My Waterloo…..Southbank Sinfonia and Nicholas Young at the 1901 Arts Club

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My Waterloo….Southbank Sinfonia and Nicholas Young at 1901 Arts Club
CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY·VENERDÌ 7 OTTOBRE 2016

Very interesting evening on the Southbank yesterday .In fact all revolving around Waterloo …..so this was my Waterloo……….To hear the Southbank Sinfonia,whom I had last heard in Anghiari( Arezzo) ,Italy now in the Church of St John’s ,Waterloo with a free Rush hour concert that comprised not only the Dances of Galanta by Kodaly but also a fabulously passionately concise performance of Sibelius Second Symphony.Some very fine playing but a really exceptional conductor in Natalia Luis-Bassa ,who could steer them through these fragmentary waters to the inevitable overwhelming final statement .
A conductor from the famous El Sistema in Venezuela personified in Gustavo Dudamel who was discovered and brought to Europe by Claudio Abbado .Now established in the UK we will be hearing a lot more of her as we will from the fabulous players in this magnificent apprentices orchestra. Not only Kodaly and Sibelius but also a glass of wine.Hats off indeed.
But next door in Exton Street is the charming Headmaster house that is the 1901 Arts Club that offers a beautiful but intimate space for young musicians in concert and rehearsal. The Hattori Foundation use it for their concerts to promote young musicians and last night it was the turn of the Australian pianist Nicholas Young. What an interesting programme all revolving around London in the 1920’s ……A chance to hear again the two sonatas by Roy Agnew, a little known Australian composer who died in 1944 ,that had been heard the evening before for the Keyboard Charitable Trust at Steinways .
A very interesting Second Sonata by Arnold Bax that Nicholas in his learned introduction likened to the Liszt Sonata in shape and form.Indeed it had the same quiet beginning and ending and much virtuoso piano writing inbetween . I had no idea that Busoni also spent so much time in London.But as Nicholas again explained that although based in Berlin Busoni loved London and would dress in different ways and go out on the town to meet all spheres of people ………His Berceuse , Toccata and Ten variations on a Prelude by Chopin ( n.20 in Cminor like Rachmaninov) were given such fine performances that I have not heard the like since Serkin played them ( Berceuse and toccata) in London together with op111 ,Schumann Carnaval and Reger Variations – those were the days!
A very musicianly performance of the famous Chaconne finished off this fascinating recital .(The day before Nicholas had indeed included op.111 in his Steinway

Mihai Ritivoiu at St Mary’s Perivale

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Mihai Ritivoiu at St Mary’s Perivale
CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY·MERCOLEDÌ 5 OTTOBRE 2016

Mihai Ritivoiu at St Mary`s Perivale Schumann Romances op 28 Toccata op7 Liszt Sonata in B minor Once more a magnificent recital for Hugh Mathers remarkable Tuesday series dedicated to the very finest pianists from the up and coming younger generation..
A remarkable array of talent chosen with the care and expertise of a real musician who passionately cares and wants to help these young artists by offering concerts in his very well attended series .. Most from the series have won major prizes at our music colleges andMihai Ritivoiu, a student of the highly esteemed Joan Havill at the Guildhall was in fact winner of the Gold Medal of the Beethoven Society of Europe. I was present when he played a very fine ” Appassionata”to Piers Lane and Noretta Conci who as a jury had no hesitation in awarding him their highest honour.
Today he was presenting two works by Schumann and one of the most remarkable works in the Romantic repertoire the Sonata in B minor by Liszt. Starting with the three Romances op 28 by Schumann.The second of which is very often played as an encore but rarely do we see all three in a concert programme.Very good to hear them all at the opening of a programme especially when played with the intelligence that was revealed here. All the romantic ardour and colours but allied to a rigour and attention to the bass that gave great profundity and sense of direction especially noticeable in the first of the Romances. The famous second Romance in F sharp was played with an aristocratic sense of line that never was allowed to dissolve into sentimentality.The final Romance,the longest of them all,based on Schumann’s dotted rhythm was here played with a lightness and shape that made an ideal conclusion to this group.
I remember Cherkassky used to play the even more rarely heard op111 of Schumann as a prelude to the Liszt Sonata and Mihai chose to combine the Romances with the famous , dare I say infamous, Toccata in C op 7 . When its is played by a real musician ,with the technical equipment to cope with its treacherous demands,one is made to realise what a masterpiece it is . Here Mihai with the perfect legato that Schumann asks for in place and again the bass made prominent below the fast repeated right hand octaves leading to a most romantic outpouring only to dissolve into nothing as it had begun . In that sense it has much in common with the Liszt Sonata that was to follow. The Liszt Sonata was given a musician’s performance. And that is not to say that there were not many thrilling moments in which Mihai rose to the occasion.But there was also a sense of architecture and shape together with a sense of wonder and beauty in the slower passages with an aristocratic rubato that never lost sight of the overall shape and picture.
Maybe it was missing something of the demonic character and sheer animal excitement but this will come with living with it for some time , It is already quite remarkable for a young hot blooded pianist to be able to control his emotions and to play this work with the respect and intelligence that it deserves .

Benjamin Grosvenor at St Johns Smith Square

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were Benjamin Grosvenor at SJSS

CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY·MERCOLEDÌ 5 OTTOBRE 2016

Sold out recital of Benjamin Grosvenor at St Johns Smith Square tonight.
An impeccable Mozart Sonata in B flat was strangely followed by a rather disjointed performance of Chopin`s Funeral March Sonata in which the blurred lines of a super veloce last movement were only matched by the continual tempo changes in the first. This led to an uneven performance in which the nobility and majesty of this, one of Chopin`s masterpieces were not given their full due.
It was a different pianist that stepped out on to the platform for the second half of this justly sold out recital. A sumptuous performance of Scriabin`s Sonata Fantasie in G sharp minor full of subtle colours,half lights and delicacy mingled with the most passionate outpourings .There was no doubt we were now listening to a master. And masterly performances were to abound in this remarkable second half. Two pieces from Goyescas by Granados full of subtle charm and wit and notes just thrown off with an easy elegance and jeux perle` reminiscent of the virtuosi of the “Golden Age”of piano playing. If Liszt’s Spanish Rhapsody did not have the majesty or frenzied primitive forward drive of Gilel’s memorable performance in the RFH many years ago that had us sitting on the edge of our seats, it was,however, for a young man still only in his twenties and British to boot , a very remarkable performance.
There was no doubt about his complete technical command of the keyboard in every sense not only funambulistic velocity but something much rarer: a subtle sense of colour and style that one thought was a long lost tradition. The little study in Fminor by Moszkowski played as an encore with that nonchalance and teasing elegance that Horowitz had to perfection.Nothing was missing in the performance tonight even the teasingly long drawn out final notes that were thrown into  the audience holding its breath and only  to happy to receive them with a joy that can only confirm that there is a new Golden Age of virtuosi and that they are British! .
Having heard also this morning on Radio 3 a performance of Schultz Evler’s Blue Danube and expecting to hear it was Lhevine or Cherkassky but to learn that it was our Benjamin Grosvenor and the other day a teasingly virtuoso transcription of Delibes that was written and played by Stephen Hough .Hats off to these British pianists that are bringing back a long lost tradition from the grand era of the divo virtuoso that one thought long lost in the concert hall and only still reigned in the Opera House.

A Lion at the Keyboard

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A Lion at the Keyboard
Wonderful sunny day at St James`s today for the recital of that young “lion of the keyboard”Ilya Kondratiev.
All the people queuing up for edible delights outside in the beautiful courtyard of this magical church only a stones throw from Piccadilly Circus.If only.they knew what treats were in store inside with the almost daily lunchtime concerts of which the Royal College of Music was proud to present today the winner of its prestigeous Chappell Gold Medal, the young russian pianist Ilya Kondratiev.
The virtuoso Ilya I know well so it was a double surprise to find Ilya the mature musician offering an impeccable account of Beethoven`s Les Adieux Sonata op 81a. It was all there :the scrupulous attention to Beethovens very meticulous indications which even include pedalling in this, the only Sonata with a programme indicated by the composer. It was also the spirit of Beethoven that was so clear” Les Adieux” of the title and the joyous return but all kept strictly under control. Right from the very opening a very taut rhythm all perfectly measured with some beautiful dynamic shading. It is very rare to find in the Russian school this deep understanding of Beethoven and infact that master Gilels comes to mind as an exception .
I well remember the first time Annie Fischer came to play in my theatre in Rome.She had just come from being on the jury of the famous Liszt/Bartok competition in her home city of Budapest. She was supposed to play the Liszt Sonata but she changed the programme not able to face that sonata ever again.(She played the Brahms F minor Sonata op 5 instead). She obviously had not heard Ilya`s Liszt sonata that we were treated to today. Ilya who six years ago at a very young age was a top prize winner in that very competition. Let me say that this was a young mans Liszt full of passion and feats of virtuosity,in fact a real lion of the keyboard. With the maturity that came to Gilels and Arrau in their middle age,he will control his admirable ardour and play the virtuoso passages with the same refined,measured poetry that he played the long drawn out slow sections of which this masterpiece abounds. That is not to say that he did not give an architecturally clear account where the structure was always kept top most in mind.
It was just that I was not expecting such an extraordinary performance of the Beethoven and was hoping that he could have had the same “classical “approach to the passionate outpourings of the Liszt. It is just a question of time and with the superb musicianship of Vanessa Latarche at his side I would not be surprised if the seemingly elusive maturity was not far away.
Canan Maxton from Talent Unlimited was ever present for one of her stars. Even a broken leg could not keep her away from sustaining and encouraging this remarkable young “lion”
And so on to the extraordinary exhibition Abstract Expressionism at the Royal Academy opposite and on to the Wigmore Hall …..what a day

Jan Lisiecki at the Wigmore Hall

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Jan Lisiecki at the Wigmore Hall

CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY·MARTEDÌ 4 OTTOBRE 2016

And so to the Wigmore Hall with great pleasure to hear again Jan Lisiecki. Glad to see that all his publicity hype as a Vogue model had calmed down and he was now presented as the very fine pianist that he revealed here last season. From the great Canadian school a direct line from Glen Gould through Mark Andre Hammelin,Louis Lortie,Janina Fialkowska and Angela Hewitt.
A programme starting with Bach and ending with Schubert was indeed an intriguing and happy occasion to show off his real musicianly credentials.
Unfortunately it was not the extraordinary occasion that I was expecting and I suspect that this extraordinarily talented young man is playing all over the globe too often and is having to rely on his remarkable facility that allows him to free wheel seemingly without much real depth or control.
In the Bach Second Partita that opened the concert it seemed as though he was playing with the notes rather than having any real depth of meaning or command of architecture and structure, as we have come to expect from a Hewitt or a Gould .
Technically impeccable,of course,but no real backbone it was more like a plasma searching its way.
The opening sounding like a transcription of Bach/Busoni such were the sonorities he found. All rather too fast to be able to unentangle the knotty twine that Delius was to find so distasteful.
The rarely performed Schumann Klavierstucke op 32 was made painfully obvious why, from his performance of this work of the dotted rhythm Schumann that can be so tiresome even in his greatest masterpieces.
The Scherzo in B minor by Chopin that ended the first half was rattled off like a transcendental study with all sorts of strange shadings and a middle section so woefully slow it sounded as though it was a nocturne that had slipped somehow into the middle of all this razz -matazz.
There were then great hopes for the second half with the two nocturnes op 48 and the  four great late Schubert Impromptus.
Some people walked out after the nocturnes as it was obvious that it was an off day .
The exaggerated dynamics and rubato that verged on the vulgar were a premonition as to what we were in for with the Impromptus.
These great poetic works some of the last outpourings of a man close to death were rattled off like studies with the most literal staccato instead of the poignant portamento that Serkin,Fischer and Fialkowska have given to us in the past .
The last Impromptu sounded in places like a transcendental study.
Instead of the standing ovation of his last concert the discerning Wigmore audience were only too anxious to leave the hall not a little dismayed.
However we were treated to an encore announced as a work to help us dream:Schumann’s Traumerei ……more like a nightmare than a glimpse of paradise.
One can only assume that this very gifted young pianist still only in his early twenties with many memorable performances  and even a notable recording of the Schumann Concerto with Pappano to his name has joined the jet setting concert circuit long before he is mature enough to be able to cope.
The same thing happened to Trifonov after he won two major competitions and was thrown into the spotlight. He has recovered thanks to his close friends and a caring benefactor and is now in his rightful place as one of the great pianists of our time .
I sincerely hope that Jan Lisiecki will overcome this obvious and understandable crisis and in his own time take his rightful place on the international circuit.
Nadia Boulanger used to quote Shakespeare :”Words without thought no more to heaven go”……….the problem is that these days there is no time to stop and think ,digest and mature in this jetsetting world where everything is expected to happen instantly .

Holding the baby at St Barnabas

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Baby call at St Barnabas The Cashell,Sloane,Watterton Trio
CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY·VENERDÌ 30 SETTEMBRE 2016

Some really fine music making in Ealing today with the trio of Anna Cashell,violin,Hannah Sloane,cello,Simon Watterton,piano. One work on this lunchtime programme in St Barnabas in Ealing : the Brahms B major Trio op 8
I noticed a few months back how remarkable the Brahms F Minor Sonata was at the Wigmore Hall played by Louis Lortie on a wonderful Bosendorfer piano. How unusual it was not to find the usual Steinway or Fazioli but here the Bosendorfer with its generously rich sonorous bass and meltingly beautiful treble let us hear the Brahms Sonata in all its grandeur mixed with moonlight seduction as probably Brahms may have envisaged it.
And so it was a pleasant surprise to see the Bosendorfer Grand in place with its jaws wide open waiting to devour the Brahms Trio. Our master of ceremonies the indefatigable Hugh Mather was worried that Simon might devour his two beautiful partners which could have well led to strained relations afterwards at home for Anna Cashell is in life Mrs Simon Watterton and it was in fact Hugh who was also left holding their little baby .
Hugh need not have worried because Simon knows how to drive this dangerous instrument and I do not think it was out of fear as you could see him listening intently to the balance as were his partners.Listening to each other scrupulously but with passion . In fact the most noticeable thing was that you did not notice the piano at all, so integrated was it into the whole .
What fine musicians they are each one generously supporting,goading,encouraging and, yes, seducing the other.Aiding and abetting I believe a policeman would call it .
Also the other noticeable thing was how each member of the trio was living each note and looking intently at each other. It was most noticeable how Hannah Stone was really living each moment of the music and with a glance sharing her thoughts with the others. She need not have worried because Anna played at some moments with such passionate involvement that one would not have thought this little Irish lass capable of such evil thoughts! Simon produced some remarkable sonorities that literally melted into the magical air of perfumed sounds that were being born in that moment.( Isn’t there a Debussy Prelude with a similar title?)
Such was also the spontaneity that the audience of some very distinguished musicians were held spellbound . Nina Walker the nonagerian pianist,accompanist to the famous for years and founder member of Nimbus .Also present Audrey Ellison ex chairman of the Chopin and Liszt Societies in London
We all would have loved an encore but Hugh who was unaware that there might be a possibility cut short this memorable concert his only thought,quite rightly was to get back to his baby sitting duties as you can see.

Maxime Tortelier with the Southbank Sinfonia

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Maxime Tortelier with the Southbank Sinfonia
On my way to the Globe saw ,by chance,that the South Bank Sinfonia were giving a concert at St John`s Waterloo. I last bumped into them in the castle in Anghiari where they go every summer in the castle of our dear friend the Contessa Lucrezia in the castle where Michelangeli used to give his summer masterclasses. The most amazing coincidence was that they were being conducted by Paul Tortelier`s grandson Maxime. How many times Paul,Maude and Pau played for us in Rome and became close friends.He insisted on writing to the French President about peace .He wanted to send it via the Vatican post .He had just come from the USA where he had set his poem for piece to La Marseillaise.
There is Paul`s foto in prize of place on the theatre wall in Rome and many people used to ask if I was his son,such was the likeness. Now of course they ask if it is me! And the first thing Maxime exclaimed was how much my hair was like his grandfathers!
Very fine performances of Boulez Memoriale and Shostakovich`s 14th Symphony .Wonderful bass soloist in particular Jihoon Kim. All to be broadcast on Radio 3 tomorrow at 19.30. Looking forward to a repeat performance.

Canan Maxton at Asia House

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nCanan Maxton at Asia House

CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY·GIOVEDÌ 29 SETTEMBRE 2016

Final concerts today in Asia House for the Music Futures Festival organised by the indomitable Canan Maxton of Talent Unlimited. How many young artists owe a great debt to this generous Turkish promoter of the arts,whose only aim is to support great young talent in those difficult first steps into the professional world.
Once a year she holds a three day festival to augment and publicise her enormous all year round activity. It was only a few days ago that I was invited to her beautiful home in Regents Park to hear the programme of one of her young artists before he flew off to compete in an International Piano Competition in Monza……he is already through to the second round and we have our fingers crossed that he will proceed to the final.Unfortunately this circus act is a very difficult hurdle for truly great talent.And it is thanks to Canan for her support and encouragement that give a base for these young artists in this ever changing world in which they have to compete.
Beautiful lunchtime concert today with two magnificent singers,complimenting each other in the diversity of repertoire,and finally a very fine clarinet duo. First a lieder singer Waimay Yau with Joyce Chiao Yu Wu her partner(for she was just that)at the piano. A great pleasure to hear these songs of Wolf and Liszt sung with such intelligence and perfect diction.I have not heard Liszt`s “Die Drei Zigeuner” since Schwarzkopf`s unforgettable performances with the urbane ,perfect partner in Geoffrey Parsons. This too,today was a splendid partnership with the pianist very much an equal partner especially in the intricate Wolf Lieder. Canon almost ruined the next singers entry for Musetta`s Waltz from La Boheme. Like all true divas the announced Vocalise by Rachmaninoff/Volodos was swiftly substituted by an aria from La Nozze di Figaro. But what a voice form this exceptional young soprano the same quality as Rita Streich and in the Lehar” Meine Lippen sie kussen so heiss” there was the same seductive charm of that much missed singer. The singers’ fine orchestra was YokoMisumi and their perfect ensemble in “O mio babbino caro brought the house down Hard to believe that the perfect duo of Ozlem Celik and Lysianne Chen was a last minute substitute such was their ensemble in Poulenc’s evergreen Sonata that they were beseached to offer an encore to this large and discerning audience.
There was even a swift at the window looking in to see who was producing the enchanting sounds that were keeping us all so enthralled.

Canan Maxton at Asia House

ChristopherAxworthyMusicCommentary1 commento
Canan Maxton at Asia House
Final concerts today in Asia House for the Music Futures Festival organised by the indomitable Canan Maxton of Talent Unlimited. How many young artists owe a great debt to this generous Turkish promoter of the arts,whose only aim is to support great young talent in those difficult first steps into the professional world.
Once a year she holds a three day festival to augment and publicise her enormous all year round activity. It was only a few days ago that I was invited to her beautiful home in Regents Park to hear the programme of one of her young artists before he flew off to compete in an International Piano Competition in Monza……he is already through to the second round and we have our fingers crossed that he will proceed to the final.Unfortunately this circus act is a very difficult hurdle for truly great talent.And it is thanks to Canan for her support and encouragement that give a base for these young artists in this ever changing world in which they have to compete.
Beautiful lunchtime concert today with two magnificent singers,complimenting each other in the diversity of repertoire,and finally a very fine clarinet duo. First a lieder singer Waimay Yau with Joyce Chiao Yu Wu her partner(for she was just that)at the piano. A great pleasure to hear these songs of Wolf and Liszt sung with such intelligence and perfect diction.I have not heard Liszt`s “Die Drei Zigeuner” since Schwarzkopf`s unforgettable performances with the urbane ,perfect partner in Geoffrey Parsons. This too,today was a splendid partnership with the pianist very much an equal partner especially in the intricate Wolf Lieder.
Canan almost ruined the next singers entry for Musetta`s Waltz from La Boheme. Like all true divas the announced Vocalise by Rachmaninoff/Volodos for piano solo was swiftly substituted by an aria from La Nozze di Figaro. But what a voice from this exceptional young soprano with the same quality of voice as Rita Streich and in the Lehar” Meine Lippen sie kussen so heiss” there was the same seductive charm of that much missed singer. The singers’ fine orchestra was Yoko Misumi and their perfect ensemble in “O mio babbino caro” brought the house down.
Hard to believe that the perfect duo of Ozlem Celik and Lysianne Chen was a last minute substitute such was their ensemble in Poulenc’s evergreen Sonata that they were beseeched to offer an encore to this large and discerning audience.

There was even a swallow at the window looking in to see who was producing the enchanting sounds that were keeping us all so enthralled.

The opening concert was a completely different thing.
In a much larger space to accommodate the numerous fans who flocked to the concert .
A real “star”performer in AyseDenizGokcin a pianist in the style of Giovanni Aleevi who with their Lisztian funambalistics can fill even the largest of halls.
Anyone who has been trained as I with some of the finest musicians of our time find it is very hard to understand and enjoy this seemingly very simplistic way of making music, but it is much appreciated by the masses that have not had this sort of  musical education.
They flock to the concerts and find real enjoyment and enthusiasm in these concerts as was shown on the faces of the audience of the sold out performance the other night .
I am ,in fact ,very envious but ” you cannot teach an old dog new tricks” as they say ,and so I will just have to leave this sort of entertainment to others.
Hats off to Canan Maxton,though, for allowing her public into this new territory.
A real cross-over but it is just not for me .It is too late!

Ke Ma at St Johns

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Ke Ma at St Johns
CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY·MERCOLEDÌ 28 SETTEMBRE 2016

Ke Ma with the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Blair at St John`s Smith Square.
Wonderful to see an orchestra made of such youthful young musicians. All playing their hearts out which I am sure the fine conductor has spent many hours working them into a united ensemble. Now they need to listen to each other and find their way and a true sense of balance that would allow the line to sing out without such a battle as there was in the Wagner Meistersinger Overture that opened the programme.
It was even more evident the real lack of line and direction. Dohnanyi too asks for a very large orchestra for his Variations on a Nursery Song in which Ke Ma was the splendid soloist. Rather overblown in this day and age and all compliments to the YMSO for proposing it tonight. Unfortunately it appears ,in this day and age ,as rather like a poor man’s Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.
Here the lack of balance and proportion was even more evident and it was often a struggle to be able savour the really extraordinary pianistic and musical qualities of the solist. Not sure what Dohnanyi himself would have made of the battle waged tonight.
However the soloist was persuaded to play an encore after a successful if rather overblown account of the Dohnyani. And what a spectacular performance she gave.The flight of the bumble bee that puts Rachmaninov’s famous arrangement to shame. Christopher Elton,that very distinguished professor from the Royal Academy ,where Ke Ma received her final training,suggested it might be by Volodos.Indeed he would be one of the very few who could tackle the treacherous demands of this bumble bee . I thought it could be Kapustin . But no ,Ke Ma told us that it was given to her by her professor in China and it is by Alinsky.(?) I wonder if he could play it as superlatively as Ke Ma did tonight. At last we were allowed to savour the real qualities of this exceptional young pianist. She even learnt the Dohnyani especially for tonight’s performance and doubt very much if she will have occasion to play it again ,at least I sincerely hope not. There is always the superlative recording of Cyril Smith or Julius Katchen if one really needed to listen to this rather outdated piece.