ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary

Marc-Andre Hamelin at the Wigmore Hall.

An amazing coincidence to find the two major advocates of Alkan playing in London on the same day.

Mark Viner in Perivale and Hamelin at the Wigmore.

Even more of a coincidence was that both had programmed the Schumann Fantasy.

Mark had infact substituted his Schumann with the much rarer Fantasy of Thalberg on themes from Lucrezia Borgia.

Hamelin is from the amazing Canadian school of pianists born on the wave of that other eclectic and reclusive figure of genius that was Glenn Gould.

I remember my old “piano daddy” Sidney Harrison telling me, after adjudicating festivals in Canada, about this young boy whose teacher had told him had spent hours just playing the first chord of Beethoven 4.

And subsequently in later years Glenn Gould even on the hottest day of the year would be clad in a thick overcoat and gloves.

Something that was later copied by pianists thinking that this is what made a genius!

Well Oscar Peterson was a piano genius in the style of Art Tatum that even Horowitz used to admire for his astounding natural gifts.

Louis Lortie,Janina Fialkowska,Angela Hewitt ,John Kimura Parker are all astounding the public worldwide with their natural musicianship.

But the most enigmatic of them all is Marc-Andre Hamelin for his searching mind and extraordinary technique like the past giants of the Golden Age of piano playing.

His only serious rival being Arcadi Volodos but who does not have the same seaching mind or the wish to delve deep into the archives to discover music that has been inexplicably neglected.

Hamlin and Mark Vinerare indeed the only serious advocates today for Alkan and his times.

Although Hamelin on this occasion presented a more conventional programme it was certainly played with a refreshingly intelligent and enquiring mind that shed much new light on works from the more standard repertoire.

A great clarity of intent made one aware of the Floristan and Eusebius elements in the Schumann Fantasy.A passionate performance.

Indeed an outpouring of love for his Clara (who has had quite an outing here in London this week.Her piano concerto with Mariam Batsashvili on the BBC and a full immersion day at the RCM).

The quote from “An die Ferne Geliebte” was quite exquisitely played and the arpeggio at the end thrown off without the usual long drawn out traditional way of ending this desperate declaration of love.

Always a great sense of architecture and line of which details are details and can be exquisite but never at the expense of the overall sense of shape of the work.

The second movement played with a real sense of almost symphonic texture that turned what can seem rather tiresome dotted rhythms into a relentless driving force that leads to the infamous final leaps before dissolving into one of the most beautiful of all Schumann’s creations.

Slightly misjudging the “Massig” and gradual crescendo of the main theme in the second movement he found the only solution possible was to add great bass notes on its final appearance.His sense of architecture had demanded a solution that corrected his initial too passionate temperament!

The sumptuous shading and delicacy in the last movement held us spellbound and the final appearance of the theme was allowed to rise to a climax so naturally before dying away to a whisper on the final three chords.This was made even more effective by his almost drawing to a halt on the theme before the reawakening of the coda.

A remarkably fine performance from a master musician.

It just had me wishing for a more generously warm cantabile sound such has remained with me all these years of Rubinstein’s memorable account on the very first occasion that I heard him in the Festival Hall in the 60`s

Starting the recital with the rarely heard Cipressi op 17 of Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

A work written in 1920 long before he fled the fascist persecution and found a refuge in Hollywood alongside Korngold,Waxman,Schoenberg .

Heifetz introduced him to MGM studios and he became a prolific composer of film scores.He also taught at Los Angeles Conservatory and could boast the late Andre Previn as one of his students.

This early piece was full of impressionist colours and showed off Hamelins vast palete of colours.Some exquisite sounds but always with the utmost clarity and rhythmic precision.

Letting his hair down after the interval with 6 song arrangements of Charles Trenet songs. They were thrown off with an infectuous nonchalance and ease with a kaleidoscope of sounds appearing from every angle.

Weissenberg was a great Bulgarian virtuoso a favourite of Karajan.

His recording of Petroushka is listened to in awe by his peers.

I heard one of his last recitals when we all travelled out to Croydon with Maria Curcio to hear his Bach Fourth Partita,Schumann Fantasie and Chopin B minor sonata.

He was already having difficulty and showed signs of fatigue at the end of the Chopin.

I will never forget though the beauty of his encore Lilacs by Rachmaninov , whom he much resembled.

Hamelin had heard his “Mr Nobody” and spent a month transcribing these unpublished arrangements from Weissenberg’s own recording.

It is worth quoting Hamelin`s own words in order to understand the uncontaminated curiosity of this extraordinary artist:

“Anyone who is familiar with Trenet`s songs in their original form is bound to be delightfully surprised by what Weissenberg has done with them.Unusual touches abound:in “Coin de rue”,an evocation of the narrator’s childhood,the listener is treated to the sounds of a barrel organ.The `oom-pah` rhythm of “Boum!”becomes a foxtrot;”Vous oubliez votre cheval” acquires elements of the Charleston;the opening of “En Avril a Paris” evokes a carousel,while the leisurely-paced “Menilmontant” is transformed into a headlong moto perpetuo.”

All this before entering into the refined world of Faure.The beautiful stillness of the Nocturne n.6 was played with unusual freedom and great sense of direction and it was eactly the link that was needed between the Paris of the early 20th century and that of the aristocratic Paris of the 19th century.

Chopin in Paris, the exile from his homeland of Poland that was in his blood but denied him since his youth.

Two works from the last years ended this fascinating recital.

The Polonaise -Fantasie op.61 and the Fourth Scherzo op.54.

The opening of the Polonaise in which the long string of notes after the arresting.chords seemed to grow out of them like a long reverberation.The long middle section was played with an unusual sense of direction and the big double trill was played so clearly but totally in the context of the long lines that were held together in such a masterly fashion. The middle section of the Scherzo was played without a hint of sentimentality and the long lines were allowed to ring out as Chopin had obviously intended.The final outburst was played with great grandeur and brought this recital to its official close.

The Schubert Moment Musicaux in A flat and Schumann`s Prophet bird from Waldscenen were played with exquisite delicacy only broken by Hamelin’s own piece commisioned by the Van Cliburn Competition to put young aspiring virtuosi through their paces.

Extraodinary feats of virtuosity abounded all played with that ease of a great master.

Maurizio Pollini at the Festival Hall in London All on their feet at the end to salute a great master.

He may not get around the piano with quite the energy and amazing technical command of yore,but I for one,and I was obviously not alone last night, was able to experience his almost symphonic approach to Chopin.

Only with the Berceuse were we made aware of the bel canto in Chopin but in the Nocturnes we were immediately more in the world of Schubert and the solid harmonic structure on which these masterpieces are founded.

Amazing and startling similarity ,that I have never been aware of before today, between the Nocturne op 62 n.2 and the Polonaise in F sharp minor that was programmed side by side.

I do not think this was just a casual choice.

This great master who has lived with these scores for a lifetime was even now 60 or so years on more involved with his probing mind to delve into the hidden meaning of the structure of these works.

In the same way he has delved into the most modern works of Nono,Boulez or Stockhausen in a worldwide career that was launched at 18 with his winning of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw and the accolades that he received from the greatest of all Chopin players Artur Rubinstein.

The Debussy Preludes Book 1 ‘ like Book 2 last year were in a completely different sound world but still with the harmonic structure upper most in his mind.

Even the Feux D’Artifice,offered as an encore, was shrouded in a clouded sound where the line became so much part of the atmosphere.

Chopin’s First Ballade of course a most generous second encore brought the entire audience to their feet to salute this great master that despite obvious physical difficulties still has so much to share with us.

Long may it last!

“A revelation!Ilya is the most exceptional of all….Never before did a pianist keep me locked on my seat,full of excitement from beginning to end.He is a fascinating artist.He makes the piano sound like a full orchestra”Yvonne Georgiadou Pharos Cultural Centre Cyprus.

Such an accolade from the Artistic Director of the Pharos Cultural Centre in Cyprus and fresh from his triumphant tour of Italy (see above) Ilya Kondratiev was invited to play for the Keyboard Charitable Trust in their annual collaboration with Temple Music in the beautiful Parliament Chamber in the Inner Temple.

This was to be the last concert in this hall for the time being due to the renovation that is planned for the next two years.

The very warm atmosphere created by illustrious judges and barristers will be transferred to the Temple Church just opposite.

Surprisingly I was told this hall dated only from 1950 ,the original building having been struck by an incendiary bomb during the blitz on London in the 1940s.

The Hon Philip Havers,QC, trustee of the Temple Music Foundation, tells me that in the original plans there was a third floor that was never constructed and it will now be added to create the much needed extra space for educational purposes.

I am sure though, that the same atmosphere will be ever present in this quite unique oasis in the centre of London.

These very prestigious concerts were the result of an invitation from Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, a founder trustee of the Keyboard Trust, that was created by his long term friend John Leech MBE as a 60th birthday present for his wife Noretta Conci-Leech the renowned concert pianist and assistant for many years to Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.

It was a present to consolidate the work that she had tirelessly dedicated herself to for a lifetime.

We were honoured to have Noretta Conci-Leech and John Leech with us on this special occasion , 28 years on !

Also pleased to welcome again Bryce Morrison, a long term friend of the KCT and one of the most revered (and sometimes feared) critics and experts of the piano of our day.

The programme was very similar to those that Ilya had played on tour in Italy that included a live radio broadcast on the RAI Italian Radio 3 listened to worldwide.

Today though Ilya had included two Schubert Impromptus op.90 n.1 and 4 as well as two transcriptions by Liszt of Schubert’s Lieder :Gretchen am Spinnrade and Standchen.

An addition too of Liszt’s 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody brought this short recital to a tumultuous close.

It was above all the encore of the Petrarch Sonnet 104 by Liszt that will long remain in our memory for its impassioned delicacy and sumptuous palette of sounds in which the minutes of silence at the end were a true sign that his extraordinary artistry had touched us all.

It was also a very poignant way to draw a curtain for the time being over the music that will be missing from this hall in the next few years.

A relation of Prof Deutsch,had noted that the Impromptus by Schubert did not contain the Deutsch number that her grandfather Otto Erich Deutsch had catalogued in 1951 and like Koechel for Mozart has become the norm in recognising their immense output in all too short lives. Small world!

The Impromptus op 90  D.899 were exquisitely played- and  especially the fourth impromptu where the shimmering sounds cascaded like water and the melodic line played with an impassioned rich sound that complemented so well with the extreme delicacy of the opening.

The opening arresting octave in the first Impromptu like in the last movement of the great B flat sonata was given just the right time to dissolve before allowing the melody to appear as if out of the final reverberations.

The Gretchen am Spinnrade I have written about on his Italian tour as with the Dante Sonata.

Spinnrade starting and ending so delicately before building to a sumptuous impassioned climax.

The Dante Sonata too was give a very dramatic performance at once of great delicacy alternating with great feats of virtuosity.

One could see on his face his total identification with this romantic world of “sturm und drang.”

It was in fact after the interval that Ilya produced his finest playing.

Opening with an exquisite performance of Standchen by Schubert in the transcription by Liszt.

From the first notes the magic was set with Schubert’s sublime melody so beautifully and simply transcribed for piano by Liszt.Gone were the funambulistics of Liszt the greatest showman on earth and here replaced by the poet who was to become an absolute visionary in later life.

The accompaniment so simply played and on which was balanced the very delicate question and answer that Schubert poses between singer and partner.

The transcription into the bass “espressivo il canto quasi violoncello” in Ilya’s hands today, as it had been in Rachmaninov’s famous recording,was one of the highlights of today’s recital.

The Hungarian Rhapsody n.2 was a way of bringing us back to the world of the pop star “idol” that Liszt was in his youth.

Thrown off with great panache and participation Ilya also had a control that allowed him to shape this famous work as only a true artist can.

The final cadenza that is sometimes too drawn out was only hinted at as the last word was with the Master Liszt himself as this highly gifted young artist knew only too well.

This is the third time I have listened to a concert by this”youthful” looking pianist whose looks belie his anagraphical age (1968).

Having heard him the first time a few years ago with a very small audience in the very big church that is St Johns Smith Square in London.

The Goldberg Variations were announced promoted by Steinway & Sons.

So it was curious to see a Yamaha on stage and even more worrying to see the score on the piano stand!

Something made me stay to listen and Thank God I did because it was one of the finest performances that I had heard for a long long time.

I even ended up buying his video of the preparation and performance of the Bach that I gave to a well known critic in London to demonstrate the foundation for my enthusiasm .

I saw a recital announced a year or so later in Rome with the “Appassionata” on the programme and thought I would like to see if on this occasion he played with the score which these days is becoming almost the norm.

Zimerman in Beethoven 4 with Rattle,Richard Goode with a Schubert recital in the RFH are accepted and not even commented on by the critics!

Ogdon too in his last years use the score when he was severely disturbed .It is rumoured that a mistake by his page turner cost him a black eye!

Pogorelich recently too in a long awaited return to London arrived with a page turner who was allowed to sit only three or four paces behind him!

It is true that Curzon and Richter both played with the score in their later years.

It was better than not hearing them at all but they were certainly not the performances of yore

Could one imagine Serkin,Rubinstein or Horowitz with a page turner in tow!

Perlemuter up until his last performance at the age of 90 used to say walking on to the platform was like going to the guillotine!

Myra Hess too in her later years used to play Brahms 2 with the score and get completely lost.

Cortot was advised to leave the score of the Liszt Sonata open at the page where he always lost his way but to no avail – memory was not the problem!

That lonely walk on stage to face an admiring and expectant audience is not for the faint hearted and is only for the chosen few.

The solution of course  as  Glenn Gould found is in the recording studio where it is quite the norm to have the score open.

My wife Ileana Ghione,the renowned actress, when she was studying at the Academy of Dramatic Art  in Rome did something different from what her famous actor teacher had told her.Exclaiming how sorry she was, Tofono told her there is no such thing as right or wrong in Art …….convince me!

I too waited to be convinced by Tharaud

……and in fact as you can see he certainly did that and gave one of the finest performances of Beethoven that I have heard ……….that is until this evening.

Such is the PR way of providing very little information about the artists before our eyes that I was forced to consult yet again my dear friend Mr Google to find out more of the elusive Monsieur Tharaud.

I am glad to share with all those like me that might be wondering about his formation:

“Tharaud refuses to keep a piano in his residence because of his belief that he will begin to prefer the pleasure of improvisation to the necessity of rigorous work. He prefers to practice on different instruments at friends’ residences. He composes, but is usually discreet regarding this activity. Before each recording he goes and lays flowers at the tomb of Chabrier in the Montparnasse Cemetery. When asked what a camera would record if it were present at his recording sessions, he replied that he sings, shouts, dances, and argues with the piano (“absurd behaviour – comportements ridicules”).

In 2012, Tharaud took part in the French film Amour by Michael Haneke where he played himself, alongside Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva and Isabelle Huppert, although he said that it would not be the start of a film career for him.

Born in Paris, Tharaud discovered the music scene through his mother who was a dance teacher at the Opéra de Paris, and his father, an amateur director and singer of operettas. Tharaud thus appeared as a child in theatres around northern France, where the family spent many weekends. His grandfather was a violinist in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. At the initiative of his parents, Alexandre started his piano studies at the age of five, and he entered Conservatory of the 14th Arrondissement, where his teacher was Carmen Taccon-Devenat, a student of Marguerite Long.

He entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of 14 where he won first prize for piano in the class of Germaine Mounier when he was 17 years old. With Theodor Paraskivesco, he mastered the piano, and he sought and received advice from Claude Helffer, Leon Fleisher and Nikita Magaloff. In 1987, he won third prize at the International Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona[1] and, a year later, the Senigallia Competition in Italy. In 1989, he was awarded 2nd prize at the Munich International Competition. His career developed quickly in Europe as well as in North America and Japan.

In 2009, he took part in a show devoted to Erik Satie with actor François Morel. Alongside the singer Juliette, he organised a Satie Day at the Cité de la musique, recorded for France Télévisions. He has also worked with the French composer Thierry Pécou, performing the première of his first piano concerto in October 2006 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and later recording it.”

And so to today ……..third time was indeed an even happier experience with Scarlatti/ Beethoven op 109- Rameau /Beethoven op 110.

The Scarlatti sonatas as rarely heard with such style these days – the nearest was Horowitz on his famous recordings in the ‘60’s.

Here was such a startling sense colour and variety of register.The sudden rhythmic impulses reminded me of the legendary recordings of Landowska.

A very interesting choice from the 550 sonatas and introduced so well by Lorenzo Tozzi’s exemplary programme notes.

Opening with two sonatas in D minor.

K 64 that showed immediately his startling sense of colour and purity of sound.

The well known K 9 was played with such enchanting magical trills with slight hesitations followed by sudden rhythmic impulses like electric shocks.

The magic box sounds in the C major K 132 held the audience’s attention with bated breath.

The famous E major K 380 had a telling echo effect with such pauses that gave this piece real space and allowed it to speak at last so eloquently.

K 3 ,the very first of Scarlatti’s sonatas, and the one in which Tharaud delighted in the cat like leaps up and down the keyboard.

Leading to the startling contrasts of K 514 with its virtuosistic figurations and very telling flexibility.

His final choice K.481 in F minor fell to an Andante Cantabile in which his sublime singing touch and extraordinary sense of balance was allowed full reign to seduce us all.

The Rameau too that was a prelude to late Beethoven was played with such fantasy and such liquid pure sound.The “Rappel des Oiseaux”from the Suite in E minor that we are used to hearing in the perfection of Sokolov was here given with such a sense of colour.

The same precision (or almost) of Sokolov but here we could almost see the birds fluttering around the piano.

Four pieces from the Suite in A minor finishing with the well known Gavotte et Doubles where the startling difference between Scarlatti and Rameau ,so eloquently described by Lorenzo Tozzi, were brought vividly to life by this great artist.

We were invited after the concert to a CD signing with Tharaud for his new recording of Beethoven’s last great trilogy. They crown his 32 Sonatas that span his life from the youthful innocence op 1 to the profound simplicity of op 111.

Today we were treated to op 109 and op 110 .

Op 111 hopefully next time.

I was interested to hear in the extraodinary music shop before the concert a performance of op 110 that I assumed must be Tharaud.

On asking I was told by the very informed record salesman that it was Gilels!

I had heard Gilels many times in London and will never forget his Beethoven Concerto Series.His Brahms 2 coupled with Tchaikowsky 3 had Gilels and Sir Adrian Boult at logger heads in the rehearsal during the cold war period.

A recital of Schubert Moment Musicaux and little A minor Sonata followed by Shostakovich 2nd Sonata was a deadly combination for drawing  an audience which missed one of the most beautiful recitals I have ever heard.

Of all the Russian school Gilels was the one with his Princely feet firmly placed on the ground and it was very interesting to hear Tharaud just an hour later.

Tharaud’s Beethoven was full of fantasy allied to an intelligence that led to exemplary performances.

Op.109 in particular was full of fantasy whereas like Gilels in op 110  he had his feet much more firmly on the ground.

I found the first movement of 109 a shade too fast but on consulting the score it does in fact say “Vivace” in the original score…..”ma non troppo” was added only to the original edition as though Beethoven too wanted a fluid but calm flow.

The end of the Prestissimo was played with a Serkin like urgency.

It led to the sublime Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo where Tharaud’s magical touch allowed one of Beethoven’s most profound utterings to sing with tenderness and feeling but without a trace of sentimentality.A performance of great serenity even though never missing the urgency in the Allegro vivace or Allegro ma non troppo variations.

Op 110 on the other hand was played with much more passion and I found some of the chordal outburts a little too overpowering for the great melodic line that Beethoven shares with us from beginning to the end.

It was interesting to note that Gilels too had given me the same impression but playing at a much more sedate tempo it seemed to work so well.

A little waltz by Schubert played with the same colour and subtle rubato that allowed us to eavesdrop on this most intimate of performances.

The spell was broken by the drums and wild dance in the Scarlatti Sonata in D K 141.

The famous “Argerich” repeated notes were given a shape and colour as with “Sokolov’s” Rameau that brought this remarkable recital to a breathtaking close.

I just hope that he will now put away his scores until old age and take that ultimate plunge into a world that is already very much his own.

Yet another surprise to be able to be in two places at the same time and at last able to hear this young musician again.

I was overwhelmed by his recital in 2016 at St James’s Piccadilly in his very first year of studies in London with Dmitri Alexeev at the R.C.M.

As you can see from my notes above some extraordinary playing with a lunchtime public that did not want to let him go and infact it was almost teatime when we were asked to leave!

It may seem strange to see a foto of St Peter’s Basilica here but thanks to the skill of Hugh Mather ,Roger Nellist and their superb team in Perivale I have been able to listen to the recital by Yuanfan Yang here in the theatre where he will be performing for the Keyboard Trust in January 2020.

I am very proud after listening today to announce his Italian Tour that will include Venice,Padua,Vicenza,Viterbo and Rome – The tour that another of Hugh Mathers star pianists,Ilya Kondratiev completed just a month ago.

I have heard Yuanfan Yang many times since that first occasion when he won the Liszt Society UK Competition with a superbly poetic account of Vallee d’Obermann.

He was just coming to the end of his studies with Murray McLachlan at Chetham’s and in 2015 was about to start his first term at the Royal Academy studying with Christopher Elton.

He swept the board last november in Rome winning first prize at the Rome International Piano Competition directed by the indomitable Marcella Crudeli (the Fanny Waterman of Italy)

I had indicated to the Jury that they might like Yuanfan to improvise an encore after his superb prize winning performance of Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto.

He did just that and created the same sensation that he did today for Hugh in Perivale with an incredible display of musicianship and virtuosity that is very rare these days.

Gabriela Montero is the only other pianist I know that can do that and quite rightly has a great following for her improvisations .

It is good to see how a young talented musician can mature and gradually acquire a true depth of sound.Spending all the hours needed at the keyboard but with superb musicians at his side making sure that no damage is done to his natural musicality on the long journey to becoming a great professional.

Today as we were aware Yuanfan Yang’s musicality is not only intact but of an intelligence and with a sense of style of someone much older.

The Brahms Handel Variations op 24 that closed the programme I have written about recently in his superb performance for Canan Maxton’s Talent Unlimited Showcase Concert:

It was infact one of the finest performances I have heard in public of this monumental work.Today it was just as fine but maybe slightly less perfect than his previous performance.

The overall architectutal line and sense of colour though was even more remarkable.

The repeat of the variations very delicately coloured with some new counterpoint that could in lesser hands sound like a gimmick or at worse rather superficial.

Here is was so subtly done it was an absolute revelation in a work that too often can sound rather heavy and ponderous.

It is one of those works that is given to students together with the Wanderer Fantasy and 32 Variations to acquire a technical assurance too often at the expense of the music!

The opening work was Schumann Carnaval op 9 and I think this may be new to Yuanfan’s repertoire because it received a magnificent performance of such overall perfection that it will now with future performances mature into one of the very finest performances that one could wish to hear.

Such a great sense of style and a rubato and flexibility of the melodic line that was so compelling.

A work I have heard many many times from all the greatest pianists over the years but today listening on the stream from Perivale I was absolutely captivated.

A great sense of cantabile for “Chiarina” that led to a beautifully fluid “Chopin” where the sotto voce repeat was absolute magic.

Such variations in sound from the spiky “Pantalon e Colombine” to the aristocratic “Estrella”.

The superb legato in “Reconnaissance” where the repeated note accompaniment was only evident to us that knew it was there.

Pity not to include “Replique” as some pianists do, like Rachmaninov who added it with great effect.

Beautiful counterpoint alla Cortot in “Valse Noble” and a fleetingly nimble “Papillons”. “Lettres Dansantes” were just that as Coquette was equally beguiling if not over simple.

The grandeur of the “Valse Allemande” only rudely interrupted by the appearance of “Paganini.”So demonic and technically assured I have certainly never heard it played with such assurance in public before.

The final chord illuminated by the pedal so perfectly.Not an easy feat on a Yamaha piano.

A touching sense of rubato in “Aveu” before the total control of the arrival of the Davisbundler.Played with passionate involvement and great sense of grandeur but with tone so full but never hard.

It was just this beauty of sound and sense of balance that was quite breathtaking in the Litanei in Liszt’s arrangement of Schubert’s most perfect melody.

A truly sumptuous sound that came over magnificently on the streaming that I was privileged to hear in Rome today .

A lovely bouquet from a little girl who was invited to play a few notes that Yuanfan then astonished us all with his superb improvisation.

The great sense of ease and enjoyment he comunicated to us was only the confirmation of a major talent arising from this still very young Scottish pianist composer.

The sound on the streaming was superb.Infact I do not ever remember the sound being so full and beautiful in Perivale as it was in Rome today.

Of course the arrival of a major talent played its part too.

Hats off to all those in Perivale that allows the world to share some of the major talents that for many years have been invited to play in this musical Mecca .

Hats off to the University of Rome for inviting year after year the winners of the Busoni Competition to their Concert season in the Aula Magna of La Sapienza.

.https://www.facebook.com/notes/christopher-axworthy/all-the-fun-of-the-circus-the-busoni-competition/10155035674792309/

With the magnificent frescos of Manzu overlooking the scene, this season alone includes Roberto Cominati (1993),Alexander Romanovsky(2001) past winners and the most recent winner in 2017: Ivan Krpan.

It also includes the Cremona Quartet who so valiantly performed in the semi final stage in Bolzano with the contestants and awarded their own prize to Anna Geniushene, who was invited to give concerts with the Quartet throughout Italy.

Chloe Jiyeong Mun(2014) was invited to the Sapienza IUC series in the previous season

The Keyboard Charitable Trust via their founders have been supporters for many years of the Competition that is held in Bolzano.

For some years a career development prize has been offered by the Trust to the most talented pianist from each competition.

They are invited to perform in London and elsewhere helping them on their long journey to establishing a career.

Michail Lifits  (2008) ,Alexander Romanovsky(2001),Chloe Jiyeong Mun(2014) have all benefited from this and now it is the turn of Ivan Krpan.(2017)

Ivan recently played in London the same programme that was heard in Rome today ……….here are my thoughts on this unexpectedly mature musician.

Three encores by great demand for a public completely convinced by this young musician just as the enlightened jury of the Busoni competition had been two years ago.

The same Bach Busoni choral prelude as in London but then a crystal clear account of the Praeludium from Bach’s first Partita.

Such an intelligent reading of great colour and clarity it had us all wishing we could hear the entire work.

That will be next time for sure.

The last encore was by Chopin: a Prelude from op. 28 , which he has recently recorded together with the Schumann Fantasie op. 17 for the Busoni Foundation.

The prelude op. 28 n.15 (Raindrop) played with such a beautiful liquid sound.

Seemingly all the time in the world given to the ornaments as a great singer would do.

The time taken at the end was of such beauty and timelessness he had the audience hanging on to each note.

The long silence at the end was only broken by someone wishing to be heard on the Vatican Radio recording.

No doubt the same person who had interrupted the flow at the end of the Busoni Second Sonatina and with great authority was hushed by our young knight in shining armour.

Talking to this young man one is struck by his authority and conviction not only in his interpretations but also of the programmes that he has so carefully crafted together.

The Busoni Sonatina led imperceptedly (except for one!) into Liszt’s extraordinary “Pensee des morts” which in its turn became the “Dante Sonata.”

The two Beethoven sonatas taken from his last six sonatas of thirty two.

But the two sharing the same tonality of E .

The little two movement E minor op 90 with its seemingly innocent Schubertian second movement contrasting with one of Beethovens’ greatest statements of a theme and variations in op 109.

A fascinating journey from a real thinking musician.

I had asked Ivan if he did not find it tiring to play the same programme over and over again.

His reply was the same as Sokolov: that every time there was something new to see and this way he could delve deeper into the heart of these great works.

It was certainly not boring but totally stimulating!

For us too dear Ivan …….and thanks to an enlightened jury in Bolzano and the Keyboard Charitable Trust the world is a little closer to embracing a great interpreter.