she had not been invited to give a recital so I invited her to play in Rome.A performance of the Goldberg Variations ,one that I had never forgotten from my student days in London.( see programme below)
It created a sensation after 25 years absence from the stage when she had stopped performing in order to dedicate herself to the study of Bach in Oxford.Creating her own Bach research institute of which I was eventually invited to be a trustee.
Florence immediately woke up and invited her to La Pergola theatre and she became the diva of this centre of European culture,playing sometimes twice a season.
That mantle has now passed to Angela Hewitt and it is she who had noted in 2014 a young florentine boy of quite exceptional human and pianistic gifts with whom she has been sharing her unique ideas from a life immersed in the world of the Universal Genius of J.S.Bach. Rosalyn’s performance was like a rock to be revered and honoured from a distance whereas Angela’s is based on the song and the dance to be enjoyed and moved ,touched as it is by the human spirit. Angela had trained as a dancer which one can admire in all that she does. Jonathan practises Ashtanga yoga and considers it an integral part of his work ,and essential in his life.In fact he stands on his head for a few minutes before starting the day. Jonathan’s teacher for 10 years ,Giovanni Carmassi,inspired him to pursue music in life but did warn him that music is a “dangerous disease” .The book of conversations with Carmassi is the New Testament as Neuhaus the Old.Both are a pianist’s bible . This pod cast discussion includes some magnificent examples from Jonathan’s first performance in 2021.It was to be a performance to cherish but work in progress always.
Angela Hewitt had recently played them in the church where Bach is laid to rest in Leipzig.
If music be the food of love …..play on ……… We certainly need it in these unexpected times. “I have not been with you for so long” “Cabbages and turnips have driven me away”………”If my mother had cooked meat ,I would have stayed longer!” What can this last variation mean ………Jonathan reveals what he has discovered in his lockdown study of the greatest set of variations ever written.
Here are the various stops so far from the start of a lifetimes’ journey delving into the workings of a Universal Genius
Pianistic perfection of Elisabeth Brauss .A kaleidoscope of colours with an enviable clarity and precision allied to an impeccable musical pedegree . Nowhere more evident than in the encore with the second movement of Beethoven’s seemingly innocuous sonata op 14.n.2 I have heard many great pianists play the jewels that are to be found in the two sonatas op 14 .Richter played them both in his first appearances in London but another woman pianist Annie Fischer was unforgettable. I have never heard this movement played with such Swiss precision allied to the ravishing beauty and sense of character that this young lady shared with us today with such ‘joie de vivre’ and innocent freshness .She has earned a reputation for her playing of the Viennese classics to which she brings a clarity and exhilarating freshness with impeccable good taste and intelligent musicianship.So I was surprised to see a large part of her programme dedicated to Prokofiev and Albéniz.The BBC announcer,Martin Handley ,asked us to feel free to applaud after the Prokofiev but Elisabeth wanted the Albeniz to link up to the Beethoven ‘Hunt’ Sonata without any intrusive interruption!
What wonders she brought to eight of Prokofiev’s early pieces op.12. Like the ‘Visions Fugitives’ this is pre war Prokofiev where his sense of fantasy and colour were of an artist untainted by the trials and tribulations that were so much part of his later works .This was the lyrical poetic Prokofiev who with a few strokes of his pen could create characters and atmospheres that later were to become of more dynamic rhythmic assertions.The beautiful aeolian harp of the Prelude could almost be by Grieg or Sinding such was it’s easy undisturbed flow of beauty more of pastoral charm than military exertions! In Elisabeth’s hands it was of a ravishing beauty worthy of the refined pianism of the Golden age of piano playing.
Omitting the Mazurka and Capriccio she chose those eight that made up a fascinating and satisfying twenty minute suite.From the delicacy of the fairy tale Tchaikowsky style march with the chiselled sounds and pungent harmonies that were already stamped into Prokofiev’s musical personality.A surprise coquettish ending was played with beguiling style by Elisabeth and lead into the gentle Gavotte.Here was a story being told of such innocence with a beautiful turn to the major before the Gavotte returning in crazy celebratory style.There was a burst of refined energy within the Rigaudon of surprising elegance but with a joyous finale.Subtle story telling from the a refined tone palette in the Legende with wistful etherial sounds of questioning – the unanswered question indeed – and ever more unearthly as it drew to an exquisite end.What subtle beauty she brought to the harp like sounds of the Prelude where even the opening left hand arpeggio was allowed all the time to open like a beautiful flower just sharing the subtle perfumed sounds with us. Soon awoken by Prokofiev with his typical Russian dance poking fun with spiky brilliance but after all the fuss just disappearing into the distance no doubt up to his mischief in another town!Things that go bump in the night with a perpetuum mobile of explosive vehemence but a contrasting Trio almost too serious in the Scherzo humoristique .Finally Elisabeth treated us to a jeux perlé of sparkling brilliance and insistence with a Scherzo of remarkable control and virtuosity before the final race to an ending that Prokofiev just underlined for good measure !Elisabeth brought these little gems to life with sparkling wit,virtuosity and heart on sleeve sentiment .It brought to mind Rubinstein who had played a selection of Prokofiev Vision Fugitives in his legendary ten Carnegie Hall recitals that he gave to thank America for offering him a home when Europe was being set on fire.Rubinstein made the simple melodic invention of Prokofiev speak in the same way that Elisabeth did so unexpectedly today.
There were ravishing whispered sounds and colours where one could almost smell the exotic perfumed air in Albeniz’s Evocacion .It was played by Elisabeth with the same clarity and ravishing luminous beauty that I well remember from Rafael Orozco many years ago when he won the second Leeds Piano Competition .Whatever happened to that dashing young Spanish pianist Annie Fischer asked as she had been on the jury and had not forgotten such magical sounds.He lived in Rome and died a sad death like many young artists in the plagued 80’s and 90’s.Nice to be reminded of such artistry as I was today.
Strangely the wistful magical sounds of Spanish somnabulance were joined by the opening questioning sounds of Beethoven op 31 n. 3.Usually played in a more assertive way, but looking closely at the score as Elisabeth had obviously done it is marked to be played in piano only bursting into life after this equally meditative opening .Burst into life it certainly did in Elisabeth’s hands with her well oiled fingers of extraordinary sensitivity and clarity and the first movement ending just thrown off with such nonchalant ease as the Scherzo burst into life.Beethoven’s fortissimi and sforzando were like calls to attention in between the chattering bucolic energy that they commanded.The minuetto was played with beautiful operatic expansiveness and the Trio with such character that one can understand why these seemingly innocuous chord were taken by Saint Saens for the theme of his variations .The Presto con fuoco was played at whirlwind speed with overwhelming brilliance and character .A furious hunt to the final exhilaration of the closing chords.
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) From Iberia (Book 1) (1905-6) Evocación Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat Op. 31 No. 3 ‘Hunt’ (1802) I. Allegro • II. Scherzo. Allegretto vivace • III. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso • IV. Presto con fuoco The concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001wyr7
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev. 27 April – 5 March 1953) Born in Sontsivka Ukraine – Died aged 61 in Moscow
10 Pieces for Piano, Op.12, composed by Sergei Prokofiev, is a captivating and evocative collection of piano compositions. Each piece in this opus showcases Prokofiev’s iconic style, characterized by its daring harmonies and rhythmic complexities. From the delicate, introspective melodies of the first piece to the powerful and exhilarating chords of the last, the set captures a wide range of emotions and moods. Prokofiev seamlessly fuses the classical traditions with modernistic elements, creating a distinctive sound that is both vibrant and intellectually stimulating. The music oscillates between moments of tranquility and moments of intense passion, displaying Prokofiev’s mastery of musical tension. The contrasting dynamics and tempos add a sense of drama to the overall composition, making it an engaging listening experience. 10 Pieces for Piano, Op.12, provides a remarkable insight into Prokofiev’s creative genius. Through its intricate melodies and harmonies, the collection highlights the composer’s ability to push boundaries while maintaining an emotional connection with the listener. It is a testament to Prokofiev’s profound influence on 20th-century music and solidifies his place as one of the most innovative and important composers of his time.
Tomorrow at the Wigmore Hall a recital by Steven Osborne . But today this remarkable artist shares his extraordinary musicianship with young musicians at the Guildhall with the simplicity and humility that only great and dedicated artists possess
In the majesty of the Church of the Annunciation just a stone’s throw from the Wigmore Hall Sasha Grynyuk and his colleagues have formed a music group to share with us their musical discoveries from a repertoire where there are still so many master works to discover.
Not only was there the discovery of a rarely performed Quartet by Richard Strauss but it was also prefaced by an all too brief excerpt from Bach’s mighty Goldberg Variations.The Aria and first variation for piano solo with the addition of three variations for string trio.An excerpt to whet our appetite for the main work on the programme and to get us used to this beautiful but rather austere edifice that strangely enough ( with a nave six storeys high) is blessed with an excellent acoustic for chamber music.The church was indeed the discovery of Sasha and Katya looking for a church to take eternal vows to each other during the Pandemic four years ago.
Now with a newly acquired piano they have adopted this space to share their love for music with others.Many of Sasha’s illustrious colleagues have joined them in making music together much to the delight of a very large audience who had gathered on a rather bleak Sunday evening to enjoy the fruits of such a warm and noble venture into the unknown.
Sasha gave an impeccabile performance of the Aria from the Goldbergs which is no mean feat as the sublime simplicity of this Aria can sometimes be overzealously ornamented.The first variation too was played quite simply and if I am used to Rosalyn Tureck’s more non legato rhythmic assertion here Sasha convinced with his rather more legato touch as it melded so well with the strings as he passed the chair to the trio just waiting to join in the fun.The ninth and fifteenth variations beautifully played with noble style as was the Quodlibet but surely this brief excursion into paradise needed as Bach himself realised a reappearance of the Aria on high.We needed to be reminded that after all the knotty twine and elaborations the sublime beauty of the Aria cleansed the air with more than a touch of genius!
There followed a superb performance of Strauss’s Brahmsian Quartet that was new to me.A work in four movements lasting over 30 minutes.It was played with a kaleidoscope of sounds from the whispered to the ravishing and from the quixotic silvery beauty of the Scherzo to the full romantic sweep of the outer movements.There were moments of touching beauty in the Andante with four players listening and watching each other to see and feel which way their musical trail was to take.This was chamber music at it’s best with four master players combining in a musical conversation of surprise and discovery.
An aperitif after such a feast was indeed another good reason not to miss this musical treat on store every month in this noble edifice blessed with peace and tranquility just off Oxford Street where even on a Sunday chaos reigns even in the rain!
An aperitif fit for a King And indeed the Boas had left their sumptuous home where music abounds to come to enjoy even more music making just around the corner
Richard Strauss 11 June 1864 Munich – 8 September 1949 (aged 85) Garmisch Partenkirchen,Bavaria
The Piano Quartet in C minor was written in the fall and winter of 1884–85, bearing an autograph date of 1 January 1885. This early chamber music work, written when Strauss was 20 years old, shows considerable influence from Brahms.A few weeks after the work’s completion, the Berliner Tonkünstlerverein, a Berlin-based professional association for musicians, held a competition for “the best piano quartet received”,
Strauss submitted his Piano Quartet and was awarded the first prize out of 24 submissions, receiving a prize of 300 marks
The premiere of the Piano Quartet took place in Weimar on 8 December 1885, with the composer playing the piano part.The work bears a dedication to Georg II Duke of Saxe-Meiningen;as Court Kapellmeister in Meiningen, Strauss was eager to win the trust of the duke. After Strauss resigned to take up a position in Munich, the duke afforded his thanks to the dedication in a letter to Strauss: “The dedication of your inventive, beautiful quartet will afford me great pleasure. On this occasion, I would like to tell you that I am very sad to see you leave and confess that through your achievements I am thoroughly cured of my earlier misapprehension that you, due to your youth, were not yet qualified to be the sole director of an orchestra.” In December 1885, Bülow unexpectedly resigned from his post, and Strauss was left to lead the Meiningen Court Orchestra as interim principal conductor for the remainder of the artistic season through April 1886.He notably helped prepare the orchestra for the world premiere performance of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony which Brahms himself conducted. He also conducted his Second Symphony for Brahms, who advised Strauss: “Your symphony contains too much playing about with themes. This piling up of many themes based on a triad, which differ from one another only in rhythm, has no value.”Brahms’ music, like Wagner’s, also left a tremendous impression upon Strauss, and he often referred to this time of his life as his ‘Brahmsschwärmerei’ (‘Brahms adoration’) during which several his compositions clearly show Brahms’ influence, including the Piano Quartet in C minor op.13 Op. 13 (1883–84), Wandrers Sturmlied (1884) and Burleske (1885–86).”
Allegro
Scherzo: Presto
Andante
Finale: Vivace
Following a performance in Berlin on 22 May 1886 at a soiree of the Tonkunstlerverein ,the Vossische Zeitung wrote:
‘Richard Strauss’] new work testifies to aesthetic sense, inventiveness and technical skill. Just as the composer keeps within the bounds of a healthy sensibility here, he also develops his themes in a clear and mostly lively, as well as artistic manner. Only the first Allegro and the Scherzo of the quartet seem to be the most peculiar in substance, the latter especially with its rhythms. The Andante initially captivates with its soft and full swelling cantilena, but becomes tiring in the course due to the lack of a more lively contrast. The finale is fresh and brisk; in keeping with the basic character of the work, we would have liked a grander conception of this movement. The arrangement of the instruments, especially the strings, is as melodious as it is often characteristically charming.’ Music critic Arthur Johnstone wrote in 1904 that Strauss “shows himself a better Brahmsian than Brahms, avoiding all his model’s worst faults” and that the quartet “might rank as the mature work of anyone but Strauss” The work was performed in Cologne in 1887 and the critic Richard Pohl wrote :’Richard Strauss has an unusual talent for composition – he has his own thoughts, imaginative ideas, great formal dexterity and a ‘long breath’, a proof of proficient skill. The Quartet lasts three quarters of an hour and yet kept us in suspense until the end. The last movement, however, is the weakest – but that happens to most composers, as it is much harder to satisfactorily conclude than to begin. Dramatists usually do not fare any better with their final acts. The first movement is large in scale and broad in development; the Scherzo has real humor, but is so exceptionally difficult rhythmically that, as one kind artist told me, “you must be able to keep time very well just to listen to it”. The Andante is noble and flows beautifully.’
Strauss villa at Garmisch – Partenkirchen Built 1906.
Angela Hewitt’s triumph with Bach and Brahms on the 152nd anniversary of the first performance of Brahms D minor Concerto op 15 in England on 9 March 1872 at the Crystal Palace .A certain Miss Baglehole was the soloist who was obviously not up to the job being criticised for not having the strength to play such a modern work where the piano is pitched against the orchestra .
Angela promised that would not be the case today and the power she gave to the great black beast before her shook the beautiful St Andrew Holborn to the rafters.There was lyrical radiance and searing intensity too as Angela was like an animal unleashed at last able to show us that not only Arrau could stand his own against the orchestra.
This was after another D minor concerto ,that of Bach, where Angela conducting from the keyboard showed us what a High Priestess can really do by turning Bach’s sublime knotty twine into moments of ravishing beauty and dynamic drive with breathtaking contrasts in dynamics and a rhythmic buoyancy that was hypnotic with its subtle refined insistence .
Angela’s generosity towards helping young musicians is well known and culminates in Masterclasses wherever she may be performing or living :
Tonight she was supporting the Fidelio Orchestra that has been created by Raffaello Morales with ‘the purpose of creating opportunities for young musicians to get orchestral experience and to collaborate with outstanding soloists’.Similar to the Southbank Sinfonia in London and the Roma Tre Orchestra in Rome and to some extent the Oxford Philharmonic of Marios Papadopoulos.
I expect and hope that there are also many other ensembles created to give this invaluable experience to graduate musicians, often superb young soloists hoping for a career, but just lacking the experience of working together and learning to listen and breathe with others in a chamber music environment.
Angela has also played solo recitals in the nearby Fidelio Cafe as have many of her illustrious colleagues ,which is a fun and unsophisticated environment with a commitment to bringing people together offering superb music combined with cordon bleu cuisine!
No ‘cuisine’ tonight but two master works by Bach and Brahms.One conducted by Angela who has played and conducted the Klavier Concerti of Bach with many of the major ensembles worldwide .Her experience and musicianship will be of lasting benefit to these young musicians as making music with a ‘High Priestess’ will remain with them as an informed and unforgettable experience for the rest of their professional careers.Brahms of course requires much larger forces and whilst the strings produced a luscious sometimes ravishing sound the winds and brass will have learnt to listen more closely to the overall line that Raffaello was depicting with his beautifully fluid gestures.It gave us the public,though, a chance to hear a pianist ,who is world renowned for her Bach and classical playing, in a different more Romantic repertoire .We should not forget that her programmes this season have included the Brahms F minor Sonata and Schumann Sonata op. 11 as well as completing her Bach Odyssey in many parts of the globe and final recordings of Beethoven 32 Sonatas and Variations as well as complete Mozart Sonatas .I well remember her performance of the Liszt B minor and Dante Sonatas in Rome ,as well as the Goldberg Variations,of course ,shortly after winning the one and only Glenn Gould Competition in Canada in the 80’s.She has also recorded much of the French repertoire including complete Ravel and also major works by Fauré, Chabrier and Messiaen.
Angela writes : I miss my friend the late Michael Steinberg who was Artistic Advisor to both the San Francisco Symphony and Minnesota Orchestra back in the 80s/90s. He wrote the most wonderful programme notes (many published by OUP) and he was the person who got me to start talking and writing about music. The dearest of friends. Well, I was reading his wonderful note on Brahms’ First Piano Concerto this morning and he mentions that the first performance in England was on March 9, 1872 at Crystal Palace, London, and the pianist was a Miss Baglehole (no joke). I’ve found a review of the concert, an extract of which is below. It’s the usual thing: how a lady can’t play Brahms. So in celebration of International Women’s Day which is tomorrow, I’m posting this and saying that I shall play the Brahms D minor with more balls than a lot of men–believe me!!! And I see we’re performing it on Saturday on the 152nd anniversary of its first performance in England.
Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf 13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903 was born in Windischgratz in the Duchy of Styria (now Sloveni Gradec,Slovenia ), then a part of the Austrian Empire . Herbert von Karajan was related to him on his maternal side.He spent most of his life in Vienna , becoming a representative of a “New German” trend in Lieder , a trend which followed from the expressive, chromatic and dramatic musical innovations of Richard Wagner .Though he had several bursts of extraordinary productivity, particularly in 1888 and 1889, depression frequently interrupted his creative periods, and his last composition was written in 1898, before he suffered a mental collapse caused by syphilis.
A wonderful voyage of discovery into the world of Hugo Wolf Graham Johnson recounting in his inimitable way the many phases of a genius who was to produce such wonders in the span of only 13 years
Friday 8 March 2024 6pm Milton Court Concert Hall Graham Johnson Song Guild Graham Johnson director
Harriet Cameron soprano Manon Ogwen Parry soprano Gabriella Noble mezzo-soprano Sebastian Hill tenor Jacob Cole tenor Zheng Tu baritone Sooyeon Baik piano Toby Stanford piano Valentina Wang piano Charlie Woof-Byrne piano
The Paul Hamburger Prize presented by his son on the 20th Anniversary of his death .The prize awarded annually is for Voice and Piano and was awarded to Manon Ogwen Parry and Charlie Woof-Byrne
Paul Hamburger 3 September 1920, Vienna – 11 April 2004, London ) was born in Vienna in 1920, and studied at the Vienna State Academy before emigrating to England in 1939. In 1941, he received a scholarship to attend the Royal College of Music , London, studying with Frank Merrick,Gordon Jacob and Vaughan Williams . From 1945, he started on a career as an accompanist, chamber musician and teacher, and was associated in concerts and on disc with many distinguished singers and instrumentalists, including Dame Janet Baker,Elisabeth Söderström,Max Postal and Pierre Fournier. He performed both in Britain and abroad, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. Malcom Arnold dedicated his Concerto for Piano Duet and Strings, op. 32 of 1951 to Hamburger and his piano duet partner, the composer pianist Helen Pyke . He taught singers and accompanists at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and gave masterclasses and annual seminars in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Finland. His literary works include an edition of Mozart Lieder (Oxford University Press), contributions to books on Mozart songs, Mahler’s Wunderhorn songs, Chopin and Britten, and translations, notably of bruno Walter and Alfred Brendel . He was a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy , London, and was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art in 1991 ,upgraded to 1st class in 2000.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 