Categoria: Senza categoria

A warm welcome as always from Glenn Kesby and every seat in the house taken including the upstairs salon bar and terrace.All there to hear a young man who is fast making a name for himself.

I have heard Misha Kaploukhii over the past four years when as a ‘fresher’ his teacher Ian Jones invited me to hear his student playing Rachmaninov First concerto in Cadogan Hall.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/10/13/misha-kaploukhii-plays-rachmaninov-beauty-and-youthfulness-triumph/

I have since heard his Rachmaninov 3rd and 4th concerti as well as Liszt and Chopin second and even Brahms 2 played on Myra Hess’s prize Steinway on which she herself worked on this ‘ little concerto with an even smaller scherzo’ . Her recording of it with Bruno Walter is one of the monuments of recorded history.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/12/01/chopin-reigns-at-the-national-liberal-club-and-st-marys-perivale-the-triumph-of-misha-kaploukhii-and-magdalene-ho/

Misha has been invited to play it at the Royal College next season as top prize winner of the annual concerto competition .

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/01/18/misha-kaploukhii-plays-brahms-2-with-passion-and-mastery/

But Misha is not a competition animal he does not wish to do comparative performances, his music making is judged by his ability to communicate directly with the public.

His playing over these past years has gained in authority and he has built up a large repertoire which is the baggage that he will share far and wide with audiences that are waiting for that special atmosphere that only live music making can provide .

Choosing two of the most challenging works in the repertoire for a short evening recital for the Hattori Foundation which since 1992 have taken up residence in the little cottage that used to be the headmasters residence and is now an oasis of peace and charm next to the busiest railway station in the world!

Lit by candlelight, extraordinarily convincing fake candies so as not to dirty the exquisite decor, there was nothing fake about what we heard today.

‘Davidsbündler’, Schumann’s 18 dances are the stuff that dreams are made of and are the sum of Schumann’s poetic inspiration for the piano.

An early work in which the simple beauty and with Eusebius’s still joyful sparring partner Florestan kept in a golden cage of some of the most sublime music ever written for the piano .

Schumann was no showman as was Liszt whose Norma Fantasy worked its spell today as the partner in crime .

Octaves and naked emotions as innovative three handed piano writing built to an emotional climax made of impossible counterpoints in a diabolical duet which was silenced only by massive octaves and breathtaking pyrotechnics .

Schumann on the other hand works a different spell and his work finishes with a disarming waltz where ‘quite superfluously Eusebius remarked as follows : but all the time great bliss spoke from his eyes’ and with the whispered chime of midnight disappears into a world of dreams .

It is pure magic and it closes a performance of refined beauty and passionate conviction. A sense of style with a musician who could shape Schumann’s magical world without ever breaking the spell . An architectural journey as well as a spiritual one where Misha led us through a myriad of emotions with a kaleidoscope of sounds and a technical perfection that quite rightly passed unnoticed .

His pianistic mastery is at the service of the master of which he is merely the servant .’Je sens, je joue , je trasmets.’ could indeed be the motto for a performance of such poetic beauty.

The core of the work must surely be the 14th dance ‘tenderly and singing’ that Misha played with the freedom of a singer such was the seamless freedom of inspired beauty . Brahmsian passion too ‘wild and Lustig ‘ bursting into a chorale worthy of an Academic overture and played with that sumptuous rich sound that made Stokowski’s Philadelphia the favourite of Rachmaninov .

Misha never hits the keys so there are never any unexpected hard edges to break a poetic spell that takes us from dawn to dusk on a journey where a box of gleaming jewels are allowed to glisten and glow with the radiant beauty of a supreme stylist.

A performance as Mitsuko Uchida would claim which will remain in the memory and will never fade with time as recordings do, but become ever more beautiful as time passes .

It was interesting to note that our ‘master of ceremonies’, unknown to any but the spies was following the score during the performance on the staircase leading to the upstairs salon.

The 1901 club is that sort of place born of genuine love and passion where quality rather than quantity still can reign .

One could list the places visited by Misha from the gentle refined banter of F and E at the opening with a remarkable jeux perlé of subtle pedalling followed by the purity and simplicity of Eusebius . The clumsy antics of Florestan where the colouring of the coda was played with extraordinary pianistic finesse . The impatient passion of Florestan thinking of the sunny days ahead was gently wrapped over the knuckles by the beguiling reminder of refined beauty of Eusebius . There was remarkable pianistic control to the sixth with its quiet rumbling ruminations and complex syncopations bursting into joyous glee with the coda . But it was the very great feeling of Eusebius that created a stillness and magic in Mishas sensitive hands . Florestan’s mighty Ballade ignited Mishas youthful passion with playing of fervent conviction and a masterly use of the pedal . What skittish charm he just flicked off the notes in the 12th dance playing with remarkable ease and precision . There was great romantic sweep to the fifteenth where Misha united the two sparring partners in a ravishing outpouring of wondrous sounds.

Good humour miraculously turning into one of the most remarkable pages in all piano literature where Schumann can float a dream in thin air, catching beauty as it came to earth as if by chance, and allowing its prismatic beauty to captivate our souls ( Ravel comes close with the epilogue of his Waltzes ).

The Norma Fantasy followed some preludes by a Ukrainian composer which cleared the air like a sorbet in a sumptuous feast.

Played with conviction and simple beauty obviously influenced by Schumann and Liszt with suggestions of Funerailles and the F sharp romance embedded in their structure

But it was more than that as Misha always carries in his heart the tragic conflict that Putin in waging in his homeland .

True artistry is born of human experiences not only of joy and beauty but also of tragedy and suffering and Misha is a true artist and fast becoming a great pianist ready to take his artistry to many corners of the globe in the hope that music can reach peoples where words very often only create conflict and misunderstanding .

The Norma Fantasy is one of the great paraphrases that Liszt wrote for his own performances as the greatest pianist on earth . Seducing the noble ladies of the great salons with diabolical piano playing inspired by that devil of the violin : Paganini . Sedate ladies transformed into a screaming rabble of admirers wanting a souvenir of someone who could ignite sensations they did not know existed .

It is a showpiece of transcendental technical difficulty and where the invention of the pedal could allow for the so called three handed technique to float melodies from the great operatic hits of the day in the tenor register, with notes flying all around in an astonishing manner. Liszt also corrects the running order of Bellini and even connects the two main themes in a final diabolical duet that is breathtaking and overwhelming.

Misha played it with fearless abandon and technical mastery and Norma worked it’s spell on an audience that wanted even more from this daring young man on the flying trapeze.

A sombre Choral prelude by Brahms calmed the atmosphere with sublime sounds of richly embroidered beauty .

The only thing left to do was to go upstairs to meet this talented young man and drink to his health and his future illustrious career that awaits just around the corner.

Misha Kaploukhii in Florence and Milan for the Keyboard Trust and Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation

Misha Kaploukhii mastery and clarity in Walton’s paradise where dreams become reality – updated to include the Sheepdrove Competition and graduation recital

Misha Kaploukhii at the Razumovsky Academy with technical mastery and poetic sensitivity

The amazing Mr Hay ignites Grand Passion Pianos with poetry and wizardry

Daniel Lozakovich Alexandre Kantorow ‘Burning intensity and passionate mastery ignite then Wigmore Hall as never before’

Dominika Mak with her final recital at the Royal Academy illuminated the piano with sounds that were vibrant and living , reaching out to her audience more eloquently than words ever could .

Seeing Dame Myra Hess in the place of honour on the staircase of the Royal Academy and Dame Moura Lympany just nearby, one is reminded that it is quality not quantity that counts in music making.

The ability with subtle inflections of sound that can make the piano speak a language that is more powerful than words because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Each eye sees differently depending on their sensibility. But as there are,according to Matthay, an infinite possibility of sound in each key so there are an infinite way of interpreting the sounds.

Uncle Tobbs as Myra Hess and Moura Lympany used to call him created ways of reaching those sounds and wrote numerous tomes about technical matters that somehow can separate sound from matter and one gets lost in a maze of technical mechanics.

The core of the matter is that music is sound and different sounds create different emotions .

It was Nadia Boulanger who told us, over and over again, on this very stage that ‘Words without thought no more to heaven go ‘ quoting from Shakespeare.

Dominika Mak has this rare gift of being able to find sounds that others do not know exist.

The Variations in F minor by Haydn unwound with simplicity and ravishing beauty.Trills that were like vibrations of sound each one with a different meaning as simple scales became a living stream of undulating beauty. There was dynamic drive and passion too but always under an umbrella of sounds with an architectural shape that was like looking at a beautifully shaped Renaissance monument of perfect Da Vinci proportions .

Mazurkas op 33 by Chopin that were a plaintive voice of poetic poignancy .There was exhilaration and exuberance too but with dynamic contrasts made of delectable style and aristocratic good taste. Above all there was a beguiling freedom of ethereal dance that made one realise what Schumann meant when he described Chopin’s Mazurkas as canons covered in flowers.

Messiaen too was brought vividly to life and I was reminded of Rubinstein playing Prokofiev’s Vision Fugitives that were made to speak this different language but still the language of sounds that have a message to carry .

Messiaen with his clashing and heart rending pungent sounds and wailing noses at the extremes of the keyboard can as in Dominika’s hands have the meaning and desperation of a true believer

Gaspard de La Nuit was written by Ravel with the intention of outdoing Balakirev for transcendental difficulty but with Dominika this was not an option or even a consideration.

Difficulties might have meant spending more time at the keyboard in her studio but we were not aware of that, as the sounds and fantasy wove a web of wondrous beauty in a work too often used as a warhorse by battalions of fighting infantrymen .

Here the water nymph could emerge from waters of ravishing beauty as the piano was awash with radiance . The desolate gallows could sit so bleakly in the sun as it was so clear for whom the bell was tolling.

Sounds in Scarbo that I have never heard before, with a middle episode that was a diabolical cauldron of x certificate sounds . The impish Scarbo flitting over the keys, darting here and there like a will o’ the wisp never knowing where he was going to appear next. A massive culmination of diabolical melodic outpouring where Dominika pulled out all her mastery of an art that conceals art but always one that is concerned with communication not technical gymnastics. An hour of true music making ‘old style’!? Sheep may safely graze in Dominika’s masterly hands.

Dominika Mak at the Matthiesen Gallery – Young Artists Concert Series ‘Dreaming of Utopia with playing of refined finesse’

POSK Chopin Festival 2004 Mak – Dubiel-Pawlak- Swigut A feast of music and full immersion with Lady Rose Cholmondeley and Prof John Rink

Dominika Mak Refined music making of intelligence and clarity

As Rubinstein said talent cannot be learnt you must be born with it. https://youtu.be/gex0sOR7XZ0?si=_7WTK5-ZUrhj-BL7

Listening to Anna Geniushene playing Chopin Mazurkas last night those words became so true and as I said to her afterwards:

‘Your mazurkas are still ringing in my soul which you touched deeply and your humanity even more ….you are a real person motherhood has uncovered what was in your genes and it took Mother Nature to make you break away from tradition and follow your genius’

‘ Thank you so so much for coming yesterday and torturing yourself voluntarily with my music I was so happy to see you!!!’

‘ Not as much as me. What a wonder you are and to come all this way for Mary.

Humanity, simplicity, honesty and integrity all ingredients of Genius’

‘ Mary is a treasure of our times! One of a kind!’

‘ Oh thank you so so much for these words! I actually have a dream to make a recording of a full set of Mazurkas as it turned out I played so many opuses and this is the hardest ever task for every single musician. How to transmit complexity through simplicity while staying absolutely sober minded and not forgetting about the shape and the actual form of the every single miniature. Thank you dear Christopher! You are too kind!

Anna had flown in from Berlin obtaining with great difficulty and only at the last minute a visa to come to what has become a third world country . Originally she had concerts arranged with her husband and had planned to spend time in London with their two children of 3 and 5 .

Unfortunately the planned concerts were cancelled but Anna could not let down the indomitable Mary Orr or Imogen Cooper and came alone leaving her family behind in Berlin.

Anna I had heard many times during her period with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy and I even heard her in the Busoni Competition in Bolzano. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2019/05/08/anna-geniushene-at-the-royal-academy/

But it was the concert streamed live from Duszniki that had me telling Maestro Piotr Paleczny that I would need more time to contemplate what marvels I had just heard https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/08/10/anna-geniushene-takes-duszniki-by-storm-hats-offgentlemena-genius/

I knew that Anna played the final of the Van Cliburn when she was 8 months pregnant with her first born in the green room waiting for his mummie !

But I did not realise that motherhood had unleashed a musical genius that had lain dormant for too long .

Works by Brahms followed with three of his hauntingly beautiful Choral Preludes .With the barely murmured beauty of n. 9 with its deep inner doubling of the melodic line and the imperious voice of n.10. out of which grew the moving wave of sounds of n. 1 from which evolves the radiant beauty of the melodic line.

Two works by Kreisler in the famous transcriptions for piano by Rachmaninov. ‘Liebesleid’ and ‘Liebesfreud’ played with all the charm and subtle beauty that Kreisler was justly feted for. They played often together in recital programmes and it was during one of these concerts that Kreisler got completely lost and whispered to Rachmaninov :’Where are we’ “Carnegie Hall’ growled Rachmaninov !

Two transcriptions or paraphrases by Liszt of Verdi operas followed . There are seven such ‘transcriptions ‘ and they are remarkable for the atmosphere of the entire opera that Liszt could recreate in just a few pages on the keyboard. The mighty ‘Miserere’ from ‘Il Trovatore’ was played with massive tone and great authority .The transcription of the Danza sacra and the final duet from Aida is a true tone poem where Liszt choses not the Triumphant march but the final bars of what is fundamentally a chamber opera of heartrending delicacy. Anna played it with ravishing colours of poetic beauty.

The ‘Firebird’ suite by Agosti was written in 1928 and has become a showpiece for piano written by a man who was a magician of the piano and one of the greatest musicians of his age. Musicians would flock from all over the world to listen to sounds in his studio in Siena that have never been forgotten. One of whom was Christopher Elton who had been Anna’s teacher at the Royal Academy in London. Anna played it with fearless abandon combined with ravishing beauty in an overwhelming performance of total conviction.

It was ,however, the Mazurkas that will remain in my heart and soul as the true canons covered in flowers that Schumann described so perfectly.

Angela Hewitt sharing spirituality, humility and generosity with the people of Haslemere helping to create funds for the Meath Epilepsy Charity .

One of the first places that Angela had visited as a teenager was to the Dolmetsch family in Haslemere having been an avid recorder player in her childhood

Today she returns as a star shining brightly , constantly illuminating the lives of so many people on many continents .She has infact been described as the busiest pianist on earth !

But never too busy to help people in need as today, donating her services to raise funds for a noble charity. She came with a big case ready to fly off to Japan tomorrow but not before one of the most spiritual and masterly performances of the Goldberg Variations that I have ever heard and she still found time to enjoy the company of a community dedicated to helping those in need .

Stephen Dennison the tireless organiser of HHH concerts in Haslemere writes : ‘Angela Hewitt’s performance was very very special.
The long silence at the end marvellous.
Well done to the Haslemere audience. Not one cough in the whole 82 minutes.
I will catch up with Meath next week to check how much the concert raised.’

In fact it was Prince Donatus von Hohenzollern who turned to me at the end , after an interminable silence , and murmured obviously very moved, that Angela’s performance had been for him such a spiritual journey.

Not only for him as the minutes of absolute silence after the whispered return of the Aria created an atmosphere where people are united in one of those magic moments that only live music making can reserve.

The generosity of Angela to agree to play for Charity was repaid by the shadow of Bach looking on in a performance that even for Angela, who has been playing these variations for fifty years, was something very special. Eighty two minutes and thirty variations on, where Angela had played all the repeats with an invention and fantasy that recreated the greatest variations ever written.

From the opening Aria played with simplicity and beauty opening to the rhythmic drive of the first variation played with buoyancy and clarity. Riding on a great wave that was to take us on a journey together of exhilaration, poignancy and even tragedy until the joyous outburst of the quodlibet after the final variation n. 29 had resounded  round this beautiful church with such nobility and glorious sonority.The whispered return of the Aria ,where Angela’s fingers barely touched the keys, was of quite extraordinary potency that one dared not breath for fear of breaking the spell she or rather Bach had created.

Angela was the medium between Bach and the listeners, never interfering, but illuminating with extrordinary fantasy as in the unforgettable seventh variation where she played the repeat at a different register.They were notes that Bach would not have had on the pianos of his day but would have had on the different register of the organ or harpsichord.To hear the question and answer of the voices was a stroke of genius as was the whispered insinuating twenty second variation.This is where suddenly a ray of light can be seen on the horizon as we become ever nearer to the core of a work which explodes with searing intensity in the twenty fifth variation.

Angela had pointed the way at the end of the fifteenth variation that was suspended in mid air with such daring timing.The French overture of the sixteenth ( the half way mark) breaking the spell with nobility and refined aristocratic timelessness. Angela has a technical mastery that was so complete that it passed unnoticed such was the overall musical line and architectural shape, where the extraordinary technical difficulties were just not a consideration. Swept away on a wave of musical genius played with an unassuming mastery that allowed the music to speak for itself.

I have heard Angela play many times before but tonight for us all there was something very special in the atmosphere that will long be remembered by all those present. As another great lady pianist Mitsuko Uchida once said that a memory is much more important than a recording because it becomes ever more beautiful as time passes,where a printed copy with time fades and turns brown at the edges.

Thanks must go to Stephen Dennison who has dedicated a year of his life to bring a dream to reality ……….and ‘If music be the food of love play on …………..perchance to dream ‘.

Angela was whisked away on a magic carpet to share her love and devotion for Bach worldwide and uniting peoples from many different continents allowing them to share something so beautiful that words could never describe a land where peace and goodwill to all men is still a possibility .

Angela Hewitt for the glory of Bach.The pinnacle of pianistic perfection

Angela Hewitt An inspired display of hope from despair moves and exults at the Wigmore Hall

Angela Hewitt at the RCM a light of radiance and simplicity

Angela Hewitt the Glory of God to refresh our spirits live stream from the Wigmore Hall

Angela’s energy and enthusiasm are only equalled by her mastery and generosity. Her festival in Umbria in Italy where she lives is now in it’s 20th year.

Angela’s generosity and infectious Song and dance inspires her illustrious students.

HHH Concerts and The Keyboard Trust a winning combination of youthful dedication to Art

Youth and Music a winning combination in Haslemere for Stephen Dennison’s HHH Concert series

Lucas Krupinski at the The Chopin Society UK with playing of radiance and glowing beauty. A mastery of the pedals that made Anton Rubinstein’s words come vividly to life as never before .

From the very first notes of Busoni’s Chaconne with a beautiful fluidity and a vast range of colour and whispered counterpoints that erupted into the passionate outpouring of a fervent believer . From barely audible sounds to an overpowering exuberance of Philadelphian sonorities, never hard or ungrateful but under the same sonorous umbrella that shielded Lukas from all but sublime beauty.

Nobility and fragility with a wondrous sense of balance living together under the same architectural roof of the great Gothic cathedral that Lucas constructed with such mastery . Bathed in pedal like a halo glowing brightly above this Steinway that I have never heard sound so beautiful.

It was the same radiance that he brought to Chopin’s F major Nocturne that made it shine every bit as beautifully as its more famous twin. Even the tempestuous middle episode grew out of these subtle opening sounds of delicacy and demonstrated how glowing radiance can suddenly turn into a storm. No accents or hard edges but a great wave of sounds that overwhelmed and reached the very soul of Chopin.

It was interesting after the concert to hear the ‘tittle tattle’ about Chopin from such an expert as Lady Rose Cholmondely who when provoked regaled the Perahias with unexpected knowledge about Chopin the man,who had a great sense of humour , like Mozart, and would send humorous scribbles to his friends. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/10/20/posk-chopin-festival-2004-mak-dubiel-pawlak-swigut-a-feast-of-music-and-full-immersion-with-lady-rose-cholmondeley-and-prof-john-rink/

Fascinating information , from the President to the Honorary President, often overlooked by more serious musicologists but that fascinated Murray and he wanted to know more – Lebrecht eat your heart out !

The Chopin nocturne had created just the atmosphere for Scriabin’s smouldering ‘Fantasie’ played with beautiful fluidity and a kaleidoscopic range of colour with insinuating counterpoints bubbling over in a cauldron of emotions as Scriabin’s turbulent search for the ‘star’ reached boiling point, before lying exhausted at our feet.

This was truly a world that Lucas understood with diabolical ravishment of the senses and the decadence of a world of extraordinary turbulence .

It was the same colour he brought to the much earlier Preludes op 11 . Twenty four in all the keys obviously inspired by Chopin . Lucas played the last twelve with innocent subtle colouring and short lived outbursts where Scriabin’s turbulent vision of the world had not yet taken hold of his whole being . Played with exquisite colouring and an extraordinary range of character that showed us a demi monde rather than a complete one, that can require too much from the listener to really appreciate as we did today, these jewels shining brightly from a chest of true gems.

‘Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ’ opened the second half and this most beautiful of all Bach’s organ preludes was played with the same glowing beauty that I remember from the much missed Nelson Freire. A beauty where surely the melody was sent by the angels and just emerged on earth with the radiance of a true believer. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/11/02/nelson-freire-rip/

The last work was the Chopin Fantasy that started with a strange staccato first note that was a bit disconcerting . Chopin marks staccato on the first notes but surely it means more marcato or detached but with the weight for such a noble opening. The reply was of such delicacy and beauty that nobility and order were immediately restored in a masterly performance that risked occasionally to be over pedalled. But this was the world of an artist who was prepared to risk all for beauty and the love that is inborn in a fellow countryman

The waltz in C sharp minor op 64 was played with that subtle rubato that Rubinstein meant when he said that talent cannot be taught but you are born with it .

https://youtu.be/gex0sOR7XZ0?si=h8VauAFO-aVD7PCn

A gentle whispered ‘Arietta’ by Grieg was the only way a true artist could finish such a recital of intimate music making. Grieg’s Lyric pieces were much loved by Rubinstein but all too rarely heard in the concert hall.

Hats off to Lucas for sharing such beauty today in the presence of Murray Perahia the greatest and much loved pianist of our ( all) time .

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2017/02/21/the-master-speaks-murray-perahia-at-the-barbican/

Murray Perahia – Le Roi

Lucas Krupinski and Lovre Marusic ‘On wings of song’ at Steinway Hall

The amazing Mr Hay ignites Grand Passion Pianos with poetry and wizardry

Daniel Lozakovich Alexandre Kantorow ‘Burning intensity and passionate mastery ignite then Wigmore Hall as never before’

Three beauties at my old Alma Mater today with some superb playing of the greatest works ever written for the piano,

Sherri Lun with the Schumann Fantasie dedicated to Liszt who in turn dedicated his Sonata to Schumann, that was played by Stephanie Ding Draughton.

And all this was possible because Schubert had forged the way with his Wanderer Fantasy that was played by Milda Daunoraite.There were side plates too of ravishing playing of great style and beauty . Sherri even included a Nocturne by Schumann’s wife Clara who had declared the Liszt sonata to be a horrible noise , luckily Robert was already on his painful way to a better world . Milda too gave ravishing performances of French music with a kaleidoscope of gleaming jewels that just balanced her heroic performance of Schubert .

Stephanie on the other hand decided that the only partner for Liszt was that other masterpiece by Chopin in the same key

Flowers excitement and tears of relief as their long journey to Parnassus was coming triumphantly to a close .

This is just the first step in the very steep ladder that awaits these star students on their long and difficult journey to share their music with anyone willing to listen

Sacrificing their youth to art but repaid in full with the fulfilment of having a treasure trove in their hands with jewels gleaming brightly and the satisfaction of having found their ‘soul’ and awaiting now ‘kindred spirits ’ to share it with .

My own journey started in 1972 winning the Macfarren Gold Medal on this very stage and following my heart to Italy where my music has always been a light shining brightly in a wonderful and unexpectedly colourful life! I am the happiest person I know ……to quote the greatest pianist I have ever heard.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/03/20/christopher-axworthy-dip-ram-aram/

I hope theirs will be too illuminated always by music on the wonderful journey that awaits.

Sherri Lun in Florence Harold Acton Library Music al British ‘Refined musicianship and mastery of a young star’

Milda Daunoraité at the National Liberal Club – Sparks flying with refined piano playing of elegance and simplicity

Neo Hung at 10 am played the opening fanfare of Bach Busoni C major Toccata , Adagio and Fugue better than Horowitz did at 4 pm in 1965!

Authority and mastery of the Gilels school of limpet like fingers that suck every sound out of the notes they cling too with nobility and sumptuous beauty

A mastery from this unassuming young man, a student of Dina Parkhina and the great Russian school born of hard work, dedication and talent.

A radiant beauty to the Adagio with the breathtaking daring of Bach’s extraordinary interruptions .

All recreated by this young man with the same impact it must have had with the ink still wet on the page .

A fugue played with fearless clarity and exhilaration . Even Bach’s revolutionary juxtaposition of keys came across with the same terrifying impact it must have had in its day .

His jump from the furness of a fervent believer into the cool running stream of ‘An Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake’ was with liquid sounds of velvet beauty. I have never forgotten the sound that I thought only Gilels could make.

Hollywood style , as is Chinese classical music, but of fantasy and refined good taste .

I was cheer leader and purposefully did not applaud because Liszt ‘s Auf Wasser was exactly a perfect twin as a combination.

These Liszt reworkings of Schubert Lieder are every bit of genius as Schubert’s with poetry attached .

They have long been a favourite of the great Russian pianists of the past when mastery of subtle sounds and a magical sense of balance gave way to the revolutionary sound world of the twentieth century composers brought up in the rugged and brutal air .

And it was this that is ever present in Prokofiev’s War Sonatas of which Neo played the second – n 7

But Neo played it with an unexpected lyricism from the very first notes . Of course there was a whole orchestra in his hands but always with a kaleidoscope of colours of the greatest of orchestras . A sense of colour and line that leads us on a journey in a maze of wonders .Canons. there were indeed, but unlike Chopin not covered in flowers but with the suffering of the imminent holocaust in the composers soul .

I have never heard the second movement played with such an aching pulsating sense of line and inevitability . When the opening melody unexpectedly appears on the horizon it was somehow transformed for us by what we had suffered on the way back.

The last movement was a relentless tour de force of mastery and dynamism and the painting of Munch came to mind as Neo’s mastery seemed to know no limits .

A scream indeed, of unbridled mastery

And what better way to diffuse such astonishing barberism than a Barcarolle by Fauré ( one of many sadly neglected by pianists these days) . It was like a breath of rarified French air with the refined beauty and elegance that was to disappear after the two world wars.

French perfume was in the air and nullified the stench of the rage that man can still be capable of.

Neo Hung’s clarity and technical mastery conquers St Mary’s

Mercoledì 21 maggio ore 19, Rettorato Università Roma Tre

Simone Librale, Young Artists Piano Solo Series 2024 – 2025

Chopin and Ligeti combine.

Worlds apart but both were the technical innovators of their time, as Simone Librale demonstrated at Roma 3 University in the last concert of their official season.

A remarkable feat of memory and intellectual curiosity allowed Simone to show us the technical innovations of Ligeti with his studies Book 1.

Contrasting them with the Chopin studies op 25 and alternating the different worlds with an astonishing ease and clarity

It was this clarity that he brought to the extraordinary rhythmic juxtapositions in Ligeti.

With Chopin he chose a freer more improvised approach but it was obvious that Simone’s heart lay elsewhere.

A quite extraordinary brain that can decipher Ligeti’s diabolically innovative inventions with an astonishing facility .

A technique that uses parts of a piano that neither Liszt,Chopin, Thalberg , Czerny or even Alkan had ever dreamt of.

Simone’s remarkable brain could cope in a masterly way with Ligeti’s gleeful rhythmic juxtapositions practically without pedal. Pedal only added where Ligeti allows himself to wallow in sonorous vibrations rather than get twisted in knotty twine.

It was the intellectual architecture that did not allow much scope for any personal intervention but ‘merely’ to state the facts on the page, which was no mean feat. His diabolical ‘Désordre’ coming after Chopin’s Octave and Ocean Etudes was like a mad man’s ranting. It was a composer determined to eliminate any personal interventions or unnecessary distortions.

It was here from the very first notes of Ligeti versus Chopin that the duel personality of Simone became alarmingly apparent .

Where in Ligeti there had been no room for any rhythmic distortions, in Chopin Simone allowed himself a freedom that distorted the equally important architectural structure .

Whereas in Ligeti Simone’s technical mastery had never been in doubt in Chopin one began to feel that he had entered a world of which he was an obedient observer and not a fervent admirer.

I remember Simone’s masterly account of the ‘Concord’ Sonata by Ives broadcast live on the RAI and see on his latest CD he has combined it with Liszt’s innovative transcription of Beethoven’s Fifth. In between Ives revolutionary cacophany Beethoven 5th makes a startling entrance together with many other cameo appearances in a work that astonished and admonished an audience at the start of the twentieth century. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2020/03/12/aimards-hammerklavier-and-concord-sonatas-in-london/

I had just heard it in London from Emanuil Ivanov who played the remarkable Ives Sonata which is gradually taking its place in the repertoire 125 years on ! Only Bach and Schubert were to suffer the same fate!

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/05/14/emanuil-ivanov-at-the-royal-academy-of-music-astonishment-and-enlightenment-of-a-master-musician/

Simone is like a Roger Woodwood character who took London by storm in the 70’s with three hour programmes that ranged from Beethoven’s ‘Hammerklavier’ to the Baraqué sonata for piano ,chain and hammer. A pianist who like Simone is interested in the intellectual and cerebral rather than style and tradition.

Listening to Simone’s stimulating juxtaposition I could not help feeling that a worthy experiment could be to play Ligeti like Chopin and Chopin like Ligeti as it might illuminate both without separating the two worlds so definitively as Simone did today.

The whole point of the technical innovations of Chopin was the invention of the pedal, which Anton Rubinstein described as the ‘soul’ of the piano. It allowed Liszt and Thalberg to invent the three handed piano technique where a melody could be floated in the middle of the keyboard , by a sleight of hand ,whilst notes were flying all around.

Chopin of course was the greatest innovator who with the use of the pedal , very precisely noted in the score and too often overlooked, allowed a sense of touch and poetic fantasy that had not been possible before. Beethoven too would use the pedal to create very special effects that are too often overlooked !

Ligeti seems to break away from the freedom that the pedal could give and puts the performer in a straight jacket where there is no room for manouver.

There are moments in Ligeti , though, when like Berio he experiments with sound as in ‘Cordes à vides’ or even ‘Arc-en – ciel’ ( that interestingly Nikola Meeuwsen had played as an encore here before reaching the final of the Queen Elisabeth Competition this week, where he is actually locked up for a week to learn a commissioned 21st century concerto for the final round ).

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/04/24/nikola-meeuwsen-ignites-roma-3-with-mastery-and-musicianship/

It was here that Simone’s remarkable precision and digital and cerebral mastery did not contemplate a depth of sound and a weight where in every key there are infinite gradations of tone. When Simone was playing just black and white it showed an extraordinary cerebral dexterity but when a more intense palette of sounds was needed he lost his architectural sense of control .

Simone offered an encore after an ovation for such a ‘tour de force’, allowing us to see another side of this remarkable artist. A simple ‘song without words’ was allowed to unfold with beauty and subtlety and was where Simone’s two conflicting worlds were finally united with Wagner’s ‘In das Album der Fürstin Metternich’ WWV 94

Simone Librale, ha studiato pianoforte all’ISSM “Pietro Mascagni” di Livorno sotto la guida di Daniel Rivera e Maurizio Baglini, conseguendo il diploma accademico con lode e menzione d’onore. Specializzatosi nel repertorio moderno e contemporaneo, ha proseguito gli studi presso l’Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo con Emanuele Arciuli e Ralph van Raat. Ha debuttato come solista con la Roma Tre Orchestra nel 2020, eseguendo il “Mozart Project” sotto la direzione di Sieva Borzak. Ha partecipato a festival di rilievo come il Bari Piano Festival, il Festiva Liszt e il Festival Luciano Berio. Nel 2022, ha eseguito la Quinta Sonata di Salvatore Sciarrino al Teatro Verdi di Pordenone, ottenendo il plauso del compositore stesso. Nel 2023, ha partecipato alla prima mondiale di “11.000 Saiten” di Georg Friedrich Haas al Bolzano Festival Bozen. Nel 2024, ha tenuto un recital trasmesso su Rai Radio3 per “I Concerti al Quirinale,” eseguendo la Sonata n.2 di Charles Ives, ricevendo ampi consensi. Ha frequentato masterclass con Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Louis Lortie e Andrea Lucchesini.

Below is a fascinating discussion with Maurizio Baglini and Simone Librale

The Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti  composed a cycle of 18 études  for solo piano between 1985 and 2001. They are considered one of the major creative achievements of his last decades, and one of the most significant sets of piano studies of the 20th century, combining virtuoso technical problems with expressive content, following in the line of the études of Chopin,Liszt,Debussy and Scriabin but addressing new technical ideas as a compendium of the concepts Ligeti had worked out in his other works since the 1950s. Pianist Jeremy Denk wrote that they “are a crowning achievement of his career and of the piano literature; though still new, they are already classics.”.

There are 18 études arranged in three books or Livres: six Études in Book 1 (1985), eight in Book 2 (1988–1994), four in Book 3 (1995–2001). Ligeti’s original intention had been to compose only twelve Études, in two books of six each, on the model of the Debussy Études, but the scope of the work grew because he enjoyed writing the pieces so much.^] Though the four Études of Book 3 form a satisfying conclusion to the cycle, Book 3 is in fact unfinished—Ligeti certainly intended to add more, but was unable to do so in his last years, when his productivity was much reduced owing to illness. The Études of Book 3 are generally calmer, simpler, and more refined in technique than those of Books 1 and 2.

The titles of the various études are a mixture of technical terms and poetic descriptions. Ligeti made lists of possible titles and the titles of the individual numbers were often changed between inception and publication. He often did not assign any title until after the work was completed.

Book 1

1. Désordre. Molto vivace, vigoroso, molto ritmico,  = 63A study in fast polyrhythms moving up and down the keyboard. The right hand plays only white keys while the left hand is restricted to the black keys. This separates the hands into two pitch-class fields; the right hand music is diatonic, the left hand music is pentatonic. This étude is dedicated to Pierre Boulez
2. Cordes à vide. Andantino rubato , molto tenero,  = 96Simple, almost Satie-esque chords become increasingly complex. These chords are built primarily from fifths, reminiscent of open strings, hence the title. This étude is also dedicated to Pierre Boulez.
3. Touches bloquées. Vivacissimo, sempre molto ritmico – Feroce, impetuoso, molto meno vivace – Feroce, estrepitoso – Tempo ITwo different rhythmic patterns interlock. One hand plays rapid, even melodic patterns while the other hand ‘blocks’ some of the keys by silently depressing them. This is the last étude Ligeti dedicated to Boulez.
4. Fanfares. Vivacissimo, molto ritmico,  = 63, con alegria e slancioMelody and accompaniment frequently exchange roles in this polyrhythmic study which features aksak-influenced rhythms and an ostinato in ⁸₈ time, dividing the bar of 8 eighth notes into 3+2+3. This ostinato is also used in the second movement of Ligeti’s Horn Trio ^] This étude is dedicated to Volker Banfield .
5. Arc-en-ciel. Andante con eleganza, with swing,  ca. 84The music rises and falls in arcs that seem to evoke a rainbow. This étude is dedicated to Louise Sibourd.
6. Automne à Varsovie. Presto cantabile, molto ritmico e flessibile,  = 132Its title, Autumn in Warsaw, refers to the Warsaw Autumn, an annual festival of contemporary music. Ligeti referred to this étude as a “tempo fugue”. A study in polytempo, it consists of a continuous transformation of the initial descending figure – the “lamento motif” as Ligeti called it – involving overlapping groups of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, ending up at the bottom of the keyboard. This étude is dedicated to Ligeti’s Polish friends.

From 1985 to 2001, Ligeti completed three books of Études for piano (Book I, 1985; Book II, 1988–94; Book III, 1995–2001). Comprising eighteen compositions in all, the Études draw from a diverse range of sources, including gamelan. African polyrhythms, Béla Bartók,Conlon Nancarrow,Thelonius Monk and Bill Evans . Book I was written as preparation for the Piano Concerto, which contains a number of similar motivic  and melodic elements. Ligeti’s music from the last two decades of his life is unmistakable for its rhythmic complexity. Writing about his first book of Piano Études, the composer claims this rhythmic complexity stems from two vastly different sources of inspiration: the Romantic-era piano music of Chopin and Schumann  and the indigenous music of sub- Saharan Africa.

The difference between the earlier and later pieces lies in a new conception of pulse. In the earlier works, the pulse is something to be divided into two, three and so on. The effect of these different subdivisions, especially when they occur simultaneously, is to blur the aural landscape, creating the micropolyphonic effect of Ligeti’s music.In 1988, Ligeti completed his Piano Concerto, writing that “I present my artistic credo in the Piano Concerto: I demonstrate my independence from criteria of the traditional avantgarde, as well as the fashionable postmodernism.” Initial sketches of the Concerto began in 1980, but it was not until 1985 that he found a way forward and the work proceeded more quickly. The Concerto explores many of the ideas worked out in the Études but in an orchestral context.

As Dr Mather said today it is unusual to find a recital of just Beethoven Sonatas with the exception of the last trilogy. I remember artists such as Serkin, Arrau ,Foldes and Kempff playing recitals of four Beethoven sonatas. Occasionally we would get a cycle of all 32 Sonatas from Arrau, Barenboim and these days from Igor Levitt and Boris Giltburg. It is rare to hear the early Sonatas in concert programmes, yet they are some of the most startlingly original works, where youthful elegance and beauty are starting to feel the eruptions that are in Beethoven’s soul. The real revelations or revolutions are in the slow movements of op 2 n. 3, op 7 and op 10 n.3 where one can see the genius of Beethoven taking the form from his teacher Haydn but adding a density and profundity that was not part of the eighteenth century. where elegance and refined formality was the norm.

Cristian has started at the top having just recorded the last three Sonatas dedicated to his father Sandu Sandrin’s memory. And only now I hear him play from the bottom, and judging from his masterly playing of these early op 2 Sonatas and the Trilogy, I hope he will now fill in that vast gap which is the map of Beethoven’s life in 32 steps.

There was an elegance and exhilaration to the first of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas with a clarity and always beauty of sound. The hand of Cristian paints the same beauty as the sound he is creating and he has a noticeable way of allowing his hands to look at the keys like a bird eyeing their prey. An extraordinarily natural way to play where everything he plays is like swimming in water with beautiful horizontal movements of complete relaxation. I have often remarked on his trills, where he holds his arm up high and lets the fingers just vibrate over the keys. It was this simple beauty added to his intelligence of following all the indications left by the composer, not only on the printed page but also within the spaces, which are the meaning behind the notes. An ‘Adagio’ of refined subtle beauty and purity, followed by the elegance of the ‘Minuet’ with its beautifully flowing ‘Trio’. The ‘Prestissimo’was played with controlled brilliance and clarity with the opening bubbling over like water boiling at 100 degrees and then bursting into a melodic outpouring of noble beauty. I remember Serkin playing this with fearless abandon and hysterical intensity which was like an electric shock. Serkin was unique and Cristian played with the intensity and intelligence of Arrau which was controlled but still of great drive and brilliance. 

The very capricious opening of op n 2 n. 2 became ever more serious and demanding with its burning question and answer.There was an orchestral colour to the ‘Largo’ with its pizzicato accompaniment to the nobility and radiance of the melodic line. Delicate playfulness to the ‘Scherzo’ contrasting with the flowing passion of the ‘Trio.’ The swooping flourish of the Rondò played with charm and restraint before the ‘Sturm und Drang’ of the central episode, contrasting always with the elegant entry of the rondò theme with flourishes ever more prolonged. Played with masterly simplicity and radiance where Beethoven was allowed to speak for himself without any extraneous interventions from the performer.

Op 2 n. 3 is notorious for its opening double thirds and I have seen Nikita Lukinov play it even with a helping hand from his left ! Cristian played it with gentle elegance with one hand and it was this return of the opening elegant declaration that was so touching after the dynamic outbursts of a Beethoven who was already feeling the vast canvas that was opening up from his heritage. Full robust sounds where every note had its just weight but without any hardness or brittle percussive brilliance.There was beauty too, with Beethoven’s beautiful mellifluous outpouring of Schubertian proportions. An architectural shape to this, the longest first movement of these first three sonatas. This is the first really important Sonata that became a favourite of the great pianists such as Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Claudio Arrau.There was a timeless beauty to an ‘Adagio’ of extraordinary poignancy and importance demonstrating the pupil breaking out of the shell of his teacher. There was a rhythmic insistence to the ‘Scherzo’ and an enviable sweep to the Trio.The ‘Allegro’ was played with infectious dance rhythm where the chords were played with a lightness and elegance that was quite remarkable for its shape and beauty. There was dynamic drive too that brought us to a tumultuous ending, but always within the sound world of Beethoven’s architectural mastery.   

Born into a family of musicians from Bucharest, Cristian Sandrin has been surrounded by classical music all his life. His frequent visits to the historic Romanian Atheneum concert hall and his attendances at the prestigious Enescu Festival shaped his musical aspirations from early childhood. Years later, he would have his own debut at the Atheneum at the age of 13. Cristian is especially devoted to the Classical and Romantic repertoire. His passion for Mozart’s piano concertos led him to direct from the keyboard several concertos during Summer Festivals at the Royal Academy of Music, as well as for the official opening of the Angela Burgess Recital Hall. From 2018–2020 he was privileged to tour the UK as an artist of the Countess of Munster Recital Scheme. Additionally, He is a scholarship holder of the Imogen Cooper Music Trust benefiting from her unique one-to-one guidance and mentorship since 2017. He graduated in 2019 from the Royal Academy of Music, receiving a DipRAM, MMus later being part of the prestigious Advanced Diploma programme.  

In 2023 he was invited to become the co-Artistic Director of the much-admired Kettner Concerts which are held in the David Lloyd George Hall of the National Liberal Club, Rachmaninov’s favourite London recital room and the venue where he performed his European farewell concert. In 2021 Cristian travelled to Romania for his debut with the acclaimed George Enescu Philharmonic performing Mozart’s K 503 Piano Concerto in C major at the country’s foremost music venue: The Romanian Atheneum.Since 2020, Cristian has performed challenging solo programmes including Beethoven’s last three sonatas and Bach’s Goldberg Variations in famous venues across Europe from Berlin’s Konzerthaus, the Radio Hall in Bucharest to London’s LSO St Luke’s and Holywell Music Room Oxford, Sinfonia Smith Square and Sala Puccini in Milan. In July 2025 Cristian will have his debut at Beethovenhaus in Bonn, Germany.  

His debut CD Correspondances (Antarctica Records 2022) featuring music by Ravel, Enescu and Cyril Scott has been highly acclaimed in Europe and accross the Atlantic: the German Magazine Piano News selected it as the CD of the Month whilst the American Record Guide named it “the highlight of this month’s listening. Cristian’s performances have been broadcast on major radio and TV stations in Europe and Canada, from Bayerische Rundfunk, to Rai Tre, Radio France Musique, Radio Romania Muzical and Stingray Classica. 

Cristian Sandrin Visions of Life dedicated to his father Sandu Sandrin .

Cristian Sandrin’s New Goldbergs ravish and astonish Perchance to Dream

Cristian Sandrin at the National Liberal Club – A voyage of discovery of nobility and timeless beauty

The conventional first period began after Beethoven’s arrival in Vienna in 1792. In the first few years, he seems to have composed less than he did at Bonn, and his Piano Trios, op.1 were not published until 1795. From this point onward, he had mastered the ‘Viennese style’ (best known today from Haydn and Mozart ) and was making the style his own. His works from 1795 to 1800 are larger in scale than was the norm (writing sonatas in four movements, not three, for instance); typically he uses a scherzo rather than a minuet and trio ; and his music often includes dramatic, even sometimes over-the-top, uses of extreme dynamics and tempi and chromatic harmony. It was this that led Haydn to believe the third trio of Op.1 was too difficult for an audience to appreciate.

He also explored new directions and gradually expanded the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the early period are the first  and second symphonies, the set of six string quartets op.18 , the first two piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous Pathétique sonata, Op. 13.Beethoven’s earlier preferred pianos included those of Johann Andreas Stein ; he may have been given a Stein piano by Count Waldstein. From 1786 onwards there is evidence of Beethoven’s cooperation with  Johann Andreas Streicher , who had married Stein’s daughter Nannette. Streicher left Stein’s business to set up his own firm in 1803, and Beethoven continued to admire his products, writing to him in 1817 of his “special preference” for his pianos. Among the other pianos Beethoven possessed was an Érardpiano given to him by the manufacturer in 1803. The Érard piano, with its exceptional resonance, may have influenced Beethoven’s piano style – shortly after receiving it he began writing his Waldstein Sonata – but despite initial enthusiasm he seems to have abandoned it before 1810 when he wrote that it was “simply not of any use any more”; in 1824 he gave it to his brother Johann. In 1818 Beethoven received, also as a gift, a grand piano by John Broadwood & Sons. Although Beethoven was proud to receive it, he seems to have been dissatisfied by its tone (a dissatisfaction which was perhaps also a consequence of his increasing deafness), and sought to get it remodelled to make it louder. In 1825 Beethoven commissioned a piano from Conrad Graf, which was equipped with quadruple strings and a special resonator to make it audible to him, but it failed in this task. Beethoven  wrote 32 mature piano sonatas  between 1795 and 1822. (He also wrote 3 juvenile sonatas at the age of 13 and one unfinished sonata , WoO. 51.) Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they comprise one of the most important collections of works in the history of music.Hans von Bülow  called them “The New Testament ” of piano literature (Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier   being “The Old Testament “).

Beethoven’s piano sonatas came to be seen as the first cycle of major piano pieces suited to both private and public performance. They form “a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall”.^[2] The first person to play them all in a single concert cycle was Hans von Bülow; the first complete recording is Artur Schnabel’s for His Master’s Voice.

The first three sonatas, written in 1782–1783, are usually not acknowledged as part of the complete set of piano sonatas because Beethoven was 13 when they were published.

• WoO 47: Three Piano Sonatas (composed 1782–3, published 1783)
  1. Piano Sonata in E flat major
  2. Piano Sonata in F minor
  3. Piano Sonata in D major

Beethoven’s early sonatas were highly influenced by those of Haydn and Mozart. Piano Sonatas No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15 are four movements long, which was rather uncommon in his time.

• Opus 2: Three Piano Sonatas (1795)
  1. Piano Sonata n. 1 F minor
  2. Piano Sonata n. 2 in A major
  3. Piano Sonata n. 3 in C major

After he wrote his first 15 sonatas, he wrote to Wenzel Krumpholz, “From now on, I’m going to take a new path.” Beethoven’s sonatas from this period are very different from his earlier ones. His experimentation in modifications to the common sonata form of Haydn and Mozart became more daring, as did the depth of expression. Most Romantic period sonatas were highly influenced by those of Beethoven. After his 20th sonata, published in 1805, Beethoven ceased to publish sonatas in sets and published all his subsequent sonatas each as a single whole opus. It is unclear why he did so.

Ivan Donchev performing Schubert and Stravinsky on Ing. Tammaro’s prize Erard of 1879 today in Velletri

Ivan who is playing two separate complete Beethoven cycles this season, not on Erard though, but had played the ‘Diabelli variations’ on this very instrument a while ago .

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/07/11/ivan-donchev-diabelli-reigns-in-velletri-while-italy-awaits-the-vital-goal/

Ivan is a master musician who I have heard many times over the years and admired him for his intelligence , musical integrity and pianistic mastery. Also for his large repertoire, always impeccably prepared and played with an extraordinary mastery. I just missed his ‘Hammerklavier’ last Autumn, but was glad at last to catch up now, even though I was very surprised to see in the programme Stravinsky’s ‘Petrushka.’

It was the work that Stravinsky dedicated to his friend Artur Rubinstein when he had complained that the commissioned work, ‘The Piano Rag Music’, was not music ! Stravinsky and Rubinstein had always disagreed about the piano being a percussive or singing instrument. Rubinstein never played the ‘Piano Rag Music’ that was based on percussion but he loved the ‘Petrushka Suite’ and played it often , but not with the note picking accuracy. Stravinsky wrote the suite knowing that his friend would have to spend many more hours at the piano than usual to master it. Rubinstein played his own version, sanctioned by Stravinsky, that was pure theatre rather than the transcendental note picking that Stravinsky had written. Even the composer admitted it was too difficult for him to play because he had no left hand technique !

Now here was Ivan not only prepared to add one of the most notorious war horses to his repertoire but to play it on a piano that was certainly not built for such excess. It is a work in progress and with Ivan’s poetic sensibility it highlighted many beautiful moments that are usually glossed over by more zealous virtuosi, anxious to flex their muscles on one of the most difficult works in the piano repertoire. A ‘Danse Russe’ that was a true dance with moments of striking changes of colour in Stravinsky’s extraordinary score commissioned by Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes. ‘Petrushka’s room’ was brought vividly to life with capricious changes of temperament with their sudden outbursts contrasting with glances of bewitching melancholy. ‘The Semaine Grasse’, though, is where fearless abandon and dynamic drive are on the horizon and will be provided by Ivan when he finds a great black box built like a tank at his feet instead of the sweetest most refined piano of another age.

It was though just this sweetness and mellow sound that added such strength and beauty to works that Schubert had miraculously penned in the last years of his short life on this earth.

Ing Tammaro prepares a programme for his season that is to be cherished and studied and is full of intelligence and the passionate conviction of a man dedicated to sharing his love with others. Infact it is this dedication that is transmitted as he reads to his public extracts from these volumes that he prepares every year. He reminds me of Mario Carotenuto, though, who used to tell his public off every performance for not being more numerous.

Tammarow too who reprimanded those present saying he would like to see more local citizens involved in this cultural adventure that he brings to their beloved city every Sunday morning for several months a year !

But it was just the few words allowed to an artist of Ivan’s stature ,though, that illuminated many of the things that he was then to demonstrate in poetic performances of visionary simplicity. In particular his pointing to the bell that rings out in the very first impromptu and then is heard in the distance as this miniature tone poem sees the paradise that is awaiting just around the corner for Schubert, ‘for whom the bells was indeed tolling.’ Playing the simple opening octave with a flourish that resounded around the piano and as the vibrations lay exhausted a plaintive voice of poignant simplicity emerged. Transforming this arresting opening into a mellifluous outpouring of emotional impact that under Ivan’s hands and with the sound of a faded postcard, especially poignant the distant tolling bell to be heard in the coda.

I had heard Leonskaja play these very Impromptus in London less than a week ago and she with the same poetic mastery recreated them as Ivan today, but this difference of timbre between a Steinway ‘D’ of the twenty first century manufacture and Erard of the nineteenth added a poignancy today that in London was missing.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/05/12/elisabeth-leonskaja-at-the-wigmore-hall-a-great-lesson-of-humility-generosity-and-mastery/

The second impromptu just flowed from his fingers with mellifluous simplicity and a sudden change of character that was underplayed. The exhilaration and excitement were kept for the final few bars giving an architectural shape to a work too often played as a Mendelssohnian spinning song. Schubert imbues even this simple flowing ‘brook’, to used Ivan’s words, with melancholy and moments of unexpected beauty as the light catches the bubbling cascade of water in so many different ways.

The third impromptu was played not with the usual heart on sleeve cantabile but with an authority and a message that was more of poetic reasoning than conciliatory prayer. It was the quality of these period instruments that they can sing without hardness but with a sound that resembles a photo in brown and white rather than the glossy multicolour of today. Within the notes, as with these daguerreotype photos, there is a hidden message that is not stated openly but it is there for all those with a soul in tune with such subtle messaging. The fourth Impromptu just flowed from Ivan’s hands but where the cascades of notes were of the same sound as the melodic line that they surrounded. On modern instruments these two elements can seem strangely detached form one another but like in Chopin’s third Scherzo there is a chorale that is merely illuminated but the cascades of etherial notes in which it bathes.The dark brooding of the passionate central episode with Ivan’s intense playing combined with the mellow sound of the Erard made and emotional impact that on modern day instruments is completely lost.

Between these two monumental works, Francesco Marino had dedicated one of his eight Harmonies delle Sfere to the poetic sensibility of Ivan.

Particularly moved by his Liszt playing he had remodelled one of these works ,written between 2018 and 2020 , around the poetic fantasy of such a refined poet of the piano.Today was a world première of a work that owed more to Medtner than Rachmaninov but was of a similar rhapsodic beauty that Ivan shaped with loving thankfulness.

A simple children’s song was an encore that Ivan played to reminds us of the suffering of children in the conflicts around the world where making war makes more financial sense for world powers than making music. A deeply felt message from a poet of the keyboard and the father of three year old Leo and aware of what suffering there is still in a world where our cultural heritage is being ignored and where quantity rather than quality is the ethos.

Ivan writes :

‘Caro Chris, ti ringrazio della bellissima e dettagliata recensione! Grazie davvero! 

The reason for my encore (il piccolo montanaro) were they – the children of Palestine .Obviously I love and cherish all children in the world ,but in this moment these are in the worst situation and it is no secret of anyone.

Il motivo del mio bis (ll piccolo montanaro) erano loro – i bambini della Palestina. Ovviamente amo e compatisco tutti i bambini del mondo, ma in questo momento loro sono nella situazione peggiore e questo non è un segreto per nessuno!!

https://www.unicef.it/media/gaza-oltre-950-bambini-uccisi-negli-ultimi-due-mesi/

Obviously the responsibility for what I think and say is just mine ,and no-one elses ( if that should worry you) .But for me it is important that it is stated clearly as I said yesterday on stage. (Naturally I remember that even the young Pollini was not indifferent to humanitarian causes and it is right to cite a great artist)

Potresti aggiungerlo? Anche tra parentesi va bene.

Ovviamente, la responsabilità di ciò che penso e dico è soltanto mia, e di nessun altro (se questo ti preoccupa). Ma per me è importante che sia specificato, così come l’ho detto ieri. 

(Naturalmente ricorderai che nemmeno Pollini in gioventù era indifferente alle cause umanitarie giusto per ricordare un grande). 

Grazie di cuore

Dear Ivan ,I wanted to add this but was wary as I had not heard completely what you had announced from the platform.You have confirmed what I thought you said .

I wanted to add that on Thursday in Milan there was a protest in the square outside Steinway Hall for Palestine for the reasons you have so sincerely outlined. If only more people would have your sensibility and willingness to speak out.You are a great artist and how could you be indifferent ……it is part of greatness that within lies a soul that feels and cares about their neighbour’s suffering.

Pavle Krstić Keyboard Trust and Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation Italian Tour ‘Refined artistry and mastery’

Escaping the confusion in Rome with the coronation of the Pope, I was able to enjoy a voyage of discovery in Velletri this morning .

Ivan Donchev – the voyage continues with the temperament and intelligence of a great musician.

Ivan Donchev in Rome – tradition,elegance and scholarship combine to seduce

Ivan Donchev’s extraordinary recreation of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony at Villa Torlonia

IVAN DONCHEV – In search of Liszt

Ivan Donchev complete Beethoven in Formello.The tumultuous Middle period with op 53,54,57.Warmth,humanity and musicianship combined with elegance and style

Filippo Tenisci in Viterbo with mastery and refined generosity

The Hills of Rome are ringing to the sound of music – Donchev in Velletri and Taddei-Ciammarughi in Ariccia

Alessio Masi at Steinway Hall for the Keyboard Trust ‘Passion and curiosity with Poetic Mastery’