Guest post by Lewis Kingsley Peart
Paderewski was an extraordinary character. Not only was he a world-renowned concert artist, but he was also the prime minister of Poland for a brief period. He maintained a ferocious touring schedule and was adored by audiences everywhere he went. He was so admired that people in the US would gather in their thousands just to see his train go by. The fact that Irving Berlin mentions the great virtuoso in his popular 1920 song, I Love a Piano, is a further testament to his fame and success:
“And with the pedal I love to meddle
When Padarewski comes this way
I’m so delighted if I’m invited
To hear that long haired genius play …”
While Paderewski was best known for his interpretations of works by Chopin and Liszt, he also wrote some charming music of his own. The Minuet in G, Op. 14 No. 1 is a piece that became world-famous, even overshadowing his larger-scale works such as the Piano Concerto in A Minor. The Minuet in G is very much a pastiche of the classical style, full of musical jokes and witticisms to tease and delight the listener.
The few opening bars of the piece present material that is incredibly simple: a narrow-ranged melody clothed in diatonic harmony. This continues for several bars until a rising left hand line (bar 15: C – C – C# – D); it is at this point that the strap of the gown is lowered off the shoulder, the champagne is poured, and the piece broadens into an effervescent musical treat. The piece offers many opportunities for the player to display their pianistic gifts: raucous octaves that thunder into the bass register, light-as-a-feather trills, a central lyrical section, and a nimble-fingered coda to finish. There’s also plenty of opportunity for a suggestive rubato here or the bringing out of an inner line there, if you’re in the mood, which I often am!
Many pianists have recorded the Minuet in G from Rachmaninoff to Liberace. You can hear (and see!) Paderewski himself playing the work here:
Rachmaninoff’s recording is a particular favourite of mine. He turns this small musical bonbon into a beautifully crafted jewel:
I’d also like to share with you my recording from a recital I gave in London earlier this year:
This article first appeared on Lewis Kingsley Peart’s website
Based in both London and Manchester, Lewis Kingsley Peart enjoys a busy life as a working musician. Organising projects as both soloist and collaborator, he programmes a wide variety of music from the traditional classical canon, right through to jazz and the avant-garde. With a strong background in theatre, his appearances are never without verve.
Lewis made his debut at St. John’s, Smith Square in March 2018 in a programme of music celebrating the 75th birthday of the American composer, Stephen Montague. In the summer of 2021, he had the privilege of working with British concert pianist and composer, Stephen Hough, on his third piano sonata, ‘Trinitas’, for the Trinity Laban New Lights Festival of Contemporary Music. Highlights of the 2022 season included a concert for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at St. Mary’s Cathedral, and his debut recital at London’s St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Lewis looks forward to future recital engagements and is excited to make his concerto debut in 2024.
Lewis is a Chethams School of Music alumnus and graduate of London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire where he studied with Philip Fowke and Alisdair Hogarth.
The Cross-Eyed Pianist 