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This week I returned to the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands Park with my friend and pianist colleague Elspeth Wyllie, to see and play a square piano which had belonged to Elgar. Elspeth has been working on and performing Elgar’s own transcription for piano of his Enigma Variations and so the visit was part curiosity (on both our parts) and part research.

The first thing which struck us on being shown the piano is its very small size, and the delicate strings and hammers. Examining this tiny piano, it was easy to imagine it in a room in the composer’s cottage in Great Malvern. The piano came into the possession of Edward Elgar’s father and uncle who together ran a piano business in Worcester, and Elgar chose it from his father’s stock. He inscribed on the soundboard the names of some of the works he composed on it, including ‘Caractacus’ and ‘Sea Pictures’. The Enigma Variations were composed in 1898-99: of course we don’t know if Elgar used this piano to work on the Variations, but in any case, the experience of playing his music on his piano was most enlightening and very touching, for both of us.

Despite its size, the piano has a remarkably colourful voice and a rich bass. In the treble there are string quartet sonorities which brought a wonderful vibrancy to the music and revealed strands of melody, sub-melody and accompaniment which are sometimes lost in the lush resonance of a modern grand piano.

Hear Elgar’s Broadwood here:

 

More about The Cobbe Collection

An earlier post about the ‘Chopin’ pianos at the Cobbe Collection

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Who or what inspired you to take up the piano, and make it your career?

Initially it was my older sister. She started taking piano lessons and we were very competitive so anything she did I did too! Then it was really my mother who encouraged me to continue. She took me all over the country for lessons and competitions and really invested a lot of time in my early musical career.
Who or what were the most important influences on your musical life and career?

I have been really lucky to study with the most incredible teachers and they have definitely influenced the direction of my career. My teacher at the Purcell School, Carole Presland, had a fabulous career and ever since we met, I have always strived to have a career like hers. And then my current teacher Douglas Finch really nurtured my love of contemporary music. We have been working together now for 5 years and he has really been an invaluable source of encouragement and inspiration.

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

All the knock backs I have had. There were many people who told me that I wasn’t good enough so I will always be grateful to those who have had faith in me!

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

I am very proud of my latest performance at the 1901 Arts Club. It really took a lot of pain and suffering to get there and I feel I really gave the audience something new and special. Shortly after that I recorded some Chopin Preludes which have turned out really well so I am very proud of them!

Which particular works do you think you play best?

Contemporary works are definitely my thing. I love compositions by my teacher, Douglas Finch. I have performed his work Preludes and Afterthoughts quite a lot recently and it is just the most fun! The more obscure the better!

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

It depends on what I have got going on further down the line. I listen a lot. I do, to some extent, go out of my way to find the weird and wonderful pieces that people don’t hear so much. I like to bring something new to the performance platform with every concert I do. I also get asked by composers to perform their works also, which is always a privilege.

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

The 1901 Arts Club is just phenomenal. It is the most intimate and friendly venue in London. It’s a different kind of concert there. Audience members talk to each other and as a performer you really feel like you are performing to a room full of friends, even though you maybe don’t know a soul!

Favourite pieces to perform? Listen to?

That’s a very difficult question. I like to perform all pieces. Performing is just too much fun to not enjoy performing everything! Chamber music is particularly enjoyable. I work with a violinist and we have had particular fun performing Schnittke – Violin Sonata No. 3. To listen to, always Argerich playing Prokofiev Piano Concerto no. 1.

Who are your favourite musicians?

So many it is difficult to pick! I love Pierre-Laurent Aimard, he is an inspiration. Argerich as well. I cannot live without her Prokofiev

What is your most memorable concert experience?

When Charles Rosen came to perform and give a master class at the Purcell School. I will never forget that day!

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

To enjoy what you are doing. I think a lot of musicians forget we are not only doing this for a job but out of choice. We made that choice because we love music. You can hear when people have forgotten to love their art.

What are you working on at the moment?

Takemitsu – Litany, Scriabin Fantasy in B Minor, Schnittke – Little Piano Pieces and Prokofiev Sarcasms.

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

In 10 years’ time I would like to be doing something that makes me as happy as I am now.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Days off where I can practice, sit in the sun, read a good book and do everything at my leisure. Generally do all the things I never have time to do.

What is your most treasured possession?

My rabbit, Sausages. And my sanity (sometimes wavers!)

What do you enjoy doing most?

Practicing… sometimes… only when it goes well! I am a keen powerlifter so I really enjoy working out. Drinking copious amounts of tea with Mili Leitner, the violinist who I work with.

What is your present state of mind?

Stressed but excited about studying with Corey Hamm at the University of British Columbia in September!

British born pianist Rosie Whiting is a musician who likes to get under the skin of contemporary performance and bring something new to the performance platform. In every concert she performs the audience can be guaranteed of hearing something new and unexpected.

Rosie started playing the piano at the age of 7 after hearing her sister practice. In 2007 she won a place to study at the prestigious Purcell School of Music, with a full scholarship. Under the tutelage of Carole Presland she explored music from all the epochs and soon realised that her passion was with the contemporary repertoire.

In 2009 Rosie began to study with Douglas Finch at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, and under his guidance immersed herself in modern music. During her time at Trinity, Rosie was able to work with many composers including Tansy Davies, Errollyn Wallen, John White and Mark Grey to name a few. Rosie graduated in 2013.

In 2013 Rosie was awarded first prize in the John Halford Competition for contemporary piano music for her performance of Boulez Piano Sonata No. 1 and Messiaen L’Alouette Lulu. She also made her concerto debut with a performance of Mozart Piano Concerto K. 449.

www.rosiewhiting.co.uk

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This is the year of CPE Bach, the tercentenary of the birth of the fifth son of JS, and this anniversary is being marked with performances, recordings and appreciations of his music worldwide.

This is also the year of Mahan Esfahani, the young Iranian harpsichordist, now resident in the UK, who has been credited with bringing the harpsichord “out of the closet” and making this instrument, the pre-eminent symbol of the Baroque period, accessible and exciting and proving that the harpsichord has an important position in contemporary music making.

I first encountered Mahan Esfahani via Norman Lebrect’s Slipped Disc blog and, my interest piqued, heard Mahan perform Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Cadogan Hall as part of the 2011 Proms. This was a double first – Mahan’s Proms debut and the first solo harpsichord recital in the Proms history. The performance was fresh, thrilling and insightful, revealing many of the gems of Bach’s writing not always highlighted by other performers, either on harpsichord or piano.

Since then, Mahan’s star has been ascending rapidly, evidenced by a busy international concert diary, including participation in this yaer’s Aldeburgh Festival, appearances on BBC Radio 3, and an acclaimed recording of CPE Bach’s Wurttemberg Sonatas for Hyperion. In addition, Mahan is a sharply intellectual musician who is not afraid to challenge the dogmas of the early music movement and who likes to draw his own conclusions about aspects such as interpretation and performance practice from his studies of period sources, and collaborations with modern instrument players to recreate the sonic world of earlier music.

Mahan’s witty and relaxed stage manner combine with his intelligence and musical insight, resulting in recitals with a magnetic appeal which prove that far from an instrument capable of producing “one sound”, the harpsichord is vibrant, colourfully nuanced, expressive and highly textural. From the melancholic arabesques of Couperin to the dramatic bravura and declamatory statements of the young JS Bach’s Toccata in F# minor BWV910 to the graceful soundscape of Takemitsu (an inspired inclusion), this was a concert which fizzed and sparkled.

Those of us more used to hearing piano recitals at the Wigmore need a few moments to “tune in” to the sound of the harpsichord. It speaks more quietly, inevitably, because of its size, but the special acoustic of the Wigmore Hall seems just about ideal for this instrument. Add to this an audience which, by and large, listened most attentively, creating a highly engaging and absorbing concert.

In addition to the works by Couperin, JS Bach and Takemitsu, there were two Sonatas by CPE (“Emmanuel”) Bach, written while his father was still alive. Dedicated to Emmanuel’s employer, the newly-crowned Prussian King Frederick II, these sonatas reveal a composer working within a musical landscape which was poised on the cusp of change and display the remarkable forward-pull of Emmanuel’s creative impulse in the use of texture, dissonance, rapid changes of mood, rhetoric and wit, music which looks forward to Haydn and Beethoven. For the purposes of comparison, Mahan also included in his programme a sonata by Georg Anton Benda, a Bohemian disciple of Emmanuel. More sparely scored, it lacked the immediate “shock value” of Emmanuel’s writing, yet included many distinctive facets – drama and tension, a recitative-like slow movement and a spirited finale – and was performed with great elegance and sensitivity.

On first glance, Rain Dreaming by Toru Takemitsu may seem an odd choice in a programme dedicated to Baroque and early classical music, but the piece worked well, providing an interesting contrast and a pause for reflection. There were echoes of Emmanuel’s unexpected dissonances and Couperin’s poetry within Takemitsu’s writing , yet the work is also highly lyrical in its explorations of tonality.

This was a concert of bravura playing, combined with wit and intelligence to create a thoroughly engaging concert, which challenged pre-conceived notions about the harpsichord and the music of the Baroque and Rococo periods. Mahan’s entertaining and informative introduction (given after the Couperin) and his interesting and quirky programme notes (in which he described Frederick II as an eighteenth-century “hipster”) undoubtedly contributed to a most enjoyable and imaginative evening of music making. Highly recommended.

Meet the Artist……Mahan Esfahani

www.mahanesfahani.com

 

(Photo credit: Marco Borggreve)

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cons-inst-perf-mmusThe first Birmingham City University International Piano Academy (IPA) will run 14 July to 2 August 2014. This exciting three-week course is part of the Birmingham City University International Summer School. The IPA is designed to help pianists from across the world develop their interpretative, technical and platform skills.

There are concerts, masterclasses and lectures with leading international artists and renowned teachers, including Peter Donohoe and Julian Lloyd Webber, together with special interest events such as an exploration of playing Mozart’s music on different pianos, including the fortepiano and modern grand piano, allowing participants to discover the differences in phrasing, fingering and interpretation at different periods in history. Peter Donohoe will also give a lunchtime recital of works by Schumann, Scriabin, Tchaikovsky and Brahms. All events are free for those under 18 years of age.

Image credit: Peter Donohoe © Sussie Ahlburg
Image credit: Peter Donohoe © Sussie Ahlburg

In addition to this unique series of concerts, talks and other activities, the IPA offers a full programme of one-to-one tuition, group lessons and developmental activities.

The IPA is directed by Di Xiao, an international pianist, educator, writer and cultural ambassador.

Further details of the IPA here

Full programme of events brochure

http://www.dixiao.co.uk/