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A great deal is said and written about “integrity” and “honesty” in musical performance. For most people, this means respecting the score by following the composer’s markings and attempting, as far as possible, to interpret the composer’s intentions in the music. In addition, musicians who are praised for “honest” performances tend to play without surface artifice or flashy pianistic pyrotechnics; they attempt to “let the music speak”, free of ego, offer insights into the music, and communicate with the audience.

But there are other aspects to the musician’s honesty which are not immediately obvious to audiences, nor generally acknowledged within the profession, yet these can have a profound effect on a musician’s approach to their music making and their professional life.

For young musicians there is great pressure to conform to established ways of learning and presenting the music. A large part of this is concerned with repertoire, where student musicians or those at the beginning of their professional career may feel under pressure to play certain works to satisfy teachers, concert promoters or critics. (This is borne out when one considers the piano concertos which regularly appear in piano competitions and which are held up as “core works” which every young pianist should play or aspire to play.) Yet for some, these works may not suit them or be to their taste, and as a result they may not play them at their best. Being honest about the kind of repertoire one enjoys and wants to play will make practicing more productive and bring greater integrity to one’s performances. 

This is related to another aspect of the pianist’s honesty – accepting that one cannot “play everything”. Again, the notion that one should have broad musical taste which extends to what one should play is often inculcated during training. There are very few professional pianists whose repertoire extends from the Baroque to the present-day, the notably exceptions being Maurizio Pollini and Marc-André Hamelin (who seems to be able to play anything!). The British pianist Stephen Hough has been open about his reluctance to play the music of J S Bach, a composer whose oeuvre is revered and resides, for many, at the very heart of the core canon. In interviews Hough has admitted, to gasps of horrified disbelief, that he doesn’t feel a deep connection to Bach’s music. Such honesty is commendable in a world where choosing not to play music from the core canon is regarded by some as a form of musical heresy!

There is another more personal kind of honesty, which is to be admired, and that is when musicians open up about injury or performance anxiety. By doing so, they support others who may be similarly suffering, and being honest about one’s frailties helps break down the taboo surrounding musicians and injury. This goes even further in the case of pianist Lars Vogt, who in very public statements on social media and a particularly moving interview for Van magazine revealed that he has cancer and is receiving chemotherapy. It takes a special kind of honesty, indeed courage, to share such personal information, but for Vogt from the outset this was what he intended to do:  “This is a part of my life. It gives people the chance to take part in it. It was supportive, the amount of kindness I encountered….” (interview with Van magazine).

Allied to this is the ability to accept and admit that it is time to quit the concert stage. The great pianist Alfred Brendel, who retired in 2008, wanted to stop performing while still at the peak of his powers in order to pursue other activities, such as writing and lecturing. It takes a degree of personal insight and honesty to make such a decision; for others, the honesty of friends and colleagues may be the catalyst to encourage a musician to review their career and adjust it according to their age or personal circumstances.

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This recent release by Duncan Honeybourne on the EMR label makes a persuasive and highly listenable case for lesser-known English composers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Recorded in August 2020 at Potton Hall, between lockdowns, as it were, Duncan Honeybourne, by his own admission, feels this is his best work to date. While many of us chafed at the enforced isolation and restrictions, Honeybourne has used the time extremely productively (he has also just released a recording of piano music by the late John Joubert – more here). Freed from a busy concert schedule, Honeybourne has welcomed the opportunity to “reconnect” with the piano and really immerse himself in the repertoire he most enjoys and loves.

A champion of lesser-known English piano music, Honeybourne’s affection for and understanding of the pieces on this disc is evident throughout in performances which reveal an acute appreciation of the wide variety of styles, moods and textures of this repertoire. The result is a generous 2-disc album which contains no less than eight world premiere recordings of works by Christopher Edmunds, Edgar Bainton, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, and Richard Pantcheff.

The title of the disc is taken from Psalm 103 (“out of the deep have I called unto Thee, O Lord“), appropriately for the three substantial piano sonatas which frame the complete programme – from Edmunds’ big boned, luxuriantly romantic piano sonata, composed in 1938, with its nods to Liszt and Rachmaninoff in both its scale and breadth of expression, to the Bridge sonata written in the aftermath of the First World War – a work of utter desolation which calls out for reconciliation and forgiveness in a world torn apart by conflict, and Richard Pantcheff’s Sonata of 2017, written for Duncan Honeybourne, which although divided by almost a century, shares the dark, brooding emotional bleakness of Bridge’s work. Honeybourne captures the intensity and range of sentiment in these three sonatas and does not shy away from bravura virtuosity in the first movement of the Edmunds Sonata, which opens the album with its vivid first statements offset in the middle movement by a melting tenderness and warmth.

These substantial, dramatic works are complemented and contextualised by shorter works, mostly pastoral in theme, poetic and rhapsodic in nature, and lyrically presented by Honeybourne. Hubert Parry’s delightful ‘Shulbrede Tunes’ are affectionate, sometimes wistful portraits of the composer’s family and their Sussex home; Bainton’s ‘Willows’ and ‘The Making of the Nightingale’ are contemporary with Bridge’s Sonata, tender and evocative pastoral pieces; while Pantcheff’s Nocturnus V: Wind oor die Branders evokes the wind on the waves in his native South Africa. Another nocturne,  Britten’s atmospheric ‘Night Piece’ portrays nighttime scurryings and chirrups.

Friendships and teacher-pupil relationships connect the selection of pieces on this album: Frank Bridge taught Benjamin Britten, who in his later years mentored Richard Pantcheff. Honeybourne studied Britten’s Night Piece with Dame Fanny Waterman, founder of the Leeds International Piano Competition, for which the nocturne was commissioned as a test piece.

This is engaging collection of distinctive and diverse piano music offers listeners the opportunity to explore some stunning, lesser-known gems of the repertoire

emr-cd070-71Of the recording, Honeybourne says: “It was a joy to devise this programme, featuring some masterpieces I’ve known for a long time and love dearly, alongside the stunning Pantcheff Sonata, which I premiered in 2019 in London at an English Music Festival concert. It is a special privilege to present the recorded premieres of some terrific pieces that have languished in manuscript for many decades, and I hope listeners will get as much pleasure from hearing these wonderful gems as I have from all the excavation and preparation. It’s a great honour to bring them all together on this release.”

De Clamavi Profundis is released on the EM Records label.

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‘Piano Meditations’ is a brand new 5-track EP of calming piano music by British pianist and composer Adrian Lord. It is available on CD, and as a piano sheet music book (grades 5-7) from Adrian Lord’s website.

Talking about the creation of this album, Adrian Lord says:

The coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 saw many changes to live music and the series of concerts I had arranged were, of course, all postponed. A former school friend suggested that I offer live-streamed performances, which resulted in me giving two performances a week on Facebook over the 15 weeks of lockdown.

The pieces I chose for this were from my first two albums, ‘Journey – Twelve Romances for Piano’ and ‘Sky Blue Piano’. People tell me that it is the slower and more relaxed pieces that they have found a connection with during this time.

For this book I have decided to continue this theme. The five pieces I have composed are designed to be played with an unhurried feel and a relaxed approach to time.

 

The individual sheet music for Evermore can also be digitally downloaded from: https://adrianlordpiano.com/evermore/

Stream ‘Piano Meditations’ on Spotify and Apple Music: https://linktr.ee/adrianlordpiano

British pianist and composer Adrian Lord studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and at Colchester Institute’s School of Music.   

During his time at Colchester, Adrian studied composition with Alan Bullard and Christopher Ball.  His piano studies with Martin Hughes, and Robert Bell, led to him winning the Canon Jack award for Piano Performance.  

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Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts (WLCC) is delighted to announce its 2021/22 season of concerts which take place once a month at St Mary’s Church, Weymouth. This season is particularly special as not only does the series return to full capacity concerts, it also celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2022.

Despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, WLCC was able to present four concerts in its 2020/21 season which were enthusiastically received by a socially-distanced audience – proof that people really craved and appreciated live music.

The first concert of the 2021/22 season will be given by Penelope Roskell, who was brought up in Weymouth, and was fortunate to study piano with Elsie Monckton from an early age. As a child she played regularly at Weymouth Arts Centre. Since then, she has gone on to a stellar career as an international concert pianist, writer and Professor of Piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Penelope’s programme features three much-loved works for piano by J S Bach, Fryderyk Chopin and Franz Schubert, spanning over 100 years from the Baroque period to the Romantic era.

Future performers include pianists Margaret Fingerhut, Jelena Makarova, Nina Savicevic, Alan Schiller, John Humphreys and Duncan Honeybourne, violinist Peter Fisher, bassoonist Antonia Lazenby, and cellist Ulrich Heinen.

Founded in in 2002 by concert pianist and Weymouth resident Duncan Honeybourne, Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts presents high-quality chamber music in the heart of Weymouth and offers a platform for musical partnerships with friends and colleagues, many of whom enjoy international acclaim. The concerts also give young musicians, often recent graduates from conservatoire or university, valuable performing experience to a friendly, loyal audience.

WLCC programmes are varied and imaginative, mixing well-known works with lesser-known repertoire and composers, and all concerts take place in the attractive, welcoming surroundings of St Mary’s Church, Weymouth. WLCC is very fortunate to have use of an excellent Yamaha grand piano maintained by Weymouth Pianos Ltd. Tickets cost just £5, which represents extremely good value considering the very high quality of WLCC performers and programmes. WLCC is grateful for the support of staff at St Mary’s Church in ensuring concerts are covid-secure, safe and enjoyable for performers and audience alike.

Penelope Roskell performs on 15th September 2021 at 1pm. BOOK TICKETS

Full details of WLCC’s concerts can be found at weymouthchamberconcerts.com/.

Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts provide the whole musical package. Their programme includes established artists and emerging talent; and the conditions are superb for audience and performer alike.

Under the professional and experienced guidance of Duncan Honeybourne and Frances Wilson, Weymouth is truly fortunate to have a concert series that benefits both local people and the wider musical community…..this is a valuable initiative that deserves continuing support and celebration.

James Lisney, concert pianist

The series is organised by Duncan Honeybourne and Frances Wilson (The Cross-Eyed Pianist)

Duncan Honeybourne – Founder/Artistic Director

Commended by International Piano magazine for his “glittering performances“, Duncan enjoys a diverse profile as a pianist and in music education. His concerto debut in 1998 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, was broadcast on radio and television, and recital debuts included London, Paris, and international festivals in Belgium and Switzerland. Duncan has toured extensively as soloist and chamber musician, broadcasting frequently for the BBC and radio networks worldwide. His many recordings reflect his interest in 20th and 21st century British piano music. He is a Tutor in Piano at the University of Southampton.

duncanhoneybourne.com

Twitter: @DuncanHoneybou1

Frances Wilson – Concerts Manager

Frances is a writer, reviewer and publicist. Described by international concert pianist Peter Donohoe as “an important voice in the piano world“, Frances’ blog The Cross-Eyed Pianist has an international reputation and enjoys a large following. She also writes for Hong Kong-based classical music website Interlude and has contributed articles to Pianist magazine and The Schubertian, the journal of the Schubert Institute UK. She has appeared on BBC Radio Three’s Music Matters programme to discuss the role of music criticism today and the effect of the internet on music journalism. An advanced amateur pianist, Frances holds Licentiate and Associate Diplomas in Piano Performance (both with Distinction) and has studied with or received mentorship from a number of distinguished pianist-teachers, including Penelope Roskell, Graham Fitch, Murray McLachlan, Stephen Savage and James Lisney.

Twitter: @crosseyedpiano