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The Scottish composer Ronald Stevenson died in March 2015. He was one of the most important composers of our time, a composer-pianist in the grand tradition of Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov, probably best remembered for his monumental Passcaglia on DSCH. Pianist Christopher Guild’s first volume of Stevenson’s piano music was released on the Toccata Classics label in early March 2015, though I suspect Guild did not realise at the time that his recording would become a kind of memorial for Stevenson. The CD celebrates Stevenson’s shorter works for piano with a special focus on one of his major preoccupations: his love of Scottish and Celtic culture. The album contains three suites of pieces based on Scottish folk songs or songs for children, together with the more substantial A Scottish Triptych, three pieces each written some time apart, and A Rosary of Variations on Sean O’Riada’s Irish Folk Mass (1980).

The piano is the ideal instrument for miniatures, and Christopher Guild brings warmth, intimacy and wistfulness to the pieces based on Scottish folk tunes with his assured lightness of touch, sensitive voicing, clean articulation, rhythmic vitality and a keen sense of the fleeting moods and characters of each piece, and Stevenson’s penchant for complex harmonies and unexpectedly vivid dissonances. Meanwhile, A Scottish Triptych explores more plangent piano sonorities in its opening movement, and even utilises the piano’s interior (strummed and plucked strings) to produce unexpected colours and resonances in the final movement.

Christopher Guild is an enthusiastic advocate of Stevenson’s music, and the CD provides a poignant memorial to the composer. I look forward to Volume 2 with interest.

Recommended.

Meet the Artist……Christopher Guild

Toccata Classics

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In 1901 a new concert hall opened in the West End, just north of Oxford Street. Small and intimate, it boasted superb acoustics, unprecedented comfort, and scheduled two hundred concerts a year, as London’s concert-going populace, benefitting from a revolution in entertainment and leisure, flocked to see Frank Merrick and Leopold Godowsky, Artur Schnabel, Chopin specialist Vladimir de Pachmann, and ‘Valkyrie of the Piano’, the Venezuelan lady pianist Teresa Careno.

This was Bechstein Hall, owned by the C Bechstein piano manufacturer whose London showroom and retail outlet was next door on Wigmore Street.

The C. Bechstein piano factory was founded on 1 October 1853 by Carl Bechstein who had studied and worked in France and England as a piano craftsman, before he became an independent piano maker. He set out to build a piano able to withstand the demands place upon the instrument by the virtuosi of the time, such as Franz Liszt, and Liszt’s son-in-law, Hans von Bulow, gave the first public performance on a Bechstein grand piano in 1857. Along with Steinway & Sons and Bluthner, Bechstein became one of the world’s pre-eminent piano makers. Bechstein pianos were praised for their colourful tonal palette, warm sound and delicate nuances. Pianists and composers who favoured Bechstein’s pianos include Liszt, Brahms, Scriabin and Debussy.

In 1916 Bechstein Hall closed, its German owners unable to sustain the business during the First War, and in 1917 the hall reopened with its current name – Wigmore Hall. Since its opening, the hall, in both its incarnations, has enjoyed a reputation for world class chamber music and it attracts the finest international pianists.

When I first “met” and played my 1913 Bechstein Model A grand piano, in the north London workshop of my piano tuner in March 2013, I knew I had to own this instrument. Not only for its smooth touch, warm, mellow tone, rich bass, sweet singing treble, and beautiful rosewood case, but also for its association with my favourite London concert venue – Wigmore Hall. It was, and remains, a serendipitous meeting, and it is quite possible that my piano was sold from the Wigmore Street showroom.

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Frances Wilson

 

Bellies, Bass-lines and Bottoms

While thinking of something to write for the Pianist’s Alphabet series, I considered various parts of the piano that I would like to describe and was particularly taken with the belly. It’s not often that I hear pianists talk of the instrument’s belly, but it’s sound-board. The sound-board is arguably the most important part of the instrument, spanning the surface area of the casing (well, the majority of it) and being responsible for the instrument’s personal tonal quality and capability. Steinway & Sons have even created the ‘Diaphragmatic Soundboard’ which they liken to a diaphragm by tapering the thickness of the wood to maximise the soundboard’s efficiency. Here’s a link: http://www.steinway.com/news/articles/the-diaphragmatic-soundboard-the-heart-of-the-steinway-tone-color-and-richness/

But, I prefer the word ‘belly’! Belly = guts, where all the important stuff happens. If the belly of the piano is in perfect working order and designed sympathetically, then the resulting sound is vital, vibrant, and capable of huge tonal and dynamic range. Isn’t it the same with people?!

As for bass-lines, I’m a sucker for bass-lines, and it’s these that we feel most through our bellies. One of the most satisfying things to play and listen to is a descending bass-line, often with an ascending melody, when the tension is building and passions fly, often causing both players and listeners to feel a knot in the stomach and great excitement before the final arrival or release in the music. Ecstasy!! (This happens so many times in Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto, or more gradually in the big climax in ‘Ondine’ from Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit.)

The bass-line underpins everything; it supports the melody and provides the foundation upon which harmony can develop, grounding both player and listener alike. To neglect a bass-line is tantamount to creating a pizza with sumptuous toppings, but paying no attention to the dough! (Apologies for the food analogy but it’s the first thing I think of when searching for parallels.)

Now, bottoms. I’ve already mentioned guts and foundations, but how can any of this happen without being firmly planted? With so much energy being propelled forward towards the instrument, a rooted bum is essential. Great Kung-Fu masters have always spoken of opposing forces increasing power and strength. (Yin and Yang.) If we are to apply this to piano playing, then in order to play to maximum power with minimum effort, as much attention needs to go down through the stool and in to the floor as it does through the thorax, arms, fingers and, ultimately, belly.

So to summarise, pay attention to the bass-line, feel firmly planted and when the music requires it, release both down into the floor and out through the piano, feeling it in your very core. When the piano responds accordingly and its belly rumbles, the music will come alive and everyone will be fulfilled.

Nadine André

http://nadineandre.com

http://www.trifarious.com

 

 

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The 2015/16 season at St John’s Smith Square (SJSS) was heralded by real trumpets as two members of the London Mozart Players performed Stravinsky’s Fanfare for a New Theatre.

I like St John’s very much as a venue. A short walk from Westminster and nestled amongst government offices, it is London’s only Baroque concert hall (designed by Thomas Archer and completed in 1728), though its programmes feature a broad repertoire of music from early to uber-contemporary. As a former church, it boasts a fine acoustic and I have enjoyed some excellent piano recitals there, including concerts by Paul Badura-Skoda, Claire Hammond and Richard Uttley.

For 2015/16, SJSS becomes the temporary home of the International Piano Series (IPS), normally resident at the Southbank Centre, which is undergoing a much-needed upgrade. Highlights of the new IPS season include concerts by established artists such as Steven Osborne, Nikolai Demidenko, Jean-Efllam Bavouzet and Imogen Cooper as well as younger, up-and-coming pianists. My highlights from this series are concerts by Denis Koshukhin (music by Haydn, Brahms, Bartok, Liszt and Wagner trans. Lisz), Lukas Geniušas (Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok and Prokofiev), Steven Osborne (Schubert, Debussy, Rachmaninoff) and Tamara Stefanovich (Copland, Carter, Ives). Full details about the series here

The major season highlight for me is Warren Mailley-Smith‘s 11-concert survey of Chopin’s complete solo piano music, commencing in September 2015. The concerts have a broadly chronological thread running through them, while each will explore a particular aspect of Chopin’s oeuvre, including the Mazurkas, Etudes, Ballades, Scherzi and ever-popular Preludes. This promises to be a real treat for audiences and a marathon undertaking for Warren, who by his own admission, adores this music and is looking forward to a year of total immersion in Chopin. (A detailed preview of the series and an interview with Warren will appear in a later post.)

Fast-forward to today, and Rolf Hind’s fascinating and eclectic Occupy the Pianos festival returns to SJSS in September. 10 concerts over 3 days feature brand new works together with music by Morton Feldman, John Cage and John Adams. Further information about the series here

There is yet more to excite pianophiles in an excellent series of lunchtime concerts, including recitals by the Françoise-Green Duo in which first meets second Viennese School alongside new commissions (21 January, 25 February, 31 March, 7 April, 12 May 2016), together with concerts by Viv McLean (1 October, with soprano Sarah Gabriel) and Joseph Houston (10 December, Debussy, Messiaen, Feldman, Liszt and new works by Colin Matthews and Simon Holt).

My 2015/16 diary is already very full!

Full details of the 2015/15 season at St John’s Smith Square here (including a link to download the new season brochure)

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PRESS RELEASE

On 29 June 2015 St John’s Smith Square announced its 2015/16 Season. With over 250 concerts and many individual series and strands, this season clearly demonstrates St John’s core mission: to be a centre of excellence for chamber orchestras, choral and vocal music and period instrument groups. St John’s also plays a vital function in presenting new work (with over 30 premieres for 15/16) and supporting emerging artists (including an own-promoted young artists’ series).

Orchestral performances

Orchestral performance is a cornerstone of the programme at St John’s Smith Square. Over the coming season St John’s is delighted to be welcoming the London Mozart Players, Orchestra of St John’s, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment*, London Sinfonietta* and Philharmonia* among others.

The London Mozart Players will be giving three distinct series: Mozart Explored, continuing their exploration of Mozart Piano Concertos with Howard Shelley; Beethoven Explored, performing the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos, again with Howard Shelley; and Mozart Explored: 1783, celebrating music from the year 1783 in Mozart’s life.

The Orchestra of St John’s bring a range of programmes including opera and oratorio, a traditional New Year Strauss celebration, a collaboration with Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead (13 February 2016) and a series of celebrity appearances entitled Public Passions opening on 5 March 2016 with Joanna Lumley. 

The Philharmonia bring Stravinsky under Esa-Pekka Salonen (2 June 2016), the London Sinfonietta with Martyn Brabbins and Garry Walker bring two programmes of premieres including a new work by Sir Harrison Birtwistle (1 June 2016) and a premiere by Laurence Crane (10 October) and the OAE have a regular season at St John’s in addition to their traditional Christmas and Easter St John’s concerts.

Choral and vocal music

There is also a vibrant season of choral and vocal music for the 2015/16 Season. This includes The Tallis Scholars‘ landmark 2000th concert (21 September), a celebratory event which also opens the London International A Cappella Choir Competition (22-26 September).

Other vocal highlights include performances from Polyphony under Stephen Layton at Christmas and Easter in Handel’s Messiah with the OAE (23 December) and Bach’s St John Passion on Good Friday (25 March 2016). Stephen Layton also continues his Handel oratorio cycle with The Holst Singers and The Brook Street Band, this time featuring Handel’s Solomon. Other Handel performances include the rarely heard Athalia with the Whitehall Choir, London Baroque Sinfonia and Paul Spicer (17 November).

Opera

As well as sacred choral music, Opera is a significant aspect of the 15/16 programme. There will be Salieri’s seldom-heard Trofonio’s Cave from Bampton Classical Opera (15 September), Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Orchestra of St John’s (14 September), Zelenka with Bury Court Opera (20 October), Handel’s Acis and Galatea with La Nuova Musica (2 November) and Rameau’s Castor et Pollux with Olivier Award-nominated Early Opera Company and Christian Curnyn (20 November).  There is also operetta with Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld from Opera Danube (29-31 January 2016) and Stephen Oliver’s realisation of Mozart’s opera The Goose of Cairo as part of the London Mozart Players’ 1783 series (14 April 2016).

Period Instrument Performances

Historically informed performance with period instruments is one of the key features of the 15/16 programme at St John’s, the UK’s only baroque concert hall.

The Brook Street Band, The Revolutionary Drawing Room, Solomon’s Knot, Arcangelo, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, La Nuova Musica, the Steinitz Bach Festival, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Early Opera Company, the International Baroque Players, The Amadè Players, Gabrieli and the European Union Baroque Orchestra all contribute to this rich vein running through the programme.

New Music and emerging talent

Across the programme there are over 30 premieres and commissions including new works from Alissa Firsova, Simon Holt, György Kurtág, Errollyn Wallen, Lawrence Crane, Martin Butler, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Tansy Davies and Christian Mason. All those selected for the St John’s Young Artists’ Scheme (Tabea Debus, the Ligeti Quartet, Joo Yeon Sir and The Gesualdo Six) also feature new music as part of their programming.

St John’s is also delighted to welcome the Park Lane Group for both a lunchtime series and their intensive festival (18-22 April 2016), featuring emerging artists and new music, and tomorrow’s opera stars get a chance to shine through Opera Danube’s training programme.

Regular Concert Series

St John’s hosts regular Thursday lunchtime concerts which, amongst others, feature Yeomen from The Musician’s Company and artists from the Dartington International Summer School. There is also a monthly organ recital series including performances by Thomas Trotter, Jane Watts and Roger Sayer, programmed by St John’s organ curator David Titterington.

St John’s other regular series is the Sunday at St John’s programme which includes mini-series such as the London Piano Trio’s complete Beethoven Piano Trios (11 October, 29 November 2015, 17 January 2016) and the Fidelio Trio’s focus on French repertoire and new works (15 November 2015, 24 January, 24 April 2016).

There is further great chamber music from the Françoise Green Duo, who have devised a fabulous series of first meets second Viennese School alongside new commissions (21 January, 25 February, 31 March, 7 April, 12 May 2016) and the return of the Henschel Quartet (6 October) following their magnificent debut last year.

The pianist Martino Tirimo, with friends including the Carducci Quartet, Minguet Quartet and Rosamunde Trio, presents a series spanning 2016 of the great piano quintets and there is an absolute tour de force of the Complete Chopin Cycle given by pianist Warren Mailley-Smith over eleven concerts.

Festivals at St John’s Smith Square

Festival programming is also central to this season. In September St John’s welcomes back pianist and composer Rolf Hind who has curated the second ‘Occupy the Pianos’ festival: a fascinating exploration of all things piano with nine concerts showcasing an eclectic mix of 20th and 21st Century music for pianos, prepared piano, voice and dancer (10-13 September).

A fortnight later Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars launch the second London International A Cappella Choir Competition with choirs battling out the prize over five days. Christmas sees the superlative St John’s 30th Annual Christmas Festival curated by Stephen Layton (11-23 December), bigger than ever before and including familiar faces, such as Ex Cathedra, Ensemble Plus Ultra and the Choirs of Christ Church Oxford, King’s College London and Clare College Cambridge as well as newcomers Siglo de Oro and the Choir of Merton College Oxford. St John’s also welcomes back the London Festival of Baroque Music (13-19 May 2016) which for 2016 has ‘The Word in Music’ as its theme.

Two new festivals for 2016 are ‘Principal Sound’: a focus on the music of Morton Feldman and those he influenced (1-4 April 2016) and DEEP∞MINAMLISM (24-26 June)* with music by Meredith Monk, Galina Ustvolskaya, Mica Levi and others.

 

Ongoing Partnerships

St John’s is also delighted to be the regular home for many orchestras and choirs including the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, the Kensington Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Vitae, the 1885 Singers, the English Baroque Choir, the Collaborative Orchestra, the Orchestra of St Paul’s, Cantandum, Twickenham Choral Society, the Salomon Orchestra, the Fulham Symphony Orchestra, the City of London Choir, the London Phoenix Orchestra, the Parliament Choir, The London Chorus and the Royal Orchestral Society as well as many schools, music colleges and community organisations who use St John’s regularly.

Southbank Centre at St John’s Smith Square

Finally, there is one other exciting collaboration taking place at St John’s this season. During the period of refurbishment at the Southbank Centre St John’s will be providing a temporary home for concerts from the International Piano Series, the International Chamber Music Series and a number of the Southbank Centre’s resident ensembles. Artists appearing at St John’s as a result of this partnership include Nikolai Demidenko, Steven Osborne, Tamara Stefanovich, Imogen Cooper, the Jerusalem Quartet, Viktoria Mullova, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Nicola Benedetti, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Steven Devine, Ian Bostridge, John Butt, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the London Sinfonietta.

Richard Heason, Director of St John’s Smith Square said:

“I am immensely proud of the new season programme at St John’s Smith Square. St John’s is a wonderful place; a unique baroque building, majestic and serene and situated in one of the most inspirational settings I have ever come across. Our 2015/16 programme is packed with concerts and festivals of the highest quality which, I am sure, will prove to be informative, entertaining and inspirational. St John’s Smith Square doesn’t receive any public subsidy; our income coming solely from hiring the hall, box office revenue, the restaurant and bar and the generosity of our supporters. As such, this programme would be impossible to put together were it not for the support of a huge range of partners and friends. My thanks go to everyone who has helped to put together what I am confident will be a year of musical triumphs for St John’s.”  

Full concert listings are available on line:  http://www.sjss.org.uk/whats-on