14 Sept - Emmanuel Despax
Emmanuel Despax – what a pianist! He makes the piano sing, and makes the audience listen.
The opening piece of the evening was Busoni’s Sonatina Carmen. I had the impression that Emmanuel was a bit nervous initially although I may have been very
wrong as it is unlikely! The piece starts busily with lots of octaves; I
wondered if putting this kind of physical piece right at the beginning
may exhaust him... When the well-known gypsy theme came in, wow it was
like the piano was really singing! I am curious if Emmanuel would play
Horowitz’s variation on a theme of Carmen, I’d love to listen to him
play.
11 May - Tom Gould at St George’s Hanover Square
I love going to lunch time recitals; it is such a treat and it makes me feel that I’m doing something special for myself. Tom Gould came to Breinton with pianist Alasdair Beatson in September 2009 giving a concert of Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven.
I think it is rather unusual that musicians choose to play contemporary music in a church concert; at least I haven’t been to one before. My favourite was Nico Muhly’s Long Line; during this, a tape of electronic sounds was played while Tom played his part – interesting. I particularly liked the beginning where Tom demonstrated a very high note that seemed to last forever. It was beautiful.
4 May - London Mozart Trio at St. John’s, Smith Square
The concert started with a duet by Colin Stone, artistic director of the London Mozart Trio, with his wife Mayumi Iida, playing Schubert’s Rondo in A major. What a beautiful piece! Colin and Mayumi played this in celebration of his birthday and it was wonderful to see and hear them play together. They worked in partnership and their tones matched and flowed perfectly. It was heart warming, moving and full of love; it became such a memorable piece for me. The theme was elegant and some passages reminded me of the same composer’s famous duo Fantasy in F minor. Schubert left many gorgeous pieces for four hands; what a genius and what a tragedy he died at such young age of 31 years old.
Read more: 4 May - London Mozart Trio at St. John’s, Smith Square
3 May - Madeleine Mitchell and Noriko Ogawa at Royal Leamington Spa
When Madeleine Mitchell told me about her recital at the Leamington Music Festival a while ago, I thought I’d never make it simply because it is such a long way. I admit my driving skills are pretty good these days as I’m practicing it everyday for the past few years doing school and activity runs for our three children. I had, however, never driven so long or so far by motorway by myself, so I felt a bit nervous. Nevertheless, encouraged by the gorgeous weather and the fact that Madeleine will perform at Breinton in the coming 2011 – 2012 season, I made the decision to go there. And it was certainly very worthwhile!
Read more: 3 May - Madeleine Mitchell and Noriko Ogawa at Royal Leamington Spa
25 March - Benedetti Trio
Erika and I went to listen to the Benedetti Trio at Holy Trinity Church in Guildford. It was a part of the Guildford International Music Festival, and definitely a highlight of the season. This church has super acoustics and it's a great venue for us too as it is very close to Woking! Erika is a big fan of Nicola Benedetti, so she was really looking forward to this concert.
21st February 2011 – Sitkovetsky Trio
1901 Arts Club
Imagine there are three truly superb musicians – one pianist, one violinist and one cellist. Put them together as a trio, and the result? The Sitkovetsky Trio!
Lionel and I went to the 1901 Arts Club, my favourite concert venue just off Waterloo Station. They organize fabulous recitals by Hattori Foundation prize winners. Because these musicians have been through a vigorous audition process to win an award, you are assured of high quality. The trio consists of Alexander Sitkovestky (violin), Wu Qian (piano), and Leonard Elschenbroich (cello). I’m sure many will remember that Leonard appeared at Breinton last summer and gave a phenomenal performance of Beethoven Sonatas with pianist Alexei Grynyuk.
13 February - Evgeny Kissin
Liszt Recital, Barbican
What a recital! It was phenomenal, completely mind blowing – I came out feeling I had seen and heard everything that I had ever needed.
I’ve been to every single one of his recitals in London (and one in Birmingham!) since we moved to the UK five and half years ago, and this evening was one of the very best. What a fulfilling program. What stamina. And what charisma. Evgeny Kissin is a true genius, and is blessed with god-given talent.
