Mozart: Sonata in C Major K330
Allegro / Andante / Allegretto
Ravel: Miroirs
1. Noctuelles (“Night Moths”)
2. Oiseaux tristes (“Sad Birds”)
3. Une barque sur l’océan (“A Boat on the Ocean”)
4. Alborada del gracioso (“Morning Song of the Jester”)
5. La vallée des cloches (“The Valley of Bells”)
Chopin: Ballade no 2 in F Op 38
Chopin: Ballade no 3 in A flat Op 47
Radiance and beauty filled the tropical air that has descended on London. With a scintillating refined palette of sounds Hai Zi Yoh illuminated this most beautiful of churches with a breath of fresh air that was exhilarating and inspiring . A refined outward delicacy that hid the volcanic energy that was within the very notes that poured from her fingers, not with vertical coarseness but with the horizontal radiance of a poet.
Nowhere was it more evident than in the chordal build up in Chopin’s second ballade that in Hao Zi’s hands was transformed into magical layers of sound. I doubt that Ravel’s moths have ever been happier than today as they flitted around this beautiful edifice like the ‘feux follets’ that abound in these balmy climes .
Mozart ‘s C major Sonata was played with a fluidity that belied the driving force that was behind the notes. Simplicity and freshness with delicate contrasts from her palette of jewel like sounds. There was a richness to the Andante with very discreet ornamentation that did not detract from the ravishing beauty, that like in the G major concerto, reaches moments of breathtaking beauty. A ‘joie de vivre’ to the Allegretto that just flew from her tightly wound fingers.
Have Ravel’s sad birds ever sung with such multicoloured radiance? They may be sad and Ravel may have placed them in a desolate atmosphere but humming birds have a chameleonic plumage that is of breathtaking beauty. There was magic in the air as after the stormy seas that Ravel’s boat had just traversed, a wondrous vision appears that Hao Zi played with sublime whispered understatement. Hao Zi in the brilliant sunlight brought Alborada brilliantly to life with Ravel’s demonic double third glissandi that he delighted in challenging pianists with, being merely streams of sounds wound up in the sultry Spanish climes. A wondrous valley of bells was played with whispered beauty wafted into the the air with sublime poignant meaning.
The Chopin Ballades were played like an unfolding song where even the fiery interruptions in the second were part of a ravishing story wondrously told.The third ballade was one long crescendo where, like in the Barcarolle , the ever more fervent mellifluous outpouring explodes with glorious radiant beauty as the true genius of Chopin is revealed.
This programme can be heard live streamed from St Mary’s Perivale on Tuesday 8th July at 14h.
https://www.youtube.com/@stmarysperivale2842/streams
Hao Zi Yoh is a Malaysian pianist based in London. She enjoys a form of synaesthesia, where music may evoke colours and imageries which influence her interpretation and tonal colours. Hao Zi’s debut album featuring impressionistic works by Albeniz and Ravel is set to be released in 2025. She is also an active chamber musician of De Beauvoir Piano Trio. Hao Zi has won top prizes in international piano competitions and has performed around Europe, USA, China, Japan and Malaysia both as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Wigmore Hall, Southbank Royal Festival Hall, Salle Cortot, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and Teatro Quirino (Italy). She also collaborated with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Nova Amadeus and Baleares Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, Hao Zi made her debut at Kings Place under Kirckman Concerts and gave concert tour in Northern Italy organised by the Keyboard Charitable Trust. She was also featured at Trinity Laban’s Showcase 2025, New Lights Contemporary Music Festival, performing a world premiere of Arnold Griller’s Concertino Introduction, Cakewalk and Allegro. Hao Zi also participated in creative outreach projects led by the Open Academy for children and elderly with Dementia, where she performed in Music for Moment Concerts at the Wigmore Hall. She collaborated with author-illustrator David Litchfield and improvised to his award-winning book “The Bear and the Piano”. Hao Zi remains in close contact with the music scene in Malaysia. She has given talks, performances and masterclasses to the students of University of Malaya, Bentley Music and Persatuan Chopin in hope to share her experiences and help the younger generation. Hao Zi continues to develop her performing career in addition to tutoring at King’s College, London and is a musician of Talent Unlimited. During the London-lock 2021, Hao Zi also organised livestreams and charity fundraisers. Her previous teachers include Christopher Elton, Martino Tirimo, Elza Kolodin and Chong Lim Ng
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 