Mese: settembre 2024

A letter from Cremona is actually a letter about Cremona . At the last minute unable to come to Cremona ,as I have been doing for many years , I took the title from Alistair Cooke’s famous ‘Letter from America’ .It was a radio programme that kept us informed for over forty years about day to day life and what the man in the street felt and thought .Usually good news about good people …….the mass media fill us up with the bad news and the bad people! It is above all to Alessio Zuccaro that my thanks must go for the minute by minute reports by ‘whats app’ of most of what was going on in the piano world of Cremona.Videos,audios,photos I saw and heard more than I have ever done before.Topped up by dear friends and esteemed colleagues Inna Faliks,Jed Distler,William Naboré, Michail Lifits and of course Valentina Lo Surdo.This is a chronicle designed to help above all wonderful young musicians who having dedicated their youth to music , crave nothing more than an audience with which to share it.It is a publicity for them most of whom I know and can include my thoughts about past performances but I am glad to make the acquaintance of some that have slipped through my net.I am a trustee and one of the artistic directors of the Keyboard Trust that tries to help exceptionally talented young musicians bridge the gap between finishing their apprenticeship and starting a career in music.Founded by John Leech with his wife Noretta Conci many many years ago unofficially and officially 33.

The Gift of Music – The Keyboard Trust at 30

I was doing the same in Rome for some 30 years with the Ghione Theatre trying to give young musicians a platform in the theatre I had created with my wife.In my case not only young musicians but also famous musicians who by some extravagance had never or very rarely ever performed in Rome or even Italy. My old piano teachers were the starting point : Vlado Perlemuter and Guido Agosti .They were soon to be joined by Annie Fischer,Shura Cherkassky,Rosalyn Tureck,Tatyana Nikolaeva,Gyorgy Sandor ,Moura Lympany and above all the mercurial genius of Fou Ts’ong.It was Ts’ong who was always pleased when Roberto Prosseda as a teenager could take part in his masterclasses because he could instantly understand and do what they had discovered together.Many years have passed but Roberto has never forgotten the debt he owes to Ts’ong

Roberto Prosseda pays tribute to the genius of Chopin and the inspirational figure of Fou Ts’ong

And it is to Roberto that the piano world must now be thankful for this annual meeting of minds in Cremona .The highlight and message for me were the words of simple wisdom that Roberto spoke in the discussion about his role as artistic director of the Rina Sala Gallo Competition in Monza. Genial,simple and humble are all signs of greatness and it was Roberto who outlined the importance for young musicians to use the competition platform as a launching pad for a career in music and not just try to be the first to pass the post. There is the tortoise and the hare to consider and that true talent may need more time and experience to mature. Roberto came third in Casagrande but he met his wife there who came second .They now have a very large family and important careers in music! Michail Lifits too in the same conversation said that he as a jury member of a competition that he had actually won together with Busoni was looking for pianists who are artists and that the most important thing is that they have something to say.

The extraordinary class of Michail Lifits.Nine young pianists of artistic integrity and refined musicianship who illuminated the beauty of Chopin’s 21 nocturnes

You will find the complete discussion recorded from the stream in the article below – ‘Words without thought no more to heaven go’ Nadia Boulanger would continually exhort her students and it applies even more today as we live in an age of instant communications where quantity rather than quality is e more the ruling factor .

https://fb.watch/uWrnz2zYc3/?

Cremona Musica ……2023 Day 3 The day of reckoning

Cremona a city where passions are ignited and shared and dreams become a global reality ….2023 Day 1 – 2 and 3

Cremona the city of dreams – a global network where dreams become reality

The rebirth of a global network in Cremona -If music be the food of love please please play on

A city in love – Cremona Music Festival Parts 1,2 and 3 the day of reckoning

DAY 1

27SEPCategoryPianosMATEUSZ DUBIEL, PIANO RECITAL

Organization: Fazioli Pianos

Program :

J. Brahms – 4 Ballades op. 10 

F. Chopin – Preludes op. 28 (nos. 7-16) 

F. Chopin – Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, op. 60 

Mateusz Dubiel was born in Bielsko-Biała (Poland).
He graduated from the Stanisław Moniuszko Music School in his hometown, having studied with Anna Skarbowska. 

He has been a Prize-winner in competitions both in nationwide venues in Poland, such as the First Prize at the 51st Fryderyk Chopin General Competition in Warsaw (2022), and in international venues, such as Second Prize in the Third International Piano Competition “Jeune Chopin” in Lugano, Switzerland-sponsored by Martha Argerich (2023), and II Prize in 5th Baltic International Piano Competition in Gdańsk.
He won First Prize and four specialty prizes in the 27th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Children and Youths in Szarfarnia (Poland).
In 2021 he placed sixth in the 12th “Arthur Rubinstein in memoriam” International Competition for Young Pianists in Bydgoszcz. He has participated in classes with such noted pedagogues as Andrzej Jasiński, Kevin Kenner, Piotr Paleczny, Arie Vardi and Katarzyna Popowa-Zydron. He has performed actively across Poland and abroad, including appearances in the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Chopin’s birth-house in Żelazowa Wola, the Krzysztof Penderecki European Music Center in Lusławice, the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, the Pomeranian Philharmonic, Cavatina Hall in Bielsko-Biała, and abroad in the Festsaal of the Amtshaus Hietzing in Vienna, the Orangerie du Parc de Bagaelle in Paris, and also in Budapest, Mallorca, Hamburg, Köln, and Vilnius (among others).In May of 2023 he played solo recitals in Tokyo, in the “Chopin in Omotesando” festival, and in Osaka, Kobe, and Hamamatsu (Japan). Mateusz Dubiel appeared in music festivals such as, among others, Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój (Poland), Paderewski Festival in Raleigh, and Chopin à Paris. He won scholarships in numerous other competitions: Bielsko-Biała Mayoralty Prize, the National Fund for Young People in Music, the Teresa Sahakian Fund for the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the Ministry of NationalHeritage and Sport (for each of the last three years), and the Fund for “Young Poland” in 2021.He is presently studying at the Music Academy in Kraków with prof. Mirosław Herbowski. 

I learn from Cremona about Mateusz playing for the Fazioli Concert Hall last September 
https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/09/30/a-letter-from-cremona-the-eternal-city-of-music-where-dreams-become-reality/

Mateusz Dubiel was born in Bielsko-Biała (Poland) in 2004.
He graduated from the Stanisław Moniuszko Music School in his hometown, having studied with Anna Skarbowska. 
He has been a Prize-winner in competitions both in nationwide venues in Poland, such as the First Prize at the 51st Fryderyk Chopin General Competition in Warsaw (2022), and in international venues, such as Second Prize in the Third International Piano Competition “Jeune Chopin” in Lugano, Switzerland-sponsored by Martha Argerich (2023), and II Prize in 5th Baltic International Piano Competition in Gdańsk.
He won First Prize and four specialty prizes in the 27th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Children and Youths in Szarfarnia (Poland).
In 2021 he placed sixth in the 12th “Arthur Rubinstein in memoriam” International Competition for Young Pianists in Bydgoszcz. 
He has participated in classes with such noted pedagogues as Andrzej Jasiński, Kevin Kenner, Piotr Paleczny, Arie Vardi and Katarzyna Popowa-Zydron. 
He has performed actively across Poland and abroad, including appearances in the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Chopin’s birth-house in Żelazowa Wola, the Krzysztof Penderecki European Music Center in Lusławice, the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, the Pomeranian Philharmonic, Cavatina Hall in Bielsko-Biała, and abroad in the Festsaal of the Amtshaus Hietzing in Vienna, the Orangerie du Parc de Bagaelle in Paris, and also in Budapest, Mallorca, Hamburg, Köln, and Vilnius (among others).
In May of 2023 he played solo recitals in Tokyo, in the “Chopin in Omotesando” festival, and in Osaka, Kobe, and Hamamatsu (Japan). 

Mateusz Dubiel appeared in music festivals such as, among others, Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój (Poland), Paderewski Festival in Raleigh, and Chopin à Paris. 
He won scholarships in numerous other competitions: Bielsko-Biała Mayoralty Prize, the National Fund for Young People in Music, the Teresa Sahakian Fund for the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the Ministry of NationalHeritage and Sport (for each of the last three years), and the Fund for “Young Poland” in 2021.

He is presently studying at the Music Academy in Kraków with prof. Mirosław Herbowski.

Here he is playing a month later in London :

‘Mateusz Dubiel a very young looking artist but artist he certainly is ( see below for biography – born in 2004) .
Great fluidity and refined rubato in Chopin’s most passionate of all Nocturnes. A cry of joy and ecstasy that this young man played with crystalline clarity where the intricate counterpoints were strands of sounds or voices each one answering the other with a remarkable technical mastery of sound. I was alarmed at hearing the opening of the B minor Sonata in a concert of four pianist of whom Mateusz was only the second! But alarm turned to deep enjoyment of a young man who could bring such architectural strength to this Maestoso opening movement.Unbounded admiration for the crystalline clarity of his fingers in the fleeting Scherzo and his mastery of line in the sumptuous Trio. Linking the end of the Scherzo to the opening dramatic opening of the Largo is a master stroke that only the most sensitive of artists can understand.The Presto non tanto although his youthful passion did not allow for the crescendo on the opening introductory flourish his musicianship and architectural understand immediately after added such excitement to the rondo as it returned ever more insistently until boiling over into a coda that was truly masterly.
A magical mystery tour it was indeed with a very youthful looking Mateusz Dubiel singing his heart out with one of Chopin’s most passionate of Nocturnes op 55 n.2 before plunging into a masterly account of the B minor Sonata op 58.’

Monza International Piano Competition Rina Sala Gallo Presentation

Perspectives and opportunities of international competitions

With Roberto Prosseda, Alessandra Garbagnati, Marco Ferullo, Michael Lifits, Jed Distler

With the participation of the Councillor for Culture of the City of Monza Arianna Bettin

https://fb.watch/uV51DiOM5E/?

A fascinating enlightened discussion full of common sense and a true wish to help young musician show off their artistry.Roberto Prosseda is artistic director of Cremona but also the Rina Sala Gallo Competition in Monza .

I was on the jury in 2008 and was glad to note the innovations which underline the very raison d’etre of competitions .New rules that give greater transparency to a competition which is a window for talent .There may be a first first prize winner who receives momentary attention and rewards but as Roberto said he never won a first prize but has been recognised and has forged a major career as have many other notable pianists

Christopher Axworthy: As you said Julian Brocal who did not get to the final in Monza asked me as a jury member what he should do next .He played a beautiful Carnaval but there had been a vibe that an Italian should win.
Shortly after the competition Julian was taken up by Pires and is now like you with a major career in music on his hands

Christopher Axworthy: I remember Pires telling me off when I thanked her for all she was doing for young musicians . Julian Brocal was playing Mozart double with her . ‘It’s not what I do for them but what they do for me’ retorted Madame Pires with extreme humility

Christopher Axworthy: https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/05/09/in-julien-brocals-magic-garden-with-maria-joao-pires/

Christopher Axworthy: As you say it is a window for talent where everyone stands a chance there is no such thing as comparative performance which is necessarily only a smaller part of the circus element of competing in the arena
Christopher Axworthy: https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/08/13/all-the-fun-of-the-circus-the-busoni-competition/

Founded in 1947 by Monza pianist Rina Sala Gallo together with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, the Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition in Monza is an absolute benchmark among international music competitions, a member of the World Federation of Music Competitions and the Alink-Argerich Foundation.
The most talented pianists from around the world gather for a week in Monza to compete in a series of solo rehearsals, culminating in a piano concerto performed by the Milan Symphony Orchestra. 

The jury selected by President and Artistic Advisor Roberto Prosseda includes internationally renowned concert pianists and industry experts for a broader and more diverse observation of relevant aspects of piano performance. Its members include pianist-composer Lera Auerbach (Russia), Gramophone magazine music critic Jed Distler (United States), pianists Inna Faliks (Ukraine/United States), Michail Lifits (Germany), Roland Pöntinen (Sweden) and musicologist John Rink (Great Britain). 

With the 27th edition of the Competition, scheduled for Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, 2024, important changes have been introduced in the regulations, starting with greater freedom of choice in the repertoire to be performed during the preliminary rounds and a ban on jury members having relatives, students or alumni among the candidates, ensuring more transparent selection criteria.

The philanthropic spirit that inspired the founders, Rina Sala Gallo and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, is renewed every year with commitment and passion: to support young piano talents at the beginning of their careers so that they can realize their dreams.

The many winners include artists such as Angela Hewitt, Massimiliano Ferrati, Maria Perrotta, Anna Vinniskaya, Michael Lifits.
Sofya Gulyak, Scipione Sangiovanni, Fiorenzo Pascalucci, Alexander Panfilov, Igor Andreev, and Young Sun Choi, winner of the 2022 edition. 

www.concorsosalagallo.it

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868):The Barber of Seville.
Arrangements for piano duo four hands by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)Selections: 

1. Overture 
2. Cavatine: Largo al factotum
3. Aria/Cavatine Una voce poco fa 
4. Duett: Dunque io son 
5. Aria: A un Dottor della mia sorte 
6. Quintet 
7. Terzett: Ah qual colpo 
8. Di si felice graft 

Jed Distler and Martina Frezzotti, piano duo . Italian concert pianist Martina Frezzotti is known for being one of Lazar Berman’s last pupils. In 2007 she became a student of Elisso Virsaladze. Frezzotti is the first Italian pianist who obtained a PhD degree at the prestigious P.I.Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where she graduated in 2012.

Composer/pianist Jed Distler studied with Andrew Thomas, Stanley Lock and William Komaiko, and taught for more than 20 years at Sarah Lawrence College. Early in his career Distler gained acclaim for his transcriptions of jazz piano solos by Art Tatum and Bill Evans, while his new music piano recitals have offered premiers of works by Virgil Thomson, Andrew Thomas, Richard Rodney Bennett, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Lois V Vierk and many more.

27SEPCategoryPianosMAYAKA NAKAGAWA, PIANO RECITALSala Stradivari13:00 – 14:00

Mayaka Nakagawa, pianist, born in 1993 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, graduated at the top of her class from the Tokyo University of Music with a special scholarship for gifted students. She then completed her Master’s in Piano as a special invited student. In 2014, she received a scholarship from the Yamaha Foundation, and in 2017, from the Sadao Yamada Foundation established by Daido Corporation. She soon achieved numerous national and international awards: Special Prize at the prestigious 32nd Alessandro Casagrande Competition in Italy; 1st Prize and Orchestra Prize at the 13th International Campillos Competition in Spain; 1st Prize at the FAZIOLI Online Piano Competition; Diploma in the second stage of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Poland; 2nd Prize and Special Prize at the 38th PTNA Competition in Japan.

She has already performed extensively in Japan and has been invited to several international festivals: the International Piano Festival of Nałęczów in Poland and La Folle Journée TOKYO. Recently, she has given concerts in various countries, including Italy, Spain, Poland, and Japan.She is currently studying at the International Piano Academy of Imola in Italy under the guidance of Maestro Leonid Margarius and Ingrid Fliter. She is the winner of the Alkan Prize for Romantic Pianistic Virtuosity 2023, which includes cash prizes, concerts, and various audio and video recordings, with the production of two CDs by 2R Studio Multimedia Productions, which has named her “Resident Pianist at 2R Studio,” offering sponsorships and multimedia productions.Her latest recording, recently released by the 2R Digital Classics label, “My Favorite Chopin,” is entirely dedicated to the works of the Polish composer.

27SEPCategoryPianosVLADIMIR PETROV, PIANO RECITALZelioli Lanzini Room15:00 – 16:00

Vladimir Petrov, Piano Recital

Programme

Fryderyk Chopin

(Żelazowa Wola, 1810 – Paris 1849)

Nocturne Op. 15 No. 2
Mazurka Op. 63 No. 2
Scherzo Op. 31 No. 2

Sergei Vasil’evič Rachmaninov

(Veliky Novgorod, 1873 – Beverly Hills, 1943)

Preludes, Op. 32 No. 5,12

Preludes, Op. 23 No. 4,5
6 musical moments op. 16

Laureate and Winner of the Audience Prize at the 63rd Busoni Competition, Russian pianist Vladimir Petrov has lived since the age of three in Mexico, which he fondly considers his homeland. Under the guidance of his parents and teachers (Valery Piassetsky, Elisso Virsaladze and Grigorii Gruzman) he has now launched a brilliant piano career. A graduate of the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow, he is currently continuing his studies at the Hochschule für Musik F. Liszt in Weimar, Germany. His career is embellished by First Prizes in international competitions such as the “Lotar Shevchenko” in Russia, the “Ciudad de Vigo” in Spain, the “Jose Jacinto Cuevas” (Yamaha) in Mexico, the “NTD piano competition” in New York and the “Neapolitan Masters Competition” in Italy. His activity also includes performances in Spain, Cyprus, Russia, Germany, France, Malta, Holland, Switzerland, Belarus, Romania, Cyprus, the United States, Canada and Mexico.

27SETTCategorieCultura musicaleTAVOLA ROTONDA INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONS PROJECTS IN HIGHER MUSIC EDUCATION (IN INGLESE). https://fb.watch/uWT-kiPOl3/?

Ingo Dannhorn, Professor of Piano, University of Music Trossingen

Ha Mai Huong, Director of Hue Academy of music, Vietnam

Vladimir Gorbach, Professor, Guitar Program Leader, Sydney Conservatory

Michail Lifits, Head of Piano, Franz Liszt Musikhochshule, Weimar

Sarah Meltzer, Jerusalem Academy of Arts

Giuseppe Modugno, direttore, Conservatorio “Vecchi-Tonelli” di Modena

Peter Maté, director, of instrumental studies at the Iceland University of the Arts

Roberto Prosseda, moderatore

27SEPCategoryPianosTAIGE WANG, PIANO RECITALSala Stradivari16:00 – 17:00

ClevelandClassical.com: “His performance was incredible—strong, virtuosic, and appropriately mischievous.”

New York Concert Review: “Mercurial mood changes, extreme dynamics, and elements of atonality all contribute to the difficulty of this repertoire, but the young Mr. Wang was up to the challenge!”

‘Taige Wang’s much anticipated debut at the Cremona Musica Festival largely fulfilled all expectations from this young genius of the piano. At 14, Taige is already a master of the instrument with a complete command of every facet of piano playing: octaves, scales and arpeggios, double notes,  LEGGIEREZZA, flying staccato and a superb sound! Stuff of the piano legends!  But what is unique is his creativity as an artist. Every piece he played was a tone poem highlighting new aspects of beauty in the repertoire he performed in many unusual ways.

His repertoire was far ranging from Beethoven (Sonata n. 30, op. 109) to Liszt (2 Transcendental Etudes) to Bartok (two rarely performed Romanian Dances) to Rachmaninov (three Etudes -Tableaux). Throughout the whole performance given with the highest professional polish and acumen, Taige revealed new vistas of all these great works. There was nothing distorted or self serving, only the pure joy of making music! To add to the charm, he is a bit devilish and witty at the same time. Adorable! Evviva!’

Fourteen-year-old Taige Wang, a Young Steinway Artist and a young scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, studies piano at The Juilliard School with Yoheved Kaplinsky. Previously, he studied piano with William Grant Naboré.Taige began studying piano and gave his first public performance at the age of four. The following year, he performed live on China Central Television and won his first competition at the regional Steinway Sons Competition. At the age of seven, he gave his first full solo recital by invitation of Steinway Sons. Since then, Taige has accumulated numerous victories in piano competitions, including the YAMAHA Piano E Competition, the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, the Chicago International Music Competition, and the Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Piano Competition, among others.

In 2023, as the youngest competitor, Taige reached the quarterfinals of the Cliburn Junior Competition and was one of the three finalists at the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Piano Competition, where he performed with the renowned Cleveland OrchestraTaige appeared on NPR’s *From the Top* in 2021 and at the *From the Top* Gala in 2022, where he was the youngest of the three musicians selected nationally. He has performed at various prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, the Nixon Presidential Library Museum, Lincoln Center, Severance Hall, and the Henan Grand Theater in China. Taige studies composition with Bruce Adolphe. As an award-winning composer, his piano trio *Chopin vs Chopin 2.0* was commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and he debuted it at Alice Tully Hall on April 16, 2023. Taige received the American President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award in 2022.

Programme:

Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 

Franz Liszt
Transcendental Études, S.139
No. 4 Mazeppa D minor
No. 5 Feux follets B♭ major

Béla Bartók
Two Romanian Dances, Op. 8a
No.1 Allegro vivace
No.2 Poco allegro 

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Études-Tableaux, Op. 39 
No.5 Appassionato in E♭ minor
No.6 Allegro in A minor
No.9 Allegro moderato. Tempo di marcia in D major

A unique figure in today’s music scene, Roby Lakatos is a visionary and eccentric violinist in the most “positive” sense of the term. His reinterpretations of traditional and classical repertoire pieces with his ensemble both surprise and enchant. In this program, Gypsy music meets jazz influences and other folk traditions, resulting in a surprising and captivating performance. Even though the program may appear eclectic on paper, it will come across as unusual yet cohesive, thanks to the charisma and intensity of Lakatos and his extraordinary musicians. The presence of violinist Michael Guttman as a guest star adds further prestige to this concert, making it suitable both for enthusiasts and for those experiencing live music for the first time. 

program

Darius Blasband (b. 1965)
Tic Tac
Jeno Hubay (Budapest, 1858 – 1937)
On the waves of the Balaton
Roby Lakatos (Budapest, b. 1965)
A Night in Marrakesh
Traditional
Concert Czardas in C minor
Roby Lakatos (Budapest, b. 1965)

Fire Dance
Darius Blasband (b. 1965)
Nina

interval

Andy Smeets  (b. 1965)
Budapest Waltz
Andy Smeets (b. 1965)
Hungarian Fantasy
Zoltan Kodàly (Kecskemét, 1882 – 1967)
The Kàllò Double-Dance (violin and piano)
JănosIvŏ Csampai (1899 – 1984)
Memory of Bihari
Roby Lakatos (Budapest, b. 1965)

L’alouette
Vittorio Monti (Naples, 1868 – 1922)
Czardas

Valentina Lo Surdo and Roberto Prosseda present.

Roby Lakatos Ensemble

Roby Lakatos (violin), Lazlo Boni (violin), Lazlo Racz (cimbalom), Gabor Ladanyi (guitar), Robert Szakcsi Lakatos (piano), Vilmos Ciskos (double bass)

Violinist Roby Lakatos is not only a brilliant virtuoso, but a musician of extraordinary stylistic versatility.
Equally at home in classical music as in jazz and Hungarian folk music, Lakatos eludes any classification.
He is referred to from time to time as a tzigan violinist, a “devil’s violinist,” an amazing virtuoso, a wizard of jazz improvisation, a composer and arranger.
Lakatos has played in major concert halls and has been a guest at major festivals in Europe, Asia and America.
In March 2004 he was acclaimed for a grand concert with the London Symphony Orchestra and Maxim Vengerov at the “Genius of the Violin” Festival.
Born in 1965 into the legendary family of Gypsy violinists descended from Janos Bihari, “the King of the Gypsy Violinists,” Roby Lakatos was a child prodigy who made his public debut as the leader of a Gypsy group at the age of nine.
He honed his talent at the Budapest Conservatory, where he won first prize as a classical violinist in 1984.
Lakatos has collaborated with Vadim Repin and Stéphane Grappelli, and his style has been particularly admired by Yehudi Menuhin.
When Roby Lakatos mixes so-called “classical music” with Gypsy vitality, the result is a special alchemy that reveals the deep cultural roots of the Gypsy people without being in any way disrespectful of the great classical tradition.
And just as Liszt, Brahms and other composers used Hungarian and Tziganian themes in their compositions, so today audiences have a way to compare the classical repertoire with the very rich cultural tradition. 

Michael Guttman is a violinist, conductor and artistic director of music festivals around the world, including Pietrasanta in Concerto, Crans Montana Classics, Le Printemps du Violon in Paris and Made in Polin in Warsaw.
He is also music director of the Napa Valley Symphony and the Belgian Chamber Orchestra.
He made his debut at the age of 14 with Jean Pierre Rampal and met his mentor Isaac Stern, who encouraged him to continue his studies at the Juilliard School in New York, where he perfected his skills with Dorothy Delay and the Juilliard Quartet.
He also studied with legendary Russian violinist Boris Goldstein, in whose honor he organized a violin competition in Bern in 2014.
He represented Belgium at the World Expo in Seville in 1992 and has performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center and Salle Pleyel.
He has participated in renowned festivals, including the Martha Argerich Project and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad.
Guttman took part in the first performance of Philip Glass’s double concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, conducted by Jaap Van Zweden.
He has toured with artists such as Martha Argerich and Nigel Kennedy.
After collaborations with composers such as Lukas Foss and Noam Sheriff, he began a conducting career, performing in 2017 with Ivo Pogorelich in Spain.
His encounter with Astor Piazzolla prompted him to explore tango, leading him to compose in 2017 the first double concerto for violin and bandoneon with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Argentine bandoneonist Juan Pablo Jofre.
Guttman plays a 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin once owned by Giovanni Battista Viotti. 

DAY 2

28SEPCategoryPianosCONCERT BY ELENA CHIAVEGATO, PIANO. “ROMANTIC WOMEN”Monteverdi Room11:00 – 12:

Concert by Elena Chiavegato, piano.

Maria Szymanowska: Nocturne in B-flat Major 

Clara Schumann: Nocturne Op. 6 no.
2 in F major 

Fanny Mendelssohn: Nocturne in G minor 

Amy Beach: Nocturne op. 107 

Mélanie Bonis: Impromptu “Gai Printemps” 

Germaine Tailleferre: Impromptu in E major 

Lili Boulanger: 3 pieces for piano 

Nadia Boulanger: 3 pieces for piano 

Louise Farrenc: Etude op. 26 no.
3 in A minor 

Cécile Chaminade: Etude op. 35 no.
4 “Appassionato” in C minor 

“Donne Romantiche” is a project entirely dedicated to female composers of the 19th century, a necessary tribute in a musical landscape that, unfortunately, has always favored male figures.
Even today, many women composers are considered marginal figures, often unknown or forgotten.
This gap is not filled even in musical training paths, and their works continue to be almost completely absent from concert and theater repertoires.
Despite the social and cultural restrictions of their time, and despite the immense hardships and prejudices they faced, these women managed to leave an indelible mark on the history of music.
Their compositions deserve to be rediscovered and admired so that contemporary audiences can appreciate and celebrate the richness of their artistic legacy. 

28SETTCategorieMusic Culture,PianosPRESENTATION OF FRIEDRICH ADOLF STEINHAUSEN’S BOOK “PHYSIOLOGICAL ERRORS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF PIANO TECHNIQUE,” WITH ANDRÉ GALLO (EDITOR)Media Lounge11:00 – 11:30

https://fb.watch/uWTPTJ4AEf/?

Presentation of Friedrich Adolf Steinhausen’s book The Physiological Errors and the Transformation of Piano Technique, edited by Aandré Gallo. 

With André Gallo. 

In his desire to explore the essence of the piano art, Friedrich Adolf Steinhausen offers us a unique and fascinating perspective.
Translated in its entirety into Italian for the first time, this volume represents a pillar in the literature on piano technique.
His extraordinarily timely work underscores the importance of interdisciplinary research and determinedly highlights the necessary changes for pianists and musical society. 

An ever-evolving approach that, thanks to recent discoveries in neuroscience and neurobiology, may profoundly influence teaching and piano art.

28SEPCategoryPianosINNA FALIKS, PIANO RECITALZelioli Lanzini Room12:00 – 13:00

Richard Wagner: Elegies 

Arnold Schoenberg: Drei Klavierstucke op 11

Mike Garson: A Psalm for Odesa (for Inna Faliks) – European premiere 

Johannes Brahms: Sonata opus 5

Inna Faliks, piano

Inna had sent me the first movement of the Brahms recorded at home and this is our little tete à tete :

‘Here is Brahms f minor 1st mvt on my out of tune piano and a few broken strings to make you chuckle.’

‘Wow that’s great what a great pianist you are to hold that movement together and be free as well and to link it all to a sumptuous almost decadent sound world ….all under the same roof ……..More please no importance the piano or recording some things can transcend such luxuries’

‘Andrea Molteni, one of the most gifted of the young international pianists of the moment gave a memorable concert at the Cremona Music Festival. The “clou” of the concert was his profound and supremely accomplished rendition of the Hammerklavier Sonata op. 106 of Beethoven. Few pianists can play this score with such accuracy and fidelity to the score. This was a heroic accomplishment of which the audience, transfixed by the performance in front of them, enthusiastically applauded.’

The Italian Concerto of Bach, impeccably played, as well as the Sonatina Canonica of Dellapiccola completed the program.

A promising young Italian piano talent, 26-year-old Andrea Molteni is building his international profile with performances in the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Three albums, recently released on Brilliant Classics and broadcast on France Musique, Germany’s MDR Kultur, and Radio Classica in Italy, have received international acclaim: the complete piano works of Petrassi and Dallapiccola, a selection of Scarlatti’s sonatas, and *Beethoven: Con alcune licenze*, featuring *Hammerklavier, Op. 110* and *The Grosse Fuge*, never before recorded in a solo piano version. 

Andrea Molteni benefits from the artistic guidance of William Grant Naboré and Stanislav Ioudenitch. He has also participated in masterclasses with Andras Schiff, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Pavel Gililov, Dang Thai Son, and Vladimir Feltsman. Mr. Molteni began his career at the age of 15 when he participated in the Bayreuth Festival celebrating Wagner’s 200th anniversary, performing in France and Monte Carlo. Since then, he has played at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, the Scriabin Museum in Moscow, the Esplanade in Singapore, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the National Opera Center and DiMenna Center in New York, the Chopin Music University in Warsaw, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, among other venues. The pianist regularly performs with orchestras such as the Antonio Vivaldi Orchestra, the Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau in Romania, and the University of Costa Rica Orchestra. In the upcoming season, he will give 25 concerts across three continents, including tours in China and Australia, as well as recitals in Milan, Bergamo, Cremona, and other Italian cities.

28SEPCategoryMusic Culture,PianosCONCERT BY ANGELA NISI, SOPRANO, ENRICA RUGGIERO, PIANO. MUSIC BY ENNIO PORRINOMonteverdi 

Ennio Porrino (1910-1959): 

The Songs of Exile (1945) 
Collection of 15 lyrics for soprano and piano

• Three Greek lyrics
• Three troubadour lyrics
• Three Italian operas: first series from 200 to 400
• Three Italian operas: second series from 500 to 700
• Three songs of exile (on texts by Ennio Porrino himself)

Angela Nisi, soprano
Enrica Ruggiero, piano

After graduating at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and studying with Manuela Custer e Cristina Melis, Angela Nisi she made her debut in 2010 singing Micaela (Carmen) and, after winning the Ziino Competition (2012), she has appeared in international concert halls and opera stages, such as Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Massimo in Palermo, Carlo Felice in Genoa, San Carlo in Naples, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Budapest State Opera, Aalto-Theater Essen, Open Köln, working with conductors such as Pappano, Oren, Gelmetti, Renzetti, Palumbo, Callegari, Lanzillotta, and directors such as Brockhaus, Livermore, Micheli, Muscato, Pizzi, Poda.

Her large operatic, symphonic and chamber repertoire includes operas by Puccini (La bohème, Turandot, La rondine, Suor Angelica), Verdi (Otello, Requiem, Falstaff, La traviata, Simon Boccanegra, Un giorno di regno), Rossini (Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater), Leoncavallo (Pagliacci), Strauss (Vier Letzte Lieder), Mozart, Britten, Stravinsky, Respighi, Poulenc, Schumann, Tutino, and many others, performing in several recordings for Naxos, Tactus and Dynamic.

Enrica Ruggiero studied under the guide of Michele Campanella, with whom she got the Diploma at the Accademia Chigiana of Siena and at the Ravello Piano High School. 

She also earned a Chamber Music Master at the Accademia Nazionale of Santa Cecilia with F. Ayo , following after the musicians of the Trio di Trieste.

She is a multi-award-winning musician in Chamber music throughout Italy and Europe.
She has extensive experience as an accompanist pianist. She has worked as the coach with the Teatro dell’ Opera in Rome since 2004 and has been a guest as Korrepetitorin at the Vienna State Opera in the 2011/2012 season. She has worked with directors such as Richard Muti, James Conlon, Alain Lombard, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Roberto Abbado, Yves Abel, Marco Arminiato, Donato Renzetti, Bruno Campanella, Daniele Gatti and many more. 

Angela Nisi and Enrica Ruggiero will soon release their first duo recording project for Brilliant Classics, dedicated entirely to the unreleased vocal chamber music of Ennio Porrino.

28SEPCategoryPianosYOUNG SUN CHOI, PIANO RECITALZelioli Lanzini Room15:00 – 16

J. Haydn: Piano Sonata in C Major, Hob.
XVI:48 

G. Fauré: Impromptu in F minor, Op. 31 No. 2 

E. Granados: Goyesca No. 4 ‘Quejas o la Maja y el Ruiseñor’ 

R. Schumann: Piano Sonata No.
1 in F# minor, Op. 11 

Young Sun Choi, piano

A South Korean pianist, Young Sun Choi won first prize and the audience prize along with two other special prizes at the 26th Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition in Monza.
She has earned top honors in such prestigious competitions as the Gurwitz International Piano Competition (first San Antonio International Piano Competition), the Bösendorfer USASU International Piano Competition, the American International Paderewski Piano Competition, and the Lyon International Piano Competition. Choi has performed concerts with orchestras around the world, including the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, Milan Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, “O. Stillo” Orchestra, Kazan Chamber Orchestra “La Primavera” and Indiana University Symphony Orchestra.

She has played under the baton of great conductors including Kolja Blacher, Thomas Wilkins, Scott Yoo and nSung Chang. In 2023, she was invited to the Paderewski Festival in North Carolina with Martin Garcia Garcia, Hyuk Lee, Mateusz Krzyzowski, and Maria Stratigou.
She was invited by Fazioli Pianos to perform the Winners Series Concert. A passionate chamber musician, she has her own piano trio, Trio Unio, which includes violinist Eunji Kim and cellist Ah-Yeon Nam.
Trio Unio won second prize at the International Franz Schubert Chamber Music and Modern Music Competition in Graz, Austria.
They were recently invited to perform by Samsung Electronics in their concert hall. Choi’s solo performances have been broadcast on Texas Public Radio and Arte TV.
Choi had the honor of being the dedicatee of “Three Preludes for Piano” by Grammy Award-winning composer Michael Fine.
The score is available on the Donemus Publishing website. She graduated from Yewon School, Seoul Arts High School, under the guidance of Jung Won Moon.
She received her bachelor’s degree in piano and musicology from Seoul National University under Aviram Reichert.
She later earned a master’s degree in piano performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she is currently continuing her education as a doctoral student, under the guidance of Arnaldo Cohen.
In addition, Choi has worked as an associate professor in the piano department at the Jacobs School of Music. 

VERA CECINO is 20 years old and has been studying piano since the age of 6 with Maddalena De Facci, under whose guidance she graduated with honors from the “Maderna” Conservatory in Cesena in 2021.
She obtained her specialized diploma under the guidance of Maestro Andrzej Jasinski at the Accademia del Ridotto in Stradella, where she is currently enrolled in the Master’s program with Maestro Natalia Trull.
She is also attending the second-level Biennium at the Padua Conservatory under the guidance of Maestro Alessandro Taverna.
Since 2018, she has regularly performed solo recitals in Spain, Switzerland, Poland, and Italy, in venues such as
the Cantelli Festival in Novara, the Bellagio and Lake Como Festival, the “Katharsis” Concert Season in Trento, the Literary Society of Verona, the Musical Festival of Nations in Rome, the Monferrato Classic Festival, the Birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin in Żelazowa Wola, the Triennale di Milano, Palazzo dei Rettori in Belluno, Casa Mahler in Sobrio, Sala Eutherpe in León, Palazzo Cavagnis in Venice, Palazzo dei Capitani in Malcesine, the Episcopal Seminary of Pistoia, and the Casa della Musica in Arezzo.

At the age of 13, she made her solo debut with an orchestra, and since then, she has collaborated with the Orchestra Concentus Musicus Patavinus, the Ferruccio Busoni Orchestra of Empoli, the “I Concerti nel Tempio” Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the International Piano Competition “Rome.”She has won numerous awards in piano competitions, including the Second Prize at the Chopin section of the Roma International Piano Competition in 2023, the entire 2019 edition of the Premio Crescendo in Florence, the Cosima Wagner Competition in Bellagio in 2024, the International “Giuseppe Martucci” Prize in Novara in 2022, and the First Prize at international competitions such as “Val Tidone” in Piacenza, “Ars Nova” in Trieste, and “Colafemmina” in Acquaviva delle Fonti. Vera also won the First Prize at the “Caesar Franck” competition in Brussels and the Second Prize at the “Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial” in Novi Sad.Alongside her solo career, she has always pursued chamber music studies.

She is currently attending the Advanced Course with the Trio di Parma at the Accademia Perosi in Biella, performing in duo and trio with strings, and regularly appearing in concert. Previously, with a notable and stable four-hands duo, she won the First Absolute Prize in major Italian piano competitions such as “Riviera Etrusca” in Piombino, “Città di Albenga,” “Giulio Rospigliosi” in Lamporecchio, and “J.S. Bach” in Sestri Levante. 

28SEPCategoryPianosPIANOLINK INTERNATIONAL AMATEURS COMPETITIONPonchielli Theatre10:00 – 18:00.

🎼 La giuria, composta da rinomati pianisti ed esponenti del panorama musicale internazionale, ha visto coinvolti Jean-Marc Luisada come presidente, Cyprien Katsaris, Bruno Canino, Svetlana Smolina, Andreas Kern, Constantine Carambelas-Sgourdas.

Ieri si è svolta, presso il teatro Ponchielli di Cremona, la quinta edizione del PianoLink International Amateurs Competition per pianisti amatori, dedicato a tutti gli amanti e appassionati del pianoforte.🏆Alla premiazione sono intervenuti Massimo de Bellis (Direttore Generale Cremona Fiere), Giovanni Iannantuoni, Enrico Bonfante (Yamaha Music Europe e Bösendorfer) e i direttori artistici Andrea Vizzini e Roberto Prosseda.❤️ I 5 vincitori del concorso si sono aggiudicati, fra i numerosi premi, un Recital a Milano all’interno del MiAmOr Music Festival 2025.

Vi sveliamo i loro nomi: Charl de Wet (Sud Africa), Tomoko Inoue (Giappone), Sara Tomasoni (Italia), Leonard Donadio (USA), Marco Cima (Italia). Al candidato Charl de Wet (Sud Africa) è stato attribuito il primo premio assoluto!

Cremona Musica Awards Ceremony

Cremona Musica Award, “Performance – Winds” Category: Sir James Galway

Tribute to James Galway: 
P. Taffanel: Fantasia on Francesca da Rimini
E. Morricone: For the Ancient Scales 
Anonymous: Danny Boy

Andrea Oliva, flute 
Andrea Dindo, piano 

Cremona Musica Award, Category “Composition”: Giorgio Battistelli 

Cremona Musica Award, Category “A Life for the Piano”: Paolo Fazioli

Cremona Musica Award, Categoria “Comunicazione”: Documentario “Ennio”, di Giuseppe Tornatore. Marco Morricone accepts the award . 

Cremona Musica Award, Cateogry “Project”: Stauffer Academy (featuring Salvatore Accardo, Bruno Giuranna, Franco Petracchi, Alberto Bocini, Cristiano Gualco)

Concert by students and alumni of the Stauffer Academy:

J.S. Bach: from the Sonata for Solo Violin no. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
III.
Andante
IV. Allegro

N. Paganini: Caprices no.
20 – 24 

Simon Zhu, violin

J. Haydn, String Quartet Op. 76 no.
2 in D minor “The Fifths”
I. Allegro 

E. Schulhoff, Five Pieces for String Quartet
I. To the Viennese Valse (allegro)
II. Alla Serenata (allegretto con moto)
III. Alla Czeca (molto allegro)
IV. Alla Tango milonga (andante)
V. Alla Tarantella (prestissimo con fuoco) 

Goldberg Quartet
Jingzhi Zhang, Giacomo Lucato, violins, Matilde Simionato, viola, Martino Simionato, cello

28SETTCategorieCultura musicalePRESENTAZIONE DEL LIBRO DI VALERIO VICARI “WAGNER, IL CANE E IL PAPPAGALLO”.

A presentazione del libro di Valerio Vicari “Wagner, il cane e il pappagallo”.

Perché parlare di Richard Wagner oggi? Questo libro offre uno sguardo avvincente sulla complessa personalità e sul coraggioso spirito del compositore tedesco, sottolineandone l’attualità sotto molteplici aspetti. Seguendo le vicende di Wagner, si dipana un racconto coinvolgente, degno di una serie tv, che ci parla di sfide, resistenza e resilienza, una storia fatta di eccessi, trionfi e flop, amori etero e tratti queer, accordi e disaccordi, incredibili colpi di scena, azioni di grande generosità insieme ad altre di straordinaria meschinità. È l’intensità emotiva delle sue esperienze a creare il filo conduttore della narrazione. Con questo libro, Vicari ci invita a riscoprire Wagner e ad apprezzarne l’umanità, assai lontana dall’immagine stereotipata del personaggio, ma anche la sua importanza nella cultura contemporanea, senza trascurare gli aspetti più scabrosi, come la ben nota passione che Hitler coltivava per lui. Il tutto, rivolgendosi agli appassionati di musica, teatro e storia, come a chiunque sia curioso di esplorare questa vita pazzesca, collocata in un’epoca dove i confini dell’arte e della cultura si stavano definendo per come li conosciamo oggi.

Valerio Vicari is the artistic director of Roma Tre Orchestra who via Roma 3 University has done more to help young musicians than anyone I can think of . Creating an orchestra that gives experience to young graduate musicians to obtain experience of playing in ensemble .But he also has created a series of concerts for Young Pianists that gives a platform to so many remarkable young musicians . His personal passion is Wagner of course :

Valerio Vicari è Direttore Artistico dell’Associazione Roma Tre Orchestra fin dalla sua costituzione nel gennaio 2005, di cui è stato uno dei soci fondatori. È laureato in Scienze dell’Amministrazione e in Lettere presso l’Università degli Studi Roma Tre. Ha studiato composizione sperimentale e pianoforte presso il Conservatorio di Musica “Santa Cecilia” di Roma, con Gian Paolo Chiti e Matteo D’Amico. Partecipa attivamente all’attività politica e culturale delle più importanti associazioni di categoria quali Aiam, Cidim, Agis Lazio. Ha compilato alcune voci di letteratura medievale all’interno della Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies pubblicata nel 2006 dalla casa editrice statunitense Routledge.

Johannes Brahms (Hamburg, 1833 – Vienna, 1897)

Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9

Robert Schumann (Zwickau, 1810 – Endenich 1856)

Variations of the Spirits, WoO 24

Symphonic studies, op. 13 and posthumous

Andante Theme
Variation I – A Little More Alive
Variation II – Marked singing, expressive
Studio III – Lively
Variation III
Variation IV – Scherzando
Variation V – Agitated
Variation VI – Allegro molto
Posthumous variation I
Posthumous Variation III
Posthumous variation IV
Posthumous variation II
Posthumous variation V
Variation VII
Study IX – Soon to be possible
Variation VIII – Always with energy
Variation IX – With expression
Finale – Allegro brillante

Elia Cecino is a recent first-prize winner at the Iturbi International Piano Competition 2023 in Valencia, where the jury chaired by Joaquín Achúcarro also awarded him special prizes for best interpretation of a Beethoven concerto and best interpretation of Chopin’s music. Elia won first prize at the New Orleans, “James Mottram” competitions in Manchester and Ricard Viñes in Lleida. In 2020 Suonare Records released his debut CD dedicated to music by Beethoven, Chopin and Skrjabin, and a second monographic album on Chopin was released by OnClassical in 2021. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice, Israel Philharmonic, Israel Camerata Jerusalem, Louisiana Philharmonic, Simfònica del Vallès, Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta de València, Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Philharmonic, Bacau Philharmonic, Sinfonica di Milano, FVG Orchestra, Sinfonica Città di Roma. 

Elia has been performing continuously since 2014 at many European halls such as Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, Gran Teatro La Fenice and Teatro Malibran in Venice, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Auditori Enric Granados in Lleida, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater in Vienna, Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead, Palatul Culturii in Iași. In 2016 he took part in a concert tour in the United States. In addition to the study of solo repertoire, Elia combines an intense chamber activity in duo, trio and quintet with strings. In December 2020 he collaborated with cellist Mario Brunello on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. 

Born in 2001 in Treviso, Elia began studying piano at the age of 9 with Maddalena De Facci, graduating at 17 as a private student with honors at the conservatory of Cesena. The following year he won the XXXVI Premio Venezia for the best graduates of Italian conservatories. In 2021 he obtained the Master Diploma of the Accademia del Ridotto in Stradella studying with Andrzej Jasinski. He is currently specializing with Elisso Virsaladze and Boris Berman. Since 2019, Elia has been an artist-in-residence of the “Luigi Bon” Foundation.

29SEPCategoryPianosSVETLANA SMOLINA, PIANO RECITALSala Stradivari15:00 – 16:00

F. Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E-flat major 
F. Chopin Scherzo No. 2 Op. 36 in B-flat minor
P.I.Tchaikovsky – M. Pletnev: from the concert suite “The Nutcracker” 
Intermezzo, March, Dance of the Fairy Dragee, Andante – Maestoso
S. Rachmaninoff: Prelude Op.32
No. 5 in G minor 
E. Lecuona “Malaguena” from the Andalucia Suite 
M. Moszkowski Caprice Espagnol Op. 37
M. Balakirev: Islamey, Oriental Fantasy 

Svetlana Smolina has performed with orchestras and given recitals worldwide – with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher, Mariinsky Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Salzburg Festival at Mozarteum, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Ravinia Rising Stars in Chicago, White Nights in Saint Petersburg, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Mikkeli Festival Finland, Ruhr Klavier in Germany, Moscow Easter Festival, Rotterdam Philharmonic, at the Stresa Festival, Hanoi Opera House, London ́s Royal Opera Covent Garden, Tchaikovsky Conservatoire Moscow and Rome ́s Accademia Santa Cecilia. Her recordings include a solo album “Romantic Journey” on Universal Music Label, Chopin album for iTunes, Scriabin on Pentatone, with Christopher O’Riley at a live concert in Montana, the Britten concerto from a live concert at Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and broadcasts for NPR, WQXR, BBC, PBS, RAI, Kultura TV and other networks.
Her recording with Valery Gergiev of Stravinsky ́s Les Noces received an ICMA award. Svetlana’s recent performances include a tour to China with Dublin Philharmonic with Derek Gleeson, concerts with Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional Juvenil in Lima, Peru, at Carnegie Hall in NYC, with violinist Lee-Chin Siow in Singapore, at the Basel Casino with Charlie Siem, CCK Symphony Hall/Buenos Aires in the “Best Pianists of the 21st Century series,” at the Classical Tahoe Festival with Maestro Joel Revzen/, at the festival in Ushuaia/ Argentina, and at Cremona International Summer Festival. Svetlana collaborated in chamber concerts with Ida Haendel, Vadim Repin, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Kian Soltani, Geyhee Kim, Alexander Knyazev, Enrico Dindo, Lee-Chin Siow, Pavel Sporcl, Charlie Siem Roberto Cani, Oleg Sendetsky, Kim Fisher, Julian Milkis, Dr. Subramaniam and many others.
Svetlana and Vadim Repin have given duo recitals in Bogota at Teatro Colon for the Cartagena Festival, at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, in Bangalore and Mumbai for XXV Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, at Koerner Hall in Toronto and at Salle Garnier de Monte Carlo for Prince Albert ́s Monaco Foundation, as well as for Trans-Siberian Art Festival in Novosibirsk, Washington DC, London and New York. 2023 invitations include New Year Eve Gala with Shanghai Philharmonic and with Harbin Symphony & Maestro Muhai in China, recital at Recital at Taihu Art Festival/ 22 nd China Shanghai Int Arts Festival at Wuxi Grand Theater; duo concerts with Vadim Repin at NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Concert Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall Belt & Road International Music Festival, debut at Dellarte Concert Series in Sao Paolo and Rio de Janiero, Brazil; concert in Osaka, Japan with Kazuhiro Takagi, recital in Megaron Concert Hall Thessaloniki with Jannis Georgiadis, at Megaron Chamber Hall in Athens for the Piano Plus Festival, at Burgos International Music Festival, Spain and at the Triumph Music Festival/ Kimmel Center Music Academy in Philadelphia. In June 2024 Svetlana began collaboration with Bluthner and gave recital at Desevedavy Pianos in Nantes, France, followed up by invitations to play in Leipzig, Nantes and at Le Mans. Svetlana Smolina is a Grand Prix winner of Italy ́s Citta Di Senigallia International Piano Competition, Murray Dranoff 2 piano and many other competitions.
Since 2011 she has directed the piano program at the Philadelphia International Music Festival and on the piano faculty at Irvine Valley College and London Performing Academy of Music. 

Shio Okui began her career at a very early age. Since the age of eight, she has played with many orchestras in various countries. At age 12, she performed with the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Valery Gergiev and signed with JapanArts. Since then she has performed with world-renowned conductors, including Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Vladimir Spivakov, Kazuki Yamada, Jiří Rožeň. In April 2021, at the age of 16, she was awarded “Classical Performer of the year from Partner State” at the III BraVo International Professional Music Award ceremony held at the Bolshoi Theater in Russia. Born in Tokyo in 2004, Shio studied at the Central School of Music of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (class of Prof. Elena Ashkenazy) and graduated from the Gnessin Special School (College) of Music in Moscow (class of Prof. Tatiana Zelikman) with highest honors.
She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the Haute école de musique de Genève in the class of Prof. Nelson Goerner. Since the age of nine, Shio has been invited to international music festivals, including Mariinsky International Piano Festival, Mariinsky International Festival “FarEast,” Russian Seasons in Germany, Sergei Rachmaninoff “White Lilac” Festival, NHK Music Festival, and ArtDialog Festival.
Shio has already premiered in renowned concert halls such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden, the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the National Auditorium in Madrid, the Bozar in Brussels, the Mariinsky Theater, the Bolshoi Theater, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory of Music, the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, and the Astana Opera. As a soloist, Shio has often played with various orchestras: the Russian National Orchestra, the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Russian State Orchestra named after E. Svetlanov, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic, and other orchestras from Armenia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United Kingdom, etc.Shio has been awarded prizes in various prestigious competitions, including the 12th Paredewski International Piano Competition (Poland, 2022, youngest finalist and honorable mention), the Vladimir Krainev International Piano Competition in Moscow (Russia, 2015, 1st prize), the Manchester International Piano Concerto Competition under-16 category (UK, 2013, 1st prize), the Vladimir Horowitz Memorial International Competition for Young Pianists (Ukraine, 2013, 1st prize), the International Television Competition for Young Musicians “Nutcracker” (Russia, 2013, 2nd prize “Silver Nutcracker” and audience prize).

29SETTCategorieMusic Culture,PianosPANEL DISCUSSION: CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN: ROOTS, INFLUENCES AND THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS MUSIC IN THE 21ST CENTURYMedia Lounge15:30 – 17:00

Panel Discussion: Charles-Valentin Alkan: Roots, Influences and the Performance of his music in the 21st century 

A fascinating discussion about Alkan and a surprise speaker Marc-André Hamlin who is well known for including Alkan in his programmes

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was one of the most outstanding piano virtuosos of his age and a genial composer.
His personality was strong and imaginative.
During his time he was considered a great artist and was compared with such masters as Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt.
Chopin was indeed one of his closest friends. 

Alkan’s beloved piano professor and mentor at the Conservatoire de Paris was Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman (1785-1853).
Zimmerman was the leading piano professor in Paris and a highly regarded composer.

Ambroise Thomas, Charles Gounod, Georges Bizet and César Franck were among his famous pupils.
He organized legendary concerts inhis salon at Square d’Orleans inviting illustrious musicians to participate.
Alkan considered Zimmerman a father figure, cherished him and remembered him throughout his life.

During the round table discussion, we will examine Alkan’s roots, his life, the composers who influenced his thought and, of course, his relation to Zimmerman.
In addition, his place in the^21st century international music scene will also be highlighted. 

The round table is moderated by Constantine P. Carambelas-Sgourdas, President of the C.V. Alkan-P.J.G. Zimmerman International Music Association, President of the Gina Bachauer International Music Association, President of the Greek Critics Association for Music, Drama and Dance. 

Speakers: 

Emanuele Delucchi, pianist and composer 
Jed Distler, pianist, composer, music critic 
Yasushi Ueda, musicologist, Kyoto University

The legendary Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin will perform a recital for the first time in Cremona on September 29, 2024, at 6:00 PM at the Teatro Ponchielli, as part of Cremona Musica and in collaboration with Fazioli Pianoforti. Hamelin is one of today’s most acclaimed pianists, renowned for his impeccable virtuosity and the clarity and intelligence with which he interprets the classical and romantic repertoire. The completeness of his technical and expressive abilities, along with the depth of his interpretations, make each of his concerts an intense and memorable experience. 

I have heard Marc- André Hamelin many times is concert and was sorry to miss this new programme. I had heard another programme in Warsaw recently and my review is above . Hamelin I heard the first time in London playing the Khachaturian Piano Concerto ! Of course a big success for a concerto that Moura Lympany had given the UK premier of many years ago . It had been been passed on to her from Clifford Curzon to whom it had been offered first !!!!!! Hamelin came out to play an encore of Chopin’s Minute Waltz that seemed like a strange choice after such an epic performance. But we got to a point in the waltz where double thirds ,sixths and all the tricks of the trade suddenly were adorning this simple little piece and it was an unforgettable experience of style and breathtaking virtuosity. Many other occasions followed after that to hear this giant of the keyboard.But it was last summer in Warsaw that I was not so much overwhelmed by his phenomenal digitation as I listened to Schumann’s Waldszenen and I will go down on my knees and thank God that I lived to hear such a beautiful performance.I look forward to hearing this programme in London or Rome hopefully later in the season.

Haydn, Joseph: Piano Sonata in D major Hob.
XVI:37£
Beethoven, Ludwig van: Piano Sonata no. 3 in C major op.2 no.3 

— Interval —

Medtner, Nikolai: Improvisation in B flat minor (in variation form) op.31 no.1
Festive Dance, op.38 no.3

Rachmaninov, Sergei: Etude-Tableau op.39 no.5
Sonata no.2 in B flat minor op.36 (1931)

Hamelin at the Wigmore Hall The Pied Piper calls the tune

Andsnes and Hamelin at the Wigmore

Marc- Andre Hamelin at the Wigmore Hall

This chronicle was only made possible with the indispensable help of Alessio Zuccaro who kept me informed minute by minute so I could ‘virtually’ be in Cremona again this year

Lecture : St Mary’s Perivale 2004-2024
An overview of the past 20 years 

Dr Hugh Mather and his team have organized over 1460 concerts at St Mary’s Perivale since September 2004, with performances by 500 pianists and 210 violinists etc, and now hold 120 concerts per year. They have installed superb video facilities, and now broadcast virtually all concerts, receiving over 100,000 views per year from over 70 countries on YouTube. This has been a collaborative effort, with major contributions from Roger Nellist, and our technical team led by Simon Shute, with George Auckland and Andrew Whadcoat, as well as many other people. This lecture will present the story of the past 20 years. 

Hugh Mather started the piano and organ at an early age, gaining the FRCO and the ARCM piano performers diplomas. He then studied medicine at Cambridge University and Westminster Medical School and was Consultant Physician at Ealing Hospital from 1982 to 2006. He continued his piano studies with James Gibb, and gave countless concerts in West London as concerto soloist, recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician. He has been Chairman of the Friends of St Mary’s Perivale since 2005, and has organized almost 1500 concerts there. He is also organist at St Barnabas Church in Ealing. 

The generosity of Kapellmeister Mather A celebration of a great man and his team on the 2000th Anniversary concert

Playing of beauty and poetry from the very first notes of the sublime Prelude in B minor by Bach.Immediately apparent was his delicacy and beautiful colours with playing of timeless beauty of reverent solemnity.This poetic sensitivity was the mark of all that Connor did from sublime Bach to diabolical Liszt.

Beethoven’s ‘Waldstein’ Sonata is based very much on scales and arpeggios ,to quote Delius. Here it was given a more subdued poetic reading than usual from the very first notes that were played like mere vibrations before opening out to the beauty and intricacy of the mature Beethoven.Sometimes missing the clockwork rhythmic precision where Connor preferred to turn corners with more romantic style than Beethoven’s sometimes abrupt irascible change of gear. There was a poignant beauty to the Adagio introduction to the final Rondo.Bathed in pedal it was more conceived in pianistic terms than the orchestral that was obviously Beethoven’s inspiration.It was in the last movement ,though, that Beethoven does indeed ask for long pedal notes as the bell like first note rang out so beautifully in Connor’s hands before the undulating wave of accompaniment became alive and the melodic line was allowed to float on magical sounds as it was to do later in the coda suspended in air on a cloud of trills. The dynamic drive to the alternating episodes were beautifully contrasted of technical mastery and excitement with the wonderland surrounds that Beethoven had tried to express in sound.The famous glissandi in the coda were accommodated a little too romantically though to allow the savage drive of the coda to continue unabated to the final heroic bars.

It was in Schubert’s G flat Impromptu that Connor returned to the world of his opening Bach where his playing was of ravishing beauty and refined poetry.There was a beautiful dialogue between the hands and a sense of balance that allowed the musical line to sing with such a sublime voice.

Liszt’s Dante Sonata opened with drama and mystery.Sumptuous rich sounds contrasted with sublime whispered secrets of poetic beauty. Fearless octaves were thrown off with dynamic drive and brilliance but always within the context of a great drama that was unfolding before our eyes.An ending of exhilarance and technical mastery with the final notoriously treacherous leaps played with musical understanding and the poetic shaping of a drama that was unfolded with musicianly architectural understanding and poetic beauty.

Connor Heraghty is a distinguished British concert pianist and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at some of the most prestigious venues in the UK and Europe. Notable UK venues include Wigmore Hall, Milton Court Barbican, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly, and Buckingham Palace, where he performed in the presence of King Charles. Internationally, he has performed for audiences at The Fazioli Concert Hall in Venice, The Lithuanian Music Theatre & Academy Hall, and Radziejowice Palace in Poland. 

Connor was awarded a scholarship to study piano performance with Valéria Szervánszky at the Purcell School of Music. He continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama under the guidance of Senior Professor of Piano, Joan Havill, where he completed his B.Mus (Hons), Master of Music, and Master of Performance postgraduate degrees, followed by the prestigious Artist Diploma. He currently studies with Norma Fisher.  

Connor was appointed Junior Artist Fellow at Guildhall and has been supported by scholarships from The Guildhall Trust, Leverhulme Arts Trust, Countess of Munster, and the Alec Beecheno Bursary Award. Connor’s career has been shaped by mentorship from renowned musicians such as Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri, Sir Stephen Hough, Peter Frankl, and Michel Béroff. 

His solo career is complemented by his role as co-founder of the prize-winning London Piano Duo with pianist Daisy Ou. Connor is represented by Piha Entertainment and is supported by Talent Unlimited Musicians.

Liszt is alive and well and today in Perivale

Yoav Levanon a charming well groomed young man took the Wigmore by storm this morning .Anyone who could preface the complete Liszt Transcendental studies with four Chopin studies op 25 played as four miniature tone poems showing a personality that we are not used to anymore is already audacious. Taking all the time needed as we awaited his arrival on stage and once there awaited that magic moment of the very first notes.In a sense old style playing breathing with timeless wonder and taking all the time needed to digest such discoveries. An Aeolian harp of ravishing beauty and even if he did take time onto the way it in no way impeded his musicianly architectural vision.The final chord and pulsating trill I have rarely heard played with such refined elegance.Op 25 n. 2 reminds me always of Rubinstein ,on this very stage , in the last public performance of a long and celebrated life.William Lyne had persuaded Rubinstein to give this final recital in an attempt to relaunch the hall and save it from the hands of voracious developers .A programme of Beethoven and Schumann in the first half and a second half dedicated to his beloved Chopin.

Yoav’s crystalline playing of an undulating stream of sounds with the final notes dying away allowing the ‘double thirds study to enter out of the magic created. The G sharp minor study was played with astonishing ease just as he was to do with Feux Follets where the notorious technical difficulties were absorbed into a tone poem of quite astonishing beauty and architectural shape.The fifth study,another particular favourite of Rubinstein, was played with an extraordinary sense of character the melodic central episode of sublime finesse and beauty as the melodic line was allowed to float on an accompaniment of gossamer lightness and beguiling style.The ending played with grandiose authority as it reached for the heights ending this quartet of studies conceived as a whole.

Returning with a microphone as with simple charm he outlined his conception of music that should be a discovery of beauty and musical meaning and that it was with this idea in mind that he had conceived his performance of the complete Transcendental Studies that he was about to play. Here was intelligence, artistic integrity and above all imaginative artistry. A sculptor of sounds introducing the Liszt ,strangely in a Texan accent ,with a simplicity and modesty that only the greatest artists can display .One is reminded of a shorter version of Van Cliburn!
Mentored by Murray Perahia he is the best kept secret ever.
To say that anyone who could present such a programme in public is a supreme stylist is the greatest compliment one could offer to a young man who is obviously the reincarnation of Liszt.
A monumental ‘Paysage’ building to a passionate climax followed the astonishing clarity and mastery of the first two studies. ‘Feux Follets’ grew out of the final chord of ‘Paysage ‘ but what of ‘Mazeppa?! ‘ A secret revealed at the end and it was not clear if he had just forgotten to play it but more likely was intentional as it was an astonishing way to conclude these twelve Lisztian studies.The lightness and capricious character he brought to ‘Feux Follets ‘ is of a chosen few who can ignore the enormous technical challenges and just concentrate of the musical shape of a work like ‘Au Bord d’une source’ that is of infinite charm and jeux perlé beauty. A truly monumental performance of ‘Visions’ was played with incredible power and relentless passion. An orchestral opening to ‘Eroica’ as the octaves were thrown of with an ease where they became merely vibrations of the chords such was his remarkable use of the pedal. A ‘Wilde Jags ‘ that was a passionate outpouring of almost unbearable tension unleashed with oases of calm and menace. ‘Ricordanza’ is like looking at an old photo ,brown at the edges, of nostalgic magic atmosphere .A kaleidoscope of beauty and shimmering colours of beguiling half lights and style.The F minor study that from nothing built to a sumptuous climax of passionate agitation with a wonderful sense of rubato allied to a masterly control.There was the whispered chant of the opening of ‘Harmonies du soir’ as sounds filled the rarified air with the same magic of the harp and that built to a sumptuous climax of breathtaking voluptuous sounds. The whispered sounds of ‘Chasse-neige’ were barely audible as an extraordinary tone poem was constructed before out incredulous eyes. After such enormous sonorities dying away to a mere whisper it was here that Yoav allowed Mazeppa to enter the scene with its breathtaking fearless virtuosity and sumptuous romantic effusions. I am sure Liszt would have approved of changing the order to finish in a blaze of triumph and glory.

Yoav would have gladly played some more but he had overrun his time in a hall that is filled to the rafters two of three times a day.He was even reduced to greeting his enthusiastic fans in the hall itself as sherry was offered to the public on this Sunday morning start to a week long series of piano recitals .What a beginning this recital has truly been .

Overwhelming ,breathtaking ,heart rending seduction of all the senses .
In Liszt’s day the aristocratic audiences were reduced to a devouring mob as they tried to grab any souvenir of their idol.

The Wiggies are more restrained and offered a standing ovation with cat calls that are usually reserved for the football stadium.Not since Raymond Lewenthal ‘s historic Liszt/Alkan recitals has this hall witnessed such a reincarnation https://www.yoavlevanon.com/

WINDSOR AND ETON CHORAL SOCIETY WITH RYAN WANG

7.30PM Saturday, 21st September 2024

St George’s Chapel Windsor Castle

Windsor and Eton Choral Society
Brandenburg Sinfonia
Ryan Wang      Piano
Tim Johnson  Conductor

Accompanied by the excellent Brandenburg Sinfonia and with professional soloists, Windsor and Eton Choral Society bring Brahms’ moving and dramatic German Requiem to Windsor Festival this September.

This special concert in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle will open with exceptional young pianist Ryan Wang performing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The 16 year old Etonian began learning the piano at the age of four, playing at Carnegie Hall by the time he was five, and is the recipient of numerous distinguished international awards and prizes, recently becoming the youngest ever winner of the Prix Cortot from the École Normale de Musique de Paris.

Programme:
Rachmaninov   Piano Concerto No. 2
Brahms              German Requiem

A masterly performance from the 16 year old Ryan Wang today in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Another Canadian pianist taking the world by storm just as Jaeden Dzurko did today in Leeds and Bruce Xiao Liu did in Warsaw a year ago.Lets not forget Kevin Chen ,mentored by Marilyn Engle ,running off with Budapest at 16,Geneva at 17 and Rubinstein at 18 in a carousel that not even Martha Argerich has equalled!

From the very first notes Ryan showed an authority and breathtaking command of Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto.
In his last year as a scholar at Eton,Ryan gave a performance of passionate abandon but with a mature musical intelligence way above his 16 years.

After the passionate excitement of the first movement it was the way he could dialogue with the orchestra in the slow movement that was so astonishing as he could blend in and out with the orchestra allowing his glowing tone to emerge as he duetted first with the clarinet and finally with the strings with heart rending beauty.The last movement just shot from his fingers with astonishing ease and scintillating bravura.Watching the conductor like a hawk as he brought such animal passion to the hollywoodian climax .A spontaneous standing ovation from a very distinguished audience brought an encore of Jesu joy of man’s desiring played with quite extraordinary poignancy and aristocratic timeless beauty.
Ryan will be performing the concerto in Bristol next week which I believe will be broadcast and televised as the final round of the BBC Young Musician of the Year.

The very first whispered chords Ryan played with extraordinary chameleonic colouring as they grew so naturally in size and weight before the final explosion with the four final bass notes played with overwhelming authority and power.The orchestra entering with their wonderfully romantic effusions of sumptuous golden string sound. It was this power from the bass that was to pervade the piano accompaniment with the same searing intensity that Tim Johnson distilled from his excellent players of the Brandenburg Sinfonia.

Ryan playing with the weight of a veteran where every note was given its place and meaning.Listening ,as he was to do even more noticeably in the Adagio sostenuto ,here in this famous opening he played as Rachmaninov himself exhorts ‘con passione’ but also with intelligence ,sensibility and masterly control.The ‘poco piu mosso’ that follows was of an enviable clarity where his crystalline fingers dug deep into every one of the keys on this magnificent Steinway Concert Grand that lay before him.The beautiful second subject was played with controlled freedom with a feeling of improvised discovery as his rubato was enticing but so natural and never sentimental.

This was the mature aristocratic cantabile that Rubinstein was such a master of and whom I had heard in the nearby Eton college many years ago.Rubinstein appearing on stage in Eton Chapel as part of this same Windsor Festival when it was directed by Yehudi Menuhin . Appearing in tails dressed as all the boys were in the audience who had flocked to hear this legendary figure.There were such piercing sounds that shone above the swirling passionate cauldron first with two repeated notes and then with three before Ryan too was caught up in this passionate build up before bursting into unashamed passionate repeated chords like a rock star in full flight! But it was the control of the ‘Alla marcia Maestoso’ after such passionate effusions that was so remarkable and breathtaking .

The clarity he brought to the gentle beating heart of the ending was just as remarkable as it floated above the orchestra with magical arabesques bringing a glow to such heavenly sounds as it shot on its way unimpeded to the final three imperious chords that Ryan played with a finality of no nonsense mastery.

Rachmaninov’s ‘Moonlight ‘ opening for the piano of his Adagio sostenuto was played where every note was not just an accompaniment, as it should be in Beethoven, but Rachmaninov weaves a magical web that every so often comes to the surface in a duo with the orchestra.It takes a great musician to be able to listen and weave in and out in real chamber music style whilst sitting in the limelight. Poignant beauty as with single notes the piano intones this magical melody inviting the left hand to double to make it twice as bewitching. Ryan played like a consummate artist who could improvise such beauty in the moment adding hesitations or inflections as a singer might do.The gradual build up with trails of undulating scaling passage work was played with a clarity that shone above the orchestra but never obscuring the architectural line that was being shared .

Exploding into a passionate climax of intensity and an aristocratic ‘allargando ‘ as the music worked itself up into a whirl of notes culminating in another passionate outburst of even more vehemence before the filigree notes that lead to the eventual cadenza.Notes that remarkably were of a crystalline clarity penetrating the orchestral sounds with a refined projected leggiero of considerable mastery. Culminating in a rhetorical cadenza starting deep in the bass and reaching into the heights with exhilaration.It was here that Ryan’s great artistry shone through with a silence that seemed eternal until he completely changed gear with four voluptuous arabesques that were eventually to lead back to the opening motif.Beautiful undulating chords accompanying the melodic line from the orchestra in the coda were played like a breath of fresh air in such a torrid atmosphere and again the magisterially placed final cadence on the piano was of a true master.

Tim Johnson like a cat about to pounce as soon as the final E major chord had died away and we were off into the ‘Allegro scherzando’ where Ryan was now ready to shoot off a pyrotechnic rocket from one end of the keyboard to the other where dynamic drive and scintillating virtuosity were rampant.But suddenly there was calm and the ravishing beauty of the ‘Moderato’ where the orchestra are given one of those sumptuous Rachmaninovian melodies that in turn is passed over to the piano. Ryan in his turn playing with a controlled freedom of ravishing subtle beauty .Suddenly interrupted by a ‘Meno Mosso’ where the piano just muses on C flat meanderings of complete opaque calm before the fireworks really begin.Astonishing virtuosity and passionate conviction from this young artist inspiring the orchestra into a breathtaking climax of sumptuous romantic fervour.

Covered in flowers from friends and family he played ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’ as a thank you for the standing ovation he together with the conductor and orchestra had truly earned.I doubt Myra Hess herself could have played her transcription more beautifully and Ryan even allowed himself some old style split hands and sumptuous inner colourings more in line with Nelson Freire than the great Dame herself https://youtu.be/2GoEx9_dUko?feature=shared

It was wonderful to hear the glorious voices in Brahms Requiem from the Windsor and Eton Choral Society that had made it’s first appearance in Windsor in 1837. A glorious performance with the voices resounding throughout this Historic Chapel superbly directed by Tim Johnson with beautiful solo voices of Susanna Fairbairn and Andrew Mayor resounding above the glorious singing of this dedicated choir and orchestra.

Montecatini International Piano Competition Final in the historic Teatro Niccolini in Florence.

Ryan Wang ‘A star is born on the Wings of the Dragon’ at the National Liberal Club

A standing ovation for the remarkable Warren Mailley-Smith with his ‘Moonlight by Candlelight’ in St Mary Le Strand .
Remarkable not only for the beautiful playing of an artist who truly loves music but for an artist who has time and the passion to promote over 300 concerts a year sharing a platform with numerous of his colleagues not only in London but also in Manchester and Edinburgh

https://citymusicpromotions.co.uk/buy-tickets/
One of whom is Julian Trevelyan who is playing in the Leeds final that is being broadcast live tonight and whom we wish all the success he deserves

Julian Trevelyan at St Mary’s – Liszt restored to the pinnacle of the Romantic repertoire

Warren played not only Beethoven’s Moonlight but also a deeply felt mellifluous Pathetique.
Chopin too with a ravishing Nocturne in C sharp minor op posth and a Fantasie-Impromptu of searing intensity. A ‘Raindrop’ prelude of rare beauty as was his beguiling account of a whispered ‘Clair de lune’. ‘Un sospiro’ by Liszt soaring the heights of romantic seduction before the wedding bells rang out with such joy in Troldhaugen thanks to Grieg op 65 n.6
A public happy to have spent the evening surrounded by candlelit beauty and ravishing sounds from Warren’s magical fingers on his own beautiful Steinway housed in this church in an oasis of peace just a stone’s throw from the burning hot intensity of Covent Garden.

Leaving the church exhilarated and uplifted in a city outside ready to celebrate ‘Friday night fever.’,

Nicolas Ventura at St Mary Le Strand Elegance and Beauty combine with intelligence and mastery

Magdalene Ho illuminates and exults the candlelit beauty of St Mary Le Strand

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/strand/st-mary-le-strand-church/the-strand-rising-stars-series-sherri-lun/e-zleplk

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/strand/st-mary-le-strand-church/the-strand-rising-stars-series-kyle-hutchings/e-rlyprr

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/strand/st-mary-le-strand-church/the-strand-rising-stars-series-magdalene-ho/e-obglea

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/cm/the-strand-rising-stars-series-misha-kaploukhii/e-lbejkp

A page turner’s view of a great concert .
Sasha Grynyuk and Petr Limonov – solo and in duo but united in their supreme musical mastery.

Lifelong friends with Petr who was glad to help out an old friend whose brother ,Alexei, had sprained his shoulder at the last minute and could not play in this long awaited joint recital.
A Schubert Fantasy that seemed too slow but gradually enveloped us all with its crystalline beauty and magisterial architectural understanding .

To say that Petr’s solo of Schubert op 90 n 3 and 4 was sublime would be the understatement of the year! Old style playing where a pianist becomes a magician as Schubert’s sublime music floated into this beautiful edifice with timeless beauty reminding me of the much missed Nelson Freire.
https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/11/02/nelson-freire-rip/

Sasha’s Brahms Rhapsody op 79 n 1 was not less as he had a whole orchestra in his hands .Not just any old orchestra but the Berlin Philharmonic to say the least .
Precision with scrupulous attention to detail ,especially the pedal as you would expect from his mentor the veteran Noretta Conci-Leech a disciple of Michelangeli and co founder of the Keyboard Trust.

Two Dvorak dances united these two great artists with a decadent rubato of insinuating whispered secrets
A Bach chorale that Kurtag had transcribed for himself and his wife to play was their way of cleansing the air and thanking the numerous public after such sumptuous excesses .

Luckily Maestro Kurtag had left his own vocabulary on the shelf bowing to the superior timeless genius of J.S.B.

Petr Limonov’s masterly final recital in St Mary’s summer lockdown series

Sasha Grynyuk in Milan and Florence Mastery and musicianship combine with poetic sensibility and intelligence

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Playing of real authority on a not easy piano but nevertheless a Bosendorfer of pedigree that in the hands of a true musician can still reveal many secrets .A programme of the three B’s : Beethoven ,Brahms ……..and Barber eloquently introduced but even more eloquently played !

Beethoven’s ‘Les Adieux’ Sonata the only Sonata that Beethoven actually gave titles to opened with the luminosity and simplicity of a beautifully shaped ‘Adagio’ before exploding into the ‘Allegro’ that was played with great buoyancy and drive. Impeccable technical control as he played with scrupulous attention to Beethoven’s detailed indications with musicianship and poetic beauty.There was a beautiful sense of balance in the ‘Andante espressivo’ that allowed the melodic line to glow with poignant simplicity. An oasis of calm before the explosion of the ‘Vivacissimamente’ and an exhilarating pastoral ‘joie de vivre’ that was played with dynamic drive and scintillating exuberance.

The four pieces that make up Brahms op 119 opened with the Intermezzo in B minor played with purity and poignant beauty as the music was allowed to unfold with heartrending beauty as Brahms said farewell to the piano with these last solo offerings. The Intermezzo in E minor was played with a whimsical whispered flight of beauty with playing of great fantasy and architectural line.In fact all through these four short pieces there was an overall sense of line and shape that united them into a whole which I have rarely heard played with such intelligent musicianship and sense of forward movement.Never allowing himself to wallow in these very intimate pieces but letting the music to speak for itself with a kaleidoscope of sounds of rare beauty.A beguilingly capricious Intermezzo in C major was thrown off with the same ease and charm that I still remember from the hands of Curzon.The final Rhapsody in E flat was full of majestic orchestral sounds with a central episode that was like a breath of fresh air of innocent purity before the final sumptuous finale played played with grandiose aristocratic control.

A performance of the Barber Sonata that was written for Horowitz and is indeed a ‘tour de force’ of intricate counterpoints and moving harmonies of relentless forward movement.The ‘Allegro energico’ was played with a kaleidoscope of colours it’s melancholic theme emerging through a mist of sounds.The ‘Allegro vivace e leggero’ was a mellifluous outpouring of continuous sounds and led to the languid beauty of mystery and haunting nostalgia of the ‘Adagio mesto’ that was played with passionate commitment and commanding authority. But it was the Fugal last movement notorious for its intricate knotty twine that Jeremy played with breathtaking ,fearless virtuosity but also with the sense of line and architectural shape of a remarkable musician.

Angela’s generosity and infectious Song and dance inspires her illustrious students.

Jeremy Chan at St Olaves Tower Hill ‘Masterworks played with intelligence and sensitive artistry’

An inspiring visit to the crypt in this remarkable church so brutally abused during the war.

The Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, op .26, was commissioned for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the League of Composers by American songwriters Irving Berlin  and Richard Rodgers .It was written between 1947 to 1949, and was first performed by Vladimir Horowitz in December 1949 in Havana, Cuba, followed by performances in Washington D.C and New York City  in January 1950. The sonata is regarded as a cornerstone of American piano literature and one of Barber’s most significant achievements. Critics hailed it as a defining moment in mid-20th-century music, with The New York Times  describing it as the “first sonata truly to come of age by an American composer of this period.”

Upon completing the first two movements, Barber initially planned a concluding slow movement,and played the completed movements for Horowitz , who would later premiere the work, at Horowitz’s house.Horowitz then suggested Barber write a four-movement work with a “very flashy last movement, but with content”, a movement which would become a fugue.

The composer finished the sonata in June 1949, and Vladimir Horowitz began to prepare it for performance, spending five hours a day practicing it. Barber later commented that Horowitz had been playing it “with a surprising emotional rapprochement which I had not expected”.Horowitz premiered the Sonata in Havana, Cuba, on December 9, 1949. This was followed by a private performance in New York at the former G.Shirmer  headquarters on January 4, 1950. Gian Carlo Menotti ,Virgil Thomson,William Schumann,Thomas Schippers,Aaron Copland,Lukas Foss Myra Hess and Samuel Chotzinoff all attended.The official U.S. premiere was in Washington, DC,on January 11, 1950, at Constitution Hall ; Horowitz then publicly played the work in New York on January 23, 1950 at Carnegie Hall to ubiquitous praise from music critics.By April 1950, plans were in place for Horowitz to record the sonata for a Christmas release that year; Horowitz made the recording in May, for RCA Victor . This recording remained Barber’s preferred version for at least a decade.

The sonata is in four movements:

1. Allegro  energico
2. Allegro vivace  e leggero
3. Adagio  mesto
4. Fuga : Allegro con spirito

Programme:

F. Chopin: Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60

J.S.Bach WTC Book 1 : Prelude and Fugue No 16 in G minor, BWV 861;

Prelude and Fugue No 15 in G major, BWV 860;

S. Rachmaninoff: 10 Preludes, Op. 23

Mihai Ritivoiu, piano.

Mihai Ritivoiu at Fidelio with a sumptuous feast on wings of song .
There can be no greater song that Chopin’s Barcarolle , a continuous outpouring of mellifluous beauty .Played with the refined good taste that I can still remember from ten years ago when Mihai as a student of Joan Havill at the Guildhall played another of the last works of Chopin :the Polonaise Fantasie in Richard Goode’s Masterclass. Timeless beauty and aristocratic elegance as the music was allowed to unfold so simply in the Barcarolle today . A kaleidoscope of colours with a masterly control of sound and a true paradise found before the final build up to the glorious exultation of beauty that Chopin was to pen with searing intensity and sublime ecstasy.The coda was played with the ravishing beauty and simplicity that made it one of Ravel’s most cherished passages in all of Chopin.

Today Mihai is a distinguished pianist of aristocratic authority who held us in his spell in this very atmospheric oasis that the conductor Raffaello Morales has given to a great city that like many is too often bereft of refined cultural dining venues where an ever diminishing minority can escape and allow their senses to be enriched and replenished.https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/07/18/31232/

Angela Hewitt plays Bach and Brahms with the Fidelio Orchestra of Raffaello Morales

Wonderful to hear Bach Preludes and Fugues in a recital especially when played as today with the G minor and G major book one inserted into a pre dinner concert.
It reminded me of Casals who would always start the day with a Bach Prelude and Fugue on the piano that just cleansed the system before life took over.There was such joy in Mihai’s playing of the jeux perlé of the G major before the knotty twine of intricate counterpoints of the three part fugue . Following on from the refined beauty of the G minor that was played with wondrous poignant beauty as it was allowed to unfold so simply from such sensitive hands.The massive four part fugue was built up masterfully and was the exultation of a true believer .

Wonderful to hear the fugues played with such architectural shape and noble character , the words of Ebenezer Prout coming to mind after all these years. I asked Angela Hewitt during the interval of a recital in Florence whether she knew about Ebenezer and she spent the entire interval singing them at top voice much to the dismay of her Italian agent. I had sneaked backstage in the interval as I had to rush to catch my last train back home to Rome at the end of the afternoon concert at La Pergola. I did mention how much I was enjoying her recital especially having heard Lang Lang the day before .She made a desperate sign to me not to continue about Lang Lang as his agent was the same who was in the Green Room with us !
It was on this occasion that Angela asked if I had read the paper that day because the whole of Florence was talking about that ring!
https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/03/21/lo-specchio-17th-december-2005-the-ring-ileana-has-shown-us-how-to-leave-the-stage/

Bach Preludes were followed by the sumptuous Ten Preludes that make up Rachmaninov’s op 23.
Sumptuous sounds and breathtaking virtuosity went hand in hand with poetic beauty and even Hollywoodian glamour – after all let’s not forget that this morose Russian who looked as though he had swallowed a knife had a heart full of passion and romantic effusions and died in Beverley Hills !

And what similarity there was between the opening Bach in G minor and the opening Rachmaninov , just a semitone between them but worlds apart ! The same improvised refined beauty but of a different more decadent world played with ravishing beauty and languid intensity. The B flat Prelude exploding like the second concerto with sumptuous cascades of notes and after the opening call to arms falling into the loving arms of unmistakeable Rachmaninovian decadence and nostalgia.The central episode was played with breathtaking beauty as it built to a transcendental climax with a Guinness book of records of notes spun so masterfully before the return of the call to arms.

D minor of the Tempo di Minuetto was played with the same capriciousness as the concerto in the same key. A busy juxtaposition of flights of notes with the pivot note of D allowing etherial dream like wafts of sounds to float so magically in the air before being reminded like in the Paganini Rhapsody that it was all a dream – so there!

The D major Prelude I have never forgotten the recording my grandmother had of Richter which I used to play over and over again together with the second concerto when I was a school boy who had fallen in love for the first time. I mean love in the true sense as Tortelier was to teach me and in this case with sounds that could explain what a shy young boy could not yet express in words. Mihai found just the same magic today with a rich and generous cantabile and a flowing bass , like in the Barcarolle, on which such beauty could flourish.The fifth and seventh were on the Richter record too so this was a real nostalgic voyage for me today as Mihai struck up the ‘Alla marcia’ with the same dynamic drive and authority.Transcendental technical command where the octaves were phrased always horizontally with passionate musical meaning as they dissolved into the world of Rawicz and Landauer – my Grandmothers recording too !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ADFcbhJOEo Mihai knew, like the recording, how to dissolve into a paradise of sumptuous sounds.

On the Richter record too was the ‘busy bee’ of the 7th Prelude that Mihai played with the same sense of balance and masterly control that allowed the melodic line to float as if there were two pianist at the keyboard not one.The secret of Thalberg was taken up by Rachmaninov,of course , who like Thalberg was one of the greatest virtuosi of all time. ‘Thalberg is the greatest’, declared the Princess Belgioso ‘but Liszt is unique’. So honour was saved in the famous duel between two giants of their time, probably of all time !

The E flat n. 6 is one of the most unashamedly romantic of all the preludes and was played with beguiling half lights and insinuating rubato. The 8th is the longest with its meandering weaving harmonies that finally run out of steam . Ending with a dozen straight chords ,just like the Schumann Toccata, where the composer puts the break on just in time! The ninth is Rachmaninov’s ‘Feux Follets’ on the black keys in E flat minor and is a ‘tour de force’ that strikes terror in all but the finest pianists. Mihai was not only unafraid but added a musical shape that like ‘Feux Follets’ in masterly hands can turn what has become a technical bauble into a ravishing gem.The final Largo in G flat was played with a masterly sense of balance that allowed the left hand to sing as in Chopin’s study op 25 n. 7 .The hands duetting with each other with poignant deeply felt meaning .

A poet speaks spring to mind and what better way to describe Mihai’s playing than that of a Poet of the Keyboard.

Born in Bucharest, the London-based Romanian pianist Mihai Ritivoiu is a top prize-winner of several national and international competitions, including the George
Enescu International Competition, where he was also distinguished with the special prize for the best interpretation of a piano sonata by George Enescu. He 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, Jonathan Bloxham, 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 and the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest.

Mihai Ritivoiu’s triumphant recital signals a musical renaissance at the National Liberal Club

Mihai Ritivoiu at St Martin in the Fields Simple great Beethoven from a musician who thinks more of the music than himself

Mihai Ritivoiu at St Mary’s A poet of the piano of great authority and aristocratic bearing

Ebenezer Prout ‘s 48

Book I

1. He went to town in a hat that made all the people stare.
2. John Sebastian Bach sat upon a tack, but he soon got up again with a howl!
3. O what a very jolly thing it is to kiss a pretty girl!
4. Broad beans and bacon…(1st countersubject)…make an excellent good dinner for a man who hasn’t anything to eat.(2nd countersubject)…with half a pint of stout.
5. (Subject) Gin a body meet a body Comin’ through the rye,
   (Answer) Gin a body kiss a body, Need a body cry?
6. He trod upon my corns with heavy boots—I yelled!
7. When I get aboard a Channel steamer I begin to feel sick.
8. You dirty boy! Just look at your face! Ain’t you ashamed?
9. Hallo! Why, what the devil is the matter with the thing?
10. Half a dozen dirty little beggar boys are playing with a puppy at the bottom of the street.
11. The Bishop of Exeter was a most energetic man.
12. The slimy worm was writhing on the footpath.
13. Old Abram Brown was plagued with fleas, which caused him great alarm.
14. As I sat at the organ, the wretched blower went and let the wind out.
15. O Isabella Jane! Isabella Jane! Hold your jaw! Don’t make such a fuss! Shut up! Here’s a pretty row! What’s it all about?
16. He spent his money, like a stupid ass.
17. Put me in my little bed.
18. How sad our state by nature is! What beastly fools we be!
19. There! I have given too much to the cabman!
20. On a bank of mud in the river Nile, upon a summer morning, a little hippopotamus was eating bread and jam.
21. A little three-part fugue, which a gentleman named Bach composed, there’s a lot of triple counterpoint about it, and it isn’t very difficult to play.
22. Brethren, the time is short!
23. He went and slept under a bathing-machine at Margate.
24. The man was very drunk, as to and fro, from left to right, across the road he staggered. 

Book II

1. Sir Augustus Harris tried to mix a pound of treacle with a pint of castor oil.
2. Old Balaam’s donkey spoke like an ass.
3. O, here’s a lark!
4. Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle! The cow jumped over the moon!
5. To play these fugues through is real jam.
6. ‘Ark to the sound of the ‘oofs of the galloping ‘orse! I ‘ear ‘im comin’ up Regent Street at night. (Countersubject:) ‘Is ‘oofs go ‘ammer, ‘ammer, ‘ammer, ‘ammer, ‘ammer, ‘ammer, on the ‘ard ‘ighway.
7. Mary, my dear, bring the whiskey and water in—bring the whiskey and water in.
8. I went to church last night, and slept all the sermon through.
9. I’d like to punch his head…(countersubject:) …if he gives me any more of his bally cheek.
10. As I rode in a penny bus, going to the Mansion House, off came the wheel—down came the bus—all of the passengers fell in a heap on the floor of the rickety thing.
11. Needles and pins! Needles and pins! When a man’s married his trouble begins.
12. I told you you’d have the stomach-ache if you put such a lot of pepper in your tea.
13. Great Scott! What a trouble it is to have to find the words for all these subjects!
14. She cut her throat with a paper-knife that had got no handle. (Subject, bar 20:) The wound was broad and deep. (Bar 36:) They called the village doctor in: he put a bit of blotting-paper on her neck.
15. The pretty little dickybirds are hopping to and fro upon the gravel walk before the house, and picking up the crumbs.
16. Oh, my eye! Oh, my eye! What a precious mess I’m getting into today.
17. I passed the night at a wayside inn, and could scarcely sleep a moment for the fleas.
18. Two little boys were at play, and the one gave the other a cuff on the head, and the other hit back. (Countersubject:) Their mother sent them both to bed without their tea.
19. In the middle of the Hackney Road today I saw a donkey in a fit.
20. He that would thrive must rise at five.
21. The noble Duke of York, he had ten thousand men, he marched them up the hill, and marched them down again.
22. O, dear! What shall I do? It’s utterly impossible for me to learn this horrid fugue! I give it up! (Countersubject:) It ain’t no use! It ain’t a bit of good! Not a bit! No, not a bit!, No, not a bit!
23. See what ample strides he takes.
24. The wretched old street-singer has his clothes all in tatters, and toes showing through his boots.