Bach: Partita No. 4 in D Major BWV 828

– Ouverture -Allemande-Courante-Aria-Sarabande-Menuet- Gigue

Albeniz: Almeria – from Iberia Book 2

Chopin: Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante Op. 22

Interval 

Schumann: Fantasy in C, Op. 17

I. Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen; Im Legenden Ton

II. Mäßig. Durchaus energisch

III. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten

Debussy: Isle of Joy

Hao Zi Yoh

I have heard Hao Zi many times but today in this glorious programme she made me even more aware of her unique qualities of scrupulous musicianship but also with a sensitivity to sound and colour that brought everything she touched vividly to life.Even the encore that she introduced so eloquently depicting a Malaysian rain forest was played with the same artistry and luminosity that she had brought to the Bach Partita that had opened this programme.Gently coaxing out sounds by plucking and dampening the piano strings whilst gently intoning a native chant.Bursting into more traditional cascades of notes played in the traditional manner all done with the utmost seriousness that created the atmosphere of her native country.

I remember Stockhausen asking me in Rome if he could use our Steinway Concert grand instead of the Yamaha that had been brought in specially for his complete Klavierstucke.How could I say no?But I did specify that the piano could only be used with two hands and two feet in the traditional manner!I had recently seen John Tilbury fill a piano with nuts and bolts in the search for special sound effects.Adulescu too turned the piano on its side as he threw rocks onto the strings!Luckily they were pianos that were brought in for the occasion whilst mine sat safely locked in a corner of the hall.

It just shows the esteem that Stephen Dennison and his colleagues in Cranleigh have for the artistry of Hao Zi to allow her to search for sounds inside the piano instead of only from the exterior.Infact from the very first notes of Bach’s glorious fourth partita we were aware of the extraordinarily luminous sounds that Hao Zi could conjure from this new Shegeru Kwai that was especially chosen by Sasha Grynyuk for the hall.

The opening of the fourth Partita BWV 828 was played with authority and with a sound of great clarity as the imperious opening chords in 2/2 are suddenly brought to life in 9/8 bringing a sense of rhythmic energy as it springs to life at the opening of this Partita written in 1728 and part of the Clavierubung n.1.There was an operatic freedom to the Allemande that was shaped with delicacy with some very subtle colouring that immediately brought a magic spell to this mellifluous outpouring .This contrasted with the injection of rhythmic energy of the Courante before the ravishing beauty of the Aria.Hao Zi brought subtle phrasing and a sense of colour with playing of great delicacy.Even the final cadence was judged to perfection before the playful Sarabande with its cascades of arpeggios ,just shifts of sounds creating an orchestral effect of shifting harmonies.There were ornaments in the Menuet that sparkled like jewels as even here she brought this playful movement vividly to life .She brought authority to the Gigue which was played with relentless rhythmic energy but was also shaped with such care with a sound that was never hard or mechanical as often it can be in lesser hands as they cope with the transcendental technical difficulties of this movement.Hao Zi was not at all intimidated as she turned any technical hurdles into music of searing intensity and intelligence .

Malaysian pianist Hao Zi Yoh was born in 1995 and began her music studies at the age of 3. By the age of 12, she already performed at Carnegie Hall as a gold medalist of the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition. Most recently, Hao Zi was selected as participant in the Preliminary Round of Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw 2021. At the age of 14, she moved to Germany to study with Prof. Elza Kolodin at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. It was then she won top prizes in many international competitions including EPTA Belgium, Enschede, RNCM James Mottram (Manchester, 2012) and Concurso international de piano Rotary Club Palma Ramon LLull, Mallorca (Spain 2013).In 2014, she came under the tutelage of Prof. Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music, London, generously supported by Lynn Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, Countess of Munster and Craxton Memorial Trust. She received 3rd Prize at Roma International Piano Competition, the Phillip Crawshaw Memorial Prize for an Outstanding Musician from Overseas at the Royal Overseas League Competition. She was also recipient of prestigious Martin Musical Scholarship Trust Philharmonia Piano Fellowships on the Emerging Artists Programme 2017/18. During her studies, she explored her relationship with music and her interest in creating sound colours: her MMus Project 2016 involved collaborating with percussionist Daniel Gonzalez to create a version of Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit for Piano and Percussion.Apart from this, 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 storytelling of award-winning book “The Bear and the Piano”.She is further developing her performing career being part of the Keyboard Trust London, Talent Unlimited. Hao Zi is also a piano tutor at King’s College London and gives masterclasses at Imperial College London.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/03/31/hao-zi-yoh-at-the-l-s-e-puritysensibility-and-elegance-simply-expressed/

Terra del Fuoco indeed as this young Spanish pianist /composer ignited the already torrid heat in Florence with a scintillating display of ‘joie de vivre’as rays of sunlight just shot from his agile fingers.

A Wanderer Fantasy where Schubert’s youthful energy and brilliance were matched with intelligence and sublime beauty as Salvador Sanchez with his noble opening statement took us on a long and intricate journey.From the heroic opening,the teasing fun of the scherzo to the very heart of the Wanderer.It was here that Salvador’s romantic soul allowed the sublime variations to seduce and beguile before the astonishing pyrotechnics of the fugato.

Calming the waters with Debussy’s mists of sound Salvador was able to conjure up an atmosphere that was certainly not the one we were experiencing in Florence today.
The wonderful blue sky and crystal clear atmosphere was more a tune to what Salvador had up his sleeve in the second part of his recital in the Harold Acton Library of the British Institute.
His performance of the complete Goyescas had Leslie Howard on the edge of his seat a while ago in his first concert for the Keyboard Trust. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/06/30/salvador-sanchezs-scintillating-artistry-for-the-keyboard-trust/ Four pieces were re-enacted today without even waiting for the mist to clear!

Music that is clearly in the blood of this young virtuoso from Alicante.Conquering the enormous technical hurdles that Granados delighted in pouring into his famous Goyescas.Written of course before he went down with the ship.(His ship was torpedoed on his way home from New York where his opera based on Goyescas received its premiere.Being summoned to play for the President at the White House’ he fatally caught a later boat home).
Pieces of a transcendental difficulty not only to play the notes but to keep in the memory with the intricate strands of melody that are so richly embellished in a true maze of sounds.The ‘Fandango’was played with hypnotic rhythmic verve and contrasted with the sublime beauty of ‘The Maiden and the Nightingale’ where the sheer beauty of the maiden truly delighted the nightingale who was ready to warble to her hearts delight with such clarity and daring.’Los Requiebras’ was a tour de force of technical and musical mastery as the melodic line passed from one part of the keyboard to the other.Magical filigree embellishments of fleeting beauty passed like shafts of gold and silver ornamenting the sumptuous beauty of the melodic line.’Coloquio en La Reja’ showed off his extraordinary sense of balance allowing sounds of ravishing beauty to sing so naturally unforced.
This young Spaniard’s sense of timing and subtle stretching of the tempo that like Chopins Mazurkas cannot be taught but has to come from the soul.
And Salvador not only has a soul but also the passion and fire of a hot blooded Latin.

No more evident that in the Argentinian Dances by Ginastera where having astonished with the brilliance of the ‘del viejo boyero’he seduced with the sublime musings of ‘la moza donosa’only to be literally caterpulted into the astonishing exuberances of ‘del gaucho matrero’
Astonished and not a little exhausted by this sparkling display of virtuosity Salvador was ready to offer one of his own compositions.
The calm and translucent sounds brought us to the atmosphere that Bartok brings to his own ‘open air’ that was probably the inspiration for this very evocative piece.
Salvador is also a remarkable composer and on the 10th July a commissioned work for string quartet and magnetised (!)piano will receive it’s premiere in London.

It was so refreshing on this suffocatingly hot day to see the radiance and fun he was evidently having sharing music with this elite audience.A new series that director Simon Gammell and wife Jennifer have organised with the astonishing array of artists from the ever expanding roster of the Keyboard Trust.Here they are in our collaboration with six of the artists chosen to play this season in Florence from October ‘21 to October ‘22

Jonathan Ferrucci the return of a warrior The Goldberg Variations in Florence

Cristian Sandrin a message of Hope and Peace in Florence the cradle of our culture

Simone Tavoni triumphs on the Italian tour for the Keyboard Trust – part 1 Florence – part 2 Venice and Padua

Thomas Kelly takes Florence by storm Music al British

📌🇬🇧 Concerto per The Keyboard Charitable Trust presso la Steinway Hall di Londra.

Un concerto difficile da spiegare in poche parole, una impresa titanica svolta interamente in 24h. Poche ore di sonno, ritardi del volo, scioperi in città (e che città, incredibile!), arrivo soltanto due ore prima del concerto!

Tutte le fatiche, però, ripagate da un concerto con un pubblico di altissimo livello, dalle commoventi parole di stima e affetto che custodirò gelosamente dentro di me soprattutto da parte di Noretta Conci-Leech (allieva e assistente di Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli).
L’incontro con il leggendario Maestro Leslie Howard, invece, illuminante. Grazie per l’invito e per tutto ciò che mi ha anche insegnato in così poco tempo.
Grazie a Christopher Axworthy, cuore pulsante di questa realtà londinese.
Grazie Sarah Biggs.
Grazie a tutti, per l’accoglienza e per ciò che avete lasciato dentro di me. Il potere della Musica è davvero infinito.

Sono grato alla Musica, alla Vita.

Thank you, London! ♥️🇬🇧

Luca Lione takes London by storm.
Flying in at the last minute from Potenza in Southern Italy the moment this young man sat at the piano the beauty and calm he shared with us in Scarlatti’s two movement sonata K.77 belied the passion and transcendental display of virtuosity that he was to unleash on an unsuspecting audience at Steinway Hall.
His Romantic good looks and fiery Latin temperament ignited this magnificent Steinway concert grand with performances of beauty and grandeur that astonished even Noretta Conci-Leech ,assistant for many years to Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli !
The Liszt expert and one of the founder trustees of the Keyboard Trust,Leslie Howard,realised that any conversation after performances of that stature were an unnecessary intrusion where music had been allowed to speak louder than words.
The distinguished actor Marco Gambino exclaimed that the Liszt Ballade in B minor had told the story of Hero and Leander better than words ever could .
Noretta Conci Leech was amazed at his authority and passion in a performance of Schumann’s Humoresque ,one of his most complex works.
Granados ‘El amor y La muerte’ was breathtaking in its sweep and subtle colouring.
London awaits a return match from this dashing young Italian virtuoso.
https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2020/02/27/a-lion-in-villa-torlonia-luca-lione-at-teatro-di-villa-torlonia/

Tuesday 5 July 3.00 pm

Presentation of Award by Critics’ Circle to St Mary’s Perivale
‘Lockdown Star Venue’

‘Lockdown stars’ as Robert Fitness of the critics circle described the Mecca for young musicians that has been created by an extraordinary team of passionate ‘amateurs’ in a small redundant church on Ealing Golf Course.

But as Rosalyn Tureck once said to my wife:it is a great satisfaction to have one’s work recognised but it is the work that counts!

Damir Durmanovic was the living proof of that today giving a recital of such musicianship and artistry that I was reminded of the unique sounds that Moiseiwitch would coax out of the piano with his ravishing sense of balance and aristocratically natural musicianship.
Sounds from the piano that Matthay had shared with Myra Hess and Moura Lympany where every note has an infinite variety of beautiful sounds that can as if by magic turn a box of hammers and strings into a wondrous world of fantasy and sumptuous delight.
Damir has much in common with them too with his natural musicianship that has been nurtured from his youthful studies with Marcel Baudet and Robert Levin at that remarkable school that Menuhin has bequeathed to his adopted country.
Programmes that are constructed with key relationships in mind.
Repertoire chosen from a vast range of neglected masterpieces.
A true musician who can improvise and modulate as was the norm in Bach’s day but has now become a rarity.
I am not sure if the public were aware of the improvised link between the rare pieces by Lyadov and the Rachmaninov Preludes
Dr Hugh Mather sounded perplexed as to why Damir should play the well known Rachmaninov preludes in a seemingly arbitrary order.
Damir simply explained that the preludes had never been written by Rachmaninov with the idea to be played all together and so he had tried to link them by key relationships to make a more satisfying whole.
Well Damir is part of the school of Andras Schiff,Paul Baudura Skoda and Robert Levin with their extraordinary curiosity that comes from deep research together with the natural musicianship like the ‘kapellmeisters’ of a bygone age.

An eclectic encore of a very moving performance with the sumptuously rich sounds of Brahms ‘Herzlich tut mich verlangen’op posth 122 in the richly embroidered version for piano by Busoni.The chorale preludes, not published until five years after his death, turned out to be Brahms’ last work. From one of the greatest composers of symphonies, chamber works, a requiem and more—a collection of short pieces that honour the past, reflect his own time, and continue to be re-interpreted today.Brahms wrote the 11 preludes in 1896 for organ,soon after the death of his dear friend, Clara Schumann. The short liturgical pieces, used to elaborate hymn tunes during a service, recall the music of J.S. Bach.

Damir is also an excellent cook and the magic he cooked up for his teacher Dmitri Alexeev and family the other day in my garden was the same magic that he cooked up today at the keyboard!
Music is life and life is music,just as the dedicated people of St Mary’s are showing us at least three times a week.
They say miracles do not happen twice in the same place ….well I know differently.

As an internationally sought-after performer, Damir Durmanovic has performed in venues and festivals including the Wigmore Hall, Champs Hill Studios, YPF Festival Amsterdam, Wimbledon Music Festival, Renia Sofia Audotorium Madrid, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Derby Multifaith Center, Flusserei Flums, ‘Ballenlager’ Vaduz. He has won prizes in numerous international competitions including The Beethoven Intercollegiate Junior Competition in London, Adilia Alieva International Piano Competition in Geneva and Isidor Bajic International Piano Competition in Novi Sad. He has performed in masterclasses with Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Dmitri Bashkirov, Pascal Devoyon, Jacques Rouvier, Robert Levin, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Tatyana Sarkisova, and chamber ensembles such as the Emerson Quartet. Damir is also a scholar at the ‘Musikakademie Liechtestein’ and regularly participates in the courses organised by the academy. Damir began his studies at age of eight in his home country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Maja Azabagic before continuing his studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School where he studied with professor Marcel Baudet. He is an ABRSM scholar and is kindly supported by the Talent Unlimited Scheme. He is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London with professor Dmitri Alexeev.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/04/18/damir-duramovic-at-cranleigh-arts-a-musician-speaks-with-simplicity-and-poetry/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/09/30/damir-durmanovic-the-complete-musician-at-saint-olave-tower-hill/

Recorded at St Matthew’s Church, Ealing
and now Free-to-View on our YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/nGbJemRih0g

It was the same innocence of simple music making that I had heard from Milda in Perivale recently that was the hallmark of her recital for the Keyboard Trust .Such a refreshing ‘joie de vivre’ of a young pianist who actually looks carefully at the score and with crystalline technical ease can imbue the music with youthful charm and energy.The same innocent charm that she shared with Prof Leslie Howard in their brief post concert slightly one sided conversation.Charmed he was too!Especially having enjoyed her performances of Beethoven,Debussy and Bartòk where she had delved deeply into the score and translated what she had found into sounds of such buoyancy and well oiled fluency.It was good to be reminded by Prof.Howard that Bartòk had written his Sonata with the Imperial Bosendorfer in mind – a piano that can be bewildering with its 97 keys- the extra keys painted black or even covered by a wooden box! It can be very disconcerting to a pianist that is used to navigating the standard keyboard.The nine extra keys are coloured black so the pianist can distinguish them from the standard 88. The keys are rarely used, but the extra bass strings add harmonic resonance that contributes to the rich, overall sound of the instrument.

Beethoven Sonata No. 18 Op. 31 No.3

Debussy Préludes
La cathédrale engloutie
Minstrels
La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune

Bartók Piano Sonata, BB 88 (Sz. 80)

The Piano Sonata, BB 88, Sz. 80,Hungarian composer Béla Bartòk was composed in June 1926 known to musicologists as Bartók’s “piano year”, when he underwent a creative shift in part from Beethovenian intensity to a more Bachian craftsmanship.It is in three movements: Allegro moderato. Sostenuto e pesante. Allegro moltoIt is tonal but highly dissonant (and has no key signature), using the piano in a percussive fashion with erratic time signatures. Underneath clusters of repeated notes, the melody is folklike. Each movement has a classical structure overall, in character with Bartók’s frequent use of classical forms as vehicles for his most advanced thinking.Bartok wrote it with an Imperial Bosendorfer in mind, which has extra keys in the bass (97 keys in total) and the second movement calls for these keys to be used (to play G sharp and F).It is dedicated to his second wife Ditta-Pasztory – Bartòk

The Italian composer, conductor and pianist Ferruccio Busoni meticulously transcribes the famous organ works of Bach.He soon realises that he requires additional bass notes in order to do Bach’s masterpieces and the immersive sound of 16 to 32 feet bass pipes found in an organ justice. Ludwig Bösendorfer is ready to take on the challenge and builds the first prototype having full 8 octaves in tonal range. Not only Busoni starts to appreciate the exceptional qualities of the – later coined – Imperial Concert Grand: Bartók, Debussy and Ravel compose further works to exploit the tremendous resonance of this very instrument. These oeuvres can only played and interpreted as they were meant to on this Concert Grand. Evoking an extraordinary sound – sonorous and rich in expression and resonance – the timbre of the Imperial Grand seems to be orchestral. The additional deeper bass notes resonate with every key you strike and the massive soundboard supports the projection of any frequency. Ludwig Bösendorfer’s Imperial still to this day represents the precious heritage of the Bösendorfer piano manufactory.

Born in September 2001 in Anykščiai, Lithuania, Milda Daunoraite began her piano studies at the age of six.Studying piano performance at the The Purcell School For Young Musicians, London, with Tessa Nicholson she now continues her studies with her on a full scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music .With the support of “SOS Talents – Fondation Michel Sogny pour les Enfants Talentueux” and Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation, Milda began performing extensively throughout Europe for many eminent music societies, festivals and key events. Milda has performed at venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, The Wigmore Hall in London, Musikhuset Aarhus in Denmark, United Nations headquarters in Geneva amongst others. In addition, she was given the opportunity to appear in countries such as France, Austria, Georgia, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Latvia, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom and many cities across Lithuania. Furthermore, Milda is a prize-winner of numerous national and international piano competitions.In 2010, she was adjudicated a Grand Prix winner in the 10th International Competition “Music Without Limits”, Lithuania. In 2014, Milda won Grand Prix in the International Musicians Competition – festival “Renaissance”. In 2015, she won 1st prize in the 4th International Competition in Stockholm and the International Young Pianists Competition in Klaipėda, Lithuania. That year, Milda‘s playing impressed the jury once again and she received grand prix in the 15th International Competition “Music Without Limits”, Lithuania. Moreover, Milda was a four-time Prize winner in the National and International Balys Dvarionas Competitions for young pianists and violinists, followed by several special prizes: the best performance of a baroque piece, best performance of a classical composition, best performance of a contemporary piece, artistic prize. In 2016, she won the jury prize in the PIANALE International Academy & Competition and was awarded a concert in Fulda, Germany, and an opportunity to play with an orchestra. In 2017, Milda was a 1st prize winner in the 17th international competition-festival “Akordy Khorticy”, as a soloist and as soloist with orchestra.In March 2018, she won the 1st Prize in the International Vladimir Krainev Young Pianist Competition in Kharkov, Ukraine, as well as special prizes: the best performance of a classical period composition, best performance of a piece by F. Liszt, best performance of a virtuoso piece, EMCY Prize. In April 2018 she also won the Grand Prix at “Akordy Khorticy”. At the end of the 2019 academic year, Milda won the 1st prize in the Solo Competition at the Purcell School and as a prize she is going to perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in March, 2020.Every year, Milda has an opportunity to appear in a Christmas concert held on the Champs Elysées in Paris. The young pianist’s performances were broadcast by Mezzo, TV5 Monde and Radio Classique. She has also performed in the Batumi concert hall twice, which was watched by both the Lithuanian and Georgian Presidents and at the EMMA World Summit of Nobel Prize Peace Laureates in Warsaw, Poland.Milda was invited to perform V. Bacevičius Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.4, in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic with Lithuanian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, together with conductor Martynas Stakionis, which was broadcasted by Euroradio, in November 2018.Milda was previously a student of Justas Dvarionas and has participated in masterclasses with artists such as Olga Kern, Pascal Devoyon, Pietro De Maria, Yong Hi Moon, Grigory Gruzman, Fali Pavri, William Fong, Mūza Rubackytė, Uta Weyand, Petras Geniušas and many others.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/05/16/milda-daunoraite-at-st-marys-refreshing-simplicity-and-beauty-of-a-musician/

Click here to view now on YouTube.

Please consider a donation Please help us to continue supporting talented young artists by making a donation to the Keyboard Trust. Every penny will be used to help these outstanding musicians. Thank you so much.

Keyboard Charitable Trust for Young Professional Performers
30th Anniversary Year
Patron: Sir Antonio Pappano

Tuesday 28 June 3.00 pm

The Prince of the piano descends on St Mary’s with a masterly display of playing of breathtaking scope and aristocratic intelligence.
I had heard Daniel play the Emperor concerto at the Barbican recently and had written an article of appreciation entitled :’Emperor for a night’:https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/12/29/daniel-lebhardt-emperor-for-the-night/

Beethoven: Sonata Op 54 in F
In Tempo d’un Menuetto – Allegretto

But today listening to such burning intensity and contrasting beauty I was reminded of Joan Chissell ‘s review of Artur Rubinstein in the 70’s …..’The Prince of pianists’ was the title and she went on to say that Mr Rubinstein had turned baubles into gems……..referring to ‘O prol do bebè’ suite by his friend Villa Lobos.
I cannot say that Daniel did that because he played a programme of master works which he nurtured,caressed,savaged and seduced in a programme where Beethoven’s much neglected op 54 Sonata was played ‘quasi una fantasia’ that I had not been aware of until today as maybe even Beethoven had not realised with what fantasy he had imbued this two movement sonata.
But there we were today with a sonata of such fantasy and kaleidoscopic sense of colour and chameleonic sense of character that it took Daniel today to reveal it’s true character .
The capricious opening motif that erupts all through a movement that is rudely interrupted by Beethovens irascible temperament was followed by a perpetuum mobile ‘Allegretto’ that Daniel ignited with a rhythmic energy that was breathtaking .

It was by no means the poor bed fellow of the ‘Appassionata’which also received a performance where Beethoven’s markings had been remarkably reproduced but above all the temperament behind the notes had been hypnotically characterised with a rhythmic intensity that I have only heard the like from Serkin.
I had bumped into Daniel after the recital of Giordano Buondonno in Perivale ……https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/06/20/giordano-buondonno-crystalline-clarity-and-mastery-at-st-marys/. He had come to try the piano a week before his concert.In fact as Curzon famously said a great pianist is 90 % work and 10% talent.
That 10% is God given and God has been very generous to Daniel as he was with Curzon.

Schumann: Toccata in C Op 7

A quite extraordinary performance of Schumann’s Toccata in which his sense of legato was more astonishing than his transcendental control of the obstacles that Schumann throws into the path of pianists who dare attempt the technical hurdles that abound in this early work.Suddenly one was aware of the wonderful romantic harmonies and overall architectural shape before even contemplating the technical mastery that could allow this to happen.

Beethoven: Sonata in F minor Op 57 ‘Appassionata’
Allegro assai / Andante con moto / Allegro ma non troppo

The ‘Appassionata’in which Beethovens indications were scrupulously observed.Even the seemingly awkward arpeggios were played with the struggle that Beethoven intended and not simplified into a pianistic juggling act !
Extraordinary to watch Daniel’s cat like movements ready to pounce with his body in continual almost imperceptible motion depending on which way the music was to unfold.It was the same cat like movements of Peter Frankl with the Kelemen Quartet playing in the Liszt Academy in Budapest last winter.One was aware of music making of the ‘old school’ the one that listens to every sound and is ready to respond in a musical conversation that is a continual voyage of discovery. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/11/27/peter-the-great-peter-frankl-with-the-kelemen-quartet-in-budapest/
Daniel is a graduate of the Liszt Academy so could it be that the genial tentacles of Liszt are still very much in the air?

Schubert: Drei Klavierstucke D 946
(1 in E flat minor, 2 in E flat major, 3 in C major)

A very long programme that Schnabel would have boasted that the difference between his programmes and those of his colleagues was that his were a hundred per cent boring.
So after Beethoven op 54 and 57 a Schumann Toccata as light relief we were rewarded with Schubert’s Drei Klavierstucke played with a sense of style and subtle beauty that rather than being an over zealous intellectual enterprise was a ray of wonder where such beauty could quite happily have lasted even longer.

Now as I am struggling with internet in the depths of the Italian countryside I am happy to add my first impressions having been able to listen to the recital in sporadic moments where the air waves had taken second place to the the glorious waves of the Mediterranean.

I had a feeling that even Daniel had enjoyed the experience of sharing these masterworks with such a discerning audience and that he would gladly have added a minute or two more to it.
Dr Mather being our genial host but also referee had realised that we had gone into overtime .. ………..and so a return match is inevitable and awaited with great joy.

In 2014 Daniel Lebhardt won 1st Prize at the Young Concert Artists International auditions in Paris and New York. A year later he was invited to record music by Bartók for Decca and in 2016 won the “Geoffrey Tozer Most Promising Pianist” prize at the Sydney International Competition. In 2018 he has been signed for commercial management by Askonas Holt. March 2020 saw Daniel make his debut with The Hallé, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 5 – a work he has also performed at the Barbican, London and Symphony Hall, Birmingham. The last two concert seasons have also witnessed recital debuts in Dublin and Kiev, and at the Lucerne International, Tallinn International and Miami International Piano festivals. He has received reinvitations to Wigmore Hall, London, the Auditorium du Louvre, Paris and Merkin Concert Hall in New York (‘He brought narrative sweep and youthful abandon to [Liszt’s B minor Sonata], along with power, poetry and formidable technique’ – The New York Times). Other recent highlights include a return to Paris for a recital at L’Église Saint-Germain-des-Près, as part of the festival ‘Un week-end à l’Est’; an appearance as soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 21 at the Royal Festival Hall, London; and tours in China, South America and the USA. Born in Hungary, Daniel studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with István Gulyás and Gyöngyi Keveházi, then with Pascal Nemirovski at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He was a prizewinner at the Young Classical Artists Trust auditions in 2015 and currently lives in Birmingham.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/07/20/daniel-lebhardt-the-simple-grandeur-of-j-s-bach-at-st-marys/

Thursday 23 June 3.00 pm

Giordano Buondonno (piano)

Having heard recently this young Italian pianist in the Solti studio I was very glad to be able to listen again not only to the Ravel and Scriabin but to hear also two works by Chopin in place of the previous Brahms Ballades op 10.These works of Chopin,Brahms and Ravel were all works that were immortalised by the legendary fellow Italian:Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.

In the Solti studio he had the privilege to play on the Fabbrini Steinway ‘D’ piano that had once belonged to the Italian master.Wherever Michelangeli played there would be Angelo Fabbrini to insure that the piano had been fine tuned and in perfect running order like the racing cars that he also liked to fine tune himself and to drive as fast as possible.There was such a close relationship between Fabbrini and the Maestro that Michelangeli became the Godfather to his children.Often I would queue up a month in advance in London for tickets to hear the great masters like Rubinstein,Richter or Michelangeli .Michelangeli would regularly cancel at the last minute if he thought the conditions were not right for the piano and he could not produce the sounds that were ingrained in his being.Nothing less than pianistic perfection was possible!I never got to hear Michelangeli in London but I did hear him once in the Vatican City in Rome.The videos of his performances have become classics and his first recording of the Bach Chaconne has remained with me ever since .Watching and listening to Giordano again especially in this repertoire reminded me so much of the crystalline clarity and chiselled precision of Michelangeli.A pianist that listens to himself with such scientific care is indeed a very special artist.Giordano hardly moving but watching like a hawk about to pounce as his long fingers etched out the sounds with such crystalline clarity.One could see him pointing to the keys before striking the note,with his head down in total concentration on the sounds he wanted those fingers to make as they landed full centre on the note.I have written recently about his Scriabin and Ravel that he also played today on this fine Yamaha piano,playing with the same precision and clarity that he had on Michelangeli’s own Steinway.’Ondine’ was even more memorable today than it had been in the Solti Studio.His remarkable sense of balance allowed the water nymph to flit in and out of the flowing waters without ever for a second being overwhelmed by the enormous amount of notes that Ravel adds to his score.The desolation of Le Gibet was even more terrifying for its austere clarity and absolute control of sound.Scarbo was played with transcendental control and sense of drive in a work that Ravel wrote of such extraordinary difficulty putting to the test any pianist who could dare play it after Balakirev’s Islamey.There were no such problems for Giordano who etched out with clarity and precision the antics of the diabolical Scarbo.Scriabin too he played with ravishing colours and sense of balance.The end of the first movement suddenly becoming alive as the romantic outpourings of the second movement swept across the keyboard.

His encore of ‘Black Earth’ by Fazil Say had Dr Mather a little alarmed as he saw Giordano placing his hands inside the piano to mute the strings to make a drum like effect.(I remember being asked by Stockhausen if he could use my Steinway instead of the rather inferior piano that had been brought in especially for a performance of his 12 Klavierstucke …….How could I say no ? I did specify though that it should only be used by two hands and two feet in the traditional manner).However there was no need to worry about the sounds that Giordano manage to evoke from the piano.They were as unexpected as they were extraordinary,playing with the same precision and seriousness that had been a hallmark of the entire recital

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/05/18/giordano-buondonno-at-the-solti-studio-masterly-performances-of-searing-intensity/

Italian pianist Giordano Buondonno graduated from the Giacomo Puccini Conservatoire with Honours, receiving the highest mark in his class, and completed his MMus with Distinction in 2021 at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London.. He is studying for an Artist Diploma under the guidance of Sergio De Simone and Deniz Gelenbe. Giordano is a proud recipient of The Leverhulme Arts Scholarship, the Jaqueline Williams Scholarship and the Arthur Haynes Scholarship for his studies at Trinity Laban. At the age of 19, he won first prize at the Clara Schumann Competition and performed for the Piano City Festival in Milan. He also came first in the PianoLink Concerto Competition, playing Chopin’s First Piano Concerto with the PianoLink Philarmonic Orchestra in Milan. Giordano’s performance highlights include a recital at Steinway Hall London, King’s Place Hall, and a recital at Henley Park Manor in Surrey, for His Serene Highness Prince Donatus von Hohenzollern; representing Trinity Laban as a finalist at the 2019 Beethoven Society Intercollegiate Piano Competition; the Sheepdrove Intercollegiate Piano Competition, the Young Artist concert series organised by Roma Tre Orchestra, South Hill Park Arts Centre in the International Conservatoire series, Paganiniano Festival in Italy, the Old Royal Naval College, St. Alfege Church and St. James’s Piccadilly in London.

Sunday 19 June 3.00 pm

Some masterly playing from two musicians with celebrated careers that now in their Indian summer have chosen to share together with us their inestimable experience and profound understanding of music.Playing as one where their musical minds and intelligence combined in an exhilarating afternoon of music making at its purist and most enjoyable.No mean feat as Dr Mather pointed out after an hour listening to music making of rare humility,modesty but above all ‘joie de vivre.’As Schubert titles one of his rondos :”Nostre amitié est invariable”.There was the absolute clarity of J.C Bach where Allan Shiller’s ornaments glistened like jewels.Charm and beauty were the hallmark of Schubert’s Andante varié D 823 n.2 – the second of three pieces that make up the ‘Divertissement sur des motifs originaux francais’ – which John Humphrey’s puts on the same level as his celebrated Fantasy in F minor.Playing of great sensitivity where John’s care of balance and superb use of pedal allowed Schubert’s mellifluous outpouring to sing out unimpeded by any hard or ugly sounds.In fact music just poured from their four hands and two feet!There was grandeur in the Mozart with perfect synchronisation between the four hands – after 50 years it is the least one could expect! But there was much much more besides!As Dr Mather said at the end we look forward to celebrating the next fifty!Hugh who had heard Allan when they were both children over sixty five years ago!Allan of course was one of the many child prodigy’s that came under the spell of the indomitable Dame Fanny Waterman.

I had not realised that Allan had gone on to study with Guido Agosti in Italy which goes a long way to explain his intelligent musical pedigree.I used to play four hands with Agosti for eight hours a day whilst our wives spent a peaceful day on the beach!Agosti was never happy away from the piano.We would prepare a concert for them in the evening after supper.

It was the same spirit of friendship and relaxed music making that made today so poignant and special.The Ravel Mother Goose can she ever have sounded so contented and ready to share all her ravishing secrets with us.

A superb ensemble of transcendental control from both players and glissandi at the end that were like a silver lining to the almost religious chorale of peace and Elgarian importance of Ravel’s Jardin Féerique.Three Slavonic dances by Dvorak were played with rhythmic intensity and beguiling gypsy freedom.The simplicity and beauty they brought to the four Ländler by Schubert played as an encore just summed up the elegance and humility of the Hausmusik that we had been allowed to eavesdrop on all afternoon .

Allan Schiller and John Humphreys have been playing as a piano duo since 1972 and in 2022 will be celebrating their 50th anniversary with appearances throughout the UK, ending with a recital at Wigmore Hall on Saturday 25th June .They have recorded Busoni and Schubert for Naxos and on 26th January 2006 were invited by Wigmore Hall to present a recital on the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. In addition to BBC Radio 3 broadcasts they have played throughout the UK and more recently have played in Iceland.

Allan Schiller is widely regarded as one of the UK’s finest pianists. Born in Leeds he studied initially with Fanny Waterman making his debut at the age of ten with the Halle Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli. He later studied with Denis Matthews and became the first British pianist to be awarded a scholarship to study at the Moscow Conservatoire. After further study under Guido Agosti in Italy he returned to this country and rapidly established a reputation as one of the most exciting pianists of his generation with solo appearances throughout the country and concerto performances with all the major UK orchestras and the BBC Symphony Orchestras. He has made countless broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and recorded a number of highly regarded cds. 

John Humphreys was born in Liverpool and studied with Henryk Mierowski and later with Harold Rubens at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1967 he was awarded one of four scholarships by the Austrian Government to study in Vienna and on his return to this country made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1972 with Busoni’s rarely heard ‘Fantasia Contrappuntistica’. Since then he has appeared throughout the country as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. In 1975 he performed the cycle of Mozart piano sonatas in London and elsewhere and has given many performances of Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’. John was Assistant Head of Keyboard Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire until 2009. He is also Chairman and Artistic Advisor to the Dudley International Piano Competition. In 1998 he was awarded the ARAM for ‘his distinguished contribution to music’.

Fantastic George Fu coming to the rescue at 48 hours notice .
A lesson in beauty and seduction and a charmer on and off the stage where his love for music is irrepressible as it is irresistible.
Harvard ,Curtis and Royal Academy have given him much but the spirit and joy of sharing music is his birthright.Beguiling,sensuous and intelligence added to a transcendental command of the instrument combine in an unforgettable musical experience of joy and exhilaration.

What better way to celebrate the platinum Jubilee of our much loved Queen.
We send all best wishes to Thomas Kelly who had to cancel all his engagements due to what we hope is only a temporary indisposition

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/01/01/george-x-fu-ravishing-the-senses-as-a-young-eagle-descends-on-st-marys/

The Keyboard Trust celebrating it’s 30 anniversary is happy to be associated with the Summer Music in City Churches with the second collaboration in the beauty of St Giles Cripplegate

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2019/06/26/words-and-music-nicola-losito-poetry-and-virtuosity/

Thursday 16 June 3.00 pm

Some beautiful musicianly playing of great intelligence with a near scrupulous attention to the composers intentions.A programme of two master works from the Romantic piano repertoire.It was though in the Scriabin Waltz op 38 played as an encore that she suddenly found the improvised freedom that had been lacking in her exemplary but over respectful performances.In her beautiful playing of Schumann and Chopin she had been searching for a deeper meaning and expression but sometimes loosing sight of the overall architectural shape.Trees of ravishing beauty where the confines were not clearly enough defined.

Eleonor Wong and Norma Fisher are two teachers of enormous musical stature.Eleonor was a highly respected student in her final year at the Royal Academy under Frederick (Freddie) Jackson,a much respected musician who died conducting the Verdi Requiem in the RAM Dukes Hall.I was in my first year and was very much in awe of her and her sister Linda.Eleonor would often ask me if she could play through her programmes that she was preparing for competitions.I was always so overcome by her musical and pianistic perfection in performances of Schumann Kinderscenen,Mozart C minor Sonata or Beethoven op 110 that I like to think that my unbounded enthusiasm evidently gave her the courage to go on and win many important International competitions .Her teacher had recently awarded me the Liszt Scholarship and it was my teacher Sidney Harrison who took me to the Wigmore Hall to hear his star student Norma Fisher giving a recital in the prestigious London Piano Series.I felt almost as proud as he did as he presented me to her as the new Liszt Scholar after a wonderful recital.I still remember to this day her performances of Brahms Handel Variations ,Chopin Berceuse and Debussy studies. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/05/12/norma-fisher-at-steinway-hall-the-bbc-recordings-on-wings-of-song-the-story-continues/

So it is a small world where now half a century later I listen to a pupil of both Eleonor and Norma.Gordon Green,my second teacher at the RAM would cheekily say two Wongs do not necessarily make a right!An innocent remark from one of the most loved and respected teachers of his day.In this case dear Gordon they do!There was great beauty in Wae Yuen’s playing with never an ugly or ungrateful sound.If she loved the music too much is that really a bad thing?Scriabin liberated her of all her inhibitions and left her free as a bird to soar to the heights where her superb technique and musicianship can really take her.

Davidsbündlertänze (Dances of the League of David),op.6 is a group of eighteen pieces composed in 1837 by Schumann who named them after his music society Davidsbundler.The low opus number is misleading: as it was written after Carnaval op.9 and the Symphonic Studies op 13 .His early piano works were influenced by his relationship with Clara Wieck as he wrote to his former professor: “She was practically my sole motivation for writing the Davidsbündlertänze, the Concerto, the Sonata and the Novellettes.” They are an expression of his passionate love, anxieties, longings, visions, dreams and fantasies.The theme of the Davidsbündlertänze is based on a mazurka by Clara Wieck and these intimate character pieces are his most personal work. In 1838, Schumann told Clara that the Dances contained “many wedding thoughts” and that “the story is an entire Polterabend – a German wedding eve party, during which old crockery is smashed to bring good luck”.18 characteristic pieces or musical discussions about contemporary music between Schumann’s characters Florestan and Eusebius. These represent the impetuous and the lyrical, poetic sides of Schumann’s nature. Each piece is ascribed to one or both of them. Their names follow the first piece and the appropriate initial or initials follow each of the others except the sixteenth (which leads directly into the seventeenth) and the ninth and eighteenth, which are respectively preceded by the following remarks: “Here Florestan made an end, and his lips quivered painfully”, and “Quite superfluously Eusebius remarked as follows: but all the time great bliss spoke from his eyes.”The suite ends with the striking of twelve low C’s to signify the coming of midnight.The first edition is preceded by the following epigraph: In each and every age
joy and sorrow are mingled:
Remain pious in joy,
and be ready for sorrow with courage.

Chopin Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor,op .58, is the last of his piano sonatas and was completed in 1844, only five years before his death,and is the only one to finish in a major key.

Born in Hong Kong, Wai Yuen Wong graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Music department under Professor Eleanor Wong, Artist-in- residence. While followed Miss Juile Kuok at younger age. She is now studying the Master Degree of the Royal College of Music, under Professor Norma Fisher.She has won many overseas and local music competition prizes: Concerto trial prize with the the HKAPA orchestra, the 2nd prize at the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians, Enschede of the Netherlands. The 3rd Prize in the 1st Korea International Competition for Young Pianists, the First Prize and Professional Grand Prize at the 75th Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition and was invited to perform at “The International Steinway Art Festival ” held in Hamburg, Germany. She was also awarded the First Prize at the 65th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, UK. In addition to holding recitals in Hamburg, Beijing and Xiamen, she also performed the “Magic Piano & The Chopin Shorts” and “Beyond Impressionism” at the 42nd and 46th Hong Kong Arts Festival respectively.She was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Hong Kong Government in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the promotion of international arts and culture activities.