ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary

Another tribute to Piero Rattalino from Valerio Vicari for the recent loss to the musical world of such a distinguished figure.Maestro Rattalino had also been very much associated with Roma Tre Orchestra from it ‘s founding almost twenty years ago.It was refreshing to hear of the encounter between Pietro Fresa and Maestro Rattalino,two years ago,on the occasion of Pietro’s performance of Mozart’s last piano concerto with the Roma Tre Orchestra.A mine of information he was only too happy to share his knowledge with this young pianist as he had done with generations of pianists many of whom now have gone on to illustrious careers.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/10/30/mozart-triumphs-at-torlonia-with-jonathan-ferrucci-pietro-fresa-sieva-borzak/

I had not realised though that this signalled an unexpected change of programme.To the Brahms monumental variations were now added Mozart’s deliciously refreshing variations on “Ah vous dirai-je,Maman” and Beethovens monumental Waldstein Sonata op 53 .These two masterworks were in substitute for Liszt’s rhetorical tone poem “Vallée d’Obermann” and Scriabin’s hysterical reaching for the stars with his 10th and last Sonata.

Fair exchange is no robbery and a programme of three great masterworks was only to be applauded especially when played with the maturity and mastery as today.Pietro told me afterwards that this was the programme that he had prepared for a tour of Spain in the next few days and he preferred to share this monumental programme with his Roma 3 audience,especially when his previous appearance had been Mozart’s last great piano concerto that had been so appreciated by Maestro Rattalino.

Twelve Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman”, K.265 was composed when Mozart was around 25 years old (1781 or 1782). It consists of twelve variations on the French folk song “Ah!vous dirai-je,maman”.The French melody first appeared in 1761, and has been used for many children’s songs, such as “Twinkle ,Twinkle,Little Star” or “Baa,Baa,Black Sheep^” For a time, it was thought that these variations were composed in 1778, while Mozart stayed in Paris from April to September in that year, the assumption being that the melody of a French song could only have been picked up by Mozart while residing in France. For this presumed composition date, the composition was renumbered from K. 265 to K. 300.Later analysis of Mozart’s manuscript indicated 1781/1782 as the probable composition date.They were first published in Vienna in 1785.

Piano Sonata No. 21 , Op. 53 in C major known as the Eroica symphony for piano.It is considered to be one of Beethoven’s greatest piano sonatas. Completed in 1804, it has a scope that surpasses Beethoven’s previous sonatas, and notably is one of his most technically challenging compositions. It is a key work early in his ‘Heroic’ decade (1803-1812) and set the stage for piano compositions in the grand manner both in Beethoven’s later work and all future composers. The Waldstein receives its name from Beethoven’s dedication to Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein of Vienna, a patron as well as a close personal friend of his. This sonata is also known as ‘L’Aurora’ (The Dawn) in Italian, for the sonority of the opening chords, which are said to conjure an image of daybreak.It is in two movements :Allegro con brio and an Adagio molto which is an introduction to the Rondo Allegretto moderato.The original second movement Beethoven chose to publish separately as his ‘Andante Favori’ and substitute it for a much shorter introduction to the final Rondo.

It was this movement that stood out more than all the pyrotechnical gymnastics of the outer movements for Pietro’s complete understanding of the orchestral colour and intensity in this single,intense, page.It was a sign of his maturity as an interpreter where ‘rinforzando’ was given such a noble sound as it disappeared into the distance passing from one instrument to another.This after the stillness of the pianissimo opening full of the precise indications by Beethoven that were scrupulously understood and transformed into sounds.At the same time giving an architectural shape that dissolved into oblivion with the single shining star of G that was to be brought to life with the undulating harmonies of the Rondo.Of course it was a sign of the genius of Beethoven who could contemplate this link between two transcendentally busy outer movements.

A first movement played with a rhythmic energy and authority where the startling contrasts in dynamics were slightly exaggerated especially in the development where the long held arpeggiated harmonies were sometimes give a shock start from the bass.But the overall impression was of a performance of great authority and architectural understanding where his ability to keep a constant tempo despite the demonic drive that Beethoven demands was exhilarating and kept us on the edge of our seats.The technically exhilarating episodes of the Rondo were played with authority and drive and his slight hesitation before the return of the luminous rondo was a master stroke that I have rarely heard from other interpreters.I liked his insistence on the bass harmonies in the coda that gave great weight to the arpeggiando changing harmonic pattern of the right hand.His ability to play the glissandi on a modern piano with such ease was nothing short of remarkable.Serkin used to lick his fingers before attempting them – others like Kissin play them with some very deft scales.A remarkable performance that showed the maturity that this young man has now acquired.

An encore of Schubert’s beautiful Impromptu op 142 n.2 rounded off this unexpectedly important programme.Played with luminous beauty and simplicity he could even have taken more time over the mellifluous meanderings of the central episode where he had found some magical counterpoints that were worth savouring even more.

The Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, was written by Brahms in 1861 and consists of a set of twenty-five variations and a concluding fugue, all based on a theme from Handel’s Harpsichord Suite n.1 in B flat HWV 434. Tovey ranked it among “the half-dozen greatest sets of variations ever written”.Written in September 1861 after Brahms, aged 28, abandoned the work he had been doing as director of the Hamburg women’s choir (Frauenchor) and moved out of his family’s cramped and shabby apartments in Hamburg to his own apartment in the quiet suburb of Hamm, initiating a highly productive period that produced “a series of early masterworks”.Written in a single stretch in September 1861,it is dedicated to a “beloved friend”, Clara Schumann widow of Robert Schumann.It was presented to her on her 42nd birthday, September 13. At about the same time, his interest in, and mastery of, the piano also shows in his writing two important piano quartets, in G minor and A major. Barely two months later, in November 1861, he produced his second set of Schumann Variations, Op. 23, for piano four hands.One aspect of his approach to variation writing is made explicit in a number of letters. “In a theme for a set of variations, it is almost only the bass that has any meaning for me. But this is sacred to me, it is the firm foundation on which I then build my stories. What I do with a melody is only playing around … If I vary only the melody, then I cannot easily be more than clever or graceful, or, indeed, if full of feeling, deepen a pretty thought. On the given bass, I invent something actually new, I discover new melodies in it, I create.” The role of the bass is critical.Brahms played them at a meeting with Wagner who commented:’One sees what still may be done in the old forms when someone comes along who knows how to use them”.^’Clara writes in her diary :’On Dec 7th I gave another soirée, at which I played Johannes’ Handel Variations. I was in agonies of nervousness, but I played them well all the same, and they were much applauded. Johannes, however, hurt me very much by his indifference. He declared that he could no longer bear to hear the variations, it was altogether too dreadful for him to listen to anything of his own and to have to sit by and do nothing. Although I can well understand this feeling, I cannot help finding it hard when one has devoted all one’s powers to a work, and the composer himself has not a kind word for it.^’

Pietro played the theme with scintillating ornaments that sprang from his fingers like springs and gave such luminous clarity to the theme that was to be so nobly enhanced by Brahms in the triumphant 25th variation.There was never a moment in Pietro’s authoritative performance that seemed anything other than inevitable.The transcendental difficulties and complex musical ideas just poured from his sensitive hands as he gave an architectural shape to the twenty five variations culminating in a final fugal climax of overwhelming power and authority.There was rhythmic energy and clarity and ‘joie de vivre’ to the first variation contrasting with the fluidity and legatissimo of the second with some very interestingly pointed counterpoints.There was a gentle lilt to the third and great sonorities to the octaves of the fourth.Gentle flowing lyricism of the fifth leading to the legatissimo octaves of mysterious atmosphere and the answer of the sixth bringing great rhythmic impetus leading to the fanfare of the seventh.There was a gradual build up with a sudden rhythmic impetus to the eighth and admirable control of the whispered sonorities of the octaves answering one another in the ninth.But why so violent a contrast between the sforzando and sudden piano that was rather exaggerated and overwhelming too soon?There was a sudden change of character with the quixotic flight from the top to the bottom of the keyboard in the tenth contrasting with the beautifully lyrical eleventh.The languid left hand melodic line in the twelfth was very slow and unusually beautiful followed by the noble sonorities of pompous regal sonorities of the thirteenth.Tovey sees a grouping in Variations 14–18, which he describes as “arising one out of the other in a wonderful decrescendo of tone and crescendo of Romantic beauty”.The nineteenth is slow, relaxing variation, with its lilting rhythm and 12/8 time,written in the dance style of a Baroque French siciliana from the school of Couperin (Brahms had edited Couperin’s music ).It uses chords almost exclusively in the root position, perhaps as another reminiscence of “antique” music. In a technique often used by Brahms, the melodic line is hidden in an inner part and was played with a clarity and simplicity before the final build up to the twenty fifth triumphant fanfare and the mighty fugue.In fact there was great character to each of the variations played with an underlying rhythmic impetus which as Brahms clearly describes comes from the solidity of the bass allowing freedom for all that rides on it.There was much beauty in the music box twenty second variation leading to the spikey staccato build up ever more energetic until the final explosion of the theme in all its glory.The fugue was played with amazing clarity and a build up of tolling bells and frenzied movement that demonstrated his truly transcendental technical prowess.An overpowering performance of one of the masterworks for the piano all too often used as a tool for aspiring young pianists struggling with the technical difficulties and not always realising the enormous musical invention that the 28 year old Brahms demonstrated at the same time as writing his poorly received first piano concerto

Pietro è stato ammesso, a soli undici anni, alla prestigiosa Accademia Pianistica Internazionale “Incontri col Maestro” di Imola, ove ha studiato con la concertista cinese Jin Ju, ed è attualmente allievo del celebre Maestro russo Boris Petrushansky. Dopo il Conservatorio, ha iniziato gli studi presso il Royal College of Music di Londra per merito di una importante borsa di studio, e qui, frequentando i corsi dei Maestri Dmitri Alexeev e Sofya Gulyak, si è laureato con il massimo dei voti nel settembre 2020.Pietro inoltre si è perfezionato con docenti quali Enrico Pace, Boris Berman, Vovka Ashkenazy, Leonid Margarius, Vanessa Latarche, Andreas Frölich, Stefano Fiuzzi e Roberto Cappello partecipando regolarmente alle loro Masterclass. A dodici anni, ha tenuto la sua prima esibizione con l’orchestra inaugurando, con il concerto Hob. XVIII/11 in re maggiore di Haydn, l’anno accademico del Conservatorio presso l’Auditorium Manzoni di Bologna.

Da allora ha iniziato una intensa attività concertistica sia come solista che in formazioni di musica da camera che l’ha portato ad esibirsi in numerose rassegne sia in Italia che all’estero, fino a condividere il palco con artisti del calibro del violoncellista Mario Brunello. Tra le rassegne di cui è stato protagonista: i concerti per Roma Tre Orchestra nell’Aula Magna dell’Università Roma Tre, al Teatro Palladium e a Palazzo Braschi, la prestigiosa stagione di Musica Insieme presso l’Auditorium Manzoni a Bologna, Bologna Festival, Genus Bononiae, Musica in Fiore presso la Sala Farnese del Comune, San Giacomo Festival presso la omonima basilica, I Concerti del Teatro Comunale, del Teatro Guardassoni, del Cenobio di S. Vittore, dell’Università di Lettere, la rassegna del Circolo Ufficiali, la stagione Talenti in Musica di Modena, la Società Letteraria di Verona, il Festival Talent Music Mater Courses di Brescia nonché i concerti del Teatro Sancarlino di Brescia.
Si è aggiudicato il primo premio assoluto in più di trenta concorsi di esecuzione pianistica. Di particolare rilievo è stata la vittoria del primo premio al Concorso Internazionale “Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition” di Vienna, che gli ha dato occasione di esibirsi presso la rinomata Metallener Saal della Musikverein (Vienna).

Étienne Pivert de Sénancour’s novel Oberman ( with one n) was not well received at its publication in 1804. So forcefully, however, did it resonate with the emerging æsthetic preoccupations of the age that three decades later it was a ‘must-read’ in Parisian literary circles, its eponymous central character virtually a watchword for the Romantic sensibility in art. Set in a picturesque valley in Switzerland, it tells the story of a young man enthralled, but at the same time overwhelmed and confused, by his encounters with Nature and the feelings of longing that they engender in him. Helpless to relieve this eternal yearning, he settles on a life of utter simplicity in an attempt to escape the inner struggle and torment of his emotional life.Liszt’s own travels through Switzerland in the late 1830s inspired his Vallée d’Obermann (with two n’s), first published in 1842 and later included,in a revised version, in the first of his piano suites entitled Années de Pèlerinage I (Suisse) published in 1855. Overtly literary in conception, Liszt’s Vallée d’Obermann pays tribute to its famous forbear in a type of musical construction that sees its principal theme, a descending scale figure, suffer harmonic and chromatic transformations that parallel the emotional turmoil experienced by Sénancour’s sensitive young hero. This descending scale figure, announced in the left hand as the work opens, permeates every page of the score.’What do I wish? What am I? What shall I ask of nature? I feel; I exist only to waste myself in unconquerable longings…Inexpressible sensibility, the charm and the torment of our futile years; vast consciousness of a nature that is everywhere incomprehensible and overwhelming; universal passion, indifference, the higher wisdom, abandonment to pleasure— I have felt and experienced them all’

The Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, was written in 1913. It was his final work in this form. The piece is highly chromatic and tonally ambiguous like Scriabin’s other late works.It is characterized by frequent trills and tremolos and is sometimes called his “Insect Sonata”, referring to his words:

“My Tenth Sonata is a sonata of insects. Insects are born from the sun […] they are the kisses of the sun.”

The atmosphere of the introductory pages of the Tenth Sonata is veiled and distant, like an impressionist reflection, but much more intensely elevated and spiritual. Trills soon sweep into every corner of the music, and in the last pages they are transformed into a glorious reverberation, as if shimmering with pulses of glowing light and taking on lives of their own. Such life and light/sound corroborations are typical of the composer’s own imaginative world.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/12/04/pietro-fresa-in-london-refined-seduction-and-intelligence-at-brompton-oratory/

In questa originale formula musicale Scipione Sangiovanni ha condensato il proprio intero percorso formativo, che spazia dalla musica rinascimentale al pop. Il principio fondamentale di questo concerto consiste nel creare suite accostando brani appartenenti a mondi sonori apparentemente inconciliabili. Un principio che in altri campi artistici, per esempio quello del design e dell’architettura, è stato già ampiamente sperimentato ed è, anzi, diventato la regola.

Scipione Sangiovanni for Roma 3 last night opening with a ravishing performance of Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor op posth dedicated to Piero Rattalino,vice president of Roma Tre Orchestra and one of only two pianofiles in the world.A renowned musicologists with a catalogue of tomes that would be the envy of even JSB.He will be dearly missed but his Heritage is inestimable.
Scipione went on to astonish and amaze us with a programme that demonstrated not only his chameleonic sense of style but above all his trascendental mastery and passionate participation.
As he himself said the message in music is universal and there are no barriers when one wants to create atmospheres to express one’s emotions and uncontaminated sense of discovery with a kaleidoscope of ravishing sounds.
Well he certainly did that with a simplicity and mastery that held us enthralled from Frescobaldi to Piazzola ………’Someday over the rainbow’ has the same sense of hope and aspiration as Bach’s ‘Ich ruf’zu dir,Herr Jesu Christ ‘? Hard to believe until tonight!
A master and a man for all seasons

Le barriere del tempo svaniscono, i canoni estetici si sublimano, mostrando che la musica è una sola nonostante possa aver generato molti figli. L’antico ed il moderno, il barocco ed il jazz, il classico ed il rock si sfiorano senza mai fondersi formando nuove alchimie sonore. Il risultato è una catena musicale nella quale gli opposti si attraggono, dialogano tra loro, si scontrano ed infine combaciano.

I had first heard Scipione in Monza where I had been invited to be part of an illustrious jury at the Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition.I do not usually do that sort of thing as the Circus element in music is not my idea of what music should represent.Every performance should be enjoyed for what it is and not compared to others.Comparative music performance is not for me,but I realise that there are opportunities in the Competition field that may out- way my view of independence and uncontamination.

My dear friend Constance Channon Douglass was indisposed and asked me if I would take her place.Of course how could I let her down and what an honour to be on a jury with Bruno Canino,Stefano Fiuzzi and Marcel Baudet.

With the generous fee I was able to buy a most beautiful bedspread which still adorns my bed and reawakens memories of a beautiful occasion.

A young pianist Julian Brocal had played a wonderful Schumann Carnaval and has since been taken under the wing of Marie Jose Pires and is flying high.I had thanked her for all that she is doing for young musicians and she simply replied that it was not what she did for them but it was what they did for her!The simplicity and humility of a great artist shared with her colleague Martha Argerich – ‘birds of a feather ‘indeed!https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2020/03/03/julien-brocal-at-the-wigmore-hall-on-wings-of-song/

Scipione had been admitted to the final where he played Liszt 2nd Piano Concerto that I personally did not admire as much as an Emperor concerto from Mengyang Yang Pan. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/09/16/mengyang-pan-at-st-marys-beauty-and-control-passionate-intensity-and-intelligence/

But then Scipione played an encore and the heavens opened and there was no doubt that this was a quite considerable artist and of course he won the coveted first prize.It reminded me of a story that Sidney Harrison,my piano daddy,would tell of Alfred Cortot playing the Emperor concerto at the Gold Medal Ceremony of the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.A performance that was not one of the Masters best!But then he played an encore and the heavens opened and there was no doubt that Gold Medal first given to Beethoven was in the right hands with Alfred Cortot.

I had not heard Scipione since as he lives in Lecce ,the Florence of the South.Like his distinguished colleague Francesco Libetta why should they want to leave paradise to struggle and suffer in an alien city when their art and heart can grow untainted in the city of their birth.

Seeing him tonight as he affectionately greeted his young daughter who had patiently been following his concert ,in between playing with her crayons,I realised what a wise man that young winner of the competition had become.Listening to him I realised even more what a great artist and human being he has become.

A beautiful programme for Holy Week at Roma 3 where their series ‘Young Artists Piano Solo’ continues unabated with the energy and dedication of the President Roberto Pujia and his ex student,Artistic Director,Valerio Vicari.

With their many young helpers it is a series that gives an invaluable showplace for young musicians at the start of their career.After years of study dedicating their youth to art as they take the big step from Gradus ad Parnassum.An unreachable Parnassum but real artists can get nearer only by playing in public and learning from listening to themselves.It was Artur Rubinstein who told the contestants at the first competition in his name in Tel Aviv,fifty years ago ,that true artists should be like bees.To cultivate one’s own taste by listening to as much music as possible and by living the life of a true artist that can appreciate beauty.

A life where quality rather than quantity is what counts.Likened to the bees that cultivate their pollen from the flowers that they are attracted to and which makes every honey different from another.The Rubinstein Competition is now in its 50th year but the message of Rubinstein in more actual today in this fast moving world than it has ever been.I remember Ruggiero Ricci telling me that in his opinion performances these days were so uniform in their perception because there is no time to stop and stare!In order to cross the Atlantic it would take days on an Ocean liner when there was time to stop,think,digest and look around and maybe even question many things.Today as Ricci told me he could be playing the Tchaikowsky concerto today in New York and tomorrow the Sibelius in Tokyo!

It was fascinating to see this young artist today and to appreciate a programme that we rarely see even in the most important concert halls. Six short works by Rachmaninov for the 150th anniversary celebrations of a composer who is only now getting the recognition that he has long been denied by so called ‘serious’ musicians.The last work penned by Schumann and Beethoven’s most mellifluous Sonata op 110.In between a rarely heard toccata by Bach and Scriabin’s luminous Fourth Sonata.

A true artist is known by his programmes and this was already a superb visiting card for this young musician from Brescia.It was also fascinating to learn that he is receiving advice from Alexander Romanovsky which was so evident from his ‘straight finger’ technique.Fingers pointing with sensibility and control to notes whose sound they can hear in their ears before they touch the keys.As opposed to a certain Russian school of playing mainly by force on pianos that fortunately are built like tanks but unfortunately cannot bite back! https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/04/13/romanovsky-a-miracle-in-the-eternal-city-the-reincarnation-of-richter-and-rachmaninov/

Tuesday 4 April 3.00 pm 

  

Musicianly playing of great drive and assurance.The rhythmic precision and scrupulous attention to Beethoven’s indications gave great structural strength to this remarkable sonata.The beauty of the Adagio where her impeccable sense of balance allowed the melodic line to float on a gently throbbing accompaniment.The Presto had a mellifluous pastoral flow that was to be mirrored in the Sonata op 28 that was to follow just a year later.
I have written about her performance of the Beethoven Sonata just a few months ago but it has now matured and gained in weight as she allowed the music to flow through her so naturally. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/01/16/ivelina-krasteva-at-st-jamessussex-gardens-intelligence-and-mastery-at-the-service-of-music/

Her performance of the Barcarolle was new to me and the great song that flowed from Chopin’s soul towards the end of his life found an ideal interpreter where everything she played sang with such luminosity and beauty.The gentle flow created at the opening continued undisturbed with an ever more intense melodic line.It dissolved into the pure magic of the central expansive embellishment of bel canto.It was obviously a glimpse of the paradise that was to await the already tragically weakened composer after his desperate and exasperating visit to Majorca with his companion Georges Sand.The build up to the final exultation was played with aristocratic authority always singing as it built to a passionate climax only to die away to whispered murmurings with a gentle melody just hinted at in the tenor register,that was to be so admired by Ravel ,before the final four strokes of adieux.

I remember well Ivelina’s performance of the Fantasie by Scriabin :
https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/05/30/ivelina-krasteva-for-the-keyboard-trust-simplicity-and-beauty-of-a-thinking-artist/ It was the same architectural shape that she brought to his third Sonata.
Passion and drama allied to a beauty of sound and a sense of line that held the sonata together as the menacing opening motif returns toward the end to give great coherence to the form of a Sonata that is gradually leading to the vision of the ‘star’ that is to be the guiding light for his life and the later prophetic ninth and tenth Sonatas.
Some remarkable performances of three great works played with authority,consummate musicianship and poetic vision.

Bulgarian born classical pianist Ivelina Krasteva is an internationally active solo and chamber musician. Currently based in London, she splits her time between performing, teaching and pursuing a masters degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, under the tutelage of Ronan O’Hora and Katya Apekisheva. In addition to her studies, she has benefitted from playing in masterclasses led by internationally acclaimed musicians, such as Richard Goode, Imogen Cooper, Jonathan Biss, Itamar Golan, Boris Petrushansky, among others. Ivelina has won prizes in international competitions and has performed in venues across Bulgaria, Turkey, Austria, Romania, Italy and the UK. Highlights include performances of Ravel’s Concerto in G with the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra, Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra and Mozart’s 24 th Piano Concerto with the Vratsa State Orchestra, Bulgaria. She is passionate about the standard piano repertoire as well as exploring contemporary music, working with composers and performing works by female composers. Throughout her education, she has been supported with scholarships from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, Prof. Lyuba Encheva Foundation, Henry Wood Accommodation Trust, The Worshipful Company of Pewterers and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/04/26/ivelina-krasteva-beauty-and-simplicity-at-st-marys-all-the-worlds-a-stage/

Sokolov even when the programme announces Purcell and Mozart is an event to cherish.
Who would have thought that anyone could hold an audience in their hand for an entire first half of Purcell on the piano and lasting over forty minutes!?

The beauty of sound and the architectural control are of a truly great artist where every note has a meaning in a chain of sounds that is a living musical conversation.We were treated to a conversation in music of such character and elegance and of course the Sokolov ornaments and trills are something of a legend.That anyone can play them like springs unwinding but with such variety of colour is quite phenomenal but even more so when on a magnificent Fabbrini Steinway D as we witnessed tonight.Sokolov made us believe that this music was infact written for the modern day piano.
Three suites,two of which finishing in a sarabande allowed him to find the necessary variety by inserting ‘A New Irish Tune’ and the ‘Round O’ in D minor (best known as the theme of Britten’s Young Persons Guide to the orchestra).
A noble ground in Gamut opened the concert in great style and Sokolov chose a Chacone in G minor to close this first half.
I think this was the first time I have ever sat through forty minutes of Purcell on the piano but I would gladly have listened to an entire concert of it from the inspired hands and mind of one of the great interpreters of our age.

But there was Mozart in the second half of the programme……
There was such velvet beauty to the sound that I wonder if that master magician,Fabbrini,had done some special work on the piano today.Maybe it was tuned lower than is the norm these days as Curzon was used to do,insisting on having a richer warmer less brilliant sound.
It seemed as though there was a limit to the range of sound – a sort of ‘baroque barrier’ that allowed Sokolov to contain his architecture within the walls of the temple of yore.
Maybe it was just the mastery of Sokolov which has never been in doubt with whatever he sets his sights on year after year …………Mozart and six encores I will describe later …….perchance to dream…..

And dream we certainly did.Who could ever forget the sumptuous luxury of Brahms B flat minor intermezzo?A creamy rich sound and another world from that which we had been treated to in the programme so far.Rich sounds in which the musical line was tender but never sentimental and shone like jewels above an accompaniment that was miraculously fluid.The chorale like contrasting episode was played with the sumptuous rich sound of Philadelphian proportions which had a string quartet quality such was the richness of sound.An overwhelming climax -the first of the evening- dying away into the stratosphere of a world to which only Sokolov seems to have the key.A final note that shone brightly in the distance like a star.

And stars there were too in delicate Chopin Mazurkas that alternated with unusually deliberate performances of Rachmaninov.
The great B flat Prelude op 23 n 2 that rather than the usual scramble was played with aristocratic control.The duet between the tenor and soprano voices in the central episode I have never heard so clearly played as the ‘Hollywoodian’ sounds were cleansed of any unnecessary sonorities and given it’s own aristocratic imploring importance.
The build up to the final great climax I have never heard played with the phrasing that the composer himself indicates but so rarely is ever heard in the more usual scramble to the finish.The ravishing beauty of the D major Prelude op 23 n 4 was indeed the thing that dreams are made of.A gentle almost inaudible undulating bass on which the melodic line seemed to float on thin air.The embellishments etched out with crystalline purity but never interfering with the imploring beauty of the melodic line.A transcendental control with a kaleidoscopic sense of colour that had something of truly miraculous.But then this is why we all flock to hear Sokolov year after year as only he can cast a magic spell on everything he touches.

Of course the Prelude in B minor by Bach transcribed (or even composed !?) by Rachmaninov’s teacher,Siloti,was the final gift to us this year from a unique master magician.

What can one say of his Mozart?It was restored to its simple greatness.Not a note out of place as an operatic performance was played out with the style and control of the genius that Mozart is.A spell was cast from the very first notes and the story that was being played out was of a clarity and sumptuous beauty but all within ‘the baroque boundaries ‘ that had been set even before Sokolov stepped on stage.No one dared interrupt this continuous mellifluous flow as the childlike charm of the Allegretto grazioso built to its final gloriously contained climax only to dissolve into one of Mozart’s most profound utterings.The Adagio in B minor.
It had two thousand people living and breathing with Sokolov as Mozart himself was allowed to speak, miraculously reborn from the hands of this gentle giant.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.wordpress.com/2020/02/17/sokolov-in-todi-the-greatest-pianist-alive-or-dead/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2018/03/15/the-sublime-perfection-of-sokolov/

Damir is a great pianist, but also an exceptional musician. He demonstrated excellent professionalism and commendable decisiveness in his collaboration with Guido. Naturally, Guido garnered more attention during the publicity phase owing to his recent win at Kreisler, but by the end of the concert, Damir captured equal attention. Notably, both artists played the entire recital by heart (a rarity for pianists in chamber music), and the chemistry between the two was exceptional, it was hard to believe they only had one day to rehearse. Damir’s virtuosity shined through at all times, without sacrificing the collaborative aspect of the performance, and in his solo he received a storm of applause from the audience. He is indeed a special pianist, I dare to say one of the best you’ve suggested, and we would love to host him again in the future, either in solo recital or in chamber music. 

Once again, we extend our appreciation to the Keyboard Charitable Trust for their collaboration and to you, Sarah, for your invaluable assistance throughout.Warmest wishes,Yvonne Yvonne Georgiadou

🔸 “Last night was an unforgettable magic!” a member of the audience exclaimed, and we couldn’t agree more. The recital featuring the phenomenal violinist Guido Felipe Sant Anna and the terrific pianist Damir Durmanovic was nothing short of FASCINATING. The two musicians, who had only met a couple of days before, performed a highly-virtuosic programme entirely from memory, demonstrating perfect coherence between them and unmatched artistry. Their performance left us spellbound, and we are confident that both of these exceptional young musicians (17 and 24 years of age respectively) are destined for glorious careers. Don’t just take our word for it though – check out this short excerpt from their performance last night! Thank you all for being there, and thanks to The Keyboard Charitable Trust for their support.

Violin & Piano Recital: GUIDO SANT’ANNA violin & DAMIR DURMANOVIC piano

Good morning dear Chris. Damir is very special, we should not let him go wasted.
Damir told me he lives in your house, and we had a laugh, because I did not know you were giving shelter to all these musicians, it felt like ‘Chris is hiding all these fugitives in his house’. You are so kind dear Chris, nurturing and supporting true talents.😉 He is brilliant!

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/06/29/damir-durmanovic-at-st-marys-stars-shining-brightly-in-perivale-today/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/06/16/damir-durmanovic-a-musical-genius-at-work/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/04/18/damir-duramovic-at-cranleigh-arts-a-musician-speaks-with-simplicity-and-poetry/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/09/07/the-adamas-ensemble-at-st-jamess-piccadilly-wu-lin-durmanovic-trio/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/02/19/carnaval-jest-in-twickenham-a-sumptuous-feast-of-music-mozart-and-faure-quartets-akiko-ono-anna-dunne-sequi-nina-kiva-damir-durmanovic/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/11/18/can-arisoy-elfida-su-turan-damir-durmanovic-at-st-jamess-talent-unlimited-presents-music-making-at-its-most-refined/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/03/29/brazil-200-and-keyboard-trust-30-a-collaboration-born-on-wings-of-brazilian-song/

A fascinating concert in the series in Velletri on Ing Tammaro’s 1879 Erard .Alessandra Pompili a voice from the past for me as I remembered her performance as a teenager at the Ghione Theatre in our young artist’s series .Her mother was in administration and knew Electra Moro.We were fortunate to have la ‘Signora Moro’ as administrator as she had formerly been the administrator of the Teatro degli Arti under the historic theatrical impresario Tolomei.Alessandra’s mother had spoken about her talented daughter,a student of Marcella Crudeli and Sergio Calligaris and so we were delighted to allow her to be heard in Rome in our concert series. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/07/31/sorrento-crowns-marcella-crudeli-a-lifetime-in-music/

Euromusica created in 1982 the year we opened the theatre with the idea of giving a platform to all the young and distinguished old artists who were excluded from Rome for lack of venues suitable for concerts.The 80’s and 90’’s were golden years for music at the Ghione Theatre before the opening of the three wonderful new halls of Renzo Piano at the Parco della Musica.Unique halls for music that had been missing for too long from the Eternal City.

Alessandra is now a distinguished artist with a family in Manchester and added to her concert activity is her dedication to humanitarian causes and for music in hospitals.An activity that together with the American pianist and philanthropist Martin Berkovsky has raised millions of dollars for good causes.

Clara Wieck was an accomplished concert pianist, trained by her father Friedrich Wieck.She was already making international tours at age eleven and composed piano pieces for her recitals.Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital by lessening the importance of purely virtuosic works She started receiving basic piano instruction from her mother at the age of four but after her mother moved out, she began taking daily one-hour lessons from her father. They included subjects such as piano, violin, singing, theory, harmony, composition, and counterpoint.She then had to practice for two hours every day. Her father followed the methods in his own book, Wiecks pianistische Erziehung zum schönen Anschlag und zum singenden Ton (“Wieck’s Piano Education for a Delicate Touch and a Singing Sound.”)Clara Wieck made her official debut on 28 October 1828 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, aged nine.The same year, she performed at the Leipzig home of Ernst Carus, director of the mental hospital at Colditz Castle.There, she met another gifted young pianist who had been invited to the musical evening, Robert Schumann , who was nine years older. Schumann admired Clara’s playing so much that he asked permission from his mother to stop studying law, which had never interested him much, and take music lessons with Clara’s father. While taking lessons, he rented a room in the Wieck household and stayed about a year.From December 1837 to April 1838, at the age of 18, Wieck performed a series of recitals in Vienna She performed to sell-out crowds to great critical acclaim; Chopin described her playing to Franz Liszt and a music critic, describing her Vienna recitals, said: “The appearance of this artist can be regarded as epoch-making… In her creative hands, the most ordinary passage, the most routine motive acquires a significant meaning, a colour, which only those with the most consummate artistry can give.” Clara Schumann first toured England in April 1856, while her husband was still living but unable to travel. She was invited to play in a London Philharmonic Society concert by conductor William Sterndale Bennett, a good friend of Robert’s to whom he had dedicated the Etudes Symphoniques op 13.In May 1856, she played Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the New Philharmonic Society conducted by Dr Wylde, who as she said had “led a dreadful rehearsal” and “could not grasp the rhythm of the last movement”.Still, she returned to London the following year and continued to perform in Britain for the next 15 years.It was in January 1833, at age 13, she began composing a Piano Concerto in , completing it in November a single-movement Konzertsatz that she orchestrated herself. In February 1834, her future husband Robert revised the orchestration,and the 14-year-old prodigy then performed it in several concerts.She then expanded the work by adding two more movements, using the Konzertsatz as the finale. The new first movement was completed in June 1834, and the slow second movement “Romance” with its extended cello solo was finished the following year. She again orchestrated the work herself, including undoing Robert’s revisions of the original Konzertsatz, completing her new three-movement Piano Concerto on 1 September 1835, twelve days before her 16th birthday.Clara premiered the full concerto on 9 November 1835 as soloist with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Mendelssohn

Her life was punctuated by tragedy Not only did her husband predecease her, but so did four of their children.Their first son, Emil, died in 1847, aged only 1.Their daughter Julie died in 1872, leaving two small children aged only 2 and 7, then raised by their grandmother.In 1879, their son Felix died aged 24.In 1891, their son Ferdinand died at the age of 41, leaving his children to her care.In 1878, she was appointed the first piano teacher of the new Dr Hoch’s Knservatorium in Frankfurt.Among her 68 known students who made a musical career were Natalia Janotha,Fanny Davies,Nanette Falk,Amina Goodwin,Carl Friedberg,Leonard Borwick,Ilona Eibenschutz,Adelina de Lara,Marie Olson and Mary Wurm .She played her last public concert in Frankfurt on 12 March 1891. The last work she played was Brahms’s Haydn Variations , in a version for two pianos, with James Kwast.

Clara and Robert Schumann had eight children:

• Marie (1841–1929)
• Elise (1843–1928)
• Julie (1845–1872)
• Emil (1846–1847)
• Ludwig (1848–1899)
• Ferdinand (1849–1891)
• Eugenie (1851–1938)
• Felix (1854–1879).

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/02/24/michelle-candotti-a-lioness-let-loose-in-velletri-ignites-liszts-piano/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/03/06/filippo-tenisci-exults-the-genius-of-wagner-and-liszt-in-velletri/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/05/29/axel-trolese-illuminates-liszts-erard-with-supreme-artistry-and-passion-in-velletris-convento-del-carmine/

The fourteen year old schoolgirl who played in Perlemuter’s class at the Ghione Theatre in 1984 has grown up and is a woman with a story to tell.A woman with the means to tell it so beautifully in poetry and music .

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/12/21/ithaka-of-cristiana-pegoraro-a-star-shining-brightly-in-latina-for-christmas/

Cristiana Pegoraro, Pianist and Composer

Cristiana Pegoraro graduated in piano at the age of sixteen at the Conservatory of Terni, her hometown, with full marks, honors and honorable mention under Elio Maestosi.She continued her studies with Jörg Demus in Vienna and Hans Leygraf at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. Later she studied with Nina Svetlanova at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.Her pianism demonstrates great technical and interpretative skills, as evidenced by the first prizes in numerous international competitions. In Prague she was awarded the Best of the Year prize for Classical Music “for natural talent, great personality, masterful phrasing and expressive maturity”. The New York Times calls her “an artist of the highest caliber” upon her debut at New York’s Lincoln Center in 1996.

From a very young age, Cristiana has performed for some of the most important associations and concert halls in Europe, the United States, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia (Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, United Nations, Guggenheim Museum – New York, Opera House – Sydney, Festspielhaus – Salzburg, Musikverein – Vienna, Royal College of Music – London, Centro Cultural de Belem – Lisbon, Teatro Ghione ,Auditorium Parco della Musica, Casa del Jazz – Rome, Friends of the Loggione del Teatro alla Scala, Sala Verdi – Milan, Theater Municipal Theater – São Paulo, Municipal Theater – Rio de Janeiro, Opera House – Manaus, Budapest Spring Festival, Umbria Jazz, Umbria Jazz Winter, Sorrento Jazz Festival, St. Petersburg Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr – Germany, Shabyt Festival of Astana – Kazakhstan,2005 Aichi World Expo – Japan and 2008 Zaragoza World Expo – Spain).She plays as soloist with prestigious international orchestras such as: Salzburger Kammervirtuosen, Hungarian National Philharmonic, MAV Symphony Orchestra (Hungary), Hannover Kammerorkester, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Garland Symphony Orchestra TX, Symphony Arlington TX, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra TX, Chamber Ensemble of Rome , COS Youth Symphonic Ensemble, Drzhava Philarmonia Shumen (Bulgaria), Georgian National Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogotá, Orquesta Sinfonica de Cuyo (Peru), Orquesta Sinfonica Pro Lirica (Peru), I Musici di Parma, Symphonic Institution of Rome, Orchestra of strings of the Rome Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Kazakhstan, Chamber Orchestra of Umbria, State Chamber Orchestra of the Musical Academy of Astana (Kazakhstan), City of Rome Philharmonic Orchestra, Civitavecchia Philharmonic Orchestra,Oradea Philharmonic Orchestra (Romania), Rome Philharmonic Orchestra, Umbrian Philharmonic Orchestra, Venetian Philharmonic Orchestra, Narnia Festival Orchestra, Estro Tanguero Ensemble, Pescara Music Academy Symphony Orchestra, Carlo Coccia Symphony Orchestra of Novara, Rome Chamber Ensemble.She collaborates as a soloist with the Central Band of the Navy and the Band of the Carabinieri, performing in concerts at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome in front of 3,000 spectators. Of great importance was the concert in New York with the Navy Band on board the Intrepid for the celebrations of Columbus Day in the presence of the Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg.

With her tours in the Gulf countries, she is the first Italian woman to give classical music concerts in Bahrain, Yemen and Oman. She is also the first Italian woman to have performed the complete 32 Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven in concert and among the few pianists in the world to have performed the 5 Piano Concertos by Ludwig van Beethoven in a single day .
Recognized by international critics as one of the best interpreters of Cuban and South American music, she has premiered works by South American composers such as Astor Piazzolla, Joaquin Nin and Ernesto Lecuona for the European public. You have transcribed for piano the most beautiful tangos by Astor Piazzolla and composed a Fantasia on Cuban dances by Ernesto Lecuona.She has created theatrical/musical shows with actors such as Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Sebastiano Somma, Enzo De Caro, Giulio Scarpati, Tiziana Foschi, Sergio Basile, Debora Caprioglio, and with the journalist Corrado Augias. In December 2021 you played at the opening of the Canova exhibition at the Mart in Rovereto alongside the art critic Vittorio Sgarbi.
His extensive discography includes 30 CDs recorded for Decision Products, Nuova Era, Dynamic, Diva Productions, Eden Editori, Da Vinci Publishing, ProMu and CPP. His album “Astor Piazzolla Tangos”, released in 2016, won the gold medal at the prestigious Global Music Awards in two categories: best album and best instrumental. Recently released his latest recording works “Rebirth – Music to Heal the Soul”, conceived during the pandemic, with famous music to accompany the soul on a path of rebirth, and “Colors of Love”, with his original compositions dedicated to ‘Love.Her TV and radio recordings include RAI, Mediaset, Vatican Radio, State Disco, BBC (Scotland), ARD (Germany), RTP (Portugal), WQXR New York (USA), Nine Network (Australia) and CBC (Japan) . He includes participations in the television programs of RAI 1 “Porta a Porta” with Bruno Vespa and “Sottovoce” with Gigi Marzullo, and of Rete 4 “Vivere Meglio” with Fabrizio Trecca. He conceived and created for Oltretutto Radio, and conducted together with Anna Crecco, the program “The magic of the piano” with biographies of the great composers and his performances on the piano.

Cristiana performs for the highest institutional and diplomatic offices. He played in the presence of the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the Governor of the State of New York, the Mayor of New York, Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, the Italian Minister of Economic Development, the Governor of British Columbia, Canada and the President of the Austrian Senate.
In 2008, she, the only European representative in the context of the Spring Festival, gave a concert in the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York in front of ambassadors and diplomats from 192 countries.
She is regularly invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with Embassies and Cultural Institutes, to represent Italy and to promote Italian music around the world.She supports various global organizations including Unicef (of which he is a testimonial), Amnesty International, World Food Programme, Emergency, Lions Clubs International and Rotary International in their humanitarian campaigns.Since 2021 Cristiana Pegoraro has been collaborating with Gemelli Art and with the Romanini Association on the Art4ART project, which offers patients undergoing cancer treatments thematic artistic content to help them face and manage debilitating emotions, stress and fears and to encourage conscious participation to therapies, in order to achieve the best clinical results.To date, Cristiana Pegoraro has received over 40 international awards.
Just to name a few:
– World Peace Award from the Italian Cultural Circle of the United Nations in New York
– Golden Apple Bellisario Award from the Marisa Bellisario Foundation with ceremony live on RAI1 and private visit by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.
– Melvin Jones Fellow Award of the Lions Clubs International Foundation “for dedicated humanitarian services”
– Simpatia Award, conferred on her in the Campidoglio by the Mayor of Rome and by the jury composed of Carlo Verdone, Christian De Sica, Pippo Baudo and Gigi Proietti. Cristiana shared the prize in the Music section with Riccardo Cocciante and Mogol.
– Donna ILICA 2010 from the Italian Language Inter-cultural Alliance of New York.
– “Fabrizio Frizzi” Award from the Gigi Ghirotti Onlus National Foundation as “Ambassador of Italian culture and music in the world”
– Ambassador Award of Terni, Umbria and San Valentino in the world from the Municipality of Terni.

Cristiana Pegoraro has long been combining her piano activity with that of composer. She has released 6 albums with her original compositions: “A Musical Journey”, “Ithaka”, “La mia Umbria”, “Volo di note”, “Piano di volo” and “Colors of Love”. Among his compositions, already used for films and documentaries, it should be mentioned the soundtrack for the video “For whom the siren sounds” produced by the Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations for children and armed conflicts and presented at the UN September 11, 2004 in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack. You also composed the soundtrack for the documentary film “La casa dell’ Orologio” by Gianni Torres.On March 22, 2021, his video clip RAIN with original music was released as a world premiere on the occasion of the World Water Day organized by the United Nations. The video has received the patronage of the United Nations and has been included in the official gallery of the UN. The video clip is visible, along with a large variety of video recordings, on her YouTube channel.Cristiana recorded the soundtrack composed by the award-winning Marco Werba for the historical film “Goffredo e l’Italia chiamò”, directed by Angelo Antonucci. The film stars Emanuele Macone, Stefania Sandrelli, Vincent Riotta and Maria Grazia Cucinotta.She is the author of the book of poems “Ithaka” (winner of the first prize in the national Logo D’Oro competition) and of a series of fairy tales for children drawn from Italian operas. Her poems were included in the Anthology “Contemporary Umbrian Poets” published by Il Formichiere and in the 2020 edition of “Il Corniolano” for the World Poetry Day organized by UNESCO.She is frequently invited to give masterclasses at the Juilliard School in New York and at various universities and colleges in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
During the year she carries out teaching activities at her private studios in Rome and New York. In the summer you are a teacher at the Narnia Festival – International Campus of High Artistic Improvement in Narni (TR).
For years, in the schools of various countries, Cristiana has been carrying out programs for approaching classical music and programs on history and musical aesthetics for all age groups.Alongside his concert and teaching activity, he carries out an intense activity of artistic and organizational direction of important national and international institutions and musical events.Since 2011 he has been President of the Narnia Arts Academy ( www.narniaartsacademy.com ) and Artistic Director of the Narnia Festival ( www.narniafestival.com ), awarded seven times with the President of the Republic medal for artistic merits.She is testimonial for the Umbria tourism campaign in the world.

---

“I was totally mesmerised by a performance from an artist that listens so carefully to every sound with a sense of balance and complete mastery that allowed him to give a towering performance of Pictures from an Exhibition.” CHRISTOPHER AXWORTHY (Jan 2021).

This concert is fundraising for Cranleigh Arts

Russian pianist Victor Maslov was praised as “one of those
people who is close to all-round mastery of his repertoire” by the New York Concert Review, following his performance at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall), New York.

Programme

L. Janacek – “On an overgrown path”

Stravinsky – Agosti – “Firebird”

Interval

M. Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition

Promenade l 

The Gnomes

Promenade ll 

The Old Castle 

Promenade lll 

The Tuileries: Children’s dispute
after play 

Bydlo 

Promenade IV

Ballet of the unhatched chicks 

Two Polish Jews: Rich and poor 

Promenade V 

The market at Limoges 

Roman Catacombs – With the dead
in a dead language 

Baba Yaga: The Witch 

The Heroes Gate at Kiev

Plus and exquisite Scriabin encore .

Victor chose six pieces from the Janacek cycle of ‘On an Overgrown Path’.A work rarely heard in the concert hall but one of very touching simplicity missing an overall architectural shape but creating an atmosphere with a hauntingly mellifluous traditional outpouring.’Our Evenings’ was played with absolute delicacy and simplicity and it led to ‘A blown- away leaf’ with all the gentle fluidity and luminosity of the fairytale it is.There was the playful halting rhythm of this short quixotic story ‘Come with us’ indeed!Followed by a deep brooding opening to ‘The Madonna of Frydek’ with its magical music box musings leading to an imperious outpouring of great lament that just bursts into intimate song.Declamations of striking atmosphere in ‘They Chattered Like Swallows’ and finally the echoing vibrations of desolation in ‘The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!’.A remarkable oasis of serenity and peace between the turbulence of the two Russian works on the programme

On an Overgrown Path is a cycle of fifteen piano pieces written by Leos Janacek and organized into two volumes.Janáček composed all his most important works for solo piano between 1900 and 1912.He probably began preparing his first series of Moravian folk melodies in 1900.At this time, the cycle had only six pieces, intended for harmonium : Our evenings, A blown-away leaf, The Frýdek Madonna, Good night!, The barn owl has not flown away! and a Piu mosso published after Janáček’s death.These melodies provided the basis for the first volume of On an Overgrown Path. Three of these compositions were first published in 1901 with the fifth volume of harmonium pieces, Slavic melodies, under the title On an overgrown path – three short compositions.By 1908 the cycle had grown to nine pieces, and was by then intended for piano instead of harmonium. The definitive version of the first book was published in 1911.On 30 September 1911, Janáček published the first piece of the second series in the Lidove novinynewspapers. The new series was created, in its entirety, around 1911.The complete second book was printed by the Hudební matice in 1942. The première of the work took place on 6 January 1905 at the “Besední dům” Hall in Brno.

The Nostalgia and Pain of Memory: Janáček’s On an Overgrown PathThe nationalism that hit the 19th century and carried through to the 20th century had a profound effect on music. Music that had been ignored for its folk-like character, or its non-urban nature, became the basis for new works that not only celebrated the folk sources but also the country itself.In Czech music history, three composers defined the nation: Smetena (1824-1884), =Dvorak (1841-1904), and Janacek (1854-1928). Janáček took inspiration from Moravian and other Slavic folk music to create his works, supported by his own research into the folklore and music of his country. Achieving international fame in his 60s with his opera Jenůfa, Janáček joined Smetana and Dvořák in symbolising Czech music.A piano cycle created starting around 1900, On an Overgrown Path, had a complicated birth. Seven pieces were originally written for harmonium, and five were published as Slavonic Melodies in 1901 and 1902. The remaining two pieces were set aside. In 1908, Janáček revised the work and wrote 3 more pieces, and made the 8 pieces into a cycle for piano. Two more pieces were added in 1911. That formed series I. Series II, which started with two new pieces, grew with the addition of the two pieces that had been set aside in 1902, forming nos. 1, 2, 3, 5 of Series II. No. 4 is just an ink sketch with some pencil revisions. Series II was published in 1942 after Janáček’s death and the 5 pieces do not have characteristic titles but only tempo indications.The title for the work, On an Overgrown Path, had been settled by 1901, but the titles of the individual movements changed before the publication of Series I in 1911. For example, No. 2, started out as ‘A Declaration of Love,’ was then changed to ‘A Love Song’ and finally became a much more mysterious title of ‘A Blown-Away Leaf’.Janáček described the work as having a double trajectory of ‘distant reminiscences’ of his childhood and reflection on the death of his 20-year-old daughter Olga in 1903.The first five parts of the cycle refer to his childhood: No. 1. Our Evenings, for evenings by the fireside; No. 3. Come with us!, for children’s games; and no. 4. The Madonna of Frydek, for a religious procession near his home village.As we get into the second part, emotion, rather than memory, has a place: no. 6. Words fail!, No. 8. Unutterable Anguish, and No. 9. In Tears.No. 7, Good Night!, was a metaphor for Olga’s death, while the last movement, No. 10. The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!, refers to the owl’s status as a foreteller of doom.Janáček’s change in the work from childhood memories to the tragedies of the grownup parent make this a unique statement of the human condition.

A transcendental performance of Agosti’s famous 1928 transcription of the ‘Firebird’.Victor threw himself into they fray from the very opening notes with breathtaking drive and scintillating virtuosity-a truly Infernal Dance! There were beautiful sounds of orchestral colour in the Berceuse with a kaleidoscope of colours appearing over the entire keyboard.But it was the ravishing beauty of the appearance of the Firebird in the finale that was truly breathtaking.The build up to the tumultuous final bars was astonishing as the excitement mounted to a frenzy of unbelievable virtuosity and exhilaration.

Stravinsky’s score for The Firebird was written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes dance company, which premiered the work in Paris in 1910. Based on ancient Russian folk tales, it tells the story of the young Prince Ivan’s quest to find a legendary magic bird with fiery multi-coloured plumage. In the course of his adventures, he falls in love with a beautiful princess but has to fight off the evil sorcerer Katschei to eventually marry her. The suite presents the culminating scenes of the ballet in a piano transcription by the Italian pianist and pedagogue Guido Agosti (1901-1989), who studied with Ferruccio Busoni.

The Danse infernale depicts the brutal swarming and capture of Prince Ivan by Katschei’s monstrous underlings until Prince Ivan uses the magic feather given to him by the Firebird to cast a spell on his captors, making them dance until they drop from exhaustion. The Berceuse is a lullaby depicting the eerie scene of the slumbering assailants, leading to the Finale, a wedding celebration for Prince Ivan and his princess bride.Agosti’s piano transcription, completed in 1928, is a daunting technical challenge for the pianist. Most of the piano writing is laid out on on three staves in order to cover the multi-octave range of the keyboard that the pianist must patrol. The piano comes into its own in this transcription as a percussion instrument, to be played with the wild abandon with which a betrayed lover throws her ex-partner’s possessions off the balcony onto the street below.Judging from the shocking 7-octave-wide chord crash that opens the Dance infernale, Agosti captures well the bruising pace of the action, with off-beat rhythmic jabs standing out from a succession of punchy left-hand ostinati constantly nipping at the heels of the melody line. The accelerating pace as the sorcerer’s ghouls are made to dance ever more frantically is a major aerobic test for the pianist.

Relief comes in the Berceuse, which presents its own pianistic challenges, mainly those of finely sifting the overtones of vast chord structures surrounding the lonely tune singing out from the middle of the keyboard.The wedding celebration depicted in the Finale presents Stravinsky’s trademark habit of cycling hypnotically round the pitches enclosed within the interval of a perfect 5th. Just such a melody, swaddled in hushed tremolos, opens this final movement. It is a major challenge for the pianist to imitate the shimmering timbre of the orchestra’s brightest instruments as this theme is given its apotheosis to end the suite in a blaze of sonority that extends across the entire range of the keyboard.

Guido Agosti (11 August 1901 – 2 June 1989) was an Italian pianist and renowned for his yearly summer course in Siena frequented by all the major musicians of the age.It was on the express wish of Alfredo Casella that Agosti took over his class which he did for the next thirty years.Sounds heard in his studio have never been forgotten.

Agosti was born in Forli 1901. He studied piano with Ferruccio Busoni Bruno Mugellini and Filippo Ivaldiand earning his diploma at age 13. He studied counterpoint under Benvenuti and literature at Bologna University. He commenced his professional career as a pianist in 1921. Although he never entirely abandoned concert-giving, nerves made it difficult for him to appear on stage,and he concentrated on teaching. He taught piano at the Venice Conservatoire and at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome.In 1947 he was appointed Professor of piano at the Accademia Chigiana Siena .He also taught at Weimar and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

His notable students include Maria Tipo,Yonty Solomon Leslie Howard,Hamish Milne,Martin Jones,Ian Munro,Dag Achat,Raymond Lewenthal,Ursula Oppens,Kun- Woo Paik,Peter Bithell.He made very few recordings; there is a recording of op 110 from the Ghione theatre in Rome together with his recording on his 80th birthday concert in Siena of Debussy preludes .

Pictures at an Exhibition is a suite of ten pieces (plus a recurring, varied Promenade) for piano by Modest Mussorgsky written in 1874.The suite is Mussorgsky’s most-famous piano composition, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists based on pictures by the artist, architect, and designer Viktor Hartmann.It was probably in 1868 that Mussorgsky first met Hartmann, not long after the latter’s return to Russia from abroad. Both men were devoted to the cause of an intrinsically Russian art and quickly became friends. They likely met in the home of the influential critic Vladimir Stasov, who followed both of their careers with interest.Hartmann’s sudden death on 4 August 1873 from an aneurysm shook Mussorgsky along with others in Russia’s art world. The loss of the artist, aged only 39, plunged the composer into deep despair and Stasov helped to organize a memorial exhibition of over 400 Hartmann works in the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in February and March 1874. Mussorgsky lent the exhibition the two pictures Hartmann had given him, and viewed the show in person. Later in June he was inspired to compose Pictures at an Exhibition, quickly completing the score in three weeks (2–22 June 1874).The work did not appear in print until 1886, five years after the composer’s death, when a not very reliable edition by the composer’s friend and colleague Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was published. It was only in 1931, marking the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death, that it was published in a scholarly edition in agreement with his manuscript.

Victor gave a very impressive performance of a work that all too often is misused as a vehicle for empty virtuosity.That was not the case today as with scrupulous attention to detail Victor brought this work back into the realms of the great works of the piano repertoire as Richter had done in the 60’s,and Horowitz had done with his own inimitable rearrangements in the 40’s.The simple statement of the opening promenade led straight to the grotesque outburst of Gnomus depicting a little gnome, clumsily running with crooked legs.There were beautiful legato octaves in the meno mosso with a very impressive crescendo.The left hand trills were mere vibrations of sound leading to the final cry and transcendental outburst of a final scale passage played by Victor exactly as the composer asks ‘velocissimo con tutta forza.’A mysterious ethereal promenade leads to ‘The old castle’ played so delicately but with a rich sound palette with magical counterpoints and a gradual disappearance.A more decisive promenade leads to the Tuileries,an avenue in the garden near the Louvre, with a swarm of children and nurses.Played with an infectious lilt and playful asides thrown in with great nonchalance.Bydlo is obviously hanging next to it and depicts a Polish cart on enormous wheels, drawn by oxen.Never slackening its constant pace but building in volume to a very impressive climax as it comes into full view.Played with overpowering weight but never any hardening of tone only to die away to barely a whisper.I had never been aware until today in Victor’s knowledgeable hands of the two staccato notes in the melodic line that gave great character to this lumbering old cart.After such fatigue a promenade made in heaven led so peacefully to the audacious chatterings of the ‘Ballet of unhatched chicks’ which is based on Hartmann’s design for the ballet Trilby where the famous variation by Petipa for the male dancer in the Le Corsair from Gerber’s score shows a painting of dancers from the ballet in costume (as fledglings emerging from the shell).In Victors hands there was such a playful sense of fun that contrasted with the beautiful bass counterpoints,that he played so pointedly,in the middle section.The grandiloquent Samuel Goldenberg burst on to the scene with the gloriously reverberant beseeching of Schmuyle.The last Promenade was played this time with much vehemence as it led to the featherlight chatterings of the market place in Limoges depicting French women quarrelling violently in the market.A tour de force of repeated notes thrown off with great ease by Victor as it led to a startling climax interrupted by the mighty entry to the catacombs.Mussorgsky’s manuscript of “Catacombs” displays two pencilled notes, in Russian: “NB – Latin text: With the dead in a dead language” and, along the right margin, “Well may it be in Latin! The creative spirit of the dead Hartmann leads me towards the skulls, invokes them; the skulls begin to glow softly.”In fact it was just this magic glow that Victor was able to illuminate with such vibrating sounds of great delicacy with long held pedal notes of real beauty.Only to be interrupted by the ferocious Baba -Yaga where even Victor was taken aback as he threw himself into the whirlwind sounds of the chase.Only finding an oasis of peace in the middle section with a serene bass melody over a constant wave of vibrant sounds,the spell being broken ,though,by the cries of the witches flight.A tumultuous build up of double octaves suddenly was abruptly abated by the vision of the Great Gate of Kiev in all its majesty. Hartmann’s sketch was his design for city gates at Kiev in the ancient Russian massive style with a cupola shaped like a slavonic helmet.The beautiful colours of the plain chant were interrupted by the constant joyous pealing of bells.The build up to the last glorious outpouring was indeed very impressive .Victor perfectly judged the gradual build up with a tension that finally exploded with a cascade of scales leading to the sheer orchestral outpouring of glorious sounds with which he brought this ‘towering’ performance to a shattering end.A memorable performance that I ,for one,would be quite happy to listen to again.

Victor has been a prizewinner in several international
competitions. After winning the AntwerPiano International Competition in 2020, he was invited to take part in the 2021 Classic Piano International Competition in Dubai. Victor performed two solo rounds and three piano concertos for the jury comprising Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Michel Beroff, Pavel Gililov, Jan Jiracek
von Arnim, Ewa Poblocka and others, and received the Second Prize.Further successes include winning the First Prize at the 2nd
International Rachmaninoff Piano Competition (Moscow 2020), being Overall Prize Winner of the 47th Concertino Praga International Radio Competition for Young Musicians (2013), two-time winner of Concerto Competition (Royal College of Music, 2015, 2018), winning the First Prize at the Musicale dell’Adriatico piano competition (Ancona 2007), and the First Prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition (Paris 2004).In 2021, Victor graduated from the Royal College of Music,London, having completed his Artist Diploma as a Carne Trust Junior Fellow, and previously having received his Masters of Performance with Distinction and his Bachelor of Music with a First class grade.

At the RCM, Victor studied piano with Professor Dmitri Alexeev and Head of Keyboard Professor Vanessa Latarche,and conducting with Toby Purser, Head of Conducting. Upon his graduation, Victor was announced as the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Rose Bowl for his achievements at the RCM, which was awarded to him by HRH Charles, The Prince of Wales in May 2022. Throughout his studies, Victor has been grateful for the support of the Ruth West Scholarship, the Eileen Rowe Musical Trust Award, the Future of Russia Scholarship, the Munster Trust Award, and the Talent Unlimited. Victor is the Keyboard Charitable Trust Artist, andthe Countess of Munster Trust Recital Scheme Artist.Victor began his studies at the Gnessin Moscow Special School of Music, where he was taught by his mother Olga Maslova. He later became a scholar of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation. Victor also has received masterclasses from Sir András Schiff, Dmitry Bashkirov, Peter
Donohoe, Marios Papadopoulos, Tatiana Zelikman, and Leslie Howard.

Additional prizes include Fourth Prize at the Vladimir
Horowitz International Competition for Young Pianists (Kiev 2012), Second Prize at the Astana Piano Passion (Astana 2015), Second prize at Joan Chissell Schumann Prize (London 2019), Third prize at the 6th Umanitaria Societa Competition (Milan 2019), and the Second prize at the Kendall Taylor Beethoven Piano Competition 2021 (London 2021). He gave his concerto debut at the age of nine with the State Symphony Orchestra of Moscow and has since performed with
orchestras such as RCM Symphony, RCM Philharmonic, Symphonic Orchestra of Czech Radio, Astana Opera Symphonic Orchestra, Kostroma Symphonic Orchestra, Penza State Symphonic Orchestra, and the State Orchestra “New Russia”. Victor has given solo performances at international music festivals across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Switzerland,Russia, Israel, and the USA. Venues have included Royal Festival Hall, Queen
Elizabeth Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatoire, Smetana Hall and Rudolfinum.

THE KEYBOARD CHARITABLE TRUST for Young Professional
Performers. Patron: SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO

The Keyboard Charitable Trust’s mission is to help young
keyboard players reduce the element of chance in building a professional musical career. The Trust identifies the most talented young performers (aged 18-30) and assists their development by offering them opportunities to perform throughout the world. For the most gifted, this means débuts in London, New York, Mexico, Berlin, Rome and other music capitals.In collaboration with its partners worldwide, the Keyboard Trust has developed a circuit of some fifty venues in seven principal countries, from the most prestigious concert halls to locations where classical music is rarely heard. Over the past thirty years, the Trust has presented nearly 300 young international pianists, historic keyboard players and organists (aged 18-30) in over 900 concerts worldwide.

With such notable musicians as the late Claudio Abbado,
Alfred Brendel and Evgeny Kissin among its trustees, this formula has proved its worth: many Trust artists receive an offer of a new engagement, a broadcast, a recording or management. Nearly half of the artists have subsequently made serious professional musical careers.Recent years have seen a further expansion of the Trust’s
work in Germany, Italy and Russia as well as in the USA where the distinguished conductor, the late Lorin Maazel, invited the Trust to present its artists at his Festival Theatre in Virginia. In the UK, we have an ongoing collaboration with Manchester Camerata which provides concert performances in major Manchester venues each year.

Recent highlights include Alexander Gadjiev being made a
‘BBC New Generation Artist’ for 2019-2021 and winning the Sydney International Piano Competition 2021; Edward Leung being awarded the Philharmonia Orchestra’s 2021–2022 MMSF Piano Fellowship Thomas Kelly being selected as a finalist in the 2021 Leeds Piano Competition; and Yuanfan Yang winning First Prize in then 2022 Casagrande International Piano Competition.

The Keyboard Charitable Trust is funded entirely by
voluntary donations. Detailed information about the Trust, how to become a Friend, join the One Thousand Club or to provide corporate support, may be found on our website.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/06/05/victor-maslov-the-virtuous-virtuoso-virtually-at-st-jamess-piccadilly-4th-june-2021/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/05/30/victor-maslov-at-st-marys-the-return-of-a-great-artist/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2019/06/24/victor-maslov-at-the-royal-albert-hall/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2017/03/29/victor-maslov-at-st-marys/

Emanuil Ivanov in Florence last night for the series of Busoni winners in the Harold Acton Library at the British Institute of Florence.
In partnership with the Keyboard Trust he astonished in Scarlatti and seduced and overwhelmed with Rachmaninov.(a detailed review of his performances are reproduced here from month ago in London:https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/02/15/emanuil-ivanov-sensational-recital-of-technical-assurance-and-refined-intelligence/)

But it was his own theme and variations inspired and dedicated to his fiancé with ‘sincerity and loving expression’ that moved and thrilled us even more.
Even his encore of Trenet’s ‘April in Paris’ in the transcription of his fellow Bulgarian Alexis Weissenberg could not move us to tears as the delicacy and ravishing beauty of his own piece.

His first encore was ‘My Joys’ the song by Chopin in the all too rarely played transcription by Liszt and what rays of joy he beguiled us with.A pianism of another age,the Golden age of subtlety and supreme artistry so rare to experience in these times of immediacy and clockwork precision.A make believe world of innuendo and ravishing jeux perlé- perchance to dream!
Love was in the air -wedding bells are already ringing.
It was a revelation to see a Busoni winner from four years ago who has turned from a superbly trained young pianist into an artist of great stature.

Spring is in the air in Florence and as Rostropovich rightly said it is the museum of the world.A room with a view indeed!

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/03/01/ivan-krpan-busoni-2017-in-florence-mastery-and-simplicity-at-the-service-of-music/

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/08/12/chloe-mun-at-the-duszniki-chopin-festival-refined-perfection-and-aristocratic-simplicity/