Dina Parakhina has long been an advocate of Medtner and it was inspiring to hear her magnificent playing of his Romantic ‘Sketches for the young’ op 54.
Followed by a very informed talk, which I must say was difficult to decifer with the rather poor sound system and a microphone too distant from the speaker.
But it was her music that spoke louder than words. And what music!
Dina can play streams of notes with a subtle brilliance and ease that can turn Medtner’s elusive scores into streams of golden sounds.She can find the melodic line and architectural shape to music that so often can seem suffocated by busy counterpoints. The fluidity of her playing allowed Medtner’s notes to be waves of magic sound with playing that was of a horizontal beauty never allowing any ragged or ungrateful sounds to enter this unique magic world.
I was in her studio the other day when an eleven year old girl played to her Chopin’s notoriously difficult study op 10 n. 2 followed by op 10 n. 5. Exhilarating, astonishing performances for a little girl but Dina looked her in the eyes telling her that she must love what she is doing. She should listen more to music of operas, symphonies , songs so that she could fill the notes with meaning and real feeling .
It was just such love that Dina shared with us today. A composer much overlooked but that Dina has taken to heart and transformed endless reams of notes with fantasy and poignant meaning . Medtner is too often dismissed as Rachmaninov without the tunes. Dina today showed us the path to interpreting this seemingly uninviting music and to be able to transmit the jewels that Medtner has bequeathed to us with a vast range of works too seldom heard in public . The much loved Benno Moiseiwitch recorded one of Medtner ‘s three concerti just after the war but how often do we hear his 14 piano sonatas?
Preludes and tales alternated making up the eight Sketches that Dina played today.
A prelude or ‘Pastorale’ of fluidity and mellifluous beauty with a streaming web of silvery notes of undulating beauty.
Followed by the capricious ‘Bird’s tale’ of playful character, with flights of fleeting sounds of great beauty and a charming ending just thrown off with nonchalant ease.
Another prelude in tempo di ‘Sarabanda’ with a long drawn out gentle melodic line and a whispered ending of ravishing beauty. Followed by the next tale which was a ‘Scherzo’ with its continuous outpouring of notes of silvery undulating sounds.
A prelude of ‘Tender Reproach ‘ with gasping phrases of breathless beauty and a ‘ Barrel Organ’ of extraordinary eloquence was followed by a prelude or ‘ Hymn’ of beguiling beauty . The final ‘Beggar’ with its long melodic line of Slavic nostalgia ended this parade of Sketches for the young .
In Dina’s hands a magic web was woven with extraordinary mastery and simplicity and any words that she added could only underline her undying love and dedication to Nicolai Medtner.
Many do not know that he passed his final years in England helped by his pupil Edna Iles, who I once heard in recital in the Festival Hall playing the Liszt Sonata and works by Medtner.
He was buried in Hendon Cemetery on 13 November 1951.
What a revelation it was to listen to playing of fluidity and authority with the simplicity and beauty of a master.
Simon Callaghan an ex Chetham’s alumnus is now not only a distinguished member of the music profession, but also holds a Doctorate in music and is a pianist with an International career as soloist and chamber musician.
The first impression is of a pianist of the physical stature of Ashkenazy where everything seems tailored to fit so perfectly at the piano. A hand with that curve and arch which is of a born pianist ( actually a superbly trained one from an early age ). But it was not only the physical stature but also the metaphysical with playing of such intelligence and simplicity that he was able to communicate the music directly from the page into sounds.
An eclectic programme of Grieg and Poulenc turned out to be a continual discovery and delight, with playing of authority where each note played, seemed to belong in the right place at the right time such was the immediacy of communication!
Grieg’s ‘Holberg Suite ‘ more often heard in the later orchestral version was in Callaghan’s hands turned into a stream of delight. Melodies so well known were reborn and given a new life of scintillating brilliance and ravishing beauty. There was a remarkable fluidity but also a clarity to the Praeludium that unwound with fingers that were of an agility and precision but at the same time seemed wrapped in velvet, such was the sumptuous richness of the sound.
This was playing of a rare mastery from an artist with an orchestra of ten wonderful players in his hands.There was a sublime simplicity to the ‘Sarabande’ with a magical range of colours . He brought a charm of orchestral proportions to the ‘Gavotte’ with its vigour and scintillating rhythmic energy contrasting with a Trio of pure magic. There was a profound Bachian beauty to the ‘Air’ with a masterly sense of balance that could allow the melodic line to glow with radiance, supported but unimpeded by the glorious richness of the accompanying figures. It was the sparkling character of the Rigaudon that demonstrated Simon’s extraordinary digital mastery with an enviable fluidity and purity.
‘Les Soirées de Nazelles’ by Poulenc was another work rarely heard in the concert hall. Brilliance,charm and scintillating virtuosity all tinged with the aristocratic sound of Paris in the ’30’s. A wonderful sense of character and wit combined with the sumptuous sounds of the unique harmonic language of Poulenc. It is strange how Grieg and Poulenc have been unjustly neglected in the concert hall these days, but with performances like those we heard today that will surely change.
With the inquisitive mind of a true thinking musician Simon had found a page written by Poulenc as a commission from several composers for music to accompany a painting. It was with this charming cameo that he finished his concert today.
A fascinating cameo that just whets our appetite for more from a master pianist with an eclectic appetite.
A remarkable recital from the winner of the Leeds, with a programme of Bach,Scriabin and Chopin, before letting his hair down with Oscar Peterson and even Medtner.
I have heard Jaeden many times since the very first time as Gold medal winner of what turned out to be the last Santander competition. Paloma o’ Shea that very night announced her retirement at the Wigmore Hall where this young Canadian pianist had astonished us with a performance of Rachmaninov’s First Sonata, where his technical mastery and musical intelligence were of astonishing polished perfection. But he was equally at home in the Brahms Quintet with the Casals Quartet ,where his ability to listen and become part of an ensemble showed his extraordinary musicianship.
I met him again at the masterclasses of Angela Hewitt in Perugia.
He has since gone on to win the Leeds competition astonishing all with his perfection in Brahms Second Piano concerto. And I was able to hear him again at the remarkable festival that Piotr Paleczny holds in Duszniki every year. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/08/06/jaeden-izik-dzurko-at-duszniki-festival-reveals-a-secret-world-of-burning-intensity-and-mastery/
His teacher from Canada, Corey Hamm is on the faculty of Chethams and it was fascinating to hear of the challenge of guiding such extraordinary talent. Jaeden in his quest to know more is now perfecting his studies at the Rome Academy Santa Cecilia under Benedetto Lupo, as he is delving ever deeper into the mysteries that are to be found in the score. A young man with such mastery in his fingers and an extraordinary mind that can steer his way through an enormous amount of music with seeming ease and total mastery.
His playing over these past years has grown in stature and depth and under the eagle eye of Benedetto Lupo he will come to terms with a life in music and all that it entails. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/06/20/benedetto-lupo-il-re-di-roma-taming-his-young-lions-with-mastery-poetry-and-above-all-humanity/
Last night was an example, as after his programme of three major works from the piano repertoire he let his hair down and ignited the atmosphere with a performance of Oscar Peterson that I doubt even that Canadian genius could have matched for exhilaration and animal excitement. He seemed to have unlocked a door that continued with a Fairy Tale by Medtner that would have had even Dina Parakhina cheering, for the character and scintillating life that he brought to this much misunderstood composer.
The concert had begun with a monumental performance of Bach’s Fourth Partita. The overture was played with authority and crystalline clarity where the bass was a fundamental part of creating a kaleidoscope of colour. The subtle rhythmic energy he brought to the central episode was of such slippery ease with discreet ornaments added with fleeing brilliance like highly wound springs. Even more noticeable in the repeat where he increased the volume and intensity giving an architectural shape to this extraordinary opening movement. There was a simple beauty to the Allemande that was played with a purity and rhythmic drive that I found slightly too fast for the dance like character but which Jaeden played with remarkable tonal control. The Courante of knotty twine was full of character and an extraordinary rhythmic buoyancy. An Aria of charm and grace before the questioning radiance of the Sarabande. A beautifully paced Minuet was followed by the mighty Gigue of fluidity and a hypnotic drive. An extraordinary technical brilliance but with a sense of balance that allowed him to reveal always the music line.
This contrasted with the brooding insistence of Scriabin with its barely whispered opening bathed in pedal creating the mysterious atmosphere that builds with ever more intensity until the explosive vision of the ‘star’. Jaeden had an incredible range of sound which never became hard or percussive even in the most strenuous passages where there was a sumptuous beauty to the sound. A seemingly effortless mastery of selfless dedication to the composer he is serving. There is no showmanship or crowd pleasing gestures but a mastery that with enviable humility he shares his musical discoveries without any personal idiosyncrasies
Chopin’s B minor Sonata was played with remarkable control and a subtle tonal palette that was evident from the opening phrases.The second subject played with great strength and beauty and all through this movement there was a constant forward movement that did not allow any time to wallow or distort in the so-called Chopin tradition.Here was a master musician looking carefully at what the composer had indicated and with poetic intelligence transforming the printed page into sounds with a masterly strength and sense of architectural shape. He even repeated the exposition but in a way that made such sense from a much debated indication, as in the second sonata too. There was a scintillating jeux perlé of brilliance to the Scherzo, but always with a poetic shaping of the phrases. A trio of sumptuous rich pedalled sounds as the music was allowed to evolve with mystery and radiance. The reappearance of the scherzo I have rarely heard played with such subtle poetic meaning as in Jaeden’s hands today. The final chords of the scherzo became the great opening fanfare of the Largo. The movement was allowed to unfold with a subtle whispered beauty and a sense of balance of extraordinary sensitivity. The final bars bathed in pedal as the opening theme reappeared as a distant dream with delicacy and sensitivity. There was a gradual entry of the octaves that open the finale, leading to the ‘Presto non tanto’ that was played with driving intensity and excitement. Streams of notes thrown off with breathtaking brilliance as the music moved with ever more intensity to the exhilarating final bars that were played with astonishing mastery.
An extraordinary concert and afterwards in the green room many colleagues and friends to congratulate a young man on the crest of a wave. In fact a wave that will take him to Peru and the Dominican Republic in the next few days and at the end of the month performances of Rachmaninov third concerto. I asked him which cadenza he was playing and of course he said he played them both but thought the bigger one was with less problems.
I really do not think this young man has many problems to worry about judging from his note perfect recital tonight !
Yuanfan Yang with Chopin in top gear Part 2 in Dracula’s Castle. Mazurkas op 33 ,Sonata op 35 ,Variations op 2 and Polonaise Fantasy op 61. More masterly playing from Yuanfan as try out performances for his participation at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in October.
A parting shot on my last almost full day .A day full of extraordinary stimulating events. Parting is indeed such sweet sorrow ………….
Neil Rutman not only playing the wonderful score of Poulenc without the music but also reciting from memory ‘The Story of Babar the little Elephant’. Playing of refined good taste as we were to appreciate in his performance of Liszt’s ‘Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude’. Playing of glowing beauty and remarkable technical mastery. But as with Babar, Neil is a master story teller and his tale with and without words kept us enthralled in this short Lunchtime Recital.
Another quite remarkable ‘tour de force’ from Murray Mc Lachlan with a recital dedicated to the work of Edward Gregson . Performances of transcendental command and authority that even the composer enthusiastically endorsed with his magnificent performance of his marathon Sonata.
A performance of ravishing beauty and a voyage of discovery into the wonder world of the Ukraine of which she is an authority.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 