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A series of special events take place through April, May and June to mark a rather significant anniversary in the history of piano making and piano literature.

In the summer of the year 1817, London-based piano maker Thomas Broadwood visited Vienna, where he met the 47-year-old Beethoven, who was suffering from ill health and near total deafness. Broadwood was invited to the composer’s apartment and heard him play, but was shocked to discover that Beethoven was too poor to own his own piano and relied on loans from obliging local Viennese piano makers.

On his return to London, Broadwood decided to surprise Beethoven with the gift of a new grand piano. The instrument (serial number 7,632) was chosen by a group of leading professors of music and was delivered to London Docks in a wooden packing case. From there, on 27th December 1817, it was taken on a sailing boat into the Mediterranean, as far as Trieste in northern Italy. It had to wait there for some weeks, until the Alpine passes to Vienna were clear of snow and in early May 1818, it completed the final stage of its arduous journey by horse and cart along 360 miles of rough cart tracks until it reached Vienna.

Beethoven was thrilled with the gift. It inspired him to a fresh burst of musical creativity, leading to the composition of his late piano sonatas (opp.106, 109 and 110). The piano was noticeably louder and more powerful than the Viennese equivalents, which helped him as he struggled with his deafness.

Above the Broadwood label on the piano are the words ‘Hoc Instrumentum est Thomae Broadwood (Londrini) donum propter ingenium illustrissime Beethoven.’ (This instrument is Thomas Broadwood of London’s gift to you, most illustrious Beethoven, because of/on account of [your] genius). It is signed by Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Ferdinand Ries, Johann Baptist Cramer, Jacques-Godefroi Ferrari and Charles Knyvett. The piano was later owned by Liszt, who gave it to the Hungarian National Museum, where it will be on public display.

I shall look upon it as an altar upon which I shall place the most beautiful offerings of my spirit to the divine Apollo… As soon as I receive your excellent instrument, I shall immediately send you the fruits of the first moments of inspiration I spend on it, as a souvenir for you from me.

(Quote from a letter written by Beethoven to Thomas Broadwood in 1818)

To commemorate this significant event, the Broadwood company is sponsoring several events across Europe. UK concerts include recitals and lectures in venues including the Royal Academy of Music’s Keyboards Museum, Richard Burnett Heritage Collection, Clarke Clavier Collection and Finchcocks in Kent, which has recently reopened as a piano school. There will also be a series of concerts in Mödling, near Vienna, which was Beethoven’s summer residence and where the Broadwood was delivered. The piano itself will be on display in Hungary’s National Museum and there will be a display of related ephemera at Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn, at the museum Beethoven House.

John Broadwood & Sons Ltd is the world’s oldest surviving piano firm, founded in 1728. The company has held a Warrant for supply and maintenance of pianos to the various Royal Households since the reign of George II and can name among its illustrious customers the composers Haydn, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Elgar, Holst and Vaughan Williams. The company continues to make, tune and repair pianos at its workshop in Lythe, near Whitby, north Yorkshire. The present-day directors of the company, which is an independent enterprise, include three members of the Laurence family, whose ancestors had worked for many generations in a technical capacity in John Broadwood & Sons’ Soho factory from 1787 until 1922.

Dr Alastair Laurence’s great-great-great grandfather, Alexander Finlayson, was active in the Broadwood workshops as a ‘grand action finisher’ during the time that Beethoven’s piano was being constructed there and is likely to have participated in the creation of Beethoven’s instrument.

Event listings

UK

Beethoven recitals at the Clarke Clavier Collection

Japanese fortepianist Mariko Koide performs on an 1812 Broadwood grand

3pm, 28th and 29th April, 2018

Clarke Clavier Collection,Oxborough, Norfolk, PE33 9PS

Tickets: 01366 328317

Lunchtime recitals at Royal Academy of Music

Yehuda Inbar and Amiran Zenaishvili performing on early Broadwood grand pianos

2.30pm, 2nd and 9th May, 2018

Royal Academy of Music Keyboards Museum, Marylebone Road, London NW1 5HT

www.ram.ac.uk

Talk by Dr Alastair Laurence

‘A Most Remarkable Gift’: talk and demonstration by Dr Alastair Laurence, Chairman of John Broadwood & Sons Ltd

7pm, 8th May, 2018

Royal Academy of Music Keyboards Museum, Marylebone Road, London NW1 5HT

Concert at Finchcocks, Kent

International concert pianist Paul Roberts performs Beethoven and Debussy on a 1921 Broadwood steel barless grand

7.30pm, 27th May, 2018

Vaulted Concert Room, Finchcocks, Goudhurst, Kent TN17 1HH

Tickets: www.finchcocks.com

Concert at Richard Burnett Heritage Collection

First concert in the New Recital Room – young virtuoso Julian Trevelyan plays Beethoven on early Broadwood grands with commentaries from Dr Alastair Laurence

2.30pm and 6pm, 10th June, 2018

Richard Burnett Heritage Collection, Waterdown House, 51, Frant Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5LE

Tickets: 01892 523203

Hungary – Budapest

Exhibition of Beethoven’s Broadwood Grand Piano

Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary

April–June 2018 www.mnm.hu/en

Austria – Mödling, Vienna

Commemorative concert and tours in Beethoven’s summer residence, where the piano arrived in 1818

5pm, 9th June

Georg Beckmann, piano

Hege Gustava Tjønn, soprano

Ismene Weiss, violin

Thönet Schlössl Museum

Josef Deutsch-Platz 2, A-2340

Mödling, near Vienna, Austria

Tickets: www.museum-moedling.at

Germany – Bonn

Exhibition in Beethoven’s birthplace

Ephemera surrounding the Broadwood gift will be exhibited, in association with

the display of an 1817 Broadwood grand, at Beethoven’s birthplace.

April–June 2018

Beethoven-Haus

Bonngasfe 24-26 53111, Bonn

www.beethoven.de

(source: press release)

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Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and pursue a career in music?

My first love was accordion which was brought to my attention in a very spontaneous way by my father when I was around 4 years old. The accordion is used in Macedonia mostly for folk music, although there are many talented people who can play classical music on it as well. I grew up playing folk music on it and I believe that being part of that tradition helped me a lot from the rhythmic point of view, as well as developing a natural musicality especially in terms of lyricism. At the time when I was entering the primary music school there was no accordion to study as a subject, so it seemed more natural to take up on piano.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

I certainly had a great influence and great schooling from my Russian teachers, the Romanovs, who taught me the greatest things from the good old Russian tradition and understanding of the music in general. Than I listened to many of the pianistic legends who have inspired me in many different ways. During my concert career I have met many people from different fields around the world who have inspired me to share the musical views and the depths with music lovers. One learns each day and has many different experiences which are part of personal life and interpretation as well.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

The music is a challenge by itself. In a good way of course – because it enriches the soul and makes life much more beautiful, especially in these crazy times. It is a challenge to keep such a high level of understanding and sophisticated taste on the music circuit and in the music scene nowadays, especially due to the very commercialized world. I am a person who likes purity and embraces life and tries to share that in the most natural way with the colleagues and audiences.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

Oh that is a very difficult question! Each concert or recording is a special in its own way. One concert differs from the other but the truth is that a professional and truly dedicated artist always gives his/her best to each performance. If I really have to give one example, then my very first CD for EMI with the Scriabin and Prokofiev Sonatas as well as Pletnev’s Nutcracker arrangement and Stravinsky’s Petrushka is a special one for me for many reasons. Certainly, I am looking forward to the recording that was done at the beginning of this year of my new folk project “Makedonissimo”, with transcriptions of Macedonian folk music, which will hopefully be released in the near future.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

It would be unfair to my understanding of the music and my total dedication that I have towards all the different styles to answer this question. I think it is good to leave it to the listeners to judge that.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

I try to have a variety first of all due to the fact that I want to have a more interesting life rather than staying mostly with the same repertoire. Then, I always try to accommodate to the promoters’ wishes and at the end we come to the mutual agreement. I do try to broaden the repertoire carefully each season.

You’re performing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in May. Tell us more about this?

I’m glad I was invited to play this piece with the BSO on tour to Dublin as well. I remember that I played this piece with the orchestra several years ago with Kees Bakels and as always with this group, I have really wonderful memories. I am also very happy to rejoin Kirill in this old warhorse which always brings an immense joy in performance, but we must not forget that it brings a great sense of responsibility due to the fact that it is one of the most popular pieces in the piano repertoire. That is why I always have a very serious approach to the “well known played notes” and I am looking forward to this collaboration again. 

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

There are certainly great halls around that I have played in, especially in the UK. One really feels nice at the Wigmore Hall, the Light House, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Edinburgh and Perth and Dundee halls for example. But I also like playing in churches which give some majestic feeling. In any case I feel privileged.

Who are your favourite musicians?

The ones who show really natural musicianship and are very natural and simple people. No need to be cautious nor careful. Everything goes smoothly.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

There are really several ones. The first are certainly strong ones. It is not easy. If I have to give one or few, I will mention my debut with the Macedonian Philharmonic as well as my Wigmore Hall debut. I certainly remember my recital at the Light House in Poole which brings back wonderful memories.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

Being truly dedicated to what you do, pure and unpressured, and share that in the most natural way without any “external” needs. That should help you to be at one with the music, and that can be felt by the audiences. Keeping the feet strongly on the ground and not “flying in the clouds” artificially. That way you can certainly sleep calm during the nights. And fulfilled.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

To be true to themselves after following the most natural guidance of the composers – written in the scores. Keep the logic and nature in the music. Do not try to pretend just for the sake of being different in an unnatural way. It gives the opposite effect.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?

Hopefully in a “safe” place both privately and professionally. Most importantly, to be healthy and with a peace in the soul and mind.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

To see my family happy.

What is your most treasured possession?

My children.

 

Simon Trpčeski performs Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, conducted by Kirill Karabits, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on 9 and 10 May in Poole (Lighthouse) and Dublin (National Concert Hall).

Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski performs with the world’s foremost orchestras including London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw, Russian National Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne, Helsinki Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, New Japan Philharmonic, China Philharmonic and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He regularly gives solo recitals in such cultural capitals as New York, London, Paris, Munich, Prague and Tokyo, and performs chamber music at festivals such as Verbier, Aspen Music Festival, Bergen International Festival, the Baltic Sea Festival and the BBC Proms.

Conductors he regularly collaborates with include Marin Alsop, Lionel Bringuier, Thomas Dausgaard, Gustavo Dudamel, Jakob Hrůša, Vladimir Jurowski, Susanna Mälkki, Andris Nelsons, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Antonio Pappano, Vasily Petrenko, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Lahav Shani, Dima Slobodeniouk, Robin Ticciati and Krzysztof Urbański.

During the 2017/18 season Trpčeski will reunite with the San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich on tour, as well as joining Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and Slovenian Philharmonic, amongst others. Autumn 2017 marks the beginning of a string of diverse performances at London’s Wigmore Hall as an Artist in Residence, featuring his regular duo partnership with the cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, as well as including the UK debut of the self-made folk-based project, “Makedonissimo”, celebrating the music, culture and people of his native Macedonia.

Trpčeski has recorded prolifically to widespread acclaim. His first recording (EMI, 2002) received both the “Editor’s Choice” and “Debut Album” awards at the Gramophone Awards. In 2010 and 2011, his interpretations of Rachmaninov’s four piano concertos with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra were recognized with Classic FM, Gramophone “Editor’s Choice,” and Diapason d’Or accolades. Trpčeski’s March 2012 recital at the Wigmore Hall, released on “Wigmore Hall Live”, was immediately hailed by The Telegraph as “Classical CD of the Week.” His most recent recording for Onyx Classics features Prokofiev’s Piano Concertos No. 1 and 3, and again won him the Diapason d’Or in September 2017.

With the special support of KulturOp — Macedonia’s leading cultural and arts organization — and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, Trpčeski works regularly with young musicians in Macedonia in order to cultivate the talent of the country’s next generation of artists.

Born in the Republic of Macedonia in 1979, Simon Trpčeski is a graduate of the School of Music in Skopje, where he studied with Boris Romanov. He was previously a BBC New Generation Artist, and was honoured with the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award in 2003.

www.trpceski.com

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Composer Paul Burnell has compiled a playlist of “everything that meant something to me with a keyboard connection“. The result is an intriguing and eclectic compilation with “a lot of stuff from the 60s and 70s, including tv themes and a sprinkling of classical, contemporary”

 

Meet the Artist – Paul Burnell

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I always enjoy hearing the piano played well, and this morning I had the particular pleasure of hearing young people (aged c15-17) perform in a masterclass led by renowned pianist and teacher Andrew Ball. I was there at the invitation of Andrew Matthews-Owen who teaches at Trinity-Laban Conservatoire.

The Masterclass format offers a powerful tool for learning and teaching. For the performer, it is an opportunity to play for other people, including the teacher leading the class, in a more formal performance setting (in this instance, the beautiful Peacock Room at Trinity) and to have one’s playing critiqued by someone other than one’s regular teacher, which often leads to new insights and ideas about the music, how to shape it, communicate it and bring greater expression and imagination to one’s performance. For observers, it’s a chance to hear complete pieces in performance, and for a teacher, there is much to be gained in watching someone else teaching, and to share their wisdom.

Andrew Ball is a most sympathetic, kind and encouraging teacher. Where once the masterclass was an ordeal for the participants, putting their music before an opinionated master teacher, under the auspices of a generous, understanding teacher, the class becomes an exchange of ideas and a positive experience for all involved.

Six teenagers performed music by Chopin, Ravel, Prokofiev, Sculthorpe, McCabe and Burrell. The intention of this particular class was to reveal connections between 20th century and contemporary piano music and to demystify contemporary music, which is too often regarded as esoteric, inaccessible, atonal or “difficult” (for player and audience). The choice of music was impressive – the pieces selected by the young people themselves – and demonstrated a deliberate move away from the strict confines of exam repertoire. In fact, all these young people were playing advanced/post-Grade 8/Diploma level repertoire, and they all played with poise, quiet confidence, musicality and individuality. They were unselfconscious, with no hint of trying to imitate a particular professional performer, and they played without pretensions or affectation. Their naivety (and I use the word in the best possible sense) allowed them to approach their music with a freshness, free of any preconceptions, interpreting what was given to them on the page, and with Andrew’s gentle guidance, they were encouraged to project their personal musical imagination to the audience with colour and expression.

In addition to Andrew’s inspirational teaching, I was particularly impressed by the sophisticated choice of repertoire (see below for full list) by these young people and the care with which they had prepared their pieces.

Music performed:

Chopin – Nocturne Op 27/2

Ravel – Oiseaux Tristes from Miroirs

Prokofiev – Sonata No. 3

Sculthorpe – selection from Night Pieces

McCabe – Bagatelles 1 & 2

Burrell – Constellations 1 & 2

Junior Trinity