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Rhinegold LIVE concerts at London’s Conway Hall aim to offer a more convivial and relaxed atmosphere in which to enjoy classical music. Called “Rush Hour Concerts”, the evening begins at 6.15pm with a glass of wine and an opportunity to mingle in the lobby of Conway Hall, and the concert itself begins at 7pm. The performance is presented in the round which lends a greater connection between performer and audience, and is followed by a short Q&A session with the performer. The series enjoys useful corporate sponsorship and the piano for the concerts (on this occasion a Schimmel grand) is supplied by Peregrine’s Pianos.

The first concert of the new season was given by acclaimed Portuguese pianist Artur Pizarro and was entitled Songs My Grandmother Taught Me, which gave a clue to the theme of the programme. Artur announced the programme himself, explaining that all the pieces had a special connection to his first piano mentor, his grandmother Berta da Nóbrega, herself a concert pianist. Artur is a sociable and engaging speaker, drawing us into the story of his early years growing up in a small town near Lisbon and hearing piano music played in the home by his grandmother and her duo partner. His talk was peppered with anecdotes, including how his grandmother would appear at his primary school, claim there was a family emergency and then take young Artur to a cafe for the afternoon. When he asked her why, she would reply “Oh I was bored!”. One had the sense of a young child enjoying a broad cultural grounding through his grandmother’s music, poetry and her many artistic friends and colleagues who visited the house.

A young Artur Pizarro with his grandmother Berta da Nóbrega

The music performed was a selection of miniatures and salon pieces by Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Bortkiewicz, Debussy, Moszkowski, Granados, Turina and a handful of other, lesser-known Spanish and Portuguese composers, including a tender elegy composed for Artur’s grandmother by her composition teacher at the music conservatory. Each piece was played with great care, taste and elegance, and through the music and the words, Artur gave a very special, tender and personal tribute to his grandmother, beautifully expressed.

More about Rhinegold LIVE concerts

Artur Pizarro’s website

Peregrine’s Pianos

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A recent article by Musical Toronto questions the need to attach or associate pictures and images with music when we hear it in order for us to appreciate it better. The author cites a concert he attended where he was asked afterwards what images the music had conjured up for him. The author admitted that the music had not conjured up any images in his mind and that in fact he had been focusing on the structure, the harmonies, the shaping of phrases.

Listening to music is a highly personal and subjective experience, one from which we each gain our own pleasure, emotional stimulation, agony and ecstasy. People with a very visual imagination will perhaps more easily make associations between music and imagery, but this still remains a personal response to the music, and one person’s “pictorial” response to, say, Chopin’s Third Ballade will be quite different from another’s.

I tend to respond to music in visual terms, and I think this is probably linked to my synaesthesia which means when I hear and play music I associate colours with it. These colours are unchanging, regardless of the genre of music, the method of delivery (live or on disc) and so forth. For me, D Major is always royal blue, no matter whether it’s a work by Mozart or Stravinsky.

Of course sometimes composers give us visual cues in the titles of their works, the most obvious being Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a suite of pieces inspired by actual illustrations by the composer’s friend Viktor Hartmann, or Debussy’s Estampes, which evokes images one might see as fine art prints. But in both cases, the composer is not trying to impose his own view on the listener and it is simplistic to believe this is the case. Instead, the music and its titles are there simply to stimulate the imagination through the use of distinct soundworlds which evoke, for example, Japanese pagodas or the bustle of a market place. But if these works had no titles, or one did not know the titles in advance, would the listener create the same images as the composer intended? That of course is in no small part down to the musician’s ability to transmit and interpret what is in the score to the listener.

I use visual cues a lot in my teaching, but I do not impose my “image” of a particular piece on my students. Instead, I ask them to describe what the music evokes for them. Often pieces have descriptive titles which makes this exercise very easy, but it is always interesting when I am teaching the same piece to several students, for each will come up with a very personal picture or story for the piece. For some, this is a relatively straightforward exercise, and one which they enter into with enthusiasm, creating all sorts of wonderful, varied and sometimes unexpected images which can then be used to fuel the imagination and assist in shaping the music to create a vibrant and expressive performance. For others, it seems a mystifying exercise and in this case we explore other ideas, such as “how does this music make you feel?” or “what do you think this music is about?”.

Earlier this year, the National Gallery in London organised an exhibition called Soundscapes in which leading contemporary musicians and sound artists, including Nico Muhly, composed new works inspired by paintings from the collection. The concept was very imaginative (!), in principle, but in practice such responses are always going to be deeply personal because by necessity the sound artist or composer is stating “this is what this painting says to me personally“. (What might have been more interesting would be to have several composers respond to the same picture.) It ties in neatly with John Terauds of Musical Toronto’s problem with being asked to state what images the music inspired in him. Not everyone is going to be able, or wish to associate visual images with particular pieces of music. And just as sometimes we would like to simply look at the picture, so we wish also to simply listen to the music.

Read the Musical Toronto article here

An article on music and synaesthesia

Listen to Debussy’s Pagodes from Estampes

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7 Star Arts promotes exciting and eclectic performances by a vibrant collective of musicians, actors, writers and artists, including acclaimed pianists Anthony Hewitt and Viv McLean, violinist David le Page, actress and writer Susan Porrett, jazz ensembles Partikel and the Liam Stevens Trio, and artist Klara Smith.

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Performances often take place in smaller, more intimate venues and feature mixed-genre programmes combining music and words, and music, words and pictures to create unique and accessible concerts which offer unexpected insights into the music being performed.

From December 2016, 7 Star Arts has a residency at The Jazz Room at The Bull’s Head. Known as the “suburban Ronnie Scott’s”, The Bull’s Head is now an established part of the London jazz scene and host to many acclaimed jazz musicians and singers.

Forthcoming events

Classic Gershwin at The Bull’s Head – 24th December 2016

The vibrant music of George Gershwin is interwoven with his fascinating life story from birth in the colourful, teeming New York of 1898 to his tragically early death in 1937. Performed by Viv McLean, piano and Susan Porrett, narrator in the intimate Jazz Room at The Bull’s Head, Barnes, London SW13

“Vividly illustrated…. rapturously received.. highly recommended.”

Aydenne Simone & Liam Stevens Trio – 5th January 2017

Join the incredible vocalist Aydenne Simone plus amazing pianist Liam Stevens and his trio.

Rowan Hudson with JJ Stillwell – 10th January 2017

Further information and tickets

The great strength of this format is the subtle interweaving of words and music. Susan’s text brings to life the personalities of Chopin and Sand through letters between them and their friends, and contemporary accounts. The readings set the tone, and the music reflects it, each piece sensitively rendered by Viv with expression and commitment, from the tenderest, most intimate Nocturnes (Op 9, No. 2, Op post. In C sharp minor) to an intensely poignant Mazurka (Op 17 No 4). …..Viv’s understated, modest delivery always allows the music to speak for itself, while Susan’s words lend greater focus, encouraging us to listen to the music even more attentively.

(from my review of ‘Divine Fire’)

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F is for Fingers – the pianist’s tools for the job. Crucially, most pianists use all 10 fingers when we play the piano, the thumb being labelled as a finger for fingering purposes, whereas a violinist officially just has 4…and a trumpeter a mere  3 to contend with. The occasional unlucky pianist will have less than 10 available, and even more rarely, a fortunate individual may have more. As with many things in life, it’s not so much about how many you have, it’s about what you do with them.

Fingers come in all shapes and sizes. Slim, long fingers have a natural advantage for finding their way between the black keys and reaching over and finding awkward stretches. Shorter, stubbier fingers have a natural efficiency for playing rapidly and can be more robust in moments of strength and force. Some fingers are straight, some fingers are bendy. Depending on the note to be played, a bendy finger can be a help or a hindrance.

Some fingers sweat profusely in performance. Others remain dry as a bone. Some shake uncontrollably under pressure. Others remain as sturdy as an iron girder. Some fingers fly over the keys in a blur of lofty movement, other fingers gain a similar end result but whilst appearing to glide over the keys with barely a ruffle in the process.

Fingers come in all different shapes and sizes, with different strengths and weaknesses. But with the right instructions, most, if not all can be trained to produce the most beautiful sounds to the human ear.

There is of course a common misconception that we play the piano with our fingers. This isn’t strictly true…… We really play the piano with our brain, of course, which happens to control our fingers. Our fingers are just the final point of contact between thought and realisation of that thought…and a lot happens in between.

So it’s essential that our fingers are kept in excellent shape to ensure that they are flexible, supple and strong enough to do exactly what we ask them to. Finger exercises are designed for this very purpose.

Liszt at the piano

With 10 fingers flying around, the pianist has a serious amount of possibilities on his/her hands. Deciding which fingers to use for a note is an issue that preoccupies many a piano lesson or practise session. Often an individual finger on a particular note will lend itself to creating a particular quality of sound.  A particular finger will, more often than not be dictated by the notes on either side of it. The ‘correct’ fingering is one which encourages both the best effective musical effect and creates the least difficulty for the pianist. Often a pianist will need to make a choice between these two factors when deciding on which fingering to use. Fingering is therefore likely to vary depending on the dimensions and strengths of an individual’s fingers and on what musical effect is intended.

Given how important fingers are to the pianist, they need to be carefully looked after and maintained. Activities such as Taekwondo, carpentry and tree surgery are not recommended for the serious piano student. 

Essential finger accessories for the budding pianist would include a nail file and some leather gloves. (And handcream in the winter – editor)

Warren Mailley-Smith, concert pianist

Warren’s survey of Chopin’s complete piano music continues at St John’s Smith Square. Further details here