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BAGATELLES Piano Music by Bernard Hughes

Matthew Mills piano

Release date: 9th June 2023 | Divine Art Recordings (Divine Art DDX 21107)

This album presents the complete works of Bernard Hughes for solo piano, an eclectic collection covering a period of over 30 years. The oldest piece dates back to his teenage years and the most recent is a brand new suite, Partita Contrafacta, a quirky take on traditional Baroque dance forms. The rest of the music ranges from the large-scale Strettos and Striations to little occasional pieces written for the composer’s children. With such a varied range of music, there is something for everyone on this disc.

What makes this album truly special is the culmination of many years of collaboration between Hughes and Mills, who commissioned and premieres Partita Contrafacta on the disc. The two musicians have been working together for years, resulting in a deep understanding of each other’s artistic vision and an unparalleled ability to bring Hughes’ compositions to life on the piano.

Works

Song of the Walnut
Partita Contrafacta (suite in 7 movements)
Song of the Button
Bagatelles (12 movements)
Miniatures (11 movements)
Three Studies
O du Liebe meiner Liebe
Strettos and Striations
Cradle Song

Sample track:

Bernard Hughes says: “This album brings together pretty much all my music for solo piano written over the course of more than 30 years, the earliest from when I was still at school and the latest written just weeks before being recorded, in October 2022. The inspiration was my pianist and friend, Matthew Mills, who suggested the project and who has put untold hours into learning and animating the music, some of which is very straightforward, and lots of which is very much not.

And this variety is very much the point for me. As in all aspects of my compositional work, I don’t have a single piano ‘style’, but cut my cloth according to the occasion. Although there are several of techniques, textures and devices I return to over and again – as will be obvious to anyone listening straight through – there is also a huge range of approach, from music written for piano beginners up to the most virtuosic I could imagine, and from simple blink-and-you-miss-them melodies to ferocious, post-minimalist studies. In some cases, I don’t know what possessed me.”

Pianist Matthew Mills says: “I am very pleased to have done Bernard’s piano album. It’s a substantial milestone in a musical relationship that now goes back probably twenty years or so…. It really captures all facets of Bernard’s kaleidoscopic musical personality, and, having a close knowledge of the composer as well as the music, I think gives it a special resonance.

Pre-order BAGATELLES here

Bernard Hughes
Matthew Mills
Bernard Hughes’ music has been performed by ensembles including the BBC Singers and the London Mozart Players at major British venues including the Royal Albert Hall and St Paul’s Cathedral. His music has won a number of awards both in the UK and internationally and is regularly broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in the UK. Bernard Hughes’s BBC commission Birdchant was premiered at the Proms festival in August 2021. This was the culmination of Bernard’s long relationship with the BBC Singers, which also included a major portrait concert in January 2020, leading to I Sing of Love being nominated for an Ivor Novello Composer Award. An album of Bernard Hughes’s choral music, I am the Song, performed by the BBC Singers, was released in 2016. His orchestral works for family concerts, Bernard & Isabel and The Knight Who Took All Day are frequently performed around Britain and were recorded by the Orchestra of the Swan on a release from February 2020. In 2015 he provided music for the comedy film Bill, a fantastical account of Shakespeare’s early years. A second album of choral music, Precious Things, sung by the Epiphoni Consort, was released in May 2022 and was described by Judith Weir as ‘choral music as we rarely hear it – generous, light-footed, surprising.’ Bernard lives in London where he is Composer-in-Residence at St Paul’s Girls’ School, a position he has held since 2015. He is a keen cricket fan, both as a watcher, a player and as chairman of Chiswick Cricket Club in London.

For almost three decades, Matthew Mills has enjoyed a busy and diverse freelance career as a pianist, composer, and conductor. With a repertoire encompassing music from five centuries, he has performed across the UK as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist, in addition to establishing a reputation as a sympathetic and creative dance accompanist.

A committed supporter of young composers and contemporary music, Matthew founded and directed a contemporary music ensemble at Royal Holloway, University of London, with whom, assisted by his own conducting students, he led workshops and performed works by student composers, as well as established twentieth-century names. He has enjoyed a long collaboration with the British composer Bernard Hughes, having given the first performance of his Bagatelles for piano and participated in the first performances of his chamber opera Dumbfounded! at the Riverside Studios, London.

Matthew studied at the Universities of Oxford and London, and at Trinity College of Music, London. His teachers have included Christopher Elton (piano), Daryl Runswick, Andrew Lovett, and Simon Holt (composition), and Gregory Rose (conducting). An award from Oxford University enabled a period of specialist study of contemporary piano repertoire with Rolf Hind, and he has appeared in masterclasses in composition with Michael Finnissy and George Benjamin, and in piano with John Lill and Rosalyn Tureck.

 

For further press information, interviews and review copies, please contact Frances Wilson

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The London Piano Meetup Group celebrates its 10th birthday on 20 May, with an event at Steinway Hall in London.

When I co-founded the London Piano Meetup Group back in 2013, I knew very few amateur pianists. I’d been playing seriously for about 5 years, having returned to the piano after an absence of nearly a quarter of a century. I’d been on a number of piano courses and appreciated the value in connecting with other pianists but these were not regular interactions. I, and my co-founder (a piano teacher based in SE London) were both keen to connect with other adult amateur pianists on a regular basis – not just for the opportunity to play regularly in front of others but also to socialise with like-minded people. Thus the London Piano Meetup Group came to be.

Our launch event at Peregrine’s Pianos on 18 May 2013 was very well-attended and the young pianist Emmanuel Vass, who has been a good friend to the group over the years, was our guest performer. We were a mixed bunch, of various ages and abilities. Some people had played all their life; others, like me, were returners; some were beginners who had taken up the piano in retirement; others had been to music college but had chosen a different career path. All shared a deep passion for the piano.

The ethos of the group has always been to provide a friendly, positive and ‘safe’ environment in which people can perform and socialise. Many people want the experience of performing without the stress (as far as possible) – music is, after all, for sharing. Some find the performance platforms useful in preparing for exams or diploma recitals. Others simply come along to listen and enjoy the varied repertoire. One of the big attractions of the group is the chance to play a really nice instrument; venues are selected for the quality of their pianos, giving participants the opportunity to experience the pleasure and challenge of playing a really fine grand piano.

The group was popular from the get go – a mark perhaps of people’s enthusiasm for the piano and also an opportunity to connect with others, to share stories, discuss practising, repertoire, concerts we’ve enjoyed, our favourite professional pianists or recordings…..and much more. I’ve made some very good friends through the group (and playing the piano can be a rather lonely occupation, although something that most of us actually quite like!), and many of us bump into each other at other piano events, such as concerts, courses and masterclasses.

The group generated some offshoots too, such as an amateur piano competition, adjudicated by none other than Leslie Howard, and the very popular Diploma Days with acclaimed teacher Graham Fitch, which offer people an opportunity to play some of their Diploma repertoire and receive useful critique from Graham as well as advice on planning a diploma programme and managing performance nerves.

Members also regularly attend courses such as the hugely popular summer school, known affectionately as Chets, in Manchester, the Summer School for Pianists at Stowe, Finchcocks in Kent, Jackdaws in Somerset, and even some summer schools held in France and Italy.

The group has also inspired others to form their own meet-ups and piano clubs in the UK and beyond, and in 2015 the LPMG met up with the Vienna Piano Meetup Group at a piano showroom in Vienna (the trip also included a tour of the Bösendorfer factory).

The popularity, and longevity of the group – and its offshoots – is an indication of how many pianists there are in and around London who enjoy the opportunity to meet and explore repertoire, and to share their passion for the piano. It is also a credit to Rob Foster, who now runs the group, and who continues to give amateur pianists regular performance opportunities in a friendly, supportive atmosphere.

The London Piano Meetup Group (LPMG) meets monthly at venues such as the 1901 Arts Club (Waterloo), Peregrines Pianos (Clerkenwell), Café Yukari (Kew) and Gaspard Music Academy (Richmond). The group is run via a Facebook group and mailing list. If you would like to join LPMG, please contact the organiser at londonpianomeetup@gmail.com

1901 Arts Club music salon
1901 Arts Club

Further reading:

Dedication & Passion: The inspiring world of the amateur pianist

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“This is a competition to watch” International Piano MagazineThe 17th Hastings International Piano Competition will take place from 22 Feb – 2 March 2024 and entry is now open, by video audition. The deadline for entries is 15 September 2023, and full details of how to enter the competition are here: https://www.hastingsinternationalpiano.org/2024-competition/

Vanessa Latarche

The competition is generously supported by Steinway and sons and will feature 45 entrants who will play live in Hastings over the period. A jury of 3, chaired by Artistic Director of Hastings International Piano, Vanessa Latarche, will select the entrants from the video submissions.

Hastings International Piano is delighted to announce a new partnership with Southbank Sinfonia who will accompany the semi-finals. The finals over two nights will be accompanied as before by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Both these rounds will be conducted by Rory MacDonald.

Another new departure for the competition is a commission for the solo round by American composer Lera Auerbach. This five minute test piece will be a compulsory entry for the solo round, and will be given its world premiere at this point.

Furthermore, a 2-year professional development programme has been created where finalists will receive mentoring, career advice, programming advice, performance opportunities and professional headshots from leading industry experts.

Vanessa Latarche, Artistic Director of Hastings International Piano, writes:

“I am thrilled with the recent developments for the 17th Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition. Southbank Sinfonia’s involvement offers an exciting opportunity for our competitors to play with another professional orchestra in the semi -finals in addition to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the finals. We are delighted that Lera Auerbach has agreed to compose a special test piece for the solo recital round, giving the competitors the chance to showcase their skill in contemporary repertoire. I am sure that this piece will have a long life well beyond the 2024 competition and we look forward to hearing our competitors’ interpretations of it. I thank the wonderful team of volunteers, piano hosts and host families that help make the competition happen.”

CONCERTO COMPETITIONFirst Prize – £15,000 plus future performance opportunities with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Finals over 2 nights with RPO

Semi-finals over 3 sessions with Southbank Sinfonia

First round 2 pianos playing sections of 2 concertos

2nd round solo recital round including new commission

JURY

Professor Vanessa Latarche – Jury President

Paul Hughes – UK

Piotr Paleczny – Poland

Eleanor Wong – Hong Kong

Fran Cruz Plaza – Spain

Pascal Escande – France

Norman Krieger – USA

Find full details at https://www.hastingsinternationalpiano.org/2024-competition/

2022 winner Shunta Morimoto

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The decision to leave one’s piano teacher and move on can be a difficult one, especially if the relationship is longstanding. I have written more about this subject here. 

Ann Grogan, a poet and adult pianist, contacted me after reading my article to share her own thoughts on the issues surrounding the decision to leave a teacher, and I am sharing a excerpt from her article on this subject here:

In appreciation because they help me reach my goals, I fall into a kind of deep music-love affair with each of my teachers. Music and piano lessons open up my heart and emotions, and make me feel raw, vulnerable, and exposed in a way that other kinds of art lessons have never done. Music is special in this way, at least for me.

THE DANGER OF BEING OVERLY IMPRESSED: Sometimes this specialness causes me to set aside what I note is out of place in a lesson or in the teaching relationship, in favor of long-term hopes and dreams. That is usually never a good thing to do. I’ve learned to speak up earlier and more often when I’m fairly certain I’m not enjoying something I am trying to learn or a particular approach the teacher insists I apply.

In one case, I’m certain that I was initially overly-impressed by a teacher’s many published CDs featuring original compositions and pianistic talents in a preferred musical genre that was not mine, and another teacher’s stature as a well-known professional pianist with ubiquitous “how to” vlogs. However, I failed to do my due diligence and had no clue about their teaching ability in general, or if their approaches and policies were compatible with what are certain basic requirements I have for piano lessons.

For many seniors, the process of learning the piano is critical, in that it must function in the nature of a partnership and not a top-down affair. Being overly-impressed hinders my ability to observe what is happening as lessons unfold. I stray from my desire to learn in partnership with my teacher. Sometimes I continue studying with the teacher beyond what is reasonable and productive.

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