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Wonderful sunny day in Padua today for two Sunday recitals by two very remarkable young pianists.

Great expectations awaited the return to London of Lukas Geniusas,the young Lithuanian ~Russian pianist much admired recently in the Tchaikowsky Competition in Moscow. Supreme control and superb sense of balance that allowed him to make the piano sing in a way that is all too rare these days. The first Brahms sonata that so often is given a heavy orchestral sound was here in the hands of this magician sheer poetry. Rarely have those rather ungrateful chords sounded so beautiful.An orchestra ,yes ,but the Berlin Philharmonic in this pianists hands.So many magical moments but maybe the most sublime was the way he sang the second subject of the first movement In no way was the rythmic energy sacrificed, for this was a full blooded performance reminiscent of a young Wilhelm Kempff. The Beethoven too ,so often thrown off as early Beethoven can be.Full of astonishing contrast but never sacrificing the overall line and impetus ,so much part of Beethoven’s soul. Astonishing sounds too after the interval in 3 Burlesques by Bartok.Here in the hands of this master pianist were the most beguiling pieces that made one wonder why they are not heard more often. I think the answer lies that there are not many pianists after Richter that can rise to the challenges that they pose. Prokofiev 7th sonata came as a bit of an anticlimax with the first movement too fast to really allow the contrasts to tell.The second movement not simple or projected enough.The last movement for its control and unrelenting rhythmic impetus brought the recital to a triumphant end. Unfortunately two Chopin encores in extreme bad taste .A mazurka with the strangest rubato and a “Cat “waltz at such breakneck speed it was more reminiscent of “Kitten on the keys” than the” aristocat” that it could be in the hands of a Rubinstein. Pity to finish on such a note after a recital of some supreme musicianship and trascendental piano playing.

The beautiful 12th century church of St Mary’s in Perivale was the venue for a recital by Vitaly Pisarenko . Seen from a distance this wooden church could almost be in some scandanavian country instead of in the middle of Ealing golf course. It is the venue ,together with the nearby and much larger brother St.Barnabas ,of some extraordinary concerts by some of the most talented young musicians around. Founded by Hugh Mather and his remarkable team they are to celebrate ,this coming week ,their one thousandth concert . This concert by one of the stars of the Keyboard Charitable Trust coincided in New York with a memorial concert for Paris Ionescu,grandson of the founder of the Trust ,cruelly taken from us at only 28 years of age just before Christmas. In New York another of the KCT stars :Bolai Cao was performing . So for us with New York in our hearts it was a doubly poignant occasion. And what an occasion it was! This beautiful little gem full to the rafters for some extraordinary music making by one of the younger generation’s foremost pianists. His reputation from his triumphal television appearances in the Leeds International Piano Competition last september had be watched and admired by a vast audience and so it was with great anticipation that he performed in this exquisite venue to an enthusiastic audience. And the cherry on the cake were indeed the homemade tea and cakes offered to their very attentive audience at the end. Starting with Haydn’s.E minor sonata it was obvious from the first note that here was a most sensitive and intelligent performer. If the slow movement could have been projected more as almost an operatic aria it was more than compensated for by the” joie de vivre” and charm of the final vivace. So many beautiful things in Schumann ‘s Fantasiestucke op 12. From the sublimely whispered Des Abends to the almost Haydnesque impish humour of Traumes Wirren. In all this the extreme.control of dynamics and the sheer beauty of the sonorities found led to a truly memorable account. Too many unforgettable moments in a performance where the music was allowed to speak in a direct and simply way. Warum …..indeed beautifully and delicately projected,and if Grillen could have been allowed to sing more one felt that here was an original musical mind at work .The atmosphere created at the Ende vom Lied was reminiscent of the unforgettable performances of Rubinstein. So having forged his credentials as as a true poet of the piano it came as a thunderbolt the sheer energy and musical virtuosity ,after the interval ,with Chopin ‘s First Scherzo. For me one of the finest performances on record and judging from the cheers of this discerning audience I think there was no doubt in any one’s mind that we were in the presence of a true master. Confirmed by the passionate virtuosity combined with extreme delicacy of the Scriabin Fantasy and Third Sonata that closed the programme. A single encore of a recently found fragment by Rachmaninoff confirmed the intelligence of this remarkable young musician. Graced by the presence of Nina Walker now in her 90th year ,who I well remember in recital with Monserrat Caballe. Enthusiastic, as we all were ,she announced that she would be in the front row for Vitaly’s Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto at the RCM on the 3rd of February……I think there will be big queue for tickets with the reputation that he is fast gaining. At the end of this memorable concert.a charming note from Bolai Cao in New York to reassure us that he is rehearsing and that all is well. In fact New York ~ London we were united music ………..

Alberto Portugheis 75th Birthday concert at .St.James Piccadilly. So many beautiful moments from a life dedicated to beauty and peace. A Mozart Sonata in C K.330 played in what one would now a days call “old style”,but is that such a bad thing if the music is allowed to speak with such a human voice. So many beautiful things in what must be one of the most passionate performances of Schuberts last and perhaps greatest sonata .Maybe exagerated the naked passion exposed by Alberto on this occasion,but as he said afterwards, Schubert knew that he was dying and would you too not have moments of sublime serenity mixed with anguished rebellion. Not a moment of boredom or indifference in this performance .All the more remarkable when you consider the enormous scope of this, one of the real ” Romantic” men of yesteryear. Enough to think that Alberto Portugheis was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 for his Peace work and proposals .All the more remarkable when you remember that as a young man ,great friend of Martha Argerich,he won first prize at the Geneva Concours de Virtuosite’. Birds of a feather indeed not only for their remarkable music but above all for their great humanity.

Remarkable new recording from Mark Viner. Reading the record sleeve that this remarkable young artist was trained in England says something for the enormous change in musical education in the UK . Once one always looked to the USA or the Eastern countries for serious early training but thanks to the Purcell School and similar places – Menuhin,Cheethams etc the magnificent results are now coming to fruition. I well remember the apparition of Raymond Lewenthal all those years ago with his remarkable series of Liszt/Alkan recitals that had a vast public queuing all night for return tickets at the Wigmore Hall. A public that had only read in history books about all the remarkable pianists of which Liszt of course was the figurehead. As on the apparition of Sigismond Thalberg in Paris and the famous duel between he and Liszt in the salon of the Princess Belgiojoso. “Thalberg is the first pianist in the world ;……..Liszt is unique”

When I first heard Arcadi Volodos in Rome some years ago ,the phrase that greeted Horowitz’s Paris debut came to mind “the greatest pianist alive or dead”.

Miraculous performance in Rome tonight of the Ebene Quartet with Mitsuko Uchida. Five magnificent musicians playing as one . This young french Quartet looking hard at each other rather than the score which they had obviously fully digested .The cellist in particular in sublime sintonia with the viola .The first violin providing the impetus with subtelty and passion. A revolutionary sounding Haydn op 20 n.2 followed by a sublime rendering of the Ravel Quartet. Of course joined after the interval by Mitsuko Uchida we were treated to an exemplary reading of the Schumann Quintet. If in her effort to be an integral part of this magnificent music making,she was almost too retiscent, it may well be that we have become too used to this old war horse being played by a soloist with the addition of a string quartet. The shortest of encores, one of the little pieces op 19 n.2 by Schoenberg .The same she had played this summer at the Proms after a massive performance of Schoenbergs Piano Concerto this summer. What music ! What a breath of fresh air was breathed tonight …… A real miracle I would say. P.S. It was not for nothing that Rosalyn Tureck voted for her in the Leeds Competition all those years ago. She came in second with Andras Schiff – Dmitri Alexeev won.

The fabulous Parco della Musica in Rome .Home to Pappano and his wonderful orchestra Having listened on the drive home ,to their new CD withBeatrice Rana in Prokofiev n 2 and the old war horse of Tchaikowsky .Has the opening theme ever sung out more expressively as in Pappanos magic hands.Fabulous piano playing from Beatrice at home where her teacher Benedetto Lupo resides at the Accademia di S Cecilia who now have their home here. Alla in the family real “hausmusik” all thanks to Prof Cagli being the right person in the right place at the right time.Hats off caro Bruno now enjoying a well deserved rest having bequeathed to Rome what many thought was impossibile. Now this morning on the BBC I learn that this very disc Has already entered the classica recording chart.This week at 21 and rising rapidly!