- Saturday, June 28, 2025
- 7:00 PM 9:00 PM.
- St John’s WaterlooWaterloo RoadLondon, England, SE1 8TYUnited Kingdom
Miracles in Waterloo yesterday with an international barrister who can play the socks off most professional pianists . A concert cellist who conducts like Gergiev and the Renaissance man who is realising his dream of uniting the world on wings of song .
Paul Wee was discovered by the renowned piano file Bryce Morrison, playing at the Thalberg society of Mark Viner . He was so impressed that he immediately arranged a CD recording that was received with five star reviews and the rest is history. As Paul says Bryce has a lot to answer for! Margarita Balanas the renowned cellist and now assistant to Paavo Järvi . Raffaello Morales, the Renaissance man, pianist , physicist, investment banker, conductor, cordon bleu cook and founder of the Fidelio café and also author of his first novel of dreams and music :’The Earth to the Skies’. I was privileged to be at the rehearsal and be present at the creation of such sumptuous music making amongst such dedicated and talented young musicians reaching for the skies on wings of song.
Rachmaninov’s third concerto with barrister-pianist Paul Wee and Shostakovich’s portrait of Stalin conducted by Margarita Balanas.
Pianist-barrister Paul Wee, whose recordings for BIS have attracted much praise, was the soloist for Rachmaninov’s mythical third piano concerto, a piece that since its appearance in 1909 has caused many sleepless nights to the best interpreters for almost a century.
The music of Sergej Rachmaninov seems to merge the many cultures its author would be exposed to throughout his life. The Russian childhood, the fascination for Europe, the American exile, the Middle-Eastern harmonies. Dismissed by many critics as a sideshow to the great experimental musical output of the first half of the twentieth century, the undeniable charm of Rachmaninov’s works calls for a reassessment of the ‘intellectual solipsism’ that the ‘cultural hegemony’ has, for too long, imposed on posterity, to the detriment of the cultural advancement of societies.
Shostakovich published his tenth symphony after Stalin’s death, in 1953, but it is not ascertained whether many of its elements had already been with written long before. What is undeniable is the fact that Shostakovich went back to the symphonic form after a break of eight years, some of his previous works in this form having been harshly criticised by the government. This work surely marks a return of the composer to a very personal style, independent from the restrictions imposed by the regime and by Stalin himself.
S. Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op. 30
D. Shostakovich, Symphony No. 10 in E minor Op. 93
Fidelio Orchestra
Paul Wee, Piano
Raffaello Morales, conductor (Rachmaninov)
Margarita Balanas, conductor (Shostakovich)
Hailed as a “ totally astonishing” (BBC Radio 3 Record Review) pianist who “plays the unplayable ” (The Spectator) and “who can equal and, indeed, surpass the musical and technical accomplishments of the biggest names in the profession ” (International Piano), Paul Wee is internationally acclaimed for his “transcendental technical prowess” (ClassicsToday), “ dazzling virtuosity” (BBC Music Magazine), and “consummate musicianship ” (Gramophone). After a number of early appearances, including a concerto début in London’s Royal Albert Hall aged 12, he continued his studies in New York City at the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College division with Nina Svetlanova. After deciding not to pursue a full-time conservatory education or a primary career in the arts, Paul studied law at the University of Oxford, obtaining his BA (Jurisprudence) and BCL from Keble College. He was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 2010, and attempts to balance his love for the piano alongside the demands of a busy practice at the Bar.
Paul’s recordings for BIS Records have received much critical acclaim. His 2019 debut recording of Alkan’s Symphony for Solo Piano and Concerto for Solo Piano was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award and Limelight’s Recording of the Year in the Instrumental category, and received a Gramophone Editor’s Choice (November 2019) and a Diapason d’Or (January 2020). His 2020 recording of Thalberg’s L’art du chant met with similar praise, being selected as an Instrumental Choice by BBC Music Magazine (January 2021) and a Limelight Editor’s Choice (December 2020). His most recent recording, featuring Liszt’s transcription of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and Alkan’s transcription of Mozart’s D minor Piano Concerto K466, was also shortlisted for a Gramophone Award, as well as being Gramophone’s Recording of the Month for December 2022 and ClassicsToday’s Disc of the Year for 2022.
Paul continues to perform as and when his professional commitments permit, as a recital soloist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician, both in his current home city of London and internationally.
Margarita Balanas – Assistant Conductor 2024/25
The Latvian Margarita Balanas is entering her second round as assistant conductor to Paavo Järvi.
Born in Latvia in 1993, Margarita Balanas first attracted attention as a cellist. She won her first competition at the age of 8 and played at London’s Wigmore Hall at 17. She has performed with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, played in front of King Charles III when he was still Prince Charles, and has been supported by musicians such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lynn Harrell and Gautier Capuçon. She often performs with her sister, the violinist Kristīne Balanas.
Margarita Balanas has also attracted attention as a promising conductor – including with the Ensemble Anonimi, which she founded and which experiments with a wide range of styles and concert formats. Since attending the Academy in Pärnu, she has been part of the large extended Järvi family: she has not only worked with Paavo Järvi, but also with his father Neeme Järvi and his brother Kristian Järvi.
Last season, she succeeded Izabelė Jankauskaitė as Assistant Conductor of our Music Director at the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and the collaboration has now been extended for a second season. Paavo Järvi says that he only selects talented people for these positions who he believes will have a real career as a conductor: “It’s more mysterious than ever today what it takes to be a conductor, but you can tell straight away whether someone has that certain something. Margarita Balanas has it.”
As Assistant Conductor, Margarita Balanas accompanies the rehearsals, compares what she hears with the score, notes technical and interpretative details and checks the sound balance as Paavo Järvi’s second pair of ears, so to speak. And she also conducts herself: Last season, she conducted the final concert of the family project “What do you think ocean?”. And in the 2024/25 season, she will conduct both the family join-in concert “Thorstein and the Giants” and the final concert of the new children’s project “Kunterwunderbunt”.
Born in Rome, Raffaello Morales has lived in London since 2009. He studied piano and composition in Italy, Austria and the UK and having graduated in 2009 in Physics and Piano Performance he completed postgraduate studies in Theoretical Physics and Applied Mathematics. After a five-year career in investment banking, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to music as a conductor, pianist, composer, producer and educator. He is the music director of Fidelio Orchestra, which he founded in 2019. in 2019, the Fidelio Orchestra has quickly established itself as a vibrant presence in London’s classical music scene. It brings together people with a shared commitment to making great music in an atmosphere that is both joyful and refreshingly unpretentious.
Run as a charity, the orchestra is dedicated to providing young musicians with high-quality orchestral experience and opportunities to collaborate with exceptional soloists.
By including non-professional players alongside emerging professionals, the Fidelio Orchestra fosters a space where performing historical repertoire is not only a professional pursuit, but also a powerful way to connect the world of classical music with broader society.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 