George Fu at St Martin in the Fields with Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Played with simplicity and mastery, bowing before this great monument as he brought each variation vividly to life.
Written to relieve the tedium of the sleepless nights of Count von Kayserling who had commissioned Bach to write a work for the court harpsichordist Johann Goldberg to play to him . Hence the name for these monumental variations that are considered to be by many the finest variations ever written . Music to listen to by candlelight, which might have been even more evocative, but in the masterly hands of George Fu the music speaks with a directness and simplicity that transcends any terrestrial platforms.
This was only George’s second performance and he refrained from the modern day habit of adding ornaments, allowing Bach’s music to speak on a sustaining instrument with just the minimum that the composer indicates in the score. Of course George is a composer and music is a living breathing thing not just notes to be produced in a historical replica. The tenth variation so simple on the page until George pulled out the stops, or adding bass octaves on the piano, which gave great importance to what is even in Rosalyn Tureck’s hands a simple ‘Fughetta’. Slightly anticipating the French Overture of the sixteenth that signals the half way mark, and even here going into the higher register of the keyboard (a different manual on the harpsichord ) and is the beginning of the magisterial ascent to the 29th Variation . This leads inevitably, in Hollywoodian style, to the monumental Quodlibet or musical joke where Bach combines two folk songs ‘I have not been with you for so long ‘ and ‘Cabbages and turnips have driven me away’ .
The joke is on us because this is one of the greatest moments in all music when the Aria floats in on the reverberating final ‘G’ , like a whispered apparition after a voyage of a lifetime.
A journey that had started with the dynamic drive and unrelenting forward movement of the first variation contrasting with the simple clarity of the second and the subdued meandering beauty of the third. George using the pedals throughout his performance but not to blur the edges or create unnecessary atmospheres but merely to clarify the knotty twine as Bach’s counterpoints need no help from external devices. A bold and determined fourth ( eliminating the repeat for time requirements of this concert ) as streams of notes played of the fifth ( also not repeated ) with fluidity and startling clarity.
Straight into the weary counterpoints of the sixth and the wistful dance of the seventh that was played with whispered pristine clarity.Tip-toeing delicacy to the weaving web of knotty twine of the eighth leading to the beautiful contemplative ninth with is poignant bass counterpoints subtly underlined.The tenth I have never heard given such importance as in George’s noble hands today, with a call to arms of bold contours adding bass reinforcement using sometimes both hands! This ,of course, contrasted with the streams of single notes chasing each other around the keyboard, only to be united in a final delicate flourish.The ‘Canone alla Quarta’ was played with the simplicity of a string orchestra opening the way for the purity and simple radiance where the melodic line was allowed to flow with Bach’s bel canto just as florid as Bellini’s. The second part was played with a poignant whispered beauty which made the energetic explosion of the fourteenth even more startling. A variation of dynamic drive spread over the whole keyboard with brilliance and sparkling mastery. The ‘Canone alla Quinta’ with its weighty appoggiaturas was deeply meditative but also played with unusual rhythmic drive as it reached into the infinite with the questioning final three notes.
Answered by the majestic entry of the French Overture, with the crystalline clarity of the ornaments, as it took flight even transposing an octave higher register in the ritornello.The knotty twine of the seventeenth was played with admirable precision as the first vision of the ending came into sight with the eighteenth, like a seed being planted in our minds, as we could begin to see the end in sight far in the distance. Now the gentle lilting beauty of the nineteenth ( played without repeat) as George struck up a dizzying conundrum of repeated notes.The ‘Canone alla Settima’ ( n. 21) was a deeply meditative outpouring .With the twenty-second we begin to feel the end is nigh even though the cascades of notes of the twenty-third and the gentle lyrical beauty of the twenty-fourth could hardly have prepared us for the profound aristocratic beauty of the twenty-fifth. George played these ravishing whispered confessions with glowing sounds that were never blurred but exuded a radiance of heartrending significance.
From twenty six to twenty nine all hell let loose, with streams of notes and a forward drive where even the trill like device ( that Beethoven was to copy in his Sonata op 109) had a clarity and drive that lead to the mighty added octave opening of the twenty- ninth. A brilliant outpouring of exhilaration and exuberance that found and outlet only with the opening up of the ‘chorus line’ of the Quodlibet. George allowing himself now full reign for the glorious affirmation to resound around this magnificent edifice with unrestrained glory.
The magical return of the Aria made us aware of the long journey we had travelled together.
It was the moment when the Universal Genius of Bach enriches the life of mankind forever more.
George had prepared us for this moment and struck the first whispered note of the Aria at the same moment as our hearts, that were now beating together.
An ovation for a monumental performance was greeted by a moment of frivolity where George could let his hair down with the impish antics of Papá Haydn adding some of his own hi jinx too ! ( Last movement of the sonata in C ‘ English ‘ Hob XVI/50).
🔶 Magnificent pianist George Fu, who gave a powerful yet poignant performance of Messiaen’s monumental 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓 𝒍’𝑬𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑱𝒆́𝒔𝒖𝒔, captured by the lens of Mellifluous Photography by P.I
The concert, which was organized in collaboration with The Keyboard Charitable Trust, took place on 9 October, at The Shoe Factory By Pharos Arts Foundation as part of the 15th INTERNATIONAL PHAROS CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL
🔷 The exquisite pianist George X Fu, who gave a dynamic but also heartwarming interpretation to the monuments Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus of the Messian, as he was stunned by the lens of her Mellifluous Photography by P.I The concert, which was organised in collaboration with The Keyboard Charitable Trust London, took place on October 9, 2024, at The Shoe Factory By Pharos Arts Foundation as part of the 15th International Contemporary Music Festival 15th INTERNATIONAL PHAROS CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Barbican on fire with Seong Chin Cho and the LSO under Maxime Pascal with the world premiere of Donghoon Shin’s Piano Concerto commissioned by the LSO Together with world premieres of two works commissioned by the Helen Hamlyn Panufnik Composers Scheme by Omri Kochavi and Sasha Scott.
Two ten minute works of great effect but it was the thirty minute piano concerto that stole the show . A work influenced by the duel personalities of Schumann, a composer who Shin confesses to an undying love of his piano works .
In fact the opening flourishes of the concerto are reminiscent of the A minor concerto op 54 . Eric Morcombe’s famous reply to Andre Previn could be applied here except the notes are in the same order but just different, to put it mildly ! Direct quotes from the Schumann Fantasy appeared during the quieter passages of a concerto that Cho must have spent months mastering . Atmospheric opening sounds were transformed into a virtuoso cadenza obviously based on Prokofiev’s second and as Cho had shown us in this hall quite recently,were played with overwhelming daring and masterly control.
Cho visibly exhausted left the stage and was brought back by his friend Shin to share in the ovation that awaited all concerned .
An ovation as rarely seen in this hall especially for contemporary composers but above all directed at Cho who very wisely shut the piano lid to show that enough was enough and it was time to put the piano to bed.
A superb performance of the work that Boulez wrote as a memorial to Bruno Maderna filled the second half . It demonstrated the absolute mastery of the LSO players as there was a pitched battle between ten groups called to arms by the striking of gongs of varying intensity . Every strand of music, the masterly conductor Maxime Pascal told us, was a prayer dedicated to Boulez’s friend and colleague Bruno Moderna .
I have heard Tyler many times over the past few years and his simplicity and mastery have never astounded me more than today. Complaining of a sleepless night and arriving more in beach attire than for a concert streamed worldwide, he proceeded to play with an architectural understanding and immediate sense of communication that was astonishing. A technical mastery gained from the class of Tessa Nicholson as his colleague Mark Viner can readily confirm. He presented works from the Russian school, with playing of ravishing sensibility and astonishing technical mastery. He had also commented on his attire which allowed me to chip in too, but with playing like this it really is of no importance. Yuja Wang playing the ‘Hammerklavier’ in nightclub attire with stiletto heels is one of the greatest live performances that one could wish to hear !
I had heard Tyler play the Rubinstein Sonata a month ago at the National Liberal Club, but today listening to the live stream there was a sense of line and communication that I had not noticed before. The opening movement an outpouring of melodic invention written by a teenage composer with heroic virtuosity and a pulsating energy. A beautiful tenor second subject surrounded by glistening sounds before bursting into song with youthful romantic fervour. It is easy to see where Tchaikowsky and Rachmaninov inherited their wonderful melodic invention from. A hymn like chordal Andante with playing of nostalgic sentiment of extraordinary sensitivity and with a rare tasteful sense of style of great poise never descending into sentimentality. The ‘Moderato’ March like movement with a contrapuntal twist to it’s insistent forward movement of Military style, with ornaments that clicked with twinkling brilliance of the traditional Russian dance like the last movement of Tchaikovsky’s B flat minor concerto . The last movement was a call to arms of brilliance and demanding insistence, played with dynamic drive and quite considerable technical authority. A fiendishly spindly fugato of finger twisting ingenuity lead to the triumphant ending with glorious mellifluous outpouring that we are more used to hearing from Tchaikowsky as it is obviously in the pre revolution Russian blood.
After Rubinstein, Tyler played three short pieces op 51 by his pupil Tchaikovsky. ‘Natha -valse’ was a brilliant and scintillating dance played with great dexterity and sense of style . The Andante was a tipical Tchaikowskian outpouring tinged with the unmistakable Russian dialect of sadness and nostalgia.The ‘Valse sentimentale’, with which Tyler ended this group of three from six pieces op 52 , was also tinged with beguiling flexibility and extraordinary sensibility.
It is always a surprise that Tyler not only possesses an extraordinary technical and musicianly mastery but that his imposing presence also hides his heart of gold. The Rachmaninov Second Sonata since the performances on the apparition of Horowitz in his Indian Summer, has become a classic of the concert hall and of conservatory students. The Second has now been ousted by the First ,since Kantarow showed us the golden trail that lesser mortals seemed to have lost. Tyler has an extraordinary musicianship that can devour greatly neglected works and bring them to life with the ability to see the overall shape and he is able, with his superb technical mastery, to show us the wood rather than just individual trees. It was this that struck me as the opening flourish of Rachmaninov sped into bass rumourings of great turbulence that would be transformed into mellifluous beauty. He brought a languid beauty of penetrating fluidity where the musical line was never obscured by sentimentality. Even in the most ravishingly beautiful outpourings as in the slow movement there was always a forward movement full of kaleidoscopic sounds. The Moderato con fuoco could be likened to a flower opening from the whispered murmurings of the opening gradually becoming more and more intense until the flower opening to reveal a gloriously Hollywoodian climax before the breathtaking final flourishes.
As Tyler said he is no chronometer and his programmes regularly overrun . A concert he gave a year or so ago of Czerny Studies famously finished at teatime ! But Tyler’s concerts are always such an enjoyable and exhilarating experience and even though running over time he did not need much persuading to play his grandfather’s own transcription of ‘Stardust’.
What can one say after a concert like that, except when is the next?
Known for his virtuosic programmes and witty audience interactions, Tyler Hay first showed a prodigious talent for the piano when he won the Dennis Loveland award in Kent for his performance of Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz no 1 at the age of 11. He gained a place to study at the Purcell School in 2007 where he studied under Tessa Nicholson. He has since studied with pianists such as Frank Wibaut, Gordon Fergus-Thompson and Steven Osborne. Tyler has performed programmes at Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and the Purcell Room and has played Ravel’s Concerto for Left Hand Alone at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto no 2 at Symphony Hall with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, Tyler won first prize in the keyboard section of the Royal Overseas League Competition and as well as winning the RNCM’s Gold medal competition, also won first prize in the Liszt Society International Competition. Tyler won 1st prize in the Dudley International Piano Competition in November, 2022. CDs of Liszt, John Ogdon, Kalkbrenner and Field are available on Brilliant Classics and an album of virtuoso piano music by contemporary British composer Simon Proctor is also available on Navona Records.
A second concert in London in the same month for a young musician who has had the courage to start a concert series in his home town of Forlì dedicated to one of the most important figures in music of the last century . Guido Agosti was born and is buried in Forlì , a disciple of Busoni, the world would flock to his class in Siena every summer to be inspired and reminded of the musical values of an interpreter who is but the humble servant of the composer.
Nicolò Giuliano Tuccia in his second recital in London at St James’s Sussex Gardens began with the Sonata op 10 n 2 by Clementi . A two movement work and one of the 110 sonatas that this ‘Londoner‘ bequeathed to the world. Streams of notes of charm and beauty shaped with the ease of a master craftsman and virtuoso keyboard player. Nicolò not only played the notes with an ease and scintillating simplicity but he also imbued them with colour and beauty with above all an understanding of the overall architectural shape.
The first of Chopin’s nocturnes op 9 n.1 and 2 were played with a ravishing sense of balance where Chopin’s bel canto was shaped with poetic fantasy and beguiling freedom. In fact these five nocturnes reverberated around this noble edifice with a simple glowing beauty and subtle sense of colour . The nocturne op 37 n 1 was interrupted only by a central episode of a chorale of poignant beauty played with aristocratic poise and simplicity.The final posthumous nocturne in C minor was played with a nostalgic beauty and I was reminded that I had used it for our centennial production in Rome of Ibsen’s ‘A Dolls House’ in 1979. It has just that sense of innocent nostalgia that Nicoló captured so beautifully today.
Serenity was soon rudely interrupted by Liszt’s tragic tone poem of Hero and Leander.
The second Ballade in B minor began with the menacing waves of turbulence out of which emerges from the depths a soulful outpouring of dramatic intensity. Passionate cries were contrasted with desolate isolation as Nicoló recounted this harrowing tale with breathtaking daring as cascades of notes filled this church only to be silenced by the soulful beauty of longing and nostalgia.
Alberto Portugheis Simonetta Allder Bobby Chen
A journey that Nicoló could allow to unfold with remarkable unity as breathtaking virtuosity was contrasted with decadent beauty.
Bobby Chen with NicolòSimonetta Allder Rome Ballet Critic and PR for Spoleto Festival Alberto Portugheis with Bobby Chen
Two Preludes by Debussy took us from the desolation of lonesome footsteps in the snow to the joyous Neapolitan festivities with the radiant hussle and bustle which is so much part of Capri, the jewel that shines so brilliantly in the bay of Naples .
Giordano Buondonno is a young Ligurian born pianist who obviously had been much influenced by Michelangeli in his youth, as indeed in Italy he was revered as a God. Although his studies have brought him for the past five years or so to London, studying first at Trinity Laban with Sergio De Simone, Deniz Gelenbe and Martino Tirimo, and finishing his Masters at the Guildhall with Ronan O’Hora, Charles Owen and Noriko Ogawa. Illustrious names in the world of music,but the admiration for Michelangeli was born before he came to London, and although receiving expert advice from his mentors, that very particular sound world has remained as his goal.
Giordano’s flat fingers hitting the keys with bell like sounds of crystal clarity as well as caressing the keys when a more hazy sound was required. His brilliant technical command is also allied to a musicianship of impeccable pedigree and intelligence but his insistence on crystalline clarity can lead to a lack of warmth and orchestral colouring.
Giordano chose a programme that showed off his mastery, as six of Rachmaninov’s Études Tableaux resounded around this hall.
It is where Rachmaninov had given his last concert in Europe in 1939 before fleeing to the USA where he was to die in Beverley Hills in 1943. My old teacher Vlado Perlemuter used to love telling how Rachmaninov would come on stage looking as if he had just swallowed a knife, but the sounds he could make at the keyboard were the most sumptuous and rich that he had ever heard. Appearances can be deceptive indeed.
The étude n. 3 was played with languid nobility and etherial beauty, on a continuous wave of sumptuous timeless sounds.There was a chiselled beauty to étude n. 2 shining over a hovering accompaniment always ready to take flight. A purity of sound like drops of crystal with sounds of eery isolation. Étude n. 7 was of a languid beauty overtaken by a brooding bass of piercing clarity and a surge of sounds over the entire keyboard as the opening melodic outpouring returns ‘avec un sentiment de regret’ of ever more poignant nostalgia for the composer’s homeland. Étude n. 4 was in continual agitation with a beguiling insistance of stop and start brilliance and dynamic rhythmic drive. Étude n. 6 is the shortest and is a call to arms of noble resistence. The final étude n. 8 was a cauldron of Scriabinesque flames played with brilliance and mastery and that brought this series of ‘Tableaux’ to a scintillating end.
Debussy was a speciality of Michelangeli so it was hardly surprising to see it on the menu today! Michelangeli’s Debussy was admired by many, but also criticised by musicians that thought it too free and cold with more of a research of timbre than interpreting Debussy’s very precise instructions.
Giordano Buondonno showed us that the search for timbre could also be related to a scrupulous attention to the score with two pieces from Images Bk 1, adding the bells that were to shine so beautifully from Bk 2 .
‘Hommage a Rameau’ was played with a lazy grace of respectful nobility and he brought great contrast to the sumptuous hazy opening before the piercing clarity of the melodic line shining like a star with crystalline clarity exploding into a nobility of the brilliance of Michelangeli rather than sumptuous richness of Rubinstein. ‘Cloches a travers les feuilles’ were bells of piercing clarity shining through leaves that were washes of sound. It ended up with Giordano creating a magical atmosphere of whispered haziness. ‘Reflets dans l’eau’ was played with crystalline clarity were Giordano’s spindly fingers created waves of sound on which the melodic line could shine with piercing penetration. Remarkable playing of mastery and intelligent musicianship but, as with Michelangeli, can often be too much in the present and it is like looking at the Sistine chapel restored by the Japanese. Although one can admire the hidden details, for me it looses something of its atmosphere and mystery.
co Artistic director Ben Westlake presenting the concert in his own inimitable style
The wife of Busoni was often introduced to people as Mrs Bach- Busoni such was her husband’s fame for bringing the great organ works of Bach into the concert hall. The greatest of these transcriptions, or as Ben Westlake so rightly said, recreations, is the Chaconne, the greatest work ever written for solo violin. After which came the works for Organ in C major, D major and D minor. Busoni was an eclectic thinking musician and a great pianist, the direct descendent of Franz Liszt , but he could not help also adding too many personal things to Bach’s keyboard works that are master works in their own right.
The D minor Toccata and Fugue , like the Widor Toccata, is one of the best known works for organ. As soon as Giordano struck up the opening notes there was a knowing glance of recognition that shot around this magnificent David Lloyd George Room. There was a nobility and masterly control to Giordano’s playing with an architectural understanding that could guide us through the recitativi before the whispered magical entry of the fugue. It was here that Giordano’s superb clarity and precision unraveled Bach’s knotty twine and took us on the wondrous journey that only the master of Köln was capable of offering to the Glory of God on High.
Listening to Magdalene Ho and Misha Kaploukhii playing four hands on one piano I am reminded of Rubinstein’s words ‘You cannot teach talent ………you are born with talent and you can only develop it ….you cannot learn talent.’
How right he was as I remember the first time I heard Magdalene competing for the Joan Chissell Schumann Prize at the Royal College. I was so overwhelmed by her playing of the 8th Novelette that whilst she was playing I wrote to her former teacher Patsy Toh ( Mrs Fou Tsong ), mesmerised by her sense of communication and self identification with the music. Fou Ts’ong was blessed with the same gift and his inspirational teaching has,like Guido Agosti, never been forgotten. Misha ,too, as a fresher his teacher Ian Jones, invited me to hear him play Rachmaninov First Concerto at Cadogan Hall. His mastery and self assurance were the seeds that four years on have given birth to one of the few pianists I could say would be capable of a modern day career. Misha has befriended Magdalene at the RCM where a reciprocal brother /sister relationship has been a two way inspiration for them both. Misha is now playing with more weight and searching musicianship whereas Magdalene has learnt that music can be a joy and inspiration when shared.
Just a few months ago Jed Distler , the renowned New York critic, composer and pianist, was staying in my house prior to the Chopin Competition which he was reporting on for Gramophone. I invited Magdalene and Misha over as Jed had been on the panel that had awarded Magdalene the Chappell Gold Medal ,and he too had been overwhelmed by her talent just as I had been a year earlier. He also awarded Misha , at the same time, the Hopkinson Smith Gold Medal .
Magdalene always a little shy at the dinner table suddenly sprang to life when Jed asked if anyone would play Shostakovich 9th, four hands with him. Thus began a musical evening of joy and brilliance.
Now we were all together around the piano – the chicken had been shared and we could get down to sharing music. It was on this occasion that Magdalene and Misha played together reading for the first time from the score the very Schubert that we heard today.
Each performance we heard today was like a great wave on which we were all carried along together. A dynamic drive and sense of communication, together with a feeling that we the audience were part of the act of discovery and creation too. A sense of informed improvisation where the notes spoke louder than words . The most extraordinary thing is that it never crossed my mind that this was four hands on one piano, such was the sense of unity with an instinctive sense of balance of mutual anticipation that created a real musical conversation.
Brahms of aristocratic nobility and Elgarian richness. There were cascades of beautiful arpeggios from Misha’s sensitive but authoritative hands as Magdalene delved deep into the soul of Brahms from below. A sumptuous outpouring of rhapsodic mellifluous playing of passionate intensity. Sounds of menace from Magdalene below with a deep pulsating bass with the improvised freedom of Misha with a melodic line lost in infinity. There was too a joyous outpouring of grandeur of glorious sumptuousness . The return of the ‘Angels’ at the end created a magic that reached even me on the other end of the line!
As Misha said, the Busoni deserves to be better known and they certainly gave a persuasive performance. From Magdalene’s bass folk melody elaborated together with busy exuberance. Capricious playfulness contrasted with long mellifluous outpourings with final bars in both of exhilarating excitement of festive frivolities.
Three of Brahms Chorale Preludes were played with an intense outpouring of weaving counterpoints as there was purity and nobility always with a glorious radiance of sound and unerring sense of balance of a united emotional commitment.
The Schubert burst onto the scene with dynamic drive but also with meticulous phrasing and sense of line. There were moments when Schubert’s divine inspiration drove these two players to heights that even they had not expected. As a knowing smile or a raised eyebrow were outwards signs that they too were listening with such sensitivity to every nuance or ravishing sound that Schubert could so miraculously compose in the last year of this short life.
The Rondo in A was played with a sense of enjoyment and ‘joie de vivre’ as they even shared a giggle or two.together over a momentarily dormant page turner. Daring to outdo each other with refined nuances of subtle beauty with a spontaneity where every note was unexpected but warmly welcomed as Magdalene reached to the top of the keyboard with a whispered vibration of a perfectly placed farewell .
But today there was something rather special in the air with performances of a simplicity and mastery that as Rubinstein rightly said cannot be taught. It was a privilege to feel part of this sublime music making.
Misha Kaploukhii was born in 2002 and is an alumnus of the Moscow Gnessin College of Music. He is currently studying at the Royal College of Music and is an RCM and ABRSM award holder generously supported by the Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation and Talent Unlimited studying for a Master of Performance Diploma with Prof. Ian Jones. Misha has gained inspiration from lessons and masterclasses with musicians such as Claudio Martínez Mehner, Dmitri Bashkirov, Jerome Lowenthal and Konstantin Lifschitz. He has performed with orchestras around the world including his recent debut in Cadogan Hall performing Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto. His repertoire includes a wide range of solo and chamber music. Recent prizes include the RCM Concerto Competition, won in 2022 and 2025, the Hopkinson Gold Medal at the Chappell Medal Piano Competition, both the First and Audience Prizes in the UK Sheepdrove Piano Competition and Grand Prix at the Sicily International Piano Competition.
Malaysian pianist Magdalene Ho was born in 2003 and started learning the piano at the age of four. In 2013, she began studying in the UK with Patsy Toh, at the Purcell School. In 2015, she received the ABRSM Sheila Mossman Prize and Silver Award. As part of a prize won at the PIANALE piano festival in Fulda, Germany, she released an album of Bach and Messiaen works in 2019. She was a finalist at the Düsseldorf Schumann Competition 2023 and was awarded the Joan Chissell Schumann Prize for Piano at the Royal College of Music a few months later. In September 2023, she won the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Vevey along with receiving the Audience Prize, Young Critics’ Prize and Children’s Corner Prize. She has been studying with Dmitri Alexeev at the Royal College of Music since September 2022, where shee. is a Dasha Shenkman Scholar supported by the Gordon Calway Stone Scholarship, and by the Weir Award via the Keyboard Charitable Trust. She recently won the Chappell Gold Medal at the RCM. In 2025/26, she made her debut at the Tonhalle Zurich and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Franz Schubert 31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828 (aged 31) Vienna
The Allegro in A minor, D947 and the Rondo in A major, D951 were written in May and June 1828 respectively, and may well have been intended to form a two-movement sonata along the lines of Beethoven’s E minor Sonata Op 90. The A major Rondo was published in December 1828, less than a month after Schubert died.Schubert ‘s – Rondò in D major . D 608 has the title “Notre amitié est invariable” that could well apply to this rondò and indeed the young musicians who played today. Schubert left a large legacy of music for piano four-hands, extending as it does to some sixty works. Largely little known today, most were composed for domestic use at the ‘Schubertiads’ hosted by the composer’s Viennese friends.The passionate Allegro in A minor, written a month after the Fantasy in F minor , and sometimes known by its posthumous title ‘Lebensstürme’ gives a clear picture of Schubert’s inner life: of a man who wrote ‘Every night when I go to bed, I hope that I may never wake again, and every morning renews my grief.’ The Allegro in A Minor, Op. 144, demonstrates his mastery at writing for one piano, four hands. This large and passionate work was composed in 1828, the year of Schubert’s death. It is written in sonata-allegro form and may have been intended as the first movement of a sonata. It was first published by Anton Diabelli in 1840 with the title Lebensstürme: Characterischeres Allegro (Life’s Storms: Characteristic Allegro). The Allegro makes extensive use of chromaticism, Neapolitan sixth chords, and contrasts of moods.
Johannes Brahms 7 May 1833 Hamburg 3 April 1897 (aged 63) Vienna
VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF ROBERT SCHUMANN FOR FOUR-HANDS, OP. 23
Published 1863. Dedicated to Miss Julie Schumann.
Theme. Leise und innig. Variation 1. L’istesso Tempo. Andante molto moderato. Variation 2Variation 3 Variation 4 Variation 5. Poco più animato. Variation 6. Allegro non troppo. Variation 7. Con moto. L’istesso tempo. Variation 8. Poco più vivo. Variation 9. Variation 10. Molto moderato, alla marcia
Johannes Brahms twice chose a theme by his friend and mentor Robert Schumann as the basis for piano variations. While the Variations op. 9 were composed for piano solo, as an exception he wrote Opus 23 for a four-hand scoring. Its tender, chorale-like theme is particularly touching and was carefully chosen by Brahms: It was among Robert Schumann’s last musical thoughts, which the composer, already tormented by severe delusions, believed he heard from the voices of angels. The Variations, composed in 1861, end with a kind of funeral march and can be understood as a wistful farewell to his deceased friend.It is a misconception that Brahms wrote a great deal of original material for piano duet. He certainly produced skillful arrangements of his orchestral and chamber works for four hands on either one or two pianos, and the Hungarian Dances (by far his most familiar works without an opus number) are ever popular. But these variations are not only his first publication as an original work for piano duet, but also his only work with opus number that exists only in that form. The op. 39 Waltzes have two solo versions in addition to the duet version, and the versions of the Liebeslieder Waltzes (op 52 and op.65) for piano duet alone are rightly subordinate to the original with voices. . Like the earlier op.9 Schumann variation set for piano solo, this composition has deeply personal associations, not least the theme Brahms chose. Known as Schumann’s “last musical thought,” the composer sketched it in February 1854, saying that the E-flat melody was dictated to him by angels and apparently not realizing that it closely resembled the slow movement of his recently composed Violin Concerto. He began to write piano variations on the theme, right before his fateful jump into the Rhine on February 27. He finished the fifth of those variations the day after his rescue. The variations themselves remained unknown until they were published in 1939 (they have become known as the Geistervariationen or “Ghost Variations”). Clara Schumann considered the theme itself holy. When Brahms decided to write variations on it in 1861, Clara asked him not to reveal when the theme was composed given the stigma associated with her husband’s final years. Brahms himself finally published the original piano theme in 1893, but without Schumann’s five variations. Brahms’s own duet variations make the most of the four-hand medium. Each variation is highly distinct, and by the second, the melody of the theme is already abandoned. Thus, its return in the short coda is highly satisfying. He does stick closely to the structure and harmony throughout, including the repeated second part. He is also more adventurous with keys than in the contemporary (and much larger) Handel Variations for solo piano. Three of them are in three different minor keys (the “parallel,” the “mediant,” and the “relative” minor). Variation 5 is in the remote B major. He changes the 2/4 meter to 9/8 in Variation 5, 6/8 in Variation 7, and 4/4 for the last two. The set is a sort of celebration of and formal farewell to Schumann. Despite the funereal tone of Variation 4 and the more noble threnody of the last variation, there is never a sense of pure melancholy. The lower part, the secondo, comes into its own starting with Variation 2 and is truly exploited in the two “funereal” variations. There is much octave doubling between the hands of each part, but even this is not overdone. The dedication to the Schumann daughter Julie is interesting. She was 18 years old at the time, and it is possible Brahms had already taken a romantic interest in her. This grew over the next several years, but Brahms never declared himself, and Julie married an Italian count in 1869. While his infatuation was probably never more than that, her marriage contributed to a general sense of personal gloominess about his relationships and other things, which he channeled into the “Alto” Rhapsody,op.53 . Childbearing was taxing on the sickly and delicate Julie, and she died in 1872, earlier than any of her six siblings that survived childhood.
Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. 122, is a collection of works for organ , written in 1896, at the end of the composer’s life, immediately after the death of his beloved friend, Clara Schumann, published posthumously in 1902. They are based on verses of nine Lutheran chorales , two of them set twice, and are relatively short, compact miniatures. They were the last compositions Brahms ever wrote, composed around the time that he became aware of the cancer that would ultimately prove fatal; thus the final piece is, appropriately enough, a second setting of “O Welt, ich muß dich lassen. Six of them were transcribed for piano 4/5 8-11 by Busoni in 1902 arranges for four hands by Eusebius Mandyczewski
‘Finnländische Volksweisen’ [Finnish Folksongs] Op.27 for piano duet. Andante molto espressivo – allegretto moderato – presto 2. Andantino – tranquillo – vivace – presto
Ferrucio Busoni – pianist, composer, arranger, educator, philosopher – was born in 1866 and died a hundred years ago in 1924, making this an anniversary year. These pieces date from the late 1880s, when the composer had a post teaching the piano in Finnland. The folksongs themselves – there are six of them, three in each movement – and the manner in which Busoni employs them is far from simple: among the devices used are reharmonisations and other forms of variation, motivic and canonic reworkings, unusual textures and dramatic transitions. The idea, then, is to create a kind of tone poem in two movements and Busoni achieves an almost symphonic character in his realisation. Bartok and Kodaly (Vaughan-Williams in England) are generally considered to be pioneers in the use of folk materials in art music but Busoni is ahead of the curve here, even if this composition owes something to the potpourri tradition .
Mozart reigns in Twickenham with Cristian Sandrin and the English Chamber Orchestra Ensemble.
Three keyboard concerti that Ben Westlake recalls being inspired as a teenager by Barenboim playing them with the ECO. All best wishes to Daniel Barenboim whose unbelievable 83rd birthday is on the 15th.
Ben Westlake remembering Barenboim on the eve of his 83rd Happy Birthday Danny the eternal boy
I remember a few years later Murray Perahia conducting from the keyboard with the ECO . Cristian confides that his love for music was inspired as a child in Romania by Cristian Zacharias conducting his Lausanne Orchestra from the keyboard .
My greatest memory was of Fou Ts’ong playing with Hugh McGuire’s Cremona quartet the three concerti K 313/314/315 .
It was years later that Ts’ong was to rehearse the piano quartets in Rome ready for a tour with musicians from Taiwan . I had the video camera recording every minute and Ts’ong was thrilled to know it as he was particularly inspired and he showed it to many people proud that a sixty year old could arrive at such childhood simplicity .
We were treated today to just this elusive simplicity but with technical mastery of a Mozart that can be too easy for children but far too difficult for adults .
Cristian in an inspired evening of music making allowed the crystalline beauty of Mozart to fill this beautiful wooden filled church with sounds of radiance and purity. A Seiler piano that I doubt has ever been treated to such a night out like this before!
This beautiful church on the riverside in Twickenham has the same natural resonance as the historic Holywell Music Room in Oxford where Mozart himself had performed and where these players will perform at the end of the month .
Scott Dickinson ,viola substituted for an indisposed Clare Finnimore
In the meantime the Kettner Concerts of which Cristian and the unstoppable Ben Westlake are the tireless artistic directors will bring the concert to their historic seat in the National Liberal Club on the 21st . Sold out of course but a trip to Oxford to hear the music of Mozart as he would have heard it would be a real treat for all music lovers. Holywell Music Room Oxford on 28th November at 19h tickets via www. kettnerconcerts.co.uk
Cristian performing without the score was able to move with the improvised freedom with which these marvels were born. Cristian is 32 just a few years younger than the genius who was destined to die at the age of only 35. He hails from the pedigree bequeathed to him by his father the distinguished Romanian pianist Sandu Sandrin to whose memory his concerts are always dedicated.
150 years of Steinway Celebrations ‘We could have danced all night !’
An unforgettable evening with festivities that will continue until Christmas but which opened with one of the greatest works ever written for a keyboard instrument.
Danny Driver having played the complete Goldberg Variations last night in the nearby Wigmore Hall made a ‘musical offering’ of a selection of them. It was enough to hear the ‘Aria’ played with crystalline clarity and poignant simplicity with ornaments that enhanced the contours but never distorted them .Refined aristocratic playing had one wishing that Bach could have heard his masterpiece on a modern day Steinway.
Kathryn Stott and Madeleine Brown continued this short concert with Schubert’s famous Ave Maria and Dvořák’s sumptuous Slavonic Dance op 72 n. 2. But the real gem was the Popular Song by Walton together with rhythmic effects tapped in turn on the wood of the piano. Kathryn Stott may have retired from the concert platform last year but her love of music making will always illuminate all she chooses to do.
Charles Owen looking almost as debonair as our host Ian Skelly, the renowned voice of BBC Radio 3. A last minute warm up in the depths of Steinways meant a sprint upstairs to where the music making was hotting up.
Charles Owen later in the evening in conversation with Ian Skelly
He may have been breathless but his charm and exquisite playing poured from his fingers with radiance and fluidity as the Prelude from Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin were simply strands of pure gold and silver sounds. The Menuet and Toccata are a perfect pair together, with the simple glowing beauty of the Menuet that Charles floated magically into the rarified air that he had brought up with him from down under. But it was the Toccata that took flight with ravishing sounds of fleeting beauty. A technical perfection where passion and real musical understanding were the raison d’être of his being. A short musical exploration of the world of Steinway was described with the inimitable voice of Maestro Skelly. A master who can still carry the banner for the BBC when speech like a singer came from a thing called the diaphragm!
The unveiling of a specially made piano for Steinway’s 150th with a white Steinway ‘B’ given the title of ‘The Sounds of Nations in the Lines of Time’ .The story of Steinway & Sons in the United Kingdom which began in 1875 with the opening of the first European branch and showroom , Steinway Hall,London. Celebrating this legacy Steinway presents the White & Chrome Limited Edition with its outer case transformed into a canvas, intricately decorated with a timeline of the UK’s musical and cultural milestones, alongside prolific artists. Dominic Ferris now appeared in his red tuxedo contrasting wonderfully with the white Steinway that lay before his agile fingers, as he demonstrated with great mastery his Ballade for Steinway. Implored by all the Steinway craftsmen present he was persuaded to sing one of his most famous popular songs.
The Town Cryer for Cindeford ,Jer Holland ,had now appeared with bell in hand to call us to order and to bid us move into the main foyer where Champagne was being corked in abundance.
Celebrating with us was the renowned jazz musician Julian Joseph, who once the partying had died down could be heard in deeply concentrated improvisations of remarkable originality and unforgettable mastery.
Maura Romano from Milan with Charles Owen hypnotised by such mastery Danny Driver deep in discussion with another master pianist and musician with master piano technician Ulrich Gerhartz
With the wonderful spirio Steinway D red hot after Julian Josephs star performance, unnoticed by the distinguished partying crowd, Stuart Jones from Wales sat and amused himself at the piano.He was pleasantly surprised to see me listening to his musings as I was mesmerised by the passion and beauty that he too could transmit.
Maestro Stuart Jones
Throwing his hands to the left and right and completely ignored except by me I was once more reminded of the power that music can exert and can reach places where words are just not enough
Whilst we were celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Steinway & Sons in London on the same day Axel Trolese was celebrating in music at the Flagship Steinway & Sons in Milan.The Keyboard Trust have had a long and glorious association with Steinway & Sons giving brilliant young artists a platform at the beginning of their career. I am happy that Axel had a full house and even happier to read this review which I share below .
A review by Alfredo Di Pietro
Viviamo in un mondo condizionato dagli “hype”, dal clamore temporaneo che vede in azione i siti specializzati e i blog, sempre a caccia di lampi di visibilità con cui investire le persone. Ma quanto accaduto ieri sera al Flagship Store Steinway & Sons assume un valore differente da questa logica. In ascolto c’era un pubblico raccolto, silenzioso e attento di fronte al giovane pianista Axel Trolese, un artista che conosco da tempo, oggi maturo e in grado di affrontare qualsivoglia repertorio. Ci ha regalato, con il tipico slancio e generosità della gioventù, un recital variegato e, bisogna sottolinearlo, difficile, organizzato dall’associazione The Keyboard Trust, che meritoriamente dal 1991 supporta i giovani pianisti di talento nello sviluppo della loro carriera. Uno strumentista che non arriva proprio in sordina a questo novembrino recital milanese, reduce da importanti riconoscimenti come il Premio Casella al Concorso Premio Venezia. Senza contare le sue numerose esibizioni in prestigiose sale e rassegne in Europa, America e Asia.
Io l’ho incontrato proprio a una di queste, l’Amiata Piano Festival, rionoscendo subito in lui un interprete valoroso e sincero. Axel si approcciato al pubblico senza apparente apprensione, come un consumato concertista affronta il palcoscenico, quasi incurante del difficile compito che lo aspettava. Un’occhiata al programma di sala è in tal senso significativo, iniziando con lo Sposalizio di Franz Liszt, dalla nota raccolta Années de pèlérinage. Deuxième Année. Italie, S 161. Lui lo esegue con tocco sensibile, delicatezza e profondità di accenti, come si conviene a un brano che ci ricorda come la produzione lisztiana non sia solo fuoco e fiamme, ma anche assorta pensosità. Siamo di fronte a una rimembranza delle impressioni che l’autore ebbe alla vista della tela di Raffaello sulle nozze tra Maria e Giuseppe, la quale si trova a pochi passi dalla sede del concerto, nel milanese Museo di Brera. Il nostro pianista è riuscito a ricostruire una tessitura sonora dolce e screziata di misticismo, con dei solenni accordi tesi a immergere chi ascolta in un’atmosfera d’incantata trasfigurazione.
È molto probabile che gran parte del pubblico non conoscesse la Sonata per pianoforte Op. 51 di Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Questo fa riflettere su quanti capolavori come questo ancora oggi rimangano sepolti nella polvere. Fu composta nel 1928 ed eseguita per la prima volta nel 1929 da Walter Gieseking, che era anche il dedicatario, poi pubblicata a Vienna dalla Universal-Edition nel 1932. Opera di grande impegno, che Axel Trolese affronta con estrema concentrazione, avvisando il pubblico di predisporsi a “sopportare” il linguaggio dissonante che contiene. Personalmente, pur non essendo propenso alla sensazione di “conflitto uditivo” che le dissonanze provocano, nettamente agli antipodi di un andamento consonante, cioè percepito come più gradevole all’orecchio, ho dovuto ammettere che il geniale compositore non poteva fare scelta più felice per esprimere la drammatica tragicità di questa sonata. Un’opera in tre movimenti, dal nostro affrontata con grande energia, soprattutto nei tempi estremi.
Uno dei movimenti è noto per la sua indicazione “Rude e violento”, e tale davvero è stato, anche se la potenza sonora del grancoda Steinway & Sons Spirio era decisamente straripante per l’ambiente in cui era stato messo a suonare. Ma alle esigenze artistiche e all’impeto dell’interprete non può essere messa la mordacchia: legittimamente Axel ha, come si suol dire in gergo tennistico, lasciato andare il braccio nei frangenti di maggior veemenza. Quanta distanza tra questa sonata e l’opera che è seguita! Parliamo di Le tombeau de Couperin, suite per pianoforte di Maurice Ravel scritta fra il 1914 e il 1917, durante la prima guerra mondiale. Ognuno dei sei movimenti è dedicato a un amico del compositore caduto in guerra, due invece sono quelli ricordati nel Rigaudon, Pierre e Pascal Gaudin, entrambi uccisi dalla stessa granata. Arte sottile e camaleontica quella del nostro Axel, che dopo i tellurici affondi della sonata di Castelnuovo-Tedesco cambia completamente registro in questa stupenda composizione raveliana.
Questi “tombeaux” erano in realtà delle elegie funebri, che nella musica settecentesca comprendevano delle raccolte strumentali in onore di musicisti o anche celebri personaggi. Qui Ravel manifestò un cambio di rotta, poiché concepì questa suite prima dello scoppio della guerra come un tributo a François Couperin, di cui lui era un grande ammiratore. Tuttavia, alla fine ci fu una doppia dedica, quella al grande maestro del clavicembalo barocco rimase, ma si aggiunse anche quella agli amici scomparsi. Axel qui si trasforma in un “clavicembalista”, cambia tecnica, e di conseguenza timbro, spezzando l’elemento di continuità che aveva tenuto in precedenza. Si produce in una lettura tersa, rigorosa e trasparente, il suo pianismo diventa più appuntito e percussivo, proprio in vista dell’emulazione dell’antico strumento a corde pizzicate. E mentre un pubblico disciplinato, silenzioso, attendeva che il pianista elargisse tali perle musicali, all’esterno del Flagship Store c’era una fila di ragazze fuori dalle porte della sede di Radio 105, tutte in festante attesa dell’ex One Direction, Louis Tomlinson. La musica, in ogni sua declinazione, unisce e affratella. E va bene così…
Review by Alfredo Di Pietro translation in English
We live in a world shaped by “hype,” by the temporary buzz generated by specialized websites and blogs, always on the lookout for flashes of visibility to fire at people. But what happened last night at the Steinway & Sons Flagship Store carries a meaning far removed from that logic. The audience listening was intimate, silent, and attentive before the young pianist Axel Trolese—an artist I have known for some time, now mature and capable of tackling any repertoire. With the typical enthusiasm and generosity of youth, he offered us a varied and, it must be emphasized, difficult recital, organized by The Keyboard Trust, an association that since 1991 has commendably supported talented young pianists in developing their careers. He is a performer who certainly didn’t arrive quietly at this November recital in Milan, fresh from important recognitions such as the Casella Prize at the Premio Venezia Competition—not to mention his numerous performances in prestigious halls and festivals in Europe, America, and Asia.
I first met him at one of these, the Amiata Piano Festival, immediately recognizing in him a courageous and sincere interpreter. Axel approached the audience with no apparent apprehension, like a seasoned concert artist stepping onto the stage, seemingly unfazed by the difficult task ahead. A glance at the programme was telling in this regard, beginning with Sposalizio by Franz Liszt, from the well-known collection Années de pèlerinage- Deuxième Année. Italie, S 161. He performed it with sensitive touch, delicacy, and depth of phrasing, as befits a piece that reminds us that Liszt’s output is not all fire and flames but also meditative introspection. We are faced with a remembrance of the impressions the composer experienced upon seeing Raphael’s painting of the marriage between Mary and Joseph, which is located just a few steps from the concert venue in Milan’s Brera Museum. Our pianist managed to reconstruct a sound texture that was sweet and tinged with mysticism, with solemn chords aimed at immersing the listener in an atmosphere of enchanted transfiguration.
The Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael 1504 Housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera
It is very likely that much of the audience was unfamiliar with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Piano Sonata Op. 51. This prompts reflection on how many masterpieces like this still remain buried in dust. It was composed in 1928 and first performed in 1929 by Walter Gieseking, who was also its dedicatee, and later published in Vienna by Universal-Edition in 1932. A work of great commitment, which Axel Trolese approached with extreme concentration, warning the audience to prepare to “endure” the dissonant language it contains. Personally, though not inclined toward the sensation of “auditory conflict” that dissonances provoke—decidedly at the opposite end of the spectrum from consonance, which is perceived as more pleasant to the ear—I had to admit that the brilliant composer could not have made a better choice to express the dramatic tragic quality of this sonata. A three-movement work, tackled by our pianist with great energy, especially in the outer movements.
One of the movements is famed for its marking “Rude e violento” (“Harsh and violent”), and so it indeed was, even though the sound power of the Steinway & Sons Spirio grand piano was decidedly overwhelming for the environment in which it was placed. But one cannot muzzle artistic needs and the interpreter’s impetus: quite legitimately, Axel, as one might say in tennis jargon, let his arm go in the moments of greatest vehemence. How vast the distance between this sonata and the work that followed! We are speaking of Le tombeau de Couperin, Maurice Ravel’s suite for piano written between 1914 and 1917, during the First World War. Each of its six movements is dedicated to a friend of the composer who fell in the war; two are commemorated in the Rigaudon, Pierre and Pascal Gaudin, both killed by the same shell. Subtle and chameleonic was Axel’s artistry here, for after the telluric plunges of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s sonata he completely changed register in this splendid Ravel composition.
These “tombeaux” were in fact funeral elegies; in eighteenth-century music they often comprised instrumental collections in honor of musicians or other notable figures. Here Ravel showed a shift in direction, for he had conceived this suite before the war as a tribute to François Couperin, whom he greatly admired. Ultimately, there was a double dedication: the one to the great Baroque harpsichord master remained, but it was joined by the tribute to his fallen friends. Axel here transformed himself into a “harpsichordist,” changing technique and consequently timbre, breaking the line of continuity he had maintained earlier. He offered a clean, rigorous, and transparent reading; his pianism became more pointed and percussive, aimed at emulating the ancient plucked-string instrument. And while a disciplined, silent audience awaited the pianist’s delivery of such musical gems, outside the Flagship Store there was a line of girls queued in front of the Radio 105 headquarters, all joyfully waiting for former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson. Music, in all its forms, unites and brings people together. And that’s perfectly fine…
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 