I was one of many at Friday’s performance in Deal. I explained that I was wife of a trustee of the Keyboard Trust. My brief word with you did not not do you justice.
Your recital was absolutely terrific and most uplifting.
You have the ability to create stillness in yourself as brilliance flows from you head through your hands to the piano with which you are in perfect combination and harmony.
You are the quiet performer who can achieve what you do you do – allowing the genius of the composer to pass through your own quiet presence to the audience.
This was especially apparent for me in Rachmaninoff where articulation of every note and thought of the composer could not be missed. And then to be followed by Paganini as an encore – remarkable !!
As someone living near to Canterbury I so wish that I could have been present when – already years ago – you started what is an established career with a magnificent future ahead.
My husband Geoffrey – the trustee – returned from necessary absence abroad yesterday in the evening and was really unhappy at not being able to hear you live. Instead, he reminded himself via YouTube or similar of some of your stunning publicly available recordings to date.
You brought real pleasure to many, and to me last week.
Thank you
Best wishes
Philippa (Nice)
It was a totally entrancing performance – all issues of music and piano presented in complete harmony with ease and passion. I don’t often manage to get to hear you live, and certainly this was an inspiration on every level – heartfelt thanks for what you do, it’s very special (and please quote me on that!) Andrew Charity
Quite a few have asked for a copy of the tribute I gave at Niel Immelman’s funeral yesterday. As it seemed to go down so well, I reproduce it here:
I should start by saying that Niel Immelman never missed a birthday of mine and, God bless him, he’s managed not to miss today’s, either (!)
We first met in 2005 at the Oxford Piano Festival when I played the Second French Suite of Bach for him in the oak-panelled Recital Hall of the Faculty of Music. My first memory was of a tall, rather formidable-looking man in a dark suit and tie, with the scent of his Marlboro cigarettes never far away, grinning benevolently at me from the second piano: of course, Niel Immelman.
There is little I remember about that particular masterclass today but I remember thinking at the time it was clear I would end up studying with him one day. Two years later he was already a close friend and embodied absolutely every quality required of a mentor – unerringly kind, caring and supportive — and especially so of my exploration of unfamiliar repertoire, providing guidance and encouragement when I found little elsewhere. Every work I brought to him was treated with equal seriousness; be it a Sonata of Beethoven or a Fantasy of Thalberg; an Etude of Alkan or a Tale of Medtner: all were given due attention and none escaped his ability to penetrate the core of each work. As a teacher, he seemed to have that uncanny knack of being able to address multiple issues in one fell swoop with a single word or gesture somehow tying up the loose ends. He wasn’t all softness, of course, and could be appropriately spiky if need be. I remember one particular lesson where, on reflection, I was being distressingly wilful with the finale of a Haydn Sonata and was, quite rightly, taken to task for it. Imagine my surprise when I received a ‘phone call from him that night, apologising for having been so hard on me — “But you were quite right – it was far too fast”, I protested, but he insisted he’d been too hard and wanted to apologise.
Humility and modesty closely related. Few of us had any idea that he was busy preparing for a recording of the piano music of Novák. I only caught wind of the project on espying the scores, neatly annotated with fingerings, on the music desk of the second piano in hie teaching room, Once I discovered it had already been released in 2008 I asked why he never mentioned it – “Oh, that’s not my style”, he retorted… I later discovered his joyous survey of the complete piano music of Suk and it was only really then that I realised the true measure of what he was like as a pianist. Indeed, these recordings remain a valuable testament of his artistry.
His modesty as a musician sometimes resulted in hilarious (if terrifying at the time) consequences. He once recounted a tale of having played a joint recital with a colleague at Lake Placid, U.S.A., and after what they both felt was an especially successful evening of music-making, his colleague was keen on counting out how much money they had both made over a well-deserved libation. “Oh, come on, man, this is so vulgar – we played well – let’s just forget about that for now and enjoy the rest of the evening.” And so saying, he proceeded to deposit the evening’s plunder into a vase for safe-keeping as they whiled away the night hours. Of course, what he hadn’t considered was that while the vase contained no flowers, it did, however, contain water (!) so one can imagine their collective horror on upturning the said receptacle and beholding a deluge of foul water issue forth and a sodden bundle of dollar bills and banker’s drafts (ink running!) plopping onto the table.
Humour was never far away in and out of lessons and he invariably displayed that valuable asset of making light of things. I remember one particular occasion when, after having tripped and broken his wrist in the process of moving his hifi, he resorted to donning a black leather glove in order to restrict movement and speed up the healing process. Approaching the music desk of the first piano, black-gloved hand awkwardly clutching one of his 2B pencils, he gently reassured me with the words: “Now, this is not as sinister as it looks…”
Similarly, he was not averse to making light of himself, either. He once recalled an incident which happened many years ago when he made some recordings for Greek television which necessitated a session in the make-up artist’s chair. Once filming was complete, he decided, despite the intense summer heat, to walk back to his hotel, rather than take a taxi. En route, he couldn’t help noticing some rather odd glances from passing pedestrians. Thinking nothing of it, he decided to take refuge from the Athenian sun at the Hilton Hotel where he stopped for a Coca-Cola, This necessitated a trip to the restroom and it was only when looking in the mirror that he realised the source of consternation on the faces of the general public: the liberal daubing of make-up he had been given for his television appearance hours earlier had run down his face in rivulets under the intense mediterranean heat — “It was like ‘Death in Venice'”, he chuckled to me.
His sense of humour often spilled over into music, as well, I remember one occasion, when ascending the lift to begin one of our lessons, a guitarist was playing something alluring and Spanish in the stairwell – “Such a friendly instrument”, he purred with the munificence of a tiger full from its last meal. On another occasion, when I played him the Chopin Fantaisie-Impromptu, I hurled down a bass D flat at the start of the middle section when he said “No, I don’t think that’s appropriate.” “But, are you sure?”, I bravely enquired – “I just feel it needs it…” Then, in a flash of reckless abandon: “Oh, why the hell not?!” I’ll never forget that mischievous twinkle in his eye or his subtle way with words.
They say one never quite realises what one has until it is gone and, in many ways, I agree. Though somehow loss and grief also compel us to quantify what a person meant to us with greater clarity and, as such, one grieves each attribute of the person in stages. I am sure I speak for many of us when I say that, aside from the immediate shock of losing an invaluable mentor with whom I could run by a recital programme or ask about ‘that’ bar in a Beethoven Sonata, I have also lost an esteemed colleague with whom I could discuss the various practicalities of teaching. And yet, greater still, I have lost a friend and confidant who was always at the other end of the ‘phone to lend a sympathetic ear and offer friendly and impartial advice: in short, a father figure. And whether we are comfortable with the notion that the end of this life ushers us into easeful oblivion or take solace that flights of angels sing us to our rest – though I’m sure he would have eventually tired of all those harps (!) – we can all, collectively, take comfort in the sure and certain fact that Niel shall live on in our hearts, minds, and for many of us, our fingers, as we continue our own paths in the lives we have ahead of us, passing on his wisdom through teaching, his insight through playing, and his generosity of spirit through living out the example he set to us all.
Thank you.
Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon him
I was so sorry not to be in the UK to say goodbye especially as the service took place at the end of my road in Kew .Peter Bithell had become over the years a very close friend of Niel .Peter ,Tessa Nicholson and I had been very close friends in our student days before I followed my heart and left the UK for theatre life in Rome.It was Niel who I remember so well in the 70’s before my RAM student days when we were Rubinstein Groupies.Wherever Rubinstein played there was sure to be Niel.I remember very well a recital at Eton College for the Menuhin Windsor Festival where the whole audience was in tails so when Rubinstein appeared on stage no one took much notice……..except when he started to play.I was still at school when I discovered free concerts at the Royal College near enough to my home in Chiswick to frequent almost daily.There were all the marvellous students of Cyril Smith of which Niel,George Barbour,Frank Wibaut,Dennis Lee** were the stars .John Lill,not a student of Smith,made his debut at 17 with Rachmaninov 3 with the big cadenza.It was widely reported in the press as ‘greater than Ogdon’.But there was George Barbour and Dennis Lee both playing Brahms 2 all with Sir Adrian Boult with his extra long baton that transmitted such magic between his sergeant major look and the message he transmitted to the students.George Barbour made his London debut with Beethoven op 126,111,120 sponsored by a wealthy philanthropist who lived in Mayfair and used to collect piano lessons (my old teacher Sidney Harrison gave him a lesson as did many others).He was at the door of the Wigmore to make sure that we all really appreciated his star prodigy!George became the duo Rostal and Schaffer ,heirs to Gold and Fitzdale.I well remember the solidity and beauty of Cyril Smiths students and of course Niel was very much to the fore.The film ‘Shine’ was obviously based on Cyril Smith and the performance of John Lill of the elusive Rach 3!David Helfgott though was nowhere around but Niel and the others certainly were stars in that period.Niel was the only pianist I saw at all the most important recitals in or around London and it was obviously his acquiring of good taste that he transmitted to all his students.Mark and Tyler Hay in particular I have noted the tradition being passed down to his disciples.I last saw Niel at Andrew Ball’s commemoration concert in April and he looked as though he had suffered a lot from doctors over zealous hands.I saw him again just a few weeks ago as I was listening to one of the final recitals at the RCM and he was just leaving after a full days teaching. I mentioned to Tessa how he seemed to have suffered so much ,curved with a stick,but she assured me that he still had a full class of students and that they regularly discussed music as they had for a lifetime.The next I knew was a telephone call from Peter Bithell to ask advice about a place where friends could congregate after Niel’s funeral cremation .The Ship I told him and hope they all sailed in it and toasted this gentle ,oh so modest giant who had selflessly given so much to so many.Tyler practicing Chopin studies in my house nearby at 7am determined not to miss the farewell to his mentor but to give always of his best to his public that evening as Niel had always taught him .
** Just went to a funeral today, saw Frank Wibaut there – Dennis Lee a Malaysian pianist suddenly passed away…he was the very first Malaysian pianist outside of Malaysia… Frank Wibaut is looking very thin, in ill health…..so it seems like a lot of musicians are not in great health… I knew him well I heard him often at the RCM even Brahms 2 with Sir Adrian Bouit he and his wife went to study with the Rumanian teacher of Radu Lupu
Frank I got to know at Dartington he was star student of Cyril Smith ….he had a lovely wife who was a radio presenter but they split up I believe
When did Dennis Lee die I have not heard of him since maybe he went into teaching like Frank in some important college ?Is there an obituary ? Dennis died on the 14th April, around two weeks ago…he recorded some solo Debussy recently I think, but mainly played and taught together with his now-widow over the years…they travelled to Asia together quite a lot, and did some duo things in Canada and America…I think he was a teacher at Kingston University and also did some work for the Associated Board……..in the general piano circle here in London, Dennis is not really that known, but in Malaysia he is still held in high esteem that sort of thing…
Actually, I was e-mailing this guy Lee Kum Sing about yesterday’s funeral, Lee Kum Sing lives in Vancouver and his latest prodigy is apparently Ryan Wang, Yisha went to Louis Vuitton hall in Paris to watch this kid’s concert……Lee Kum Sing, Dennis Lee and a couple of others were sort of musical pioneers from South-East Asia that kind of thing…
With Mark VinerMy dear, much missed friend, Niel Immelman with Menahem Pressler (also much missed) at the Oxford Piano Festival a few years ago. And Niel relaxing with some of the participants in party mood! Tessa Nicholson
Some superb musicianly playing from Ke Ma .From the very first notes of the Schubert G flat Impromptu there were beautiful rich sounds of changing harmonies on which emerged the melodic line .Incorporated into the harmonic fabric the melodic line emerged with such strength and beauty .A disarming simplicity in which Schubert’s ‘Liebestraum’ was not of bitter sweet sentimentality but strong sentiments of poignant beauty.Playing of almost orchestral proportions as the F minor impromptu unwound with a rhythmic energy and buoyancy with moments of joyous excitement as the embellishments were thrown off with such deliberation.The central episode had a luminosity without ever loosing the rhythmic propulsion of this final exhilarating Impromptu.There were moments of great fantasy as Schubert seemed to be searching for a way back to the opening exhilarating dance.It was played with beauty and intelligent musicianship creating a tension of expectation just waiting for the moment of arrival and unwinding of the spring to lead to the return of the dance and the final great plunge to the bottom of the keyboard.
The absolute desolation of the opening of Book 2 of Debussy’s Image was just the scene for the bells that started to peal all over the keyboard creating a magic spell that was quite extraordinarily atmospheric.’Doucement sonore’ and ‘un peu en dehors’ Debussy suggests and later ‘très égal come une buée irisée’ all played with a transcendental control of sound as the melodic line was floated on this wave of sound.What grandeur there was too as the bells became more and more insistent only to die away to a mere whisper.What beauty she brought to the bleak landscape of the moon shining down on the Temple with wondrous sounds of unearthly luminosity.A masterly control of the pedal and of touch but above all an intelligence as she brought to life all the minute indications that Debussy seminates throughout the score.Have Gold Fish ever found such shimmering murmured pools to dip in and out of?Ke Ma brought a wonderful clarity to the melodic line as the fish enjoyed splashing around with such evident joy and exhilaration only to find absolute peace and tranquility in the final bars.Debussy wrote to his publisher,Jacques Durand :”Without false pride, I feel that these three pieces hold together well, and that they will find their place in the literature of the piano … to the left of Schumann, or to the right of Chopin… “
Cloches à travers les feuilles” was inspired by the bells in the church steeple in the village of Rahon in Jura,France.Rahon was the hometown of Louis Laloy ,a close friend of Debussy and also his first biographer.
“Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut” (And the moon descends on the temple that was) was dedicated to Laloy.The name of the piece, which evokes images of East Asia ,was suggested by Laloy, a Sinologist The piece is evocative of Indonesian gamelan music, which famously influenced Debussy.
“Poissons d’or” was probably inspired by an image of a golden fish in Chinese lacquer artwork or embroidery ,or on a Japanese print. Other sources suggest it may have been inspired by actual goldfish swimming in a bowl,though the French for goldfish is ‘poisson rouge’ (red fish).
The revised 1931 version of Rachmaninov’s Sonata n.2 in B flat minor was played with passion and sumptuous sounds.But it was her musical intelligence and absolute attention to Rachmaninov’s indications that gave such strength and authority to a work that in lesser hands can seem so superficial and episodic.Her sense of orchestral colouring with a kaleidoscopic palette of colours was allied to the full Philadelphian luxuriant sounds that are so much part of Rachmaninov’s world.There was excitement and transcendental virtuosity but always with an organic feel of architectural shape and meaning.
The original 1913 edition
Rachmaninov worked on his Second Sonata over several months in 1913, beginning it while in Rome and later completing it in Russia and including it in his concerts that Autumn prior to its publication the following Spring.Although conceived in three movements (Allegro agitato, non allegro, Allegro molto), the Second Sonata flows as one astonishing piece, its bravura technical demands matched by that dark emotional intensity which runs through so much of Rachmaninov’s music. The movements are bound together by thematic cross-references and transformation; in particular, the opening descending passage pervades all three movements in different guises.The original version is not without its problems however; not only is the scale of the work daunting, so too some of the passage-work makes very significant demands on the performer.
Serghei Rachmaninov
Rachmaninov’s own thoughts were expressed when he himself later wrote:”I look at some of my earlier works and see how much there is that is superfluous. Even in this Sonata so many voices are moving simultaneously, and it is so long. Chopin’s Sonata lasts nineteen minutes and all has been said.”
It was no doubt to address these points that Rachmaninov set about revising the Sonata in the summer of 1931, just as he was also composing his final solo piano work, the Corelli Variations.In this revised version, Rachmaninov makes significant changes to the piano writing throughout, both giving the piece a cleaner, more transparent texture and at the same time making the piece easier to play. In addition to these changes, he reduced the overall length of the Sonata by some 120 bars, tightening the structure considerably.
In spite of these efforts, as Rahmer points out in his concise but illuminating Preface to the new Henle edition,
“The question of whether Rachmaninov really altered the Sonata to its advantage is disputed to the present day among pianists and music critics. While many authors consider the significant cuts as a successful tightening up and elimination of unnecessary virtuoso ballast, the opposing faction criticises this intervention as a mutilation that upsets the Sonata’s formal balance and thematic conception.”
He goes on to note that while the revised version is the one frequently heard, some such as Zoltán Kocsis have advocated a return to the unaltered first version, while many others (notably Horowitz and Van Cliburn) have produced their own composite versions, based on their preferred elements from both.
Ke Ma introducing her programme subject of a thesis for her Doctorate that she is preparing at the Guildhall on the Chinese influence on western music
Born in Datong, China, Ke Ma is a highly accomplished pianist who has earned international acclaim for her exceptional musical talent and technical prowess. She pursued her musical education at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London, under the tutelage of Christopher Elton, Michael Dussek, and Andrew West, and graduated with a Masters with distinction (DipRAM) in 2017. Currently, Ke is actively engaged in her Doctoral study at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she is studying with esteemed professors Joan Havill, Dr. Alexander Soares, and Rolf Hind. Ke’s impressive achievements include securing top prizes at several international competitions, including 1st Prize at the 2016 Concours International de la vie de Maisons-Laffitte and Karoly Mocsari Special Prize in France, 1st Prize at the 2014 Shenzhen Competition in China, and 3rd Prize at the 2012 Ettlingen Competition in Germany. She has showcased her exceptional talent as a soloist, having performed with renowned orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and Miskolc Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tamás Gál at the Palace of the Arts in Budapest , among others.
Żelazowa Wola is a village in Gmina Sochaczew, Sochaczew County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland.It lies on the Utrata River, some 8 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of Sochaczew and 46 km (29 mi) west of Warsaw. Żelazowa Wola has a population of 65.The name means “Iron will” in Polish and is the birthplace of ChopinIt is known for its picturesque Masovian landscape , including numerous winding streams surrounded by willows and hills.
Playing of extraordinary maturity and beauty from this twenty year old Chinese pianist.A beauty not only of sound but the delicacy with which his fingers caressed the sounds out of the keys with a certainty and authority that would be the envy of pianists twice his age.
Chopin’s late nocturne in B major was played with aristocratic beauty and a finesse of sounds with whispered secrets of ravishing beauty .Trills that were mere vibrations of sound out of which unwound embellishments of exquisite delicacy.But there was strength too as these were sentiments of profound meaning and his weight and depth gave a poignancy and strength to this Nocturne written as Chopin neared the paradise that lay in waiting at such an early age.
There was delicacy and flamboyance in the B minor Mazurka with a stream of nostalgia and a beguiling natural buoyancy that made one marvel at how a native of China could understand so perfectly the Polish soul of Chopin.It was the same question that perplexed the jury of one of the very first Chopin Competitions when the Mazurka prize was awarded much to the surprise of the polish contestants to Fou Ts’ong.Ts’ong was to become a great friend playing every year and giving masterclasses in my Euromusica Concert Series in Rome.He would often liken the poetic soul of Chopin to the same poetic soul that was to be found in the works of the great Chinese poets.The great tolling bell and calling to attention of the Mazuka op30 n.3 in D flat.Its beautifully suggestive central episode ‘con anima’ searching for a way back to the rumbustuous opening dance with a search of such fantasy and a pianissimo ‘slentando’ as Chopin indicates in the score.
There was an irresistible rhythmic impulse to the Waltz in A flat op 42 with it’s rhythmic obstinacy and legato melodic line played so sensitively by Hao Rao.He did not have quite the aristocratic poise allied to rhythmic energy that was so much part of Rubinstein’s playing but it did have the same elegance and poise of Cortot and Rachmaninov .
The other waltz also in A flat op 64 n.3 was played with a ravishing insinuation almost of salon character but never descending into vulgar but always with the head held high.The beauty of the whispered bass melodic line was mirrored by the brilliance of the final bars ending deep in the bass.
Hao Rao brought a timeless beauty to the A flat Ballade,the most pastoral of the four ballades.It was beautifully phrased but with a clarity even in the most mysterious episodes of weaving contrapuntal scales.The build up to the final climax was played with a relentless forward propulsion before the explosion of the final climax of passion and nobility.
Absolute delicacy announced the elusive opening of the fourth Ballade.Followed by the opening theme played with great sentiment but also great strength and a sense of forward movement as each variation grew so naturally out of the other.There was a timeless beauty to the mazurka episode and a passionate climax before the heartrending return of the opening introduction which Cortot described as ‘avec un sentiment de regret’.The final variation where the embellishment of the theme is spread like a great wave over the entire keyboard was played with overwhelming beauty but there was also a transcendental control and shape as it lead to the final outpouring and the sumptuous waves of surging passionate sounds.The ‘stretto’ chords were a bit too literally staccato for my taste and could perhaps have had less speed but more weight.But the ravishing beauty of the five pianissimo chiselled chords before the coda was memorable.The sforzando deep in the bass so often ignored at the opening of the coda just showed what intelligence Hao Rao brought to his interpretation with the wishes of the composer utmost in his thoughts and soul.A tour de force of musicianly virtuosity brought this masterpiece to a magnificent conclusion .
Authority and Nobility were the hallmarks of a superb performance of Chopin’s ‘Heroique’ Polonaise op 53.Beautiful rich sonorities never hard but a sumptuous full orchestra.I noticed his very high wrist in the notorious left hand octaves but it was the legato of the cavalry above the stamping of the horses hooves that was so remarkable.A sense of balance that never lost sight of the musical line.There were some very beautiful deep bass notes as the Polonaise gradually picked up momentum leading to the tumultuous excitement of Chopin’s great cry of Victory.
At just seventeen years old, Hao Rao was a finalist and Honorable Mention at the 2021 18th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, performing Chopin’s First Piano Concerto in the finals under the baton of Andrey Boreyko and drawing praise both internationally and domestically. Jan Popis, special music commentator of the Chopin Competitionclaimed: “The 17-year-old Chinese boy has been manifesting his naturally charming talent since his first round. His playing is poetic, his legato is beautiful like a song, with a sound full of colors. He’s a great talent!”Born in the mountainous village of Jishou and beginning his piano studies at the age of four, Hao’s talent was evident from the beginning, and at the age of eight, he began making 32-hour roundtrip commutes to Guangzhou for studies with Dr. Vivian Li at Xinghai Conservatory Middle School where he is currently enrolled as a third-year high school student. Though still young, Hao Rao has already amassed an impressive resume of competition awards including first prize at the three most prestigious Chinese national piano competitions – Steinway, Pearl River, and Xinghai Cup – as well as top prizes in major international competitions including the Youth Gina Bachauer, E-piano Junior, Krainev, Aarhus, Ettlingen, Beijing Chopin and Zhuhai Mozart. He is also a three-year full scholarship student of the highly exclusive Morningside Music Bridge Program. His extensive performance experiences have taken him from Asia to Europe and North America in solo and chamber as well as concerto appearances with the China NCPA Orchestra, Orchestra Academia China, Warsaw Philharmonic, Salzburg Chamber Soloists and symphony orchestras of Shenzhen, Ningbo, Shenyang, Guizhou, Central and Xinghai Conservatories, collaborating with conductors Jia Lü, Guoyong Zhang, En Shao, Lin Chen, Huan Jing and Ming Liu.Outside of piano, Hao loves opera, ballet, pop culture, gourmet, singing, as well as riding roller coaster.
At the Cliburn Junior international Piano Competition China the 15 year old HAO RAO wrote this :
Hao Rao grew up in the mountainside town of Jishou, China. Every week, his mother would take him on a 16-hour train ride to his piano lesson; he never tired of the trip and instead saw it as “departing for a great music journey with unknown surprises.” He now attends the Middle School of Xinghai Conservatory of Music in the sprawling city of Guangzhou, but still studies with his teacher of almost seven years, Vivian Li (Suirong). He has won three major national competitions in China, received prizes at the 2018 Ettlingen Competition and the 2019 Aarhus Competition, and—at the age of 13—presented the complete Chopin etudes in recital. He listens to opera and enjoys reading fiction, playing sports, and sampling desserts.
“I’ve been to several competitions or festivals abroad, and every time it was a life-changing inspiration with unforgettable memories, but the Cliburn Fort Worth… that’s almost like the Vatican for pianists. For me, it almost seems like a fairy tale, and I will treasure every moment of this journey.”
A new lunchtime series for the Kettner Concert Society at the National Liberal Club.An opportunity for young musicians from Westminster School with three remarkably gifted young pianists playing two Ballades by Chopin and one by Liszt. ‘Ballades for Olympias’ raised over 500 pounds today for the music education charity in Longsight,Manchester.These funds will go to ‘Learn to Play’which will provide free weekly music lessons to 85 children aged between 6-16. The Olympias Foundation believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to partecipate in music regardless of income or background.
Three precociously gifted young musicians gave remarkable performances of Ballades by Liszt and Chopin.
Eliza Ruffle
Eliza Ruffle gave an at times very passionate performance of Chopin’s Third Ballade.It was also a professionally prepared performance of a prize winning student of the Junior Academy.Already a member of the National Youth Orchestra but still a student and trained by the magnificent piano faculty of Westminster she is obviously going on to even greater things.
Ethan Wu
Ethan Wu gave an extraordinary account of Liszt’s spectacularly evocative Second Ballade.Claudio Arrau ,who studied under Liszt’s disciple Martin Krause, maintained that the Ballade was based on the Greek myth of Hero and Leander, with the piece’s chromatic ostinati representing the sea: “You really can perceive how the journey turns more and more difficult each time. In the fourth night he drowns. Next, the last pages are a transfiguration”.In Ethan’s hands it sprang to life with subtlety and virtuosity. Extraordinary mastery of the keyboard sonorities and remarkable virtuosity allied to a poetic understanding of this very evocative tone poem.Ethan has been studying for the past year with Prof Christopher Elton.
Shuntian Cheng
Shutian Cheng I have heard before playing Rachmaninov’s notoriously difficult third piano concerto at St John’s Smith Square.Just finishing in the sixth form at Westminster and ready for University he has been studying for the past six years with that magnificent trainer of so many remarkable pianists:Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy.He will now open a new chapter in his musical life with Rustem Hayroudinoff.A real artist who could bring to life the elusive opening of one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoire:Chopin’s Fourth Ballade.He also could turn the technical difficulties of the coda into ravishing music of passionate fervour.
Cristian Sandrin co artistic director of Kettner Concerts with the Head of Keyboard at Westminster School Mr Steven Wray
Three pianists that have been endowed by Westminster with the early training that gives them the possibility of choosing music as a professional career. Life will lead them to whichever road they choose but Music will always be present and will be their guiding light wherever life takes them . So pleased that the new artistic directors Cristian Sandrin and Hannah Elizabeth Teoh are giving a platform to the stars of tomorrow.I hope that after Westminster their series might continue with the Purcell and Menuhin schools as well as many others on an exciting voyage of discovery reaching for the stars.
Chairwoman of the National Liberal Club Karin RehacekThe imperious stairway to the David Llloyd George Music room
A thing of beauty is a joy forever sprang to mind as the sounds of Mozart and Schubert engulfed us as we were surrounded by beautiful paintings.
The indomitable Mary Orr a lady with a heart of gold
Music at the Matthiesen Gallery organised by the Matthiesen Foundation and the indomitable Mary Orr with many thanks to the Imogen Cooper Music Trust for the loan of their magnificent piano.A sparkling jewel in a crown and an honour to have Imogen Cooper at the concert too to support two young artists who had met at the Royal Academy and teamed up as a duo under her guidance at the ICMT masterclasses held annually in France.
How could one ever forget the supreme artistry of two remarkable women pianists Imogen Cooper and Ann Queffélec who had met in Leeds at the beginning of their illustrious careers as soloists and as kindred spirits became duo partners bringing music and joy to so many. Nice to be able to appreciate a new generation whose musical values and intelligent musicianship are added to a natural God given talent.
Two works by Mozart opened this short but very satisfying recital for the Matthiesen Foundation – Music at the Matthiesen Gallery. The beauty and simplicity they brought to the Andante and Variations in G K501 immediately showed us that we were in the hands of very fine musicians.A fluidity and beauty that Wouter brought to the disarming simplicity of the theme as accompanied by the delicacy of Ignas’s playing.The hardest thing for a piano duo is that four hands should sound as two.It means a supreme sense of balance is essential to avoid any conflict with the musical line that should be so clearly defined.It was exactly this that was so apparent today that these two young artists were actually listening to each other in their wish to create a single unified whole. Two pianists played as one – there could be no greater compliment and I wonder if indeed Mozart experienced the same with his sister for whom he wrote a number of important works for four hands. Very little pedal meant that there was great clarity but with their well oiled fingers there was a fluidity created by fingers not feet.Wouter occasionally touched the pedal to add colour especially in the ‘minor’ fourth variation.The beauty and clarity that Wouter brought to the first variation was shadowed by the fleeting lightness of Ignas in the second.The same lightness and obvious enjoyment they brought to the third .Their mastery was even more evident in the clarity and brilliance they both brought to the scintillating fifth variation.A beautifully poignant and graceful return of the theme just underlined the genius of Mozart where so few notes could mean so much.
The Sonata in C major K521 was played with a rhythmic energy from the first engaging opening fanfare.But it soon dissolved into elegance and nobility.Ignas’s agile fingers replied to Wouter’s purity of sound that was crisp and clear and very sensitively and discreetly ornamented.The dramatic question and answer between the two players was played with a sudden injection of youthful energy.The Andante was played with a purity of sound that was of a simple flowing natural beauty.There was great beauty to the opening of the Allegro but swiftly turned into the impetuosity and rhythmic energy of this final movement with great agility from Wouter and sensitivity from Ignas in the bass. Two very fine performances that as they play more together will find the freedom and flexibility of the voice with its natural breathing and shaping which was after all the early seeds of ‘bel canto’ and indeed the supreme Genius of Mozart.
Ignas Maknickas and Wouter Valvekens are two young musicians at the start of their careers.Like their mentor they will obviously fly high and ensure that the values of musical integrity and honesty go hand and hand with dedication and above all love for music -‘If music be the food of love,play on!’ And it will,thanks to Mary Orr,who as she says two charitable organisations linking up are a guiding force for the new generation of artists seeking an audience to share their wonderful gifts with.
Beautiful musicianly performances of Mozart and Schubert were crowned with a glorious performance of Dvorak’s most Brahmsian of Slavonic Dances op 72 n.2. Here the heavens opened as these two young artists revealed their very soul to us with such freedom and artistry and were not intimidated by the great masterpieces they had shared so beautifully but respectfully with us. To savour and enjoy them with respect but not too much!
Two works by Schubert completed the programme.This time Ignas was ‘Primo’ .The A major Rondo was published in December 1828, less than a month after Schubert died.Schubert left the largest number of piano duets and four-hand works of all the great composers and his Rondo, D. 951, dates from 1828, the last year of his life.A beautiful continuous outpouring of melodic invention transferring the final reprise of the rondo theme to the sonorous tenor register, with a continuous pattern of semiquavers unfolding above it. Particularly beautiful is the manner in which one of the important subsidiary themes returns towards the end, surmounted by a shimmering pianissimo accompaniment in repeated chords from the primo player.It was now Ignas who his the pedals and could add the ravishing colours that illuminate this masterpiece .It is usually customary for the bass or secondo to have the pedal because the harmonies are created from the bass upwards.Benjamin Britten thought so too until in performance with Richter at Aldeburgh he suddenly found two rather large feet on top of his! No such problem today with Wouter and Ignas in total harmony and as Schubert himself was to write in the his next Rondo D 608 ‘Notre amitié est invariable.’
The Fantasia in F minor by Franz Schubert, D.940 (Op. posth. 103) is one of Schubert’s most important works .He composed it in 1828, the last year of his life dedicating it to his former pupil Caroline Esterházy Schubert began writing the Fantasia in January 1828 in Vienna.The work was completed in March of that year, and first performed in May. Schubert’s friend Eduard von Bauernfeld recorded in his diary on May 9 that a memorable duet was played, by Schubert and Franz Lachner.The work was dedicated to Caroline Esterházy, with whom Schubert was in (unrequited) love. Schubert died in November 1828. After his death, his friends and family undertook to have a number of his works published. This work is one of those pieces; it was published by Anton Diabelli in March 1829. In four continuous movements Allegro molto moderato Largo Scherzo. Allegro vivace Finale. Allegro molto moderato The basic idea of a fantasia with four connected movements also appears in Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy and represents a stylistic bridge between the traditional sonata form and the essentially free form tone poem and it was beautifully played with a flexibility and freedom.There was also nobility and rhythmic precision in the Largo and an energetic Scherzo but a ‘Trio’ that was far too serious and more ‘joie de vivre’ and flexibility would have lightened the tension and dynamic drive.The fugue was played with great authority and extraordinary technical command but never loosing sight of the overall musical line.The disarming return of the opening fantasia was one of those master strokes of the Genius of Schubert giving such shape to one of the most beautiful of all Fantasias
Mozart and Schubert had the same youthful soul as these two valiant artists whose sensitive fingers had been entrusted with such treasures today .
Mary Orr presenting the two young artists Mozart original manuscript Schubert Fantasy original manuscript
Wouter Valvekens is a Belgian concert pianist. He has been invited to perform on different occasions in Belgium, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, for solo recitals and with orchestras such as the Chamber Orchestra of Mechelen, the Euregio Youth Orchestra and the St. John’s Chamber Orchestra in Maidenhead. Apart from his solo career, Wouter Valvekens is also a very active chamber musician. He is a founding member of the ‘Trio Aries’, which won the prestigious Supernova Chamber Music Competition 2020. The ensemble had its debut in the Henri Le Boeuf-Hall of BOZAR Brussels. He is also a founding member of the ‘Werther Piano Quartet’, which is supported by the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund. The ensemble gave its debut in the Konzerthaus Dortmund in 2018, to critical acclaim. During his studies, Wouter Valvekens has been actively participating in numerous national and international competitions. In 2014 he was awarded the first prize at the Belfius Classics competition. He was a finalist at the International VriendenCultuurPrijs Theaters Tilburg and he was awarded the second prize in the International André Charlier piano competition in 2015. In 2016, he won the 1st prize and the prize of the audience in the international VriendenCultuurPrijs piano competition in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and the 3rd prize in the César Franck International Piano Competition. Wouter won the first prize, and two special prizes at the International Paços Premium Competition in Paços de Brandão, Portugal. Wouter Valvekens received his first piano lessons at age 6 at the Conservatory of Mechelen, where he was studying with Rita Degraeuwe from 2004 to 2014. From 2014 to 2018, Wouter studied with Polina Leschenko at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. In 2017, he obtained the degree of Bachelor in Music magna cum laude. From 2018 to 2020 he studied with Ian Fountain at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he obtained his Postgraduate degree in 2020. His studies at the Academy were generously supported by the Winifred Christie Trust Award, a scholarship award from Inspiratum vzw and a Senior Award from the Hattori Foundation.He has worked with András Schiff, Imogen Cooper, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Richard Goode, Klaus Hellwig, Frank Braley amongst others in various masterclasses. Wouter Valvekens is also supported by the SWUK Flanders Foundation to follow masterclasses worldwide.
July 2021 Ignas Maknickas received “The Queen’s Award for Excellence” as the highest-scoring graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. In June 2023 Ignas became the winner of Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International Auditions. He has taken First Prize at the XIX Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Youth in Szafarnia, First Prize at the XX Piano Competition “Young Virtuoso” in Zagreb, Third Prize at the Aarhus Piano Competition and, in 2021, was the semi-finalist of the Vendome Prize.Ignas has appeared with the Aarhus Symphony, Alicante Philharmonic, Dartington Festival Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony, Lithuanian State Symphony, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players and Royal Academy of Music Chamber Orchestra.2023-24 highlights include Mozart K. 467 with London Mozart Players in London, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana and solo recital at the Wigmore Hall in London.Born in California in 1998, Ignas was raised in Lithuania. In 2017, graduating from the National M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius, he was honoured by the President of Lithuania, H.E. Dalia Grybauskaitė. With his sister and three brothers the talented Maknickas Family Ensemble has represented Lithuania on National Television and at State Occasions.Ignas completed his Bachelor of Music at the Royal Academy of Music on full scholarship under Professor Joanna MacGregor. In September 2021 he commenced the Master of Arts Programme with Professor MacGregor, also on full scholarship. He is a Leverhulme Arts Scholar, a recipient of the ABRSM Scholarship Award, the Imogen Cooper Music Trust Scholarship, Munster Trust Mark James Award, Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation Award, Tillett Trust and Colin Keer Trust Award and Hattori Foundation Award. He is an Artist of the Munster Trust Recital Scheme.He has attended masterclasses with Dmitri Bashkirov, Dame Imogen Cooper, Christopher Elton, Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Marios Papadopoulos, Menahem Pressler, Geoffrey Simon, Tamás Ungár, Arie Vardi and Ilana Vered. As a soloist he has appeared at the Steinway Hall in London, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Charlottenborg Festival Hall in Copenhagen, Ed Landreth Hall in Fort Worth, Lithuanian National Philharmonic in Vilnius and Kinross House in Scotland.
When two superb musicians decide to team up to make music together sparks begin to fly even in Acton on a balmy summer Sunday afternoon.
Acton Hill Church home of the Iris Axon Concert Series
From the first notes of Mozart’s B flat Sonata with its driving energy and perfect sense of balance where four hands played as two.A musical shape where the added ornamentation added an extra colour to the question and answer that passed between their hands. An Adagio of simple beauty and a molto presto strangely deliberately played with a beguiling non legato touch of great effect .Obviously enjoying their intelligent liberty of ornamentation but occasionally exaggerating in their zeal to inject the music with charm sometimes at the expense of the overall architectural shape .
Petar Dimov plays Schubert Impromptu op 90 n.1 D.899
Petar Dimov offered a solo of the first desolate Impromptu from Schubert’s op 90.A long sustained opening note out of which could be overheard a distant ethereal march.A large range of colours from passionate outpourings to beseeching beauty of this remarkable tone poem with its whispered ending of disarming simplicity.
Damir Duramovic played Schubert Impromptu op 142 n.1 D.935
Damir Durmanovic played the first impromptu from the second set op 142.A fluidity and beauty with whispered utterings of sublime mellifluous invention.Time stood still as the tenor and soprano voices communed over a murmuring flood of sound. A performance of extraordinary communication and a musicality that allowed the music to pour from his fingers with a poetic simplicity as Schubert reached for the sublime heights in the short time still left to him on this earth.
It was in the F minor Fantasy that the supreme artistry of these two young artist allowed Schubert’s sublime creation to shine with ravishing beauty and nobility.The magic created by Petar who barely touching the keys created a layer of sound on which Damir could allow the simple magic of one of Schubert’s most sublime creations to unfold with subtle poetry and sensitivity.There was great nobility to the dotted rhythms of the Largo and a wonderful fluidity to the Minuet and Trio.The fugue was brought to a monumental climax before the beseeching calm of the return of the opening creating the magic but also tragic atmosphere of the final noble ending to this sublime masterpiece . A superb sense of balance between the two pianists who played as one with the unity and musicianship of a partnership of kindred spirits. A mix up of parts in the beautiful page by Schumann of his Abendlied op 85 n 12 ,offered as an encore, meant that Damir had to completely improvise the simple chordal accompaniment to one of Schumann’s most poetic outpourings.
Trained from an early age at the Menuhin school this was part of Damir being a complete musician and his further training from Dimitri Alexeev at the RCM just complimented Petar’s musicianly training from Norma Fisher where he had been awarded his Masters degree at the Royal College of Music.
Mozart composed his Sonata for piano duet in B flat major, K. 358, in Salzburg some time in 1773 or 1774 for his sister Nanerl and himself to perform in Paris and Vienna. A three-movement work, the first two without tempo markings, but self-evidently an Allegro and an Adagio, and a finale marked Molto presto,The Sonata in B flat is full of virtuoso fingerwork and lightly lyrical melodies, and its finale is especially brilliant and was published in 1783.Mozart is one of the pioneers of works for piano four-hands; he was undoubtedly encouraged to do so through his music-making on the harpsichord with his sister, as depicted in the famous family portrait by della Croce (1780/81).
Johann Nepomuk della Croce ( 7 August 1736 – 4 March 1819) was an Austrian painter, known in Italy as Giovanni .Wolfgang with his sister Maria Anna and father Leopold on the wall a portrait of his dead mother Anna Maria c. 1780
Schubert began writing the Fantasia in January 1828 in Vienna and it was completed in March of that year, and first performed in May. Schubert’s friend Eduard von Bauernfeld recorded in his diary on May 9 that a memorable duet was played, by Schubert and Franz Lachner and was dedicated to Caroline Esterházy, with whom Schubert was in (unrequited) love.
Caroline Esterházy
Schubert died in November 1828. After his death, his friends and family undertook to have a number of his works published. This work is one of those pieces and was published by Anton Diabelli in March 1829.
Original manuscript of a section of the left hand part of the fourth movement
The Fantasia is divided into four movements, that are interconnected and played without pause.
Allegro molto moderato
Largo
Scherzo. Allegro vivace
Finale. Allegro molto moderato
The basic idea of a fantasia with four connected movements also appears in Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy and represents a stylistic bridge between the traditional sonata form and the essentially free-form tone-poem.The basic structure of the two fantasies is essentially the same: allegro, slow movement, scherzo, allegro with fugue.The form of this work, with its relatively tight structure (more so than the fantasias of Beethoven and Mozart was influential on the work of Franz Liszt who arranged the Wanderer Fantasy for piano and orchestra among other transcriptions he made of Schubert’s music.
Interesting to se and here this piano born out of Clive Pinkham’s love and passion for the piano .The enthusiasm for the instrument from an early age gave him a lifetime of dedication striving for perfection. He used to do ten hours a day piano practice and found it frustrating having to play on poor pianos. From this a burning desire was born to make a piano that would respond accurately to what he asked of it. His aim was to create a piano that was affordable to all. A piano that would respond accurately to what he was asking from it, and a piano that would produce an effortless long rich sweet singing tone. Clive Pinkham gave his first piano recital at the age of eight and went on to win the prestigious August Holmes scholarship to the London College of Music. He has given recitals at the Purcell Room of the Royal Festival Hall, at the Wigmore Hall and has appeared on American and British television.
“My philosophy is a total commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. For me it is important for my pianos to of the very best as it is my name that is on the front of each piano, and I know myself first hand how much pleasure can be given by a piano that is a dream to play.”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)Fantasia in G minor Op. 77
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) Fantasy in F minor Op. 49
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Wanderer D760
A thrilling recital by a master musician.Kirill Gerstein teased us with Fantasies by Master and pupil.Haydn’s rarely heard C major Fantasia linked up to Beethoven’s even rarer G minor .Played with a truly improvisatory flare that was a real jack in the box of delights. And what better birthday present for Chopin than one of his greatest works restored to the noblest of spirits by an artist who could seduce as he could take our breath away with aristocratic dynamism. Going full circle back to C major for a breathtaking account of Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy. Played with sumptuous clarity and moments of sublime beauty and with an overall architectural shape that had us on the edge of our seats from the first to the last exultant notes. A birthday gift for Thomas Ades too sharing the day with Chopin.Playing Ades’s Berceuse with the rattling of the cupboard door at the end that was enough to turn our golden dreams into nightmares. A quite remarkable tour de force of musicianship and total mastery
Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924). Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
For so many reasons the recital by Kirill Gerstein was a remarkable event.Firstly because the performances he gave were sensational for their musical authority and technical mastery.Even the seemingly obscure works by Busoni were brought to life by someone who had entered so fully into this mysterious sound world that was described by Gernstein with a quote from 1901 :’A musical sun that set at Liszt’s death and shines again through Busoni.‘It was on this very stage known then as Bechstein Hall that was inaugurated by Busoni and Ysaye on 31st May 1901.
It was fascinating to hear Gerstein talk about Busoni as he took us on a journey from his Elégie n.1 ‘ after the turning’ where Busoni had finally freed himself from the romanticism of his early piano concerto and was reaching out to find a new musical voice.It was the voice that Liszt hints at in his late works and is a voice made of mists and colours ,music without key signatures or bar lines.Again quoting Busoni:’Music is born free and to win back it’s freedom is it’s destiny.
And so it was with the Second Sonatina of 1912 ‘senza tonalità’ where all boundaries are removed.
The mists of sound of the Berceuse – 7th Elégie which Mahler had included in the orchestral version in his last concert.Mysterious sounds out of which emerge a melodic line ,similar in many ways to the searching sound world of late Scriabin.I have not heard it played in recital since Serkin included it with the Toccata in London in the 70’s (together with works by Reger in a programme including the Schumann Carnaval and Beethoven op 111).
The sixth sonatina that followed is known as the Carmen fantasy as it was Busoni’s recreation of the opera he had seen in Paris in 1920.The ending he even marks Andante visionario which of course it is.Like Liszt’s transcriptions or paraphrases this was someone who had understood the very core of the work and was able to transmit it’s inner message more clearly and in Liszt’s case sometime improve on it by changing the order of appearance.Thomas Ades was present in the audience and a close friend from whom Gerstein had recently commissioned a piano concerto (with funds from the prestigious Gilmore Trust).He describes Busoni’s music as a ‘suitcase with a false bottom’.The last piano work that Busoni wrote was the Toccata where he prefaces it with a quote of Frescobaldi:’Not without difficulty will we come to the end” Busoni had exchanged Frescobaldi’s ‘effort’for ‘difficulty’.Busoni’s last appearance at the now renamed Wigmore Hall was in 1922 when he was already suffering from a kidney disease no doubt due to his love of Champagne – he died two year later.Greatly disturbed by the First World War exclaiming :’The uninterrupted arch of our life has been interrupted!”These were only the fascinating introductions to the works that Gernstein played with such overwhelming mastery.Playing of such extraordinary sounds where notes did not seem to exist as we moved from one shimmering atmospheric planet to another.There were moments of breathtaking virtuosity as in the opening of the Carmen Fantasy taken at a breakneck speed but with such character and clarity – bright sunlight – before the amorous and ominous clouds overtook.
The toccata too was played with extraordinary authority and technical command.But it was the overall understanding of a sound world that was so remarkable and a sense of balance that could make the musical landscape of Busoni so clear.Indeed the world that Liszt so prophetically had pointed to at the end of his life suddenly came alive with sense and reason and just underlined the opening quote between the sun setting with Liszt and rising again with Busoni.A fascinating journey of pure music where the fact that we were listening to one of the great pianists of our time was secondary to his overwhelming musical authority.I think that could also be the way of describing Busoni himself!
What seemed so remarkable and indeed visionary in the first half of the concert opened the door for Liszt’s transcendental studies.They were played with the same sense of colour and architectural shape that the feat of being able to play so many notes paled into insignificance before the musical message that was being transmitted.I remember listening to Lazar Berman play the studies in one of his first concerts in the Festival Hall in London.There was such overwhelming sound that I quickly left the hall after the third one as my ears could just not take so much continuous sound.A school of playing where every note is played right to the bottom of the key ….and beyond ………exemplified by master virtuosi such Alexander Toradze and Denis Matsueev.A school that turns the piano back into a percussion instrument whereas Liszt and Busoni had pointed us into the direction of multicoloured sounds.A world where notes were transformed into shapes and atmospheres.A magic world where a box full of hammers and strings could be turned into a kaleidoscope of sounds and emotions.Was it not Thalberg who when he played was accused of having made a pact with the devil as it seemed he had three hands,such was the illusion he was able to create by the subtle use of the pedal,balance and technical control.It was Anton Rubinstein who had said that the pedal is the ‘soul’ of the piano We seem these day to have lost what was known as the ‘Matthay touch’,where every note could have at least one hundred different gradations.I remember Rosalyn Tureck who if the lid of the piano was not left shut before a concert she would spend time brushing off the minutest particles of dust that could impede her from weighing up each key.It was this that made Kirill Gernstein’s performance today so remarkable.
We were treated to twelve miniature tone poems where Paysage became just as significant as Der Wilde Jagd because the passionate involvement and sense of line was the same .
The ravishing beauty of Ricordanza – ‘a bunch of faded love letters tied with a pink ribbon’ to quote Busoni and the incredible fleeting impression of ‘Will o’ the wisp’ Feux Follets .One of the most technically challenging of all piano pieces was played with such a haze of sounds that blew across the keyboard with a left hand that was like a jewels sparkling in the night air.
Has Vision ever sounded as noble or ‘visionary’ with such sumptuous sounds?The whole opening page played by the left hand alone before the streams of sounds where even two hands did not seem enough!
The octaves in Eroica after the quixotic opening were like vibrations of sound and we were certainly not aware that they were the notoriously difficult octaves that we all wait for.
Mazeppa too was played with astonishing energy but also a sense of balance where everything was so clear as the excitement grew to breathtaking proportions.The central episode,sumptuous tenor melody with streams of golden sounds cascading around it.Has the Fminor study ever sounded more passionately abandoned or beautifully phrased with a coda of terrifying brilliance? Harmonies du soir was played like Paysage with ravishing sounds and passionate involvement.The final left hand arpeggios so reminiscent of Busoni’s own Berceuse with just a mist of sound on which floated the melodic line.
Chasse Neige ,considered by many to be the finest of the set ,was played with an extraordinary sense of balance and forward movement building up to a breathtaking climax before dying away with swirls of sound.It died away to end this extraordinary performance with a simple bare chord.
Minutes of aching silence at the end as the audience tried to come to terms with what they had experienced and Kirill Gernstein had a moment of recovery.
The only encore possible after that could be by Bach-Busoni!It was in fact the chorale prelude ‘Nun freut euch ,Lieben Christen gemein’ played at incredible speed but with such clarity,the melodic line miraculously emerging above the joyous outpouring of brilliance.
The Hungarian roots of Domonkos were apparent throughout his recital at St Mary’s Perivale not only for the obvious dance idioms in Kodaly’s ‘Dances of Marosszek’ but in the very sound he produced from the very opening notes of Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue BWV 944. A Hungarian school of playing with a very crisp and clean sound of great fluidity very noticeable in Geza Anda,Tamas Vasary ,Deso Ranki and Zoltan Kocsis.It gives great clarity to the sound but with a kaleidoscopic range too from gently whispered sounds to the full sound of a truly Grand piano.
There was a clarity to the long improvised lines of the Bach Fantasia with a fugue that had an inner rhythmic propulsion where Bach’s extremely ‘knotty twine’ was unravelled with extraordinary beauty of sound.Each strand had a life of its own while creating a architectural whole of great nobility.
It was a sound that was ideally suited to the world of Benjamin Britten where luminosity and subtlety created a world where every note seems to have a life of its own in a musical language that is always based on the human voice.The piano accompaniments of the Song Cycles like the Winter Words or Michelangelo Sonnets are so similar to this sound world of solo piano. Britten was a wonderful pianist but more like Gerald Moore where their accompaniment for singers was quite unique.Britten’s creation of a new genre of song (and opera)for his companion Peter Pears and his duo playing of Schubert with Richter or Rostropovich from Aldeburgh has become legend.
Rostropovich and Britten, 1964
I was studying in Italy in 1972 when I was asked by the British Council to give a series of recitals to celebrate Britten’s 60th birthday playing the entire piano works of Britten together with the song cycle ‘Winter Words ‘ and some of his folk song arrangements.The piano works were Holiday Diary Suite and the Notturno commissioned for the first Leeds International Piano Competition. Today is the first time since then that I have seen this suite on a concert programme. Domonkos played it with superb character where Britten’s very individual language created a world where you could visualise the atmosphere that Britten was describing.A master craftsman Britten knew exactly how to make the piano talk with the same inflections and shapes as the human voice.The crystal clear sounds that are so much part of Domonkos’s technical finesse were ideally suited and it brought each of the four scenes of a ‘Holiday Suite’ vividly to life. ‘The Early Morning Bathe’ where you could almost see the water splashing,taking a plunge into the icy water and the tentative steps before taking another.Or the beautiful serene melodic line ‘sailing’ on gently moving waves.The agitation as they sailed into deeper waters only to return to the serenity and calm as they neared the shore.All the fun of the ‘Fun Fair’ with its sparkling perpetuum mobile played with such enviable precision.Fireworks shooting off with glissandi fired from Domonkos’s superbly trained fingers.The extraordinary lament as ‘Night’ falls with the tenor melody that sings out so poignantly while all around slumber is taking over.A superb sense of balance and complete control of timbre and balance made this a particularly poignant farewell. A work that deserves a place on more concert programmes when played with the mastery that we heard today (I can imagine Curzon for whom it was eventually dedicated bringing the same eloquence to these seemingly sparse notes – as he did of course to Mozart). A very individual ’medley’ of four completely different works from the musicianly hands of Domonkos turned into a Sonata of magnificence and opulence.
‘Finlandia’ transcribed by the composer Sibelius was a revelation as Domonkos showed us a tone poem of extraordinary evocative suggestion with its imperious orchestral opening and sumptuous string chords answered by the purity of the woodwinds.A virtuosistic build up to the glorious melodic outpouring of Nationalistic pride that has become the emblem of Finland.Superb full orchestral sound never hard or ungrateful from Domonkos’s wonderfully fluid sound world.
A beautiful Chopin Prelude op 28 n.17 was played with aristocratic rubato and sounds of magic and wonder.The deep tolling bell in the base and the mist it created for the apparition of the opening melody,floating into a stratosphere of poetic beauty,was quite memorable.
Rachmaninov’s G sharp minor prelude was played with a poetic sensibility and kaleidoscope of ravishing colours.
The sombre entry of S.Paolo walking on the waves was just a prelude to a tone poem of remarkable grandeur and beauty that was truly breathtaking.I have only heard the like from Wilhelm Kempff on his all too few historic recordings of Liszt.
The Kodaly ‘Dances’were played to the manner born with scintillating colours of such insinuating beguiling sounds and also technical brilliance of nobility and grandeur.
Domonkos Csabay is a Hungarian concert pianist, chamber musician and accompanist. He studied with András Kemenes and István Lantos at the Liszt Academy Budapest, and is a graduate of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where his professors were Pascal Nemirovski and John Thwaites. Besides pursuing a solo carreer, he has worked as a répétiteur with renowned opera companies and co-operated with diverse chamber ensembles. He has made several concerto appearances and has been invited to many prestigous venues and festivals, such as the Budapest Spring Festival or the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival. Competition successes include 1st prize at the Lyon International Chamber Music competition and at the Birmingham International Piano Chamber Music Competition in 2022, special award in the Budapest Liszt Piano Competition, as well as prizes won as a composer in Romania and as member of a Lied duo in Wales. His performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and in the Hungarian Radio. His debut CD was issued by Naxos in 2021, his second solo album is appearing soon with the label Hungaroton. Domonkos recently finished his fellowship as a collaborative pianist the Royal College of Music, London.”
The Holiday Diary (Tales) of 1934, dedicated in the first published edition of 1935 to Arthur Benjamin, the composer’s piano teacher at the RCM, were later—in a sense—re-dedicated on the manuscript given to Britten’s friend, the pianist Clifford Curzon (‘who made them his’). They show Britten’s sharp sense of the descriptive and that boyish sense of fun which never entirely deserted him. The exuberant ‘Early Morning Bathe’ (Britten loved swimming) is irresistible with its hesitant shivers before taking the plunge, its wave-like arpeggios gathering momentum into warmer tonal waters, and the shivers in reverse of its coda as the bather emerges from the water. ‘Sailing’ broaches a vein of melodic serenity (parodied in a turbulent middle section) that was to prove consistent in many a more emotionally serious situation in Britten. The delights of the ‘Fun-Fair’ (a brisk toccata-like rondo with descriptive episodes) are a riot of piano sonority. The work concludes with an atmospheric night-piece in which the ghosts of former themes from the suite float past.
Jean Sibelius 1865–1957
Jean Sibelius born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius;(8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country’s greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia.The core of his oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies which, like his other major works, are regularly performed and recorded in Finland and countries around the world. His other best-known compositions are Finlandia ,the Karelia Suite ,Valse triste ,the violin Concerto ,the choral symphony Kullervo,and The Swan of Tuonela (from the Lemminkainen suite).There is also quite a large number of piano pieces yet to be discovered .In performing selected piano works, Lief Ove Andsnes finds that audiences were “astonished that there could be a major composer out there with such beautiful, accessible music that people don’t know.”
Piano Suite (Florestan), JS 82 (1889)
Sonata in F major op 12.(1893)
10 Pieces, Op. 24 (1894–1903)
10 Bagatelles, Op. 34 (1914–16)
10 Pensées lyriques, Op. 40 (1912–14)
10 Pieces, Op. 58 (1909)
Three Sonatinas, Op. 67 (1912)
No. 1 in F-sharp minor
No. 2 in E major
No. 3 in B-flat minor
2 Rondinos, Op. 68 (1912)
4 Lyric Pieces, Op. 74 (1914)
5 Pieces (The Trees), Op. 75 (1914)
13 Pieces, Op. 76 (1914)
5 Pieces (The Flowers), Op. 85 (1916)
6 Pieces, Op. 94 (1919)
6 Bagatelles, Op. 97 (1920)
8 Short Pieces, Op. 99 (1922)
5 Romantic Compositions, Op. 101 (1923)
5 Characteristic Impressions, Op. 103 (1924)
5 Esquisses, Op. 114 (1929)
Kyllikki
Six Impromptus
1) No. 1 in G minor (Moderato)
2) No. 2 in G minor (Lento-Vivace)
3) No. 3 in A minor (Moderato/Alla marcia)
4) No. 4 in E minor (Andantino)
5) No. 5 in B minor (Vivace)
6) No. 6 in E major (Commodo)
The Dances of Marosszek were written for piano in 1927, and expanded for orchestra in 1930, this colourful folk-inspired music is one of Zoltán Kodály’s most celebrated pieces. Kodály often composed in a similar fashion to Bella Bartók, venturing into regions to get authentic impressions and samples of the native music. The six tunes featured in this piece were collected from Marosszek, a town in the Szekely region of eastern Hungary.Kodály in the 1930s Born 16 December 1882 Died 6 March 1967 (aged 84) Budapest, Hungary
Born in Kecskemet,Hungary and learned to play the violin as a child .In 1900 he entered the department of Languages at the University of Budapest and at the same time Hans von Kössler’s composition class at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Music. After completing his studies, he studied in Paris with Charles Widor for a year.
In 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs, recording them on phonograph cylinders.In 1906 he wrote a thesis on Hungarian folk song, “Strophic Construction in Hungarian Folksong”. At around this time Kodály met fellow composer and compatriot Bela Barto whom he took under his wing and introduced to some of the methods involved in folk song collecting. The two became lifelong friends and champions of each other’s music.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 