Programme 

BACH/SILOTI: 

Prelude in B minor 

BACH/RACHMANINOV: Violin partita no. 3 in E major BWV 1006 (transcription) 

Prelude 

Gavotte 

Gigue 

SCRIABIN: 

Mazurka in E major, op. 25, no. 4 

Mazurka in C-sharp minor, op. 25, no. 5 

Mazurka in F-sharp major, op. 25, no. 6 

CHOPIN: Sonata no. 3 in B minor, op. 58 

I. Allegro maestoso 

II. Scherzo: Molto vivace 

III. Largo 

IV. Finale 

---

Vedran Janjanin in the Roast series in the new Bechstein Hall.

Things were certainly hotting up towards the end of an after lunch recital of Bach,Scriabin and Chopin .

Sparks started to fly with the Kapustin jazz study n 1 which followed an equally jazzy piece by Vedran’s sister that she had dedicated to her brother .

Scintillating playing very much in tune with the beautiful nightclub atmosphere that Bechstein have generously offered to us in London to show off their magnificent instruments.

Vedran had begun with Bach ,Siloti style with a sumptuous performance of the Prelude in B minor. A ravishing sense of balance with glorious golden sounds that were only broken by Bach but this time Rachmaninov style.

A reworking of three movements from the third Partita for solo violin.Maybe he knew that Tasmin Little was in the audience ?

Played with impish clarity and charm with the grace of the Gavotte followed by the knotty twine of the Gigue .Streams of notes with Rachmaninov’s voice exulting the genial writing of J.S Bach.

There was a luminosity and sense of improvisatory beauty to the three mazurkas by Scriabin op 25 with a kaleidoscope of colour and sounds that Vedran told me afterwards could be controlled with the acoustically assisted sound available in ten easy steps !

The second half of the programme was dedicated to Chopin with the Sonata in B minor.

Some beautiful things especially in the Largo and the trio of the scherzo second movement.The finale too was played with dynamic drive as the final explosion of the rondo brought this masterpiece to an exciting conclusion. The first movement suffered from a lack or architectural shape and although there were many beautiful moments he missed the overall sweep that he was able to find elsewhere.

Many musician friends were there to applaud their colleague from my old Alma Mater – the Royal Academy where he he tells me he has formed a trio with his former chamber music coach

Vedran Janjanin is a young emerging artist from Croatia, currently residing in London.
After finishing his studies at Zagreb Music Academy and Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, he was recognised by the Royal Academy of Music in London and given full scholarship for the Advance Diploma studies in Piano performance.

His debut performance at Wigmore Hall in February 2023 won him rave reviews from the critics and a new invitation to perform a solo recital in January 2024.

He has performed in countries such as Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Austria, Hungary, Germany and England, and was featured by numerous orchestras a soloist, such as the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Central European Youth Orchestra, Zagreb Academy Symphony Orchestra and Croatian Young Musicians Orchestra.
 He collaborated with established international musicians such as Andrey Gugnin, Sujari Britt, Istvan Balazs, Darija Auguštan, Ivan Krpan, Jelena Štefanić and others.

 His most recent collaboration is a duo with one of Britain’s leading cellist – Josephine Knight, holder of the Alfredo Piatti Chair of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music, where she teaches.He was guided by eminent pianists and pedagogues such as Emanuel Krasovsky, Christopher Elton, Kalman Drafi, Dina Yoffe, Jerome Rose, Janos Devich, Eugen Indjic, Wayne Marshall OBE and Andrei Korobeinikov.

​