International Piano #17

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NO.17 JAN/FEB 2013
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Contents
InternatIonal PIano No 17 jaNuary/february 2013
30
Subscribe to International Piano See page 86 for our special offer
5 letters
Your thoughts and comments
6 news
The latest news and events from
the piano world
10 letter from Us
From Russia, with talent
13 Comment
Fifty shades of pianism
15 one to watCh
Jean Muller
17 DIary of an
aCComPanIst
In which Michael Round meets
a star, and a Planet
32 rePertoIre
Cllia Iruzun discovers Mompou
35 take fIve
The music of John Lewis
40 masterClass
Things that go bump in the night
43 helPIng hanDs
Building staccato technique
45 sheet mUsIC
From 7 Interval studies:
No 4 Fourths
By John Ramsden Williamson
58 ComPetItIon rePort
The Honens International
Piano Competition
61 PIano makers
The domestic piano market
74 revIews
The latest CDs, books, DVDs and
sheet music, plus international
concerts
88 mUsIC of my lIfe
Alice Sara Ott
18 Cover story
Steven Osborne and his thirst for life
23 Wagner bicentenary
The history of operatic piano transcriptions
26 In retrospect
Alexander Brailowsky (1896-1976): a reassessment
30 Pierre Boulez
The modern master on his pianistic training
36 Poulencs legacy
Marking 50 years after the French composers death
53 Symposium
The modern-day woman pianist
64 Profle
Frdric Meinders and the art of arrangement
69 Summer schools
Top residential courses to attend in 2013
R E GUL A R S
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International Piano May/June 2012 21
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January/February 2013 International Piano 3
O
n a recent wintry night in London, two pianists gave seminal recitals.
Twenty-two-year-old Behzod Abduraimov made his hotly anticipated
Southbank debut, while across town, Evgeny Kissin showed a packed
Barbican crowd that his will always be a truly special talent. Kissin, the former
wunderkind, gave a sublime account of Beethovens Sonata in C minor, Op 111 and
his Hungarian Rhapsody No 12 channelled Liszt in a way this writer has never seen
done before. Abduraimovs playing was reportedly a magnicent concoction of re
and poetry. We know painfully so that the arts world is in ux, but this double
booking of stupendous artists on one night is not untypical in the capital nor,
indeed, in many international cities. The best way we can show how greatly we value
the arts is to vote with our feet and both these events were sell-out aairs. But
what about the pianists who arent (yet) household names? These are the ones who
need our support if the next generation is to grow. So, make it your New Years
resolution to go to an unknown artists recital; you might be surprised and,
hopefully, delighted.
As we sing Auld Lang Syne, we usher in the next batch of musical anniversaries. In
2013, Richard Wagners bicentenary looms large, and in this issue, not wishing to be
le out of the operatic celebrations, IP dons a party hat and highlights the plethora
of piano transcriptions within his oeuvre (pp23-25). We also mark 50 years since the
death of Francis Poulenc with a timely reassessment of the French composers piano
legacy (pp36-39).
May I take this opportunity to wish all our readers, contributors and advertisers a
prosperous 2013.
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Editor Claire Jackson
Sub Editor Femke Colborne
Designer Beck Ward Murphy
CONTRIBUTORS
Colin Anderson, Michael Church, Colin Clarke,
Jessica Duchen, Leandro Ferraccioli, David
Hackston, Benjamin Ivry, John Joswick, Graham
Lock, Murray McLachlan, Risto-Matti Marin,
Jeremy Nicholas, Guy Rickards, Michael Round,
Jeremy Siepmann, Harriet Smith, Stephen Wigler
Head of Design & Production
Beck Ward Murphy
Production Designer Joanne Roberts
Head of Advertising Myles Lester
Advertising Sales
Louise Greener
louise.greener@rhinegold.co.uk
Marketing Executive Frances Innes-Hopkins
Managing Editor Keith Clarke
Managing Director Mark Owens
Publisher Derek B Smith
NUMBER 17
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November/December 2012 International Piano 3
Welcome
T
he UKs cultural landscape has shied uneasily during the recession, so it
was with pleasure we observed its recent international success. Millions
watched and participated in London 2012, as sports and arts collided in all manner
of weird and wonderful ways. From Shakespeare to shot put to Stockhausen, the
country was awash with courageous artistic endeavour. Nearly 20 million people
attended concerts, exhibitions and events across the country as part of the London
2012 Festival, curated alongside the Olympics, and around 300,000 tickets were sold
for this years Proms.
As leaves turn rainbow colours and fall, a new season is upon us. While others
may be mourning the loss of sport from their screens, piano fans, rejoice: the
BBC is dedicating six weeks of programming to the instrument. Running until
6 November, the collection of television and radio shows will cover a range of
pianistic subjects, from the A to Z of the piano on Radio 3, to footage from the
Leeds International Piano Competition (see our report on pp31, 33, and sheet
music from Dame Fanny Watermans new book, Piano Treasury, on pp47-52) with
contributions from Peter Donohoe, Ashley Wass and the Labque Sisters, as well as
a special documentary by Alan Yentob to mark Lang Langs 30th birthday.
While piano music receives welcome attention in the mainstream media, we
dedicate our pages to some neglected topics. Composers, arrangers and conductors
have been orchestrating piano music for generations; IP examines the good, the bad
and the ugly over on p23. Elsewhere, we delve into the archives for part one of our
series on historical women pianists (pp36-39) and explore the heady world of piano
competitions on p27.
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Sub Editor Lauren Strain
CONTRIBUTORS
Zsolt Bognr, Michael Church, Colin Clarke, Jessica
Duchen, Benjamin Ivry, Joe Laredo, Graham
Lock, Murray McLachlan, Malcolm Miller, Jeremy
Nicholas, Geoffrey Norris, Michael Round, Jeremy
Siepmann, Michael Stembridge-Montavont,
Stephen Wigler
Beck Ward Murphy
Advertising Sales
Louise Greener
NUMBER 16
International Piano is published in January, March,
May, July, September and November
Tel: +44 (0)1895 433800
Advertising
Tel: +44 (0)20 7333 1733
Fax: +44 (0)20 7333 1736
Production
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Editorial
Tel: +44 (0)7824 884 882
Twitter: @IP_mag
Subscriptions
Tel: 0844 844 0936 | +44 (0) 1795 414 650 (overseas)
Claire Jackson/Editor
IP is now available
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com and the
iTunes app store.
Buy the app for
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03_IP1112 signed off by Claire.indd 3 03/10/2012 11:43:56
Welcome
T
he UKs cultural landscape has shied uneasily during the recession, so it
was with pleasure we observed its recent international success. Millions
watched and participated in London 2012, as sports and arts collided in all manner
of weird and wonderful ways. From Shakespeare to shot put to Stockhausen, the
country was awash with courageous artistic endeavour. Nearly 20 million people
attended concerts, exhibitions and events across the country as part of the London
2012 Festival, curated alongside the Olympics, and around 300,000 tickets were sold
for this years Proms.
As leaves turn rainbow colours and fall, a new season is upon us. While others
may be mourning the loss of sport from their screens, piano fans, rejoice: the
BBC is dedicating six weeks of programming to the instrument. Running until
6 November, the collection of television and radio shows will cover a range of
pianistic subjects, from the A to Z of the piano on Radio 3, to footage from the
Leeds International Piano Competition (see our report on pp31, 33, and sheet
music from Dame Fanny Watermans new book, Piano Treasury, on pp47-52) with
contributions from Peter Donohoe, Ashley Wass and the Labque Sisters, as well as
a special documentary by Alan Yentob to mark Lang Langs 30th birthday.
While piano music receives welcome attention in the mainstream media, we
dedicate our pages to some neglected topics. Composers, arrangers and conductors
have been orchestrating piano music for generations; IP examines the good, the bad
and the ugly over on p23. Elsewhere, we delve into the archives for part one of our
series on historical women pianists (pp36-39) and explore the heady world of piano
competitions on p27.
P
H
O
T
O

P
H
I
L
L
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N
A
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G
L
E
,

N
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C
K
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A
C
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F
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O
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T
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T
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D
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V
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Sub Editor Lauren Strain
CONTRIBUTORS
Zsolt Bognr, Michael Church, Colin Clarke, Jessica
Duchen, Benjamin Ivry, Joe Laredo, Graham
Lock, Murray McLachlan, Malcolm Miller, Jeremy
Nicholas, Geoffrey Norris, Michael Round, Jeremy
Siepmann, Michael Stembridge-Montavont,
Stephen Wigler
Beck Ward Murphy
Advertising Sales
Louise Greener
NUMBER 16
International Piano is published in January, March,
May, July, September and November
Tel: +44 (0)1895 433800
Advertising
Tel: +44 (0)20 7333 1733
Fax: +44 (0)20 7333 1736
Production
Tel: +44 (0)20 7333 1751
Fax: +44 (0)20 7333 1768
Editorial
Tel: +44 (0)7824 884 882
Twitter: @IP_mag
Subscriptions
Tel: 0844 844 0936 | +44 (0) 1795 414 650 (overseas)
Claire Jackson/Editor
IP is now available
for your iPad,
iPhone and online
from pocketmags.
com and the
iTunes app store.
Buy the app for
only 1.99 and
receive your rst
issue FREE!
03_IP1112 signed off by Claire.indd 3 03/10/2012 11:43:56 03_IP0113_Welcome_CJ .indd 3 05/12/2012 16:39:58
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Untitled-6 1 21/11/2012 16:46:24 004_IP_0113.indd 21 05/12/2012 10:51:58
IMPORTANT CORRECTION
Dear IP,
It was shocking for me to read the
article The Act of Touch by Michael
Stembridge-Montavont in the last issue
of International Piano [Nov/Dec, issue
16], in which six extended passages were
lied word for word from my book,
French Pianism, without any citation. I
refer to portions of my interviews with
Magda Tagliaferro, Vlado Perlemuter,
Yvonne Lefbure and Pierre Barbizet.
These interviews were not only done
by me, but also translated by me. Mr
Stembridge-Montavont used this
material as though he had done all the
work himself.
The passages that Mr Stembridge-
Montavont plagiarised are from pages
103, 104, 106, 220 and 221 in the latest
version of the book, published by
Amadeus Press in 1999, and pages 81,
82, 84, 168 and 169 in the rst edition
(published by Pro/Am and Kahn &
Averill in 1992).
Furthermore, in his last two paragraphs,
Mr Stembridge-Montavont lis two
sentences from page 63 of the book.
Charles Timbrell
The article did indeed li sections from
Charles Timbrells book, and the way the
quotations were presented would have led
most readers to assume that the interviews
had been undertaken by Mr Stembridge-
Montavont. This is unacceptable and we
apologise profusely. The article has since been
removed from the digital versions of
the magazine. Mr Stembridge-Montavont
would like to point out that the published
article was an excerpt from a larger piece,
due to be published online, which included
a bibliography.
FEEDBACK: ISSUE 16
Dear IP,
Joe Laredo [Candid Camera, Nov/Dec,
issue 16] worries about ladies being
promoted on the basis of their looks
rather than their pianism. Oh dear sex
rears its ugly head. But, like it or not,
performers are in the entertainment
business, and glamour is an inescapable
part of it.
Liszt exploited it,
with salons full of
swooning admirers.
Paderewski built
a career on a huge
female following.
Arthur Rubinstein,
by his own as
well as others accounts, spent as much
time playing roving Lothario as he did
playing world-class pianist. Jean-Yves
Thibaudet has been photographed in
a sweetheart pose with Rene Fleming
for a CD cover. Raymond Lewenthal
swirled his black cape as well as his
ngers.
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf s LP sleeves
bore fabulous portraits by Fayer.
Christian Steiner photographed
Beverly Sills in a very slinky black
dress for her Vienna album. Elvis
Presley wore his jeans distinctly on
the tight side and Sir Tom Jones gets
knickers thrown at him.
Eileen Joyce changed her frocks from
time to time. Hlne Grimaud is very
beautiful. Yuja Wang has a great pair
of legs. Lang Lang dresses the part and
is seen in the right places. Stephen
Hough wears funny hats and Valery
Gergiev has the best-trimmed stubble
in music history. Barbara Strozzi boosted
her fame by publishing her works in
single-composer volumes. Thats
show business.
Finally, I was most interested in
Michael Rounds piece on orchestrations
of piano music. Some of them were
familiar, but the arrangements of Ravels
own piano pieces by other hands are
all new to me. The whole concept of
arrangement is most fascinating, and Im
a great fan of piano arrangements from
orchestral originals, as well as the other
way round, as discussed.
Douglass MacDonald
WELL ORCHESTRATED
Dear IP,
Michael Rounds absorbing round-up
of orchestrated piano music could not
hope to be complete, but Stokowskis
myriad arrangements surely deserved
more attention, ranging from Bach,
Beethoven and Chopin to Scriabin,
Debussy, Rachmaninov and Mussorgsky.
Of the orchestral arrangements of
Debussy, Andr Caplets Childrens
Corner Suite (Cala CACD1024) merits
a special mention. Incidentally,
Weingartners 1930 recording of his
Hammerklavier orchestration is
readily available (except in the US)
on Naxos 8.110913.
Jeremy Nicholas
THE MEANING OF FORTE
Dear IP,
I enjoyed reading Nikolai
Demidenkos perceptive remarks about
Rachmaninovs pedaling [Symposium,
July/August, issue 14].
Demidenkos claim that Rachmaninov
could create a huge volume of sound by
colouring his tone with an extraordinary
darkness and depth, giving the impression
of huge power even when the decibel
level was still piano led me to ponder
what the forte dynamic actually means.
According to my musical dictionary,
forte means loud.
Bach didnt write any fortes, leaving
it to the performers discretion;
Mozart wrote a single forte in his piano
compositions; Beethoven two, Liszt
three, Villa-Lobos four, Albeniz ve
and Tchaikovsky nine. As pianos have
become louder and brighter, and actions
ever faster, I feel pianists have followed
down the same evolutionary path.
My question is this: is it possible
to teach pupils to achieve a great
volume of sound through sonority and
colouring, rather than decibels, or is
this just the preserve of geniuses such as
Rachmaninov or Ogdon?
Robert Warwick
NOVEM
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International Piano
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IP_ON12_cover.indd 1 04/10/2012 10:37:36
Letters
KEYBOARD POETRY
Dear IP,
I recently graduated from Carleton
College in Northeld, Minnesota, where
I had the good fortune to study piano
with Ken Huber. When I expressed
my frustration at my inability to get
the right tone out of the instrument,
Ken suggested that maybe pianists
cant control the tone quality of the
instrument at all. If you play a single
note in isolation, you can play it louder
or soer, but you cannot make the sound
richer or more ringing, more delicate or
more ethereal. This argument surprised
me because I had always been taught that
tone quality was inuenced by the way
in which I moved my arms and ngers
when I played. If variations in tone
quality are an illusion, then what does it
mean to interpret a piece on the piano?
And if the only thing that matters is the
velocity of the hammer as it strikes the
strings, doesnt that reduce piano-playing
to a mere technical exercise: hitting the
right keys with the right velocity at the
right time? I wrote the poem, below, in
response to these questions.
So, piano, do you do tone quality?
Yes, you: impersonable box of strings,
A dozen moving parts for every key.
To mechanised, well-regulated things
In thrall were your devisers; still I
thought
You felt the way the hand attacked each
note,
And somewhere in that structure nely
wrought,
By subtle touch through subtle sound
emote.
Theres only pitch, velocity, sustain,
And timing; from these meagre threads
we weave
A shared illusion of shared life we train
Our ears to hear you laugh, and love,
and grieve.
But if imagined, is it thus less real
To hear in you the things we wish to feel?
Ben Hellerstein
Write to International Piano, Rhinegold House, 20 Rugby Street,
London, WC1N 3QZ, email internationalpiano@rhinegold.co.uk
or tweet @IP_mag. Star letters will receive a free CD
GOODE CORRECTION
Dear IP,
I read and enjoyed the July/August
edition, but was quite puzzled by the
following comment in Stephen Wiglers
review of the pianist Richard Goode
(Seeing is believing, Letter from US,
issue 14). Embedded in the discussion
of Goodes performance of the Mozart
Sonata and Fantasy in C minor, Wigler
writes the following sentence: The
Fantasy died away with an ominous
whisper, not only ushering in the sonata
but also making it seem inevitable.
Since the Fantasy most denitely does
not end with a whisper in every
edition of Mozart Sonatas extant, but
in a f scale starting from an octave
below middle C to two octaves above,
thereby enforcing the previous ending
in p thirds leading to the rst C, some
concerns arise. I am extremely curious
about this explanation.
Professor Robert Piron
I want to express gratitude to Professor
Robert Piron for correcting what I think
is my worst error in more than 35 years of
music journalism. I can only ask: What
was I thinking? Like everyone else familiar
with Mozarts C Minor Fantasy (K 457),
I know it ends with one of the composers
cataclysmic outbursts powerful minor-
key scales, made all the more dramatic by
Mozarts having deliberately misled us to
suspect that the piece will end soly.

I can only relate the events in the process
that led to my mistake. Richard Goodes
performance of the Fantasy and C Minor
Sonata (K 475) made the case more
persuasively than any Ive ever heard that
these pieces can (and deserve) to be heard
as a single work. Mr Goodes launch into
the Sonata, with the Fantasys conclusion
still ringing in my ears, underlined their
thematic connections and made them seem
as closely related as an operatic recitative
and subsequent aria. In writing and editing
my review, Mr Goode began the Sonata
before the echo of the Fantasys conclusion
had completely died away became no
doubt because of my infatuation with
my own writing died away with an
ominous whisper.
Finally, I want to assure International
Pianos readers that I was indeed at Mr
Goodes concert and heard all of it. In fact,
I went backstage aerwards and talked to
Mr Goode for about 30 minutes and have
spoken to him since.
Stephen Wigler
INSPIRED CHOICE
Dear IP,
I went to see Katya Apekisheva at
Preston University; it was more packed
than usual and she played Schuberts
Sonata in B D575. This was the best
classical pianist I have ever heard. The
playing was so majestic I wanted to
go home and have a go at the pieces, I
realised this is how you play Schubert. I
already had the pieces at home but never
played them until I heard this girl, now
I practice them both. I was very glad
you talked about her playing in the last
magazine (issue 15, Sept/Oct 12).
Gerald Burke
Many thanks, Gerald, I am delighted
to hear that you enjoyed the article and
were inspired by Katya Apekishevas
musicianship. Ed
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5.50 G US$10.99 G CAN$11.99
SYMPOSIUM
ON EDUCATION
THE MUSIC
OF CONLON
NANCARROW
JOHN CAGE
ON DISC
PLUS
Jonathan Biss
Hamish Milne
James P Johnson
10-CD SET
OF SCHUBERT
WORKS
by Michael Endres
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EXCERPTS FROMSOUND SKETCHES
BY GRAHAM LYNCH
WITH ONLINE VIDEO DEMOS
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Sep-Oct cover final.indd 1 30/07/2012 10:58
005_IP1112 Letters signed off by Claire.indd 1 04/10/2012 10:42:13 05_IP0113_Letters signed off by Claire.indd 5 05/12/2012 14:42:08
UK The frst in a series of three-day piano
conferences will take place in London in
February. The event will be hosted by the
London International Piano Symposium
(LIPS), founded by Cristine MacKie, and
held in association with Steinway & Sons.
IP is the symposiums media partner.
The LIPS conferences will welcome
everyone interested in the performance
of piano music: artists, scientists,
academics, teachers and fans. There will
be opportunities to hear papers, lecture
recitals and debates on the art and science
of piano performance by distinguished
researchers and practitioners.
During the frst conference, which
takes place from 8 to 10 February at
Londons Royal College of Music,
leading researchers and practitioners
will examine interdisciplinary, evidence-
based directives to enhance modern piano
performance practice. They will assess
research into inspirational performers
and teachers, and present scientifc
models of performance refecting recent
developments in performance science,
including neuroscience, psychology and
physiology.

www.londoninternational
pianosymposium.co.uk
conference launch: london
InternatIonal PIano symPosIum
06 International Piano January/February 2013
US The Musical Instrument Museum
(MIM) in Phoenix, Arizona, has acquired
three rare 18th-century pianos including
an 1826 Tischner Grand Fortepiano, one
of only three known to exist and believed
to have belonged to Tsar Nicholas I.
The instruments have been loaned by
Vladimir Pleshakov and his wife Elena
Winther. The pair have also provided a
1788 Longman & Broderip and a 1799
John Broadwood.
Pleshakov and his wife have made
recordings individually and together
for Orion, Dante, Naxos, Marquis,
LEmpreinte Digitale, De Plein Vent,
Sonpact and Vita. Their discography
includes some 85 works recorded for
the frst time, including compositions
by Rachmaninov, Balakirev, Medtner
and Shostakovich. The couple gave a
performance at the MIM Music Theater
to celebrate the loan of the pianos.
tsar PIano loaned to musIcal
Instrument museum In arIzona
UK/FRANCE English pianist Julia Cload,
recognised as a leading interpreter of Bach
and Haydn, has died afer a long illness.
Those who knew her will remember
her great musicality and her delightfully
witty humorous side, which ofen came
out in her playing.
Cload was born into a musical
family. Her father John, a viola player,
was a founder member of the London
Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) and her
mother was a violinist and later a teacher.
As a student at the Royal College
of Music in London, Cload won the
LPO Concerto Competition. She made
her debut with the orchestra playing
Beethovens Third Piano Concerto
under Sir Adrian Boult. She went on to
win a three-year scholarship to the Liszt
Academy in Budapest, studying under
Lajos Herndi, a student of Bartk and
Schnabel. She continued her studies
with Maria Curcio and Hans Keller, soon
making her much acclaimed Wigmore
Hall debut, which led to her playing
with most of the major British orchestras
including the Royal Philharmonic and
the Hall.
Based in France, Cload became a
regular recitalist at Londons major
concert halls and recorded regularly for
the BBC as well being invited to play all
over the world. One of the highlights of
her career was playing Bachs Goldberg
Variations at the 2001 Besanon Festival.
TONY BARLOW
JulIa cload
1946-2012
turkey Turkish pianist and composer
Fazil Say, 42, has been charged with
insulting Islamic religious values in
comments he made on Twitter. The
pianist denies the charges and faces trial
on 18 October.
The case has captured the attention
of pianists worldwide, including
fellow Turk AyseDeniz Gokcin, who
played Says piece Alla Turca Jazz on 50
diferent street pianos in London during
July to show her support for the artist.
The pianos were presented by the
City of London Festival as part of the
Play Me, Im Yours project created by
British artist Luke Jerram, which has
been touring internationally since 2008.
Gokcin says that the project
represents my wishes for a more
democratic and tolerant Turkey in
which artists, writers and intellectuals
can think and speak freely.
Music represents freedom, she
continues. It is everywhere just like
the air we breathe, and as long as the
universe exists, it cannot be destroyed,
nor can its freedom be taken away...
Because the power of the notes is
stronger than anything you can ever
imagine. I wish artists, authors and
thinkers in Turkey, my home country,
could also be as free. Gokcins video can
be viewed here: http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=HG4wPVysgxM&.
Say, who has frequently criticised
Turkeys pro-Islamic Justice and
Development Party government over
its cultural and social policies, publicly
defnes himself as an atheist a
controversial admission in the country,
which is overwhelmingly Muslim.
Say could face a maximum term
of one and a half years in prison if he
is convicted.
Fazil Say faces trial over Tweets
GerMANy/ItALy In a somewhat
unlikely pairing, electronics
manufacturer Loewe has teamed up
with Italian piano makers Fazioli to
create a swanky new fat-screen TV.
The technology specialists said that in
Fazioli, Loewe has found a partner who
also strives for perfection, citing the
piano makers select production and use
of premium materials as reasons for the
unusual collaboration.
The Loewe Reference ID is said to
boast cutting-edge technology with a
refned design featuring a hand-polished
wood fnish, comparable to that of
Faziolis instruments.
The frst order has come from Prince
Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe, who
has requested a Reference ID inscribed
with his family coat of arms.
Piano makers think outside the box
6 International Piano November/December 2012
news events
Petrushka and puppets for Wimbledon music festival
uk Russian pianist Mikhail Rudy will
present a quirky new production of
Stravinskys Petrushka in November,
based on his own transcription and
combined with puppetry (pictured).
The world premiere is hosted by
Londons International Wimbledon
Music Festival and the Little Angel
Theatre. The annual festival, now in
its fourth year, takes place from 10 to
25 November, and also features
Christine Brewer, who will perform
Wagners Wesendonck Lieder with pianist
Roger Vignoles, and Mark Padmore,
who will give two song cycles with
pianist Simon Lepper.
Elsewhere, actress Patricia Routledge
and pianist Piers Lane tell the story of
the National Gallery Concerts during
the Second World War that were
inspired by Dame Myra Hess, and
novelist, journalist and IP contributor
Jessica Duchen presents her play, A Walk
Through the End of Time.
06_07_IP1112 signed off by Claire.indd 6 03/10/2012 10:06:14 06_07_IP0113_News signed off by Claire.indd 6 04/12/2012 16:50:07
In Brief
RNCM tuRNs 40
To celebrate its 40th
anniversary, the Royal
Northern College of Music
(RNCM) is welcoming back
some of its most distinguished
alumni. Over the past few
months, the School of
Keyboard Studies has been
visited by current cover artist
Steven Osborne, Christian
Blackshaw, Vovka Ashkenazy
and Jin Ju. Stephen Hough
was scheduled to work with
students on 10 December,
and Peter Donohoe, Mark
Anderson, Martin Roscoe and
Ian Fountain will all participate
in recitals, masterclasses and
departmental activities in 2013.
Play Me, IM youRs
Cambridge Universitys Faculty
of Music was disappointed to
discover that a piano intended
for members of the public
to play had been dragged
across a park and abandoned
after the wheels fell off. The
instrument was one of 15 that
had been decorated by local
artists and placed around the
city for the universitys Festival
of Ideas. The project, called
Play Me, Im Yours, was the
concept of the British artist
Luke Jerram.
aPPassIoNato
exhIbIted
Stephen Hough has exhibited
his Appassionato series
of paintings at Londons
Broadbent Gallery. Hough
said he found painting a great
release from the tension of
practising. On the keyboard,
I love thinking about colour
and transparency of texture:
how you can hear different
lines through the use of the
pedal and the tone, and how
those different lines each
have an independent rubato,
an independent life, he said.
Its similar with paintings:
Im interested in abstract art
where you see many different
layers, rather than just blocks
of colour.
Examples of Houghs visual
artwork appear on his website
www.stephenhough.com.
Turkish pianist Idil Birets latest recording, a
disc of all fve works for piano and orchestra
by Hindemith, marks an impressive
milestone: the two-CD set, to be released on
her own IBA label next year to mark the 50th
anniversary of Hindemiths death, will be
her 100th recording.
The fve works include his Piano Music
with Orchestra Op 29, for lef hand alone.
This work was commissioned by Paul
Wittgenstein, rejected by him, subsequently
hidden in his study and not discovered again
until afer his widows death in 2002.
Of her 99 other recordings, among those
she feels closest to are her discs of Schubert
songs transcribed by Liszt and the second
version of her two recordings of Berliozs
Symphonie Fantastique, again in Liszts piano
transcription. She said: Liszts Beethoven
Symphony transcriptions, which I recorded
for EMI in 1985/86, the Chopin Mazurkas,
Liszts Grandes Etudes, Rachmaninovs
Second Sonata (frst version), the three
Boulez Sonatas and the Ligeti Etudes are
some of my personal favourites among the
many professional recordings I have made
since 1959.
Biret recently fnished recording two
solo piano works by the Turkish composer
Ertug rul Og uz Firat. Afer the Hindemith,
she is planning discs of the two books of
Bachs The Well-Tempered Clavier, Scriabins
Sonatas and other works, as well as some of
Mozarts piano concertos. A 10-CD box set of
all her recordings of 20
th
-century composers
is to be released in 2013.
IdIl BIret records her 100
th
dIsc
FRANCE Piano maker Pleyel has teamed
up with manufacturer Peugeot to create an
instrument that aligns cover and keyboard
to allow audiences to see the artist perform
from any viewing angle.
Working with Pleyels engineers, Peugeot
Design Lab replaced the traditional piano lid
prop with a self-supporting lid mechanism
that can be raised with one hand an idea
borrowed directly from a cars tailgate. The
piano body and soundboard are made of
wood, and the lid and leg have been made of
carbon fbre.
The piano was launched in Paris over
the summer following 18 months of design
and development.
pleyel and peugeot unveIl new pIano
stay in touch
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to our monthly e-newsletter and you will
receive news and details of reviews, offers
and competitions ahead of the crowd.
how to sIgN uP:
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International Piano
NO.15 SEPT/OCT 2012
5.50 G US$10.99 G CAN$11.99
SYMPOSIUM
ONEDUCATION
THE MUSIC
OF CONLON
NANCARROW
JOHNCAGE
ONDISC
PLUS
Jonathan Biss
Hamish Milne
James P Johnson
10-CDSET
OF SCHUBERT
WORKS
by Michael Endres
SEPTEM
BER/OCTOBER 2012
International Piano
INSIDE
SHEET
MUSIC
EXCERPTS FROMSOUND SKETCHES
BY GRAHAM LYNCH
WITH ONLINE VIDEO DEMOS
Sep-Oct cover final.indd 1 30/07/2012 10:58
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International Piano
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GREAT
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READING RACHMANINOV
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LUGANSKY
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IP_ON12_cover.indd 1 04/10/2012 10:37:36
turkey Turkish pianist and composer
Fazil Say, 42, has been charged with
insulting Islamic religious values in
comments he made on Twitter. The
pianist denies the charges and faces trial
on 18 October.
The case has captured the attention
of pianists worldwide, including
fellow Turk AyseDeniz Gokcin, who
played Says piece Alla Turca Jazz on 50
diferent street pianos in London during
July to show her support for the artist.
The pianos were presented by the
City of London Festival as part of the
Play Me, Im Yours project created by
British artist Luke Jerram, which has
been touring internationally since 2008.
Gokcin says that the project
represents my wishes for a more
democratic and tolerant Turkey in
which artists, writers and intellectuals
can think and speak freely.
Music represents freedom, she
continues. It is everywhere just like
the air we breathe, and as long as the
universe exists, it cannot be destroyed,
nor can its freedom be taken away...
Because the power of the notes is
stronger than anything you can ever
imagine. I wish artists, authors and
thinkers in Turkey, my home country,
could also be as free. Gokcins video can
be viewed here: http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=HG4wPVysgxM&.
Say, who has frequently criticised
Turkeys pro-Islamic Justice and
Development Party government over
its cultural and social policies, publicly
defnes himself as an atheist a
controversial admission in the country,
which is overwhelmingly Muslim.
Say could face a maximum term
of one and a half years in prison if he
is convicted.
Fazil Say faces trial over Tweets
GerMANy/ItALy In a somewhat
unlikely pairing, electronics
manufacturer Loewe has teamed up
with Italian piano makers Fazioli to
create a swanky new fat-screen TV.
The technology specialists said that in
Fazioli, Loewe has found a partner who
also strives for perfection, citing the
piano makers select production and use
of premium materials as reasons for the
unusual collaboration.
The Loewe Reference ID is said to
boast cutting-edge technology with a
refned design featuring a hand-polished
wood fnish, comparable to that of
Faziolis instruments.
The frst order has come from Prince
Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe, who
has requested a Reference ID inscribed
with his family coat of arms.
Piano makers think outside the box
news events
Petrushka and puppets for Wimbledon music festival
uk Russian pianist Mikhail Rudy will
present a quirky new production of
Stravinskys Petrushka in November,
based on his own transcription and
combined with puppetry (pictured).
The world premiere is hosted by
Londons International Wimbledon
Music Festival and the Little Angel
Theatre. The annual festival, now in
its fourth year, takes place from 10 to
25 November, and also features
Christine Brewer, who will perform
Wagners Wesendonck Lieder with pianist
Roger Vignoles, and Mark Padmore,
who will give two song cycles with
pianist Simon Lepper.
Elsewhere, actress Patricia Routledge
and pianist Piers Lane tell the story of
the National Gallery Concerts during
the Second World War that were
inspired by Dame Myra Hess, and
novelist, journalist and IP contributor
Jessica Duchen presents her play, A Walk
Through the End of Time.
06_07_IP1112 signed off by Claire.indd 6 03/10/2012 10:06:14 06_07_IP0113_News signed off by Claire.indd 7 04/12/2012 16:50:40
www.chandos.net
www.theclassicalshop.net (24-bit downloads, lossless, MP3)
STAY IN THE KNOW
New releases Reviews Special offers Artist features
Highlights of the Year
Debussy
Complete Works for Piano
Collectors Edition
Jean-Efflam Bavouzets vivid and personal interpretations of
Debussys complete works for piano are presented here in a
five-volume Collectors Edition box set.
AWARDS:
Best Instrumental Recording (Gramophone Awards)
Best Instrumental Recording (BBC Music Magazine Awards)
Best Instrumental Recording of Standard Repertoire (International Piano)
Editors Choice (Gramophone)
Pianists Choice (Pianist)
CHAN 10743(5)
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HAYDN: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4
CHOPIN: Nocturnes and Ballades
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 RACHMANINOFF: Moments musicaux
tudes-tableaux
BEETHOVEN: Complete works for
piano and orchestra
DELIUS: Piano Concerto original
1897 version
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BRAHMS: Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 1
Chandos Highlights 2012 - Intl Piano.indd 1 12/10/2012 14:48 Untitled-2 1 16/10/2012 10:40:10 008_IP_0113.indd 21 05/12/2012 10:52:47
the audience prize, young audience
prize, the Breguet special prize and the
Air France KLM special prize, which
consists of a return ticket to one of
the 230 worldwide destinations in the
airlines network. Twenty-eight-year-
old Mikhail Sporov from Russia won
second prize and Aya Matsushita, also
28, came third. The Georges Leibenson
Special Prize, awarded by the jury
which included Dmitri Alexeev, Janina
Fialkowska and regular IP Symposium
contributor Christopher Elton went to
Rachel Cheung and Chulmin Lee. A full
competition report will be published in
the next edition of IP.
Plowright records Brahms
British pianist Jonathan Plowright
has commenced a recorded cycle of
Brahmss works for solo piano with
the BIS label. The frst disc, released in
December, comprises the monumental
Piano Sonata No 3 in F minor, coupled
with the celebrated Handel Variations,
two of the major landmarks in the
19th-century solo piano literature. I am
absolutely thrilled to have established
this new relationship with BIS Records
to record Brahms, a composer whose
music has always been close to my
heart, and these two giants of the piano
repertoire are a very good place to start,
said Plowright.
French award for Grosvenor
Benjamin Grosvenor has won the Jeune
Talent award at the Diapason Awards
2012 for his debut CD on Decca
(Chopin, Liszt and Ravel, reviewed in
issue 9). The 20-year-old pianist was
presented with the prize from the
leading French classical music magazine
at a ceremony in Paris in November,
which was broadcast on Radio France.
Earlier in 2012, Grosvenor received two
Gramophone Awards: Young Artist of
the Year and Instrumental Award for the
same recording. He also won the Classic
Brits Critics Award in the same week.
Grosvenors latest Decca CD is reviewed
on page 80.
Zoe Rahman scoops a MOBO
Pianist Zoe Rahman beat tough
competition from other nominees the
Mercury-nominated Roller Trio, cellist
Ayanna Witter-Johnson, singer Zara
McFarlane and guitarist Femi Temowo
to win the prestigious MOBO Jazz
Award. Rahman, an occasional
contributor to IP, spent 2012 touring her
acclaimed Kindred Spirits album. She is
no stranger to high-profle awards: her
2006 album Melting Pot was nominated
for the Mercury Music Prize.
Sony signs Igor Levit
Sony Classical has signed an exclusive
recording deal with German-Russian
pianist Igor Levit, aged 25. His
frst recording for the label, to be
released in 2012, will feature solo
works by Beethoven. A current BBC
New Generation Artist and 2012-13
European Concert Hall Association
Rising Star, Levit took four prizes at the
2005 International Arthur Rubinstein
Piano Master Competition.
Joyce Yang joins 21C Media
21C Media Group has announced that
it will be handling public relations
for Joyce Yang, silver medallist (and
the youngest contestant) at the 2005
Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition. Yang was awarded an
Avery Fisher Career Grant one of
classical musics most prestigious
accolades in 2010 at the age of 24. Her
2012-13 season features debuts with
the Toronto and Detroit Symphonies
under Peter Oundjian; she also makes
her German debut with the Deutsches
Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, led
by James Conlon, and returns to
Australia for a concert with the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra.
Souls triumphs in Geneva
French pianist Lorenzo Souls has
won frst prize at the 2012 Geneva
Competition. The 20-year-old also took
New international piano
contest for Kingston
Jamaican pianist Orrett Rhoden will
host the frst ever international piano
competition in his hometown of
Kingston during 8-11 November 2013.
Applicants who can be of any age,
and any nationality will compete to
win a frst prize of 50,000.
I am looking for an old fashioned
romantic similar to that of Vladimir
Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein in
the world we live in today, Rhoden
told IP. I thought, there must be such
a pianist, as we have become too ofen
hypnotised by mere technicians who
are only capable of playing faster and
louder and somehow have missed the
real meaning of music making. I am
looking for an artist, one with real
imagination and a sense of individual
style and sophistication; one with all
the necessary technical tools, of course,
but also with something unique,
personal and diferent to say. In other
words, a modern day poet!
Rhoden frst came to international
attention afer appearing in two BBC
documentaries on the 1983 visit of The
Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh
to Jamaica. The programmes featured
Rhoden playing background music
while the Royal couple toured Devon
House, and also used his recordings
throughout the flms. Subsequently,
Rhoden was booked to give his
London debut as the soloist with
the London Symphony Orchestra in
Tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No 1 at
the Barbican in 1984.
www.orrettrhoden.com

c omp e t i t i on s , awa r d s s i gn i ng s

&
Federico Colli wins Leeds
International Competition
Italian pianist Federico Colli, 24,
(pictured, below) has won the 2012 Leeds
International Piano Competition. The
frst prize includes a 18,000 cash prize,
donated by the Liz and Terry Bramall
Charitable Trust, and the Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi Gold Medal, sponsored by
Michael J Gee, Rowland J Gee and Nigel
Gee of the Cecil Gee Charitable Trust
and the Champs Hill Records Award,
which enables the winner to record
his debut solo CD at the Music Room,
Champs Hill.
The fnals, broadcast live by BBC
Radio 3, saw Colli give an outstanding
performance of Beethovens Fifh
Piano Concerto at Leeds Town Hall
with the Hall Orchestra directed by
Sir Mark Elder.
The other prize winners were Louis
Schwizgebel, 24, from Switzerland
(second prize); Jiayan Sun, 22, from
China (third prize), Andrejs Osokins,
27, from Latvia (fourth prize), Andrew
Tyson, 25, from the US (ffh prize),
and Jayson Gillham, 26, from Australia
(sixth prize). www.leedspiano.com
A full competition report can be found
on p31
Sasha Grynyuk takes frst
prize at Grieg Competition
Ukrainian pianist Sasha Grynyuk, 29,
(above) has won frst prize at the 13th
International Edvard Grieg Piano
Competition in Bergen, Norway.
Grynyuk scooped 30,000 and won
engagements for several high-profle
appearances in 2013: solo recitals
at the Bergen International Festival
and the University Hall of Oslo, and at
Troldhaugen, where he will be pianist
of the week.
The Russian pianist Anton Igubnov,
23, won both the audience prize
and second prize, while 30-year-old
Mamikon Nakhapetov from Georgia
took third prize. In the fnal, the three
fnalists each gave solo performances
with the Bergen Philharmonic
Orchestra, Griegs own orchestra, in
the Grieg Hall in Bergen.
The jury comprised Leif Ove
Andsnes, Oxana Yablonskaya, Bernd
Goetzke, Piotr Paleczny, Jens Harald
Bratlie, Einar Steen-Nkleberg
(chairman), and Marc-Andr Hamelin.
The 14th International Edvard Grieg
Piano Competition will be held in
Bergen during 2014.
www.griegcompetition.com
Marc-Andr Hamelin is interviewed for
Music of my Life over on p88
09_IP0113_News signed off by Claire.indd 9 05/12/2012 11:34:57
l e t t e r f rom U. S .
the immense pianistic talent from the countries of the former Soviet
Union continues unabated, reports US correspondent Stephen Wigler
From Russia with talent
January/February 2013 International Piano 11 10 International Piano January/February 2013
the immense pianistic talent from the countries of the former Soviet
Union continues unabated, reports US correspondent Stephen Wigler
From Russia with talent
that eschewed heart-on-sleeve sentiment.
It is also no accident that unlike most
of todays pianists the exceptions that
come to mind are Nelson freire and
Horacio Gutierrez he elects to play
(like composer in his recording) the
shorter, less showy cadenza, building
it to a conclusion of tremendous force
and weight without threatening the
movements architecture, which the
longer cadenza can do. the second
movement, also taken at a faster than
usual tempo, might have to some tastes
short-changed the musics brooding
emotion, but the mercurial lightness of
the contrasting middle section could
not have been more persuasive. And
the fnale, though played at a near
phenomenal tempo, never faltered in
its steadily accelerating momentum and
concluded in a clearly articulated blaze
of glory.
Some of the best russian pianists are
actually Georgian. this is true of such
now senior fgures as elisso Virsaladze
and elisabeth leonskaya, both now in
their 70s, and the somewhat younger
Alexander toradze (born in 1952). these
important pianists, while Georgian-
born, however, concluded their studies
in moscow. two much younger and
much talked-about Georgians, the
25-year-old Khatia Buniatishvilli and
the 31-year-old Nina Gvetadze, never
lef tbilisi for either moscow or St
Petersburg; they proceeded straight to
careers in the West. Another world-class
Georgian pianist, who resisted the pull
of the russian cultural centres, is the
47-year-old Alexander Korsantia. He
won frst prizes in 1988 at the Sydney
International Competition and in 1995
at the rubinstein Competition in tel
Aviv and is admired by such artists as
toraze, Kissin and Vladimir feltsman. A
career as a member of the piano faculty
at as fne a music school as the New
england Conservatory in Boston, where
he now makes his home, is nothing to
sneeze at, but Korsantia deserves to be
better known in this country. His all-
Beethoven program at the conservatory
(Jordan Hall, 22 october) was well
planned (the Sonata in A-fat, op 26 and
15 Variations and fugue in e-fat, op 35,
on the frst half and the big Sonata in
e-fat, op 7, afer the interval).
and to a contract with Decca, which
recently issued live in Zaragoza, an
unedited transcript of the Spanish-latin
American programme Prats gave early
in 2011 in the new hall in Zaragoza,
Spain. Although Pratss extensive
repertory includes most of the major
works by Bach, mozart, Beethoven,
liszt, Chopin, Schumann, ravel,
Debussy and the russians, what I heard
in Boston was a Spanish programme:
Granadoss Goyescas, Guererros Suite
Havana, Busonis Chamber-fantasy on
Bizets Carmen and three pieces (Corpus
Christi en Sevilla, Jerez, and lavapies)
from Albenizs Iberia. I have never heard
any of these pieces played better, not
by Alicia de larrocha or even by Nelson
freire the pianist whom Prats seems
to resemble most in the ease of his all-
encompassing technique, improvisatory
freedom, poetic imagination and uncanny
and unshakeable sense of rhythm.
A little more than two weeks (18
october) later I returned to Boston
to hear Nikolai lugansky perform
rachmaninovs Concerto No 3 with
the BSo and conductor Charles Dutoit.
two years ago in New York when I
heard lugansky in the same composers
Concerto No 2, I compared him in his
olympian detachment to his Norwegian
contemporary, leif ove Andsnes. Afer
hearing lugansky on this occasion, I
stand by that comparison except that I
now think hes even cooler than Andsnes.
this is not to say that he is a cold pianist
although the knowledgeable friends
with whom I attended the concert would
disagree me. But if evgeny Kissin (with
his trademark warmth of expression, his
sonorous and singing lyricism and his
relaxed and spacious phrasing) occupies
one end of the russian pianistic
spectrum, then lugansky (with his lofy
objectivity, his whirlwind, motor-like
tempos, his lightness of touch and razor-
sharp precision) occupies the other. like
rachmaninov, lugansky stands at well
over six feet and I cant think of another
current pianist who more closely
resembles the composer musically
at least in his recorded legacy. With
tempos in the frst movement that are
feeter than any of his contemporaries,
lugansky was able to lof the third
concertos lyrical themes in a manner
to that on Pratss soon-to-be out-of-print
DG album: late Beethoven (opus 111)
and Schumanns toccata in 1982 and
ravels Gaspard in 1983. I thought all of
these performances, while sensational
in some respects, much less satisfying
than those of Prats. But while Pogorelich
enjoyed superstardom for more than 15
years, very little was heard from Prats.
Although his biography lists other
recordings, all that I was aware of in
the almost three decades since his frst
recording went out of print were some
terrifc performances, dating from the
1990s, of rachmaninov concertos (Nos
2 and 3 and the rhapsody on a theme
of Paganini) recorded with a mexican
orchestra conducted by enrique Batiz
available only on the small, rather poorly
distributed, infrequently reviewed and
now discontinued ASV classical label.
(All three performances have been
reissued on the super-budget regis and
Brilliant labels.)
Pratss problem was partly that, as
a resident of Cuba, he travelled on a
Cuban passport that made performing
impossible in the US and difcult
in most of Western europe, thus
confning his career largely to latin
America. that began to change a few
years ago when Prats, along with his
family, moved to miami. A recital in
the 2007 miami International Piano
festival was recorded on video by VAI
and its extraordinary performances of
the Bach-liszt Prelude in fugue in A
minor, Scriabins 24 Preludes, op 11,
ravels Gaspard, in addition to encores
by lecuona, Cervantes, moszkowski
and Wagner-liszt, resulted in invitations
to perform at the Verbier festival, in
Amsterdams Concertgebouw Piano
Series for four consecutive years
his family was considered so talented
that he had been awarded a scholarship
to study in russia at the moscow
Conservatory and had recently been
awarded the frst prize in the prestigious
long-thibaud Competition in Paris. I
took note of his name Jorge luis Prats
and hoped that it would not be long
before I got a chance to hear him.
I got that chance on a recording,
at least shortly thereafer. In 1980
the Deutsche Grammophon label in
its now long discontinued Concours
series, which introduced winners of
important competitions, released the
then 23-year-old Pratss recorded debut
performances of Beethovens Sonata No
28, Schumanns toccata in C and ravels
Gaspard de la Nuit that I considered
comparable to the best on records. Sadly,
it was to be Pratss last easily available
Western-made recording for a long time
more than 30 years. It was at about
that time that DG also began recording
another piano competition veteran,
almost exactly Pratss age. Ironically,
he was also a foreign-born pianist who
had won a scholarship to study at the
moscow Conservatory and he had been
Pratss roommate in Paris 1977 when
they competed in the long-thibaud
Competition and where the roommate
failed to get past the semi-fnal round.
more ironically still, he was the Croatian
pianist, whose failure to get past the semi-
fnal round three years later in Warsaw
made him one of the most famous
pianists on the planet: Ivo Pogorelich.
Pogorelichs celebrity and his
provocatively controversial interpretations
helped make his records best-sellers
and earned him carte-blanche at DG.
Interestingly, Pogorelichs earliest
releases featured repertory rather similar
N
o piaNistic pleasure
is greater than one long delayed
and fnally gratifed especially
when it surpasses all expectation. Such
was the case on 2 october, in Seully
Hall at the Boston Conservatory, when
I fnally got to hear a Cuban pianist
whom I had frst heard about more than
30 years earlier when I had lunch with
Jorge Bolet, during his visit to rochester,
NY, to perform and record the two liszt
Concertos with David Zinman and the
rochester Philharmonic orchestra.
Bolet had been talking about
the Cuban piano tradition, when I
mentioned my admiration for Horacio
Gutierrez, who had lef Cuba at the age
of 13 in 1961 with his family because
of Castros accession to power a few
years earlier. You know, even Castro
hasnt prevented Cuba from producing
talented pianists, Bolet told me. theres
another Cuban boy, even younger
than Gutierrez, about whom Ive been
hearing great things. According to
Bolet, this boy who, unlike Gutierrez,
had remained in Castros Cuba with
I remained in Boston until 8
November so that I could fnally hear
Daniil trifonov, the biggest prize
winner of the 2010-2011 season (third
prize in Warsaw and frsts in tel Aviv
and moscow). With Giancarlo Guerrero
conducting the Boston Symphony
(Symphony Hall), he gave the fnest
performance of tchaikovskys Piano
Concerto No 1 that Ive heard in recent
years. more than any russian pianist
since the lamentably short-lived Youri
egorov, the 21-year-old trifonovs
playing evokes a vocal rather than a
purely instrumental model. the variety
of his touch and his mastery of tonal
shading combine with his improvisatory
freedom of expression to suggest a
voice in fight of song. this is why he
can make bravura passages, such as
the tchaikovskys avalanches of double
octaves which most pianists deliver as if
they were studied declamations, sound
like bursts of unexpected song.
Despite the food of talented pianists
from the far east, Yuja Wang says that
russias continues to be the worlds pre-
eminent piano school. She must be right
for the fow of immense talents from
the countries of the former Soviet Union
continues unabated and without an end
in sight. one week afer trifonov, I was
in back in Baltimore to hear 26-year-old
Denis Kozhukhin (a student of Dmitry
Bashkirov who came in third at the
2006 leeds and frst at the 2010 Brussels)
perform the Brahms Piano Concerto No
2 with the Baltimore Symphony and its
music director, marin Alsop. His long
blond hair pulled back in a ponytail,
Kozhukhin seemed completely relaxed
similar to that on Pratss soon-to-be out-
of-print DG album: late Beethoven (opus
111) and Schumanns toccata in 1982 and
ravels Gaspard in 1983. I thought all of
these performances, while sensational
in some respects, much less satisfying
than those of Prats. But while Pogorelich
enjoyed superstardom for more than 15
years, very little was heard from Prats.
Pratss problem was partly that, as
a resident of Cuba, he travelled on a
Cuban passport that made performing
impossible in the US and difcult in
most of Western europe, thus confning
his career largely to latin America. that
began to change a few years ago when
Prats, along with his family, moved
to miami. A recital in the 2007 miami
International Piano festival was recorded
on video by VAI and its extraordinary
performances of the Bach-liszt Prelude
in fugue in A minor, Scriabins 24
Preludes, op 11, ravels Gaspard,
in addition to encores by lecuona,
Cervantes, moszkowski and Wagner-
liszt, resulted in invitations to perform
at the Verbier festival, in Amsterdams
Concertgebouw Piano Series for four
consecutive years and to a contract with
Decca, which recently issued Live in
Zaragoza, an unedited transcript of the
Spanish-latin American programme
Prats gave early in 2011 in the new hall
in Zaragoza, Spain. Although Pratss
extensive repertory includes most of
the major works by Bach, mozart,
Beethoven, liszt, Chopin, Schumann,
ravel, Debussy and the russians,
what I heard in Boston was a Spanish
programme: Granadoss Goyescas,
Guererros Suite Havana. Busonis
Chamber-fantasy on Bizets Carmen and
three pieces (Corpus Christi en Sevilla,
Jerez, and Lavapies) from Albnizs Iberia.
Castros Cuba with his family was
considered so talented that he had
been awarded a scholarship to study
in russia at the moscow Conservatory
and had recently been awarded the frst
prize in the prestigious long-thibaud
Competition in Paris. I took note of his
name, Jorge luis Prats, and hoped that it
would not be long before I got a chance
to hear him.
I got that chance on a recording,
at least shortly thereafer. In 1980
the Deutsche Grammophon label in
its now long discontinued Concours
series, which introduced winners of
important competitions, released the
then 23-year-old Pratss recorded debut
performances of Beethovens Sonata No
28, Schumanns toccata in C and ravels
Gaspard de la Nuit that I considered
comparable to the best on records.
Sadly, it was to be Pratss last easily
available Western-made recording for a
long time more than 30 years. It was
at about that time that DG also began
recording another piano competition
veteran, almost exactly Pratss age.
Ironically, he was also a foreign-born
pianist who had won a scholarship to
study at the moscow Conservatory and
he had been Pratss roommate in Paris
1977 when they competed in the long-
thibaud Competition and where the
roommate failed to get past the semi-
fnal round. more ironically still, he
was the Croatian pianist, whose failure
to get past the semi-fnal round three
years later in Warsaw made him one of
the most famous pianists on the planet:
Ivo Pogorelich.
Pogorelichs celebrity helped make his
records bestsellers and earned him carte
blanche at DG. Interestingly, Pogorelichs
earliest releases featured repertory rather
N
o piaNistic pleasure IS
greater than one long delayed
and fnally gratifed especially
when it surpasses all expectation. Such
was the case on 2 october, in Seully
Hall at the Boston Conservatory, when
I fnally got to hear a Cuban pianist
whom I had frst heard about more than
30 years earlier: at a lunch with Jorge
Bolet, during his visit to rochester, NY,
to perform and record the two liszt
Concertos with David Zinman and the
rochester Philharmonic orchestra
Bolet had been talking about
the Cuban piano tradition, when I
mentioned my admiration for Horacio
Gutierrez, who had lef Cuba at the age
of 13 in 1961 with his family because
of Castros accession to power a few
years earlier. You know, even Castro
hasnt prevented Cuba from producing
talented pianists, Bolet told me. theres
another Cuban boy, even younger
than Gutierrez, about whom Ive been
hearing great things.
According to Bolet, this boy who,
unlike Gutierrez, had remained in
10_11_IP0113_Letter from US signed off by Claire.indd 10 04/12/2012 16:59:45
never faltered in its steadily accelerating
momentum and concluded in a clearly
articulated blaze of glory.
Some of the best russian pianists are
actually from Georgia. this is true of such
now senior fgures as elisso Virsaladze
and elisabeth leonskaya, each of them
well over 70, and the somewhat younger
Alexander toradze (born in 1952). these
important Georgian-born pianists,
however, concluded their studies in
moscow. two much younger and much
talked-about Georgians, the 25-year-old
Khatia Buniatishvilli and the 31-year-
old Nina Gvetadze, never lef tbilisi
for either moscow or St Petersburg;
they proceeded straight to careers in
the West.
Another world-class Georgian pianist,
who resisted the pull of the russian
cultural centres, is the 47-year-old
Alexander Korsantia, who won frst
prizes in 1988 at the Sydney International
Competition and in 1995 at the
rubinstein Competition in tel Aviv. A
career as a member of the piano faculty
at as fne a music school as the New
england Conservatory in Boston, where
he now makes his home, is nothing
to sneer at, but Korsantia deserves to
be better known. His all-Beethoven
programme at the conservatory (Jordan
Hall, 22 october) was well planned and
splendidly executed.
I remained in Boston until 8 November
so that I could fnally hear Daniil
trifonov, the biggest prizewinner of the
2010-11 season (third prize in Warsaw
and frsts in tel Aviv and moscow).
With Giancarlo Guerrero conducting
the Boston Symphony (Symphony
Hall), he gave the fnest performance
of tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No
1 that Ive heard in recent years. more
than any russian pianist since the
lamentably short-lived Youri egorov, the
21-year-old trifonovs playing evokes a
vocal rather than a purely instrumental
model. the variety of his touch and his
mastery of tonal shading combine with
an improvisatory freedom of expression
to suggest a voice in fight. this is why
he can make bravura passages, such as
the avalanches of double octaves most
pianists deliver as if they were studied
declamations, sound like bursts of
unexpected song.
I have never heard better performances
of any of these pieces not by Alicia de
larrocha or even by Nelson freire the
pianist whom Prats seems to resemble
most in the ease of his all-encompassing
technique, improvisatory freedom,
poetic imagination and uncanny and
unshakeable sense of rhythm.
A
lIttle more tHAN tWo
weeks later (18 oct) I returned
to Boston to hear Nikolai
lugansky (pictured, right) perform
rachmaninovs Concerto No 3 with
the BSo and conductor Charles Dutoit.
two years ago in New York when I
heard lugansky in the same composers
Concerto No 2, his olympian
detachment made me compare him to
his Norwegian contemporary, leif ove
Andsnes. Afer hearing lugansky on this
occasion, I stand by that comparison
except that I now think hes even cooler
than Andsnes.
this is not to say that he is a cold
pianist although the knowledgeable
friends with whom I attended the
concert disagree with me. But if evgeny
Kissin (with his trademark warmth of
expression, his sonorous and singing
lyricism and his relaxed and spacious
phrasing) occupies one end of the
russian pianistic spectrum, lugansky
(with his objectivity, his whirlwind,
motor-like tempos, his lightness of touch
and razor-sharp precision) occupies the
other. I cant think of another current
pianist who more closely resembles
rachmaninov himself. With tempos in
the frst movement feeter than any of
his contemporaries, lugansky was able
to lif the third concertos lyrical themes
alof in a manner that eschewed heart-
on-sleeve sentiment. It is also no accident
that unlike most of todays pianists he
elects to play the shorter, less showy
cadenza. He built it to a conclusion
of tremendous force and weight
without threatening the movements
architecture, which the longer cadenza
can do. the second movement, also
taken at a faster than usual tempo, might
have shortchanged the musics brooding
emotion, but the mercurial lightness of
the contrasting middle section could
not have been fner. the fnale, though
played at a near phenomenal tempo,
Despite the food of talented pianists
from the far east, Yuja Wang has said,
russias continues to be the worlds
pre-eminent piano school. She must be
right for the fow of immense talents
from the countries of the former Soviet
Union continues unabated. one week
afer trifonov, I was in back in Baltimore
to hear 26-year-old Denis Kozhukhin
(pictured, lef), who came in third at the
2006 leeds and frst at the 2010 Brussels,
perform the Brahms Piano Concerto
No 2 with the Baltimore Symphony
and music director, marin Alsop. lanky
and relaxed, his long blond hair pulled
back in a ponytail, Kozukhin always
seemed to be enjoying himself. And for
good reason: he has all the technique in
the world. He made Brahmss gigantic,
leaping chords and man-killing trills
sound like childs play. His sound
forceful when necessary, but never harsh
or percussive is beautiful at all dynamic
levels. He brought out the Beethoven-
like grandeur of the frst movement, set
a bracing tempo in the demonic scherzo
without sacrifcing its details and inner
voices, made the gentle Andante sing
poetically and performed the playful
fnale with crisp articulation and cheeky
grace. He may have missed a few of the
larger structural details of the concerto,
but this was still an accomplished
performance of one of the repertorys
most intimidating behemoths a
remarkable achievement by any pianist,
particularly one so young.
10_11_IP0113_Letter from US signed off by Claire.indd 11 04/12/2012 17:00:15
at
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IKIF_IntPiano2013.indd 1 26/11/12 11:01 PM
NEW PIANO RELEASES
CDA67915
THE ROMANTIC PIANO
CONCERTO 58
Pixis & Thalberg
This 58th volume of the Romantic
Piano Concerto series presents two
composer-pianists who contributed to
Liszts piano extravaganza Hexamron.
Thalberg also famously took part in a
pianistic duel with Liszt, and was
acclaimed as the greatest pianist in the
world during his lifetime. Johann Peter
Pixis is completely unknown nowthese
are premiere recordings of his charming
Piano Concerto and Piano Concertino.
HOWARD SHELLEY piano
TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH
Keyboard Sonatas 2
A welcome second volume of CPE
Bachs startlingly original and inventive
keyboard sonatas, performed with
authority and style by pianist Danny
Driver.
DANNY DRIVER piano
ERNO
DOHNNYI
The Complete Solo
Piano Music 2
A second volume of Dohnnyis deeply
appealing yet neglected piano music,
performed by the living master of the
repertoire: Martin Roscoe. A highlight
of the album is the Variations and
Fugue on a theme of EG, Op 4a
monumental work that would soon be
hailed by the Viennese press as the
most valuable enrichment of music
literature since Brahms.
MARTIN ROSCOE piano
MODEST MUSORGSKY
Pictures from an
Exhibition
SERGE PROKOFIEV
Sarcasms & Visions
Steven Osborne has become one of
the most valuable pianists recording
today. His recent complete
Rachmaninov Preludes release was
critically acclaimed as the greatest
modern version since Ashkenazy. Now
he turns to further cornerstones of the
Russian repertoire in this recording of
Musorgskys Pictures from an Exhibition,
and two sets of Prokofievs miniatures.
STEVEN OSBORNE piano
CDA67908
CDA67932
CDA67896
FEBRUARY RELEASE
MP3 and lossless downloads of all our recordings are
available from www.hyperion-records.co.uk
2012_11_International_Piano:International Piano 20/11/2012 08:07 Page 1
012_IP_0113.indd 12 05/12/2012 10:53:50
T
HE SPLENDID PIANIST AND
delightful writer Arthur Loesser (1894-
1969) physically resembled a garden
gnome but, as he would tell his students at
the Cleveland Institute of Music, whenever
he played the piano he was more beautiful
than the comeliest damsels in his class.
As Arthur Rubinsteins memoirs state and
Harvey Sachss rollicking biography (Grove
Press) of the keyboard virtuoso confrms,
although Rubinstein was no Don Juan either,
he enjoyed an exuberant romantic life, with
his piano playing proving a seductive force.
In our literal-minded age, artistic beauty
is sometimes sidelined in favour of more
visually quantifable gratifcations. And
thus the novel Fify Shades of Grey and its
sequels have sold millions of copies, followed
by EMIs Fify Shades of Grey: The Classical
Album. The CD, itself a bestseller, is heavily
weighted with piano music, since the book
tells the story of the relationship between
Anastasia, a student, and Christian Grey,
a billionaire and amateur pianist. Of Grey,
readers are assured: Hes not merely good
looking hes the epitome of male beauty,
breathtaking. Fify Shades author EL James
somewhat ambiguously informed the Daily
Telegraph that Grey was a talented but not
particularly gifed pianist.
Listeners will note that the EMI
CD features an odd mix of selections.
Two Chopin pieces by the alcoholic,
amphetamine-popping Frenchman Samson
Franois sound understandably medicated
and distracted, while Rachmaninov is played
absently by Ccile Ousset. Bach by Maria Tipo
is both trivialising and tubby-sounding.
Two further tracks evoke the character
of the sadistic plutocrat Grey, whether
consciously or not: Bach played by Alexandre
Tharaud in a cool, emotionally distant Gallic
way is echoed by the coldly mechanical
Alexis Weissenberg. Of all these pianists,
Moura Lympany evokes the most sympathy,
as a worthy artist captured for eternity in
the wrong repertoire: a Debussy rendition
which was not her fnest moment. Piano
lovers can only hope such a compilation will
encourage consumers to further investigate
the works included; they might discover more
rewarding performances of the same works
which, in the age of YouTube, are but a few
clicks away.
Examples might include Edwin Fischers
spiritually intense performance of JS Bachs
Concerto No 3, BWV 974, an adaptation
of an Adagio from an Alessandro Marcello
oboe concerto. Or Chopins Prelude No 4
in E minor played with stark emotional
impact by Rudolf Serkin on a recent Sony
CD reissue. Rachmaninovs Piano Concerto
No 2 is well represented in discography by
a performance with the composer himself
as soloist, while Moura Lympany should
be allowed to redeem herself with her
admirable rendition of Chopins Nocturne
No 1 in B fat minor.
Bachs Goldberg Variations have been
recorded by many fne artists, among them
Murray Perahia and Andrs Schif. Debussys
ever-popular The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
has been performed with apt tenderness
and innocence by Youri Egorov (on one of
the many excellent EMI archival recordings
which, mysteriously, were not chosen for the
new compilation) and Gaby Casadesus. To
fully plumb the grace and exaltation of JS
Bachs Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring as transcribed
by Myra Hess, why not listen to Hess herself,
or Dinu Lipatti, yet another EMI artist?
Hearing a variety of diferent and
perhaps better performances of these
long-appreciated works reminds us of what
is primordially important: the music, not the
marketing. Consumers who buy erotica are
most likely out for instant gratifcation, yet
as any sybarite knows, there are degrees of
refnement even in wanton self-indulgence.
Sadism and the piano seem inexorably linked
in the publics mind afer screen epics such as
The Seventh Veil (1945), The Piano (1993) and
The Piano Teacher (2001), which all feature
sadistic elements. The piano has been saddled
with this image perhaps because the notion
of a sadistic fddler or tuba player would be
overtly comic even to the most humourless
author of erotica.
An ideal answer to such grim and
glowering images, domineering and pain-
inducing, would be some of the more joyous
and loving interpreters who have rightly
won audience allegiance over the years
the same audience which has the artistic
imagination to reject pianists, even those
who are the epitome of male beauty,
breathtaking, if they are merely talented
but not particularly gifed.
Benjamin Ivry
ofers an antidote
to the piano
sadism in the
recent bestseller
Fify Shades of Grey
Fifty shades of pianism
c omme n t
The EL James trilogy has sold
millions of copies; the books
were followed by EMIs Fifty
Shades of Grey: The Classical
Album, also a bestseller
13_IP0113_Comment signed off by Claire.indd 13 04/12/2012 17:01:04
Untitled-10 1 19/11/2012 16:38:17
Courtesy of Jean Muller and
Fondamenta we are offering
International Piano readers the
opportunity to download two tracks
from Jean Mullers latest release.
Chopin Recital, 2011 Fondamenta
Tracks available to International
Piano readers:
Chopin Ballade No.1
Chopin Mazurka in C Major
to ClaiM youR FRee
download, visit
www.Rhinegold.Co.uk/
ipdownload
ip exClusive

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cd ad jean muller.indd 1 05/12/2012 16:50:58
014_IP_0113.indd 14 05/12/2012 17:01:50
J
EAN MULLER, BORN IN 1979 IN LUXEMBOURG,
has won 12 piano competitions since 1994
and made a number of recordings. His latest,
a terrifc Chopin recital (Fondamenta, FON-
1005008) has received wide critical acclaim, with one reviewer
declaring that few pianists of any age or nationality have
recreated the storming codas of the First and Fourth Ballades
[...] with such brilliant fury.
So why havent we heard of him? Well, life is complicated
and things dont always kick of like they should, he says.
And also, I have to confess that my frst priority has always
been the quality of my playing and not the development of
my career. So maybe thats why it was long time before I had
the confdence to be more known and play in other countries
[outside Luxembourg]. I did play in some, but perhaps not with
the same energy as I have done in the past few years.
Muller edits all his recordings himself (I feel that, as an
artist, one shouldnt give something one has invested so much
time in to another hand) but has not been tied to a single label.
Is that a good idea? Thats probably not a good idea! he laughs.
Nevertheless, I have to say that the latest, Fondamenta, have
been very encouraging since Ive been with them.
One of his previous discs was devoted to the music of
Stphane Blet. He is a modern French composer who was a
pupil of Byron Janis and also had several lessons from Horowitz
in the 1980s, Muller says. I think hes a very interesting fgure,
maybe not mainstream but more so than you might expect for
a modern composer. His music carries some intensity thats
what interested me in his work. Its not a choice of repertoire
that is a strong commercial proposition. Blet, I suggest, is not
going to sell many discs. Yes. I have ofen taken decisions
which go against what people advise me. Even when I recorded
the Ballades of Chopin. But of course its very encouraging
when, later on, it transpires to have been the right choice.
Both of Mullers parents are
musicians. His mother is a viola
player in the Philharmonic
Orchestra of Luxembourg. His
father, Gary Muller, a piano
professor at the Conservatoire de
Luxembourg, is one of the strongest
infuences on his playing: I have
to say his infuence was always
not direct, meaning that he was
never my formal teacher which
was probably a wise decision. He
put me into the class of a
colleague at the conservatoire,
Marie-Jos Hengesch. Muller was
six at the time, and only a year later
made his frst public appearance,
premiering a work by his compatriot
Alexander Mullenbach.
He remained at the conservatoire until the age of 15, when
he began studies at the Academy of Music in Riga. But
during all these years, my father guided me a lot, sometimes
encouraging me to do crazy things which my piano teacher
would not have, he says. For instance, when I was seven years
old, I absolutely wanted to play the study in thirds by Chopin.
Everybody said I was crazy, which I probably was, but my father
gave me the score and wrote down the fngering. I learnt it of
course I didnt play it very well, but I got round it. Musically
and technically, what he says to me is still very important. Now,
we are colleagues. I work at the conservatoire with him.
Muller has been active on the competition circuit for some
years but there is, he agrees, a time to stop. Unfortunately,
it doesnt ofen bring as much as you would dream of.
Thats something that younger pianists may not be aware of. It
might bring you something but it can be deceptive. Lets put it
that way. Its certainly not the best way to improve musicianship.
Although not yet a big name in the profession, Muller is well
known in his own country (But then, my country is very small!). In
2007, His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg made
Muller a Chevalier de lOrdre de Mrite Civil et Militaire dAdolphe
de Nassau. It is something of which the pianist is immensely proud
quite rightly, as its an award that is usually only given to much
older people. I had been playing at quite a few state visits and
somehow they must have liked my performances, he says modestly.
The date is set for his next recording: Liszts Transcendental
Etudes in July 2013. Ive been working on them for two years,
he says. Im still a little nervous but I now know what I want to
do with these pieces. Im also doing a tour of the pieces on my
Chopin disc. So there is plenty to do.
IP readers are invited to download a selection of tracks from
Jean Mullers Chopin disc, courtesy of Fondamenta. Visit
www.rhinegold.co.uk/ipdownload and click download now.
ONE T O WAT CH
Outside his native
Luxembourg, Jean
Mullers profle has
been fairly low
until now. Jeremy
Nicholas fnds
out why
Onwards and uPwards
15_IP01013_OnetoWatch signed off by Claire.indd 15 05/12/2012 16:07:45
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016_IP_0113.indd 16 05/12/2012 11:19:57
MONDAY Am to AccompAny tV
sitcom, miming for on-screen actor at
piano. music already received by motor-
cycle courier: thoughtful of tV company
to provide same, though scarcely
necessary in this case, being simply
ofenbach can-can theme, scrawled on
plain paper with hand-drawn stave.
Reach tV studio, cleverly built
to resemble decrepit night-club and
crammed with cast plus sound, lighting,
electrics, camera, wardrobe, hair, make-
up and stage management crews. Locate
producer in mle, ascertain cue and
musical requirements. no hurry: whole
company on break, awaiting actor-
pianist (star of scene). Wander backstage,
locate caterers, learn food and drink
all free: cease wandering. producer
calls for rehearsal: minion dispatched
to locate star. minion returns, reports
star currently in dressing-room seeking
inspiration in can of Guinness. company
waits patiently, at incalculable expense.
Star fnally lurches into view: am startled
to recognise as comedian from several
generations ago, long thought dead.
costume includes illuminated bow-tie,
activated by star himself and intended to
revolve as he delivers punchline of scene.
Rehearse. play can-can on cue.
producer asks, can music be more
Folies-Bergrish? Have never been asked
that before. momentarily nonplussed,
then restart with tune an octave
higher and accompaniment sprightlier.
producer adds, and slower. Slow
down: tune sounds awful thus but
producer pleased so do not argue musical
niceties. Rehearsal resumes, ends. Break
before frst take: wardrobe, hair and
make-up crew descend en masse to tidy
up cast, like ox-peckers on herd of rhino.
First take goes well, up to punchline: star
forgets words and cannot read autocue.
Break: minion brings more Guinness,
writes punchline in big letters on board
to be held in view of star but out of shot;
ox-peckers reappear, descend, disappear.
Second take: star delivers words but bow-
tie fails to revolve. Break: Guinness and
ox-peckers re-emerge, plus small crowd
of electricians analysing bow-tie. Report
all satisfactory, ready for third take. Bow-
tie again fails to revolve, electricians
puzzled: actor confesses had forgotten
to activate on cue. Day proceeds, reaches
seventh take before producer satisfed.
Job done: submit huge invoice. Go home,
pondering cost per minute of whole
project, and being glad was on receiving
end of some of it.
WEDNESDAY Am to play celeste in
Holsts Planets: always a joy, however
hackneyed the piece. Rehearsal goes well,
could fnish early: anticipate extended
meal-break with friendly colleagues,
e.g. beautiful harpists. Start Neptune
the Mystic: have always marvelled that
of-stage choirs stay so well in tune
with pp on-stage orchestra so far away,
but current choir proves exception,
wincingly fat and way behind the beat.
Rehearsal ends: prepare to escape for
meal with harpists but am asked to stay
behind for emergency choir rehearsal.
Am reverently handed dog-eared vocal
score, archive rarity dating apparently
from Holsts time and labelled this
music is irreplaceable. Beg to difer:
contains no piano reduction at all,
simply voice parts with few cues. Glad
know piece well: jettison item and play
piano accompaniment by ear. But choir
incurably fat, and late: eager backstage
employee, familiar as former violinist,
ofers to fetch instrument from home
and help out by playing among them
in performance. conductor desperate:
agrees. Hastily depart in search of meal
(and harpists) before can be asked to
accompany violin rehearsal.
performance. Neptune arrives, choirs
frst entrance ditto, plus distant violin,
frmly on beat but ahead of choir.
conductor winces, more so as chorus
parts move, all-too-audible violin now
connecting every pair of notes with old-
fashioned portamento. Efect decidedly
non-mystic: orchestra platform begins to
shake with silent laughter. conductor
hisses Stop him, somebody. Unoccupied
percussionist volunteers, leaves platform:
retreating backstage footsteps clearly
audible in general pp. music proceeds
regardless. of-stage violin stops abruptly
in mid-phrase; on-stage orchestral
merriment spreads to audience. choir
fades, music ends not imperceptibly,
as Holst wrote, but with distinct sounds
of frmly closed door and dropped of-
stage violin. Ironic cheers mingle with
applause, possibly a frst with this piece.
FRIDAY theatre auditions. See familiar
face, join for cofee break. Recall: was
extra in mondays tV flming. chat,
marvel afresh at extravagant cost,
contemplate possible repeat fees. oh,
didnt you hear? says extra. they cut the
scene. the director didnt like it.
Producer asks,
Can music be more
Folies-Bergrish?
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In which Michael Round meets a star, and a Planet
MONDAY, WEEK 1 Exciting times. Am
to y to Gulf state for four weeks work
playing Edwardian-themed background
chamber music in new hotel. Organiser
there warns, Bring own tuning-hammer
nearest piano-tuner lives thousands of
miles away, charges a fortune, and leaves
instrument in worse state than before.
Wish knew more about piano tuning,
but sounds as if cant lose. Discuss
potential shortage of female company
there during pre-takeo chat with well-
wisher. Be sure to get to the camels
early, he suggests, youll want a pretty
one, wont you? Coarse fellow.
Take-o, ight. Study Arabic phrase-
book on journey. Di cult language.
Read, Produce this consonant in back
of throat, as if retching. Attempt same.
Passenger alongside winces, edges away.
Passing stewardess look concerned, asks,
Do you need some water? Resolve to use
only vowels in future.
Touchdown. Disembark, sni air (like
oven), reach hotel (palatial, air-conditioned,
icy), examine performance venue (hotel
foyer: ditto, ditto, ditto plus fountain),
piano (9- Steinway grand, brand-new),
meet colleagues (acclimatised, sunburned).
TUESDAY Start work. Music salon-
orchestra stu, painless: nearby fountain
so loud that most bass-notes inaudible.
Puzzled by unwritten trills and head-
swivellings from other players. Seems
trill is uno cial signal that pretty girl
has entered foyer: head-swivelling is
other players straining to look. OK if girl
expatriate, but am fearful of being caught
staring at local women and wonder what
equivalent musical warning signal is:
March to the Scaold, possibly.
WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY As Tuesday,
except for Friday (holy day, no work).
Meet local violinist, traditional Arab
music specialist. Tunes violin not to G-D-
A-E but G-D-G-C. Intriguing.
MONDAY, WEEK 2 Time to tune piano.
Nothing wrong with it, but job must
be seen to be done. Passing expatriate
invites me to tune own piano in town
aerwards, because nearest tuner lives
thousands of miles away, etc. Tell him
am inexperienced, but this apparently
no drawback. Hope does not want piano
tuned to match Arab violins. Alternative
career beckons.
THURSDAY Excitement. Complete car
showroom installed in hotel foyer. About
20 vehicles on display. Tumultuous
applause during performance, but can
take no credit: applause is for passing
sheikh who just bought them all. Linger
aer performance in hope of being given
one as tip, but to no avail.
SUNDAY, WEEK 3 Cause confusion by
playing printed trill. Heads swivel in
vain, automatically looking for pretty
girl (in short supply lately). Apologise,
promise to ignore printed trills in future.
WEDNESDAY Drama. Piano to be
relocated to ballroom for evening.
Laundry workers conscripted en masse
for move, possibly welcome change from
daily routine. Assemble, push piano at
great speed down red-carpeted corridor.
Front leg of piano catches in fold of
carpet, snaps o, piano nose-dives.
Nothing daunted, workers carry remains
of piano to ballroom and prop tail on
edge of table. Nearly level thus, though
challenging to play on. Other players
gleefully contemplate forthcoming time
o, piano surely unusable aer this and
certainly unsightly.
THURSDAY Business as usual, aer all.
Seems ten spare Steinway grands in
hotel basement: one has been hauled up
(presumably not by laundry workers),
unwrapped and brought into play.
Pretend to tune it in readiness (though
sounds perfectly OK to me). Again, am
booked by passing expatriate to tune
another piano in town aerwards,
because nearest tuner lives thousands of
miles, etc. Is being used by touring jazz
combo. Fear being caught out this time
by knowledgeable musician, but accept
job regardless. Locate venue, locate
piano, raise lid, a x tuning-hammer,
play one note. Door opens, jazz pianist
enters. Ah, is reaction, Sounds much
better already. Glad to be able to oblige
so quickly.
SUNDAY-THURSDAY, WEEK 4 General
desperation. No pretty girls for days.
Have also played every piece of music
about ten times. Spend free aernoon in
town. See camel-train. Fear I may have
been here too long: camel at far end
looks quite pretty. Wonder if Foreign
Legion needs piano-tuner. e
Front leg of piano
catches in fold of
carpet, snaps off,
piano nose-dives
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Diary of an accompanist
In which Michael Round samples the Mysterious East
017_IP1112 signed off by Claire.indd 17 28/09/2012 02:05:52 17_IP0113_Diary signed of by Claire.indd 17 04/12/2012 17:03:09
c ov e r s t ory
a keen intellect
I dont want to
sound immodest,
but integrity
has always been
enormously
important to me
scottish pianist Steven OSbOrne has omnivorous
repertoire tastes that extend from Beethoven to Britten
to free improvisation just dont ask him to play chopin.
By Jeremy Nicholas
18_21_IP0113_CoverStory signed off by Claire.indd 18 05/12/2012 13:18:56
OH, I WAS WRONG. SO WRONG! LAUGHS STEVEN

Osborne. Ive just shown him, in the interests of continuity,
the nal quote from his last interview in IP (Sept/Oct 2007),
when he announced his intention to record Ravels complete
piano music. Ive just got Gaspard to learn, he had volunteered
cheerily before adding, I wish Id done Gaspard before, but my
feeling is that its not quite as hard as its made out to be...
What had made him think Gaspard, one of the literatures
most challenging pieces, was a piece of cake? Its so lucidly
written on the page, but what he asks you to do is very, very
taxing physically I mean simply playing the notes and I
underestimated that, he says.
We are sitting in Osbornes dressing room at the City Halls in
Glasgow. Later in the day, he will rehearse Beethovens Fourth
Piano Concerto with Andrew Manze and the BBC Scottish
Symphony Orchestra for performances here and in Perth. Hes
dressed in his trademark T-shirt, casual trousers and trainers.
He celebrated his 40th birthday last year but could easily pass
for one of the many students who crowd the city centre at
lunchtime though few would be organised enough to have
an umbrella and a bottle of water loaded into the back of
their rucksack, as Osborne does. With a pepper-and-salt wig,
he might be Simon Rattles younger brother: the two have an
uncannily similar smile. Osborne laughs oen and generously,
but in conversation, he is among the most thoughtful and
serious of musicians. You sense he is never happier than when
analysing a musical problem.
Since that earlier interview in IP, his career has gathered
pace. There have been recordings (all for Hyperion) of Tippett
(nominated for BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone
awards), Britten (winner of a Gramophone Award),
Rachmaninov Preludes (nominated for the Schallplattenpreis
and a Gramophone Award), Beethoven Sonatas, Beethoven
Bagatelles and Messiaens Turangalla Symphony. And the
Schubert duets with Paul Lewis, Osborne reminds me. That
was a lovely record to make. So fun. It was quite interesting
to see how someone else works in the recording studio. Hes
much more relaxed than I am. I tend to be quite obsessed and
go for every last detail. He wanted to just do something that felt
satisfying. We nished in the middle of the aernoon on the
last day, which has never happened to me, and I really learned
a lot from it. I hadnt played duets for a while, and when youre
used to lling the musical space yourself, lling only half of it
or maybe not even that is really, really di cult.
His rst recordings for Hyperion were of piano concertos by
fellow Scots Sir Alexander Mackenzie and Sir Donald Tovey,
Kapustins Preludes in Jazz Style and the one which brought
the pianist to international attention Messiaens Vingt regards
sur lenfant Jsus. Is there a pattern, a long-term plan behind
his eclectic choice of repertoire? I feel Im very omnivorous.
I choose by instinct. Theres a never-ending stream of
masterpieces to learn. It depends on what I am aching to do.
Osborne has a distinctive, transparent sound, one which
suits some composers better than others. More and more, I like
digging in, he says. One of the most important piano lessons
I ever had was about three years ago with Alfred Brendel. Ever
since I was quite young, Ive found his playing magnetic and I
now realise what it was that drew me to his playing: his ability
to characterise. Not just the sound of it, but the rhythm. There
was a strong sense of what the music was about and I was
curious to know how he did it. So he agreed to let me play for
him and it was fascinating.
While Brendel and Osborne may not be peas in a musical
pod, what they do have in common is their love of the
intellectual rigour of music. Yes, he agrees. But not for its
own sake. It works in something like Tippett, where certain
things are very complex, but where the complexity is part of
a keen intellect
C OV E R S T ORY
the character and the emotion of the piece. Its the same with
Beethoven. Brendel kept talking about getting to the bottom of
every key one of the most basic things, but so easy to forget.
That creates a fantastic projecting sound, a way of engaging
with the keyboard that really speaks.
You also have to have an interest in everything else thats
going on all the supposedly redundant notes in a chord,
for instance. Youre actually engaged with all of it. Normally,
at music college, you practice in a shoe box but you have to
play with four times the intensity in a concert hall. Its hard to
train yourself to do that because it seems so uncomfortable,
so loud. I have quite an average piano at home deliberately
because it helps so much coping with diferent pianos. Its
terrible if you have a wonderful piano at home, because then
youre always disappointed when youre travelling around! Im
fairly unfussy. A piano has got to be really bad before I get
upset about it.
Does he have any sympathy with people like Michelangeli,
cancelling concerts because the piano was not to his liking?
Well, I think its probably a way of transferring your nerves
onto something else, he says. Im not completely dismissive
of people like that because youve got to fnd some way of
dealing with those things but I think you make your life
more unhappy. Does he get nervous? Ive been lucky. I dont
really sufer from them. If I have, then its only been for a short
period. If Im feeling nervous on the day of a concert I generally
try to take a long bath and quietly mull it over. Nerves are very
irrational. They dont correspond with reality. I play better
when Im not nervous. I dont agree with people who say you
need adrenaline to play well. Playing a concert in confict,
you cant have a conversation with the audience. The best
conversations are when you are really relaxed. Of course its
difcult in a concert to have the same outlook as you would at
two oclock in the morning talking to one of your best friends,
but thats what you have to aim for.
Oh dear. Thats the trouble with a good talker like Osborne.
Weve been chatting for half an hour, wandering engagingly
up and down the byways, and Ive forgotten that what Im here
to talk about is his latest recording: Mussorgskys Pictures at an
Exhibition paired intriguingly with Prokofevs Sarcasms and
Visions fugitives. Pictures is such an amazing shape and concept
for a piece and so incredibly done, he says. I played it at college
and since then Ive probably played it more than any other
piece. It feels really part of me.
On a superfcial level, I thought it would be nice to pair
Pictures with Visions fugitives, but I really wanted to record the
Prokofev. Not an obvious coupling, but there is something in
the frst of the Sarcasms which corresponds with Mussorgsky
that kind of light brutality. I ask him if he is happy with the
results. His reply is admirably honest. You never get everything
that you really want. The problem is how you get something
really visceral like a concert performance. The frst take usually
has it, but the longer you keep on, the more difcult it is to
retain that initial intensity.
Raised in Linlithgow, Osborne has a solidly middle-class
background. Both his parents played the piano a bit and
shared a love of duets. My dad was a civil engineer but he
played the organ as a locum in various churches. My mum was
a pharmacist. He has a brother, a couple of years older, who
started out as a cellist. We both went to the Royal Northern
College of Music [RNCM] but he got an injury in his arm.
He wasnt sure, anyway, whether he wanted to do music as a
profession. He ended up training to be an accountant. Hes
now head of fnance and administration at the Royal Scottish
National Orchestra. Its rather nice. He pays my cheques!
The moment when a child frst shows exceptional musical
talent is always memorable. Osborne clearly remembers picking
out by ear the tunes of nursery rhymes and playing them with
one fnger. And then there were his parents records. There was
a mixture: Oklahoma; the Pastoral Symphony. If I had to take
one disc to my desert island, it would be the Pastoral. I cant
hear it and not feel happy.
When I was about seven, apparently I told my mum that I
couldnt live without the piano. When I was 10, I went to St
C Ov e R S T ORY
c ov e r s t ory
Marys Music school [in edinburgh, attached to the cathedral].
one of the teachers there had heard me in a competition
when I was eight or nine and came up to my mother and said:
you should think about music school. It was an amazing
place only about 40 pupils with a lot of infuential people
there, but chiefy Nigel Murray, the head of music, one of the
those really inspirational fgures. He had such a broad view of
music and what music was about. He had this way of making
you curious.
Afer that I went to the rNcM, where I had an amazing
teacher richard Beauchamp, a New Zealander, a very musical
man and very interested in the physical set-up, physiology, how
do you work best with your muscles so youre not working
against them. (osborne, by the way, can stretch a 10th or an
11th at a push). renna Kellaway was my main infuence, he
continues. she was great. she really got down to the nitty-
gritty of how you strengthen your fngers and things like that.
she gave me more of the tools I needed. If the fngers arent
strong you have to compensate with your arm that tightens
up and youre really limited.
As to osbornes future recordings, all the stravinsky works
for piano and orchestra are already in the can. At the end of
the year hell be setting down rachmaninovs second sonata
and corelli variations, and Medtners B fat minor sonata.
Away from the classical repertoire, osborne has always had an
interest in jazz. But what he is more passionate about is free
improvisation where you start travelling without knowing
what is going to happen.
Ive done quite a bit of that in concert, he says. I actually
taught improvisation at the University of connecticut about
10 years ago. We started of just improvising on simple
modes, experimenting with diferent rhythmic and structural
approaches. Its fascinating because you see really transparently
what someones like when they improvise. And its been really
important for my classical stuf. Ive been much more in touch
with my musical personality, so to speak, as a result.
How does he defne that personality? He doesnt, I observe,
like frippery or hyphenated composers, and, unusually for
a pianist, has no afnity with chopin. I want to get to the
essence of something, he says. I want to play music that is
directly engaged like Beethoven. As a performer, it might
sound pretentious but there are two main pitfalls: one is that
you feel horribly on the spot and worried youre going to make
a fool of yourself; and the other is that you just love being
looked at and you think youre fantastic. Both those cut of the
possibility of communicating.
can he tell me what he thinks marks him out from his
peers? For once, this fuent talker is fummoxed. He answers
hesitantly. I dont know how much this distinguishes me and
I dont want to sound immodest, but integrity has always been
enormously important to me. Ive almost consciously run away
from cheap things, musical gimmicks to score easy points.
thats partly why Im attracted to complex music.

Steven Osbornes Mussorgsky/Prokofev disc is out now on Hyperion
Theres a never-
ending stream of
masterpieces to
learn. It depends
on what I am aching
to do
on Medici Classics
& YouTube
New on Blu-ray Disc
SCHUMANN VOLUME II
LIVE IN CONCERT
JeroMe rose
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M20012 Beethoven: The Last Three Sonatas
M20022 Liszt: Piano Concertos 1 & 2, Totentanz
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
M20032 Liszt: Transcendental Etudes
M20042 Schumann: The Complete Piano Sonatas
M20052 Chopin: The Four Ballades, Fantasy, Op. 49
M20062 Schumann: Davidsbndlertnze
Kreisleriana
M30072 Schubert: The Three Posthumous Sonatas
Wanderer Fantasy
M30092 Liszt: Sonata in B minor, Don Juan Fantasy
Mephisto Waltz
M30102 Brahms: Sonata No. 3, Handel Variations
M40012 Liszt: Annes de Plerinage (3 CD set)
Grand Prix du Disque - Liszt Society Budapest
M50019 Chopin: The Four Ballades, Sonatas 2 & 3
M50029 Beethoven: Sonatas Op. 101, 109, 110, 111
M50039 Schumann: Carnaval, Fantasy, Humoreske
M50049 Liszt: Sonata in B minor, Bndiction de Dieu
Funrailles, 3 Petrarch Sonnets
Valle dObermann
M50059 Schubert: The Last Four Sonatas
D. 894, 958, 959, 960
M60069 Brahms: Sonata No. 3; Rhapsodien, Op. 79
Fantasien, Op. 116; Intermezzi, Op.117
Klavierstcke, Op. 76, 118, 119
M60079 Schumann: Davidsbndlertnze, Fantasiestcke
Symphonic Etudes, Kreisleriana
Sonata in G minor
Blu-ray
DVD - M50069
Blu-ray
M60079
Davidsbndlertnze, Op 6
Fantasiestcke, Op. 12
Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Sonata in G minor, Op. 22
Compact Disc DVD & Blu-ray Disc
Untitled-2 1 28/09/2012 10:23:58 022_IP_0113.indd 21 05/12/2012 11:22:27
WAGNE R B I CE NT E NA RY
Wagner for seasoned pianists
and amateur musicians
I
N THE 19TH CENTURY, ARRANGEMENTS OF
Richard Wagners operas and orchestral works were
produced for all manner of ensembles. The photograph on
the right, of a catalogue of Wagner arrangements printed on
the back cover of a Breitkopf & Hrtel publication, serves as
an excellent illustration of this. On the le is a list of the piano
scores of entire operas, intended either for practice purposes or
as a way of acquainting the user with the works. The catalogue
then lists arrangements of individual orchestral works or opera
fragments and various potpourri fantasies. There are even some
arrangements for pedagogical purposes (Leichte Stcke fr den
Unterricht). In addition to works for solo piano, there are also
arrangements for other standard ensembles, from violin-piano
and cello-piano duos to arrangements for wind instruments,
organ and larger chamber ensembles. Notably, the catalogue
features a wealth of arrangements for the harmonium and for
piano-harmonium duos, harking back to the time when the
organ harmonium was a standard feature of many homes. The
one category missing from this catalogue is that of concert
transcriptions, generally produced by the great piano virtuosi.
Most signicant among these, from Wagners perspective, was
Franz Liszt.
Franz Liszt and his students
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was by far the most signicant pianist
and piano arranger in Wagners social circle. Liszts impact
on Wagners life and career took various forms. They had a
personal friendship (albeit, at times, a problematic one) as well
as a musical relationship: Liszt organised concerts dedicated to
Wagners music and, as one of the most inuential musicians of
the day, did much to further the cause of Wagners operas. Indeed,
his 15 piano arrangements of Wagners operatic music form an
integral part of Liszts work. In the 1840s-60s, Liszt was a far
more renowned musical gure than Wagner, and the scores of
January marks the beginning of bicentenary celebrations for
RICHARD WAGNER, the pioneering opera composer whose
works continue to inspire devoted followers throughout the
globe. Risto-Matti Marin examines the history of piano
transcriptions within this oeuvre
Translation by David Hackston
[pics in, no credit for the scanned

image, but portraits are all Tully
Potter Collection. Scanned image
needs to appear on rst page, quite
large if possible, please.]
bicentenary
Wagner
23_25_IP0113_Wagner signed off by Claire.indd 23 05/12/2012 11:02:11
his arrangements were widely distributed throughout Europe.
Liszts arrangements are examples of concert transcriptions,
the elite among piano arrangements. They were intended to
be performed in public and not to be used merely as practice
material or for performance at home like the arrangements
listed in the Breitkopf & Hrtel catalogue. The idea of piano
arrangements as a substitute for sound recordings, a notion
prevalent to this day, did not apply to concert transcriptions,
which were conceived as independent artistic entities with a
status separate from that of the original work, though a link to
the original naturally existed. In this category of arrangement,
the personality of the arranger is brought to the fore. Wagners
full-bodied, colourful orchestration presents great challenges
to any arranger, who, using the pianos somewhat more limited
means, must aspire to reproduce an expressive palette equal to
and as diverse as that of the symphony orchestra.
Liszts exceptional command
of the keyboard and of the
pianos expressive possibilities
is exemplifed in his Wagner
arrangements. Published in 1849,
his arrangement of the overture
to Tannhuser is a towering
example of his skill; here, he
succeeds in making pianistic
freworks an organic part of the
originals sublime pathos. Liszts
Wagner arrangements reveal
much about his own stylistic
development. The 1859 work
Phantasiestck ber Motive aus
Rienzi Santo Spirito cavaliere is
closely related to the fantasies that
Liszt produced based on Italian
and French operas, which he
performed regularly at the height
of his career. In this work, Liszt
incorporates an array of bravura
techniques from rapid octave
passages to three-hand illusions
in the manner of Thalberg. If we
compare the Rienzi fantasy to
Liszts fnal Wagner arrangement,
the Feierlicher Marsch zum heiligen
Gral aus Parsifal (1882), we can
see the illuminated asceticism of
Liszts later style shining through.
In the Parsifal arrangement, there is no longer any trace of
pianistic brilliance for brilliances sake; rather, Liszts whole
approach to Wagners music now seems more introspective and
profoundly intimate. This same simple beauty can be heard in
Liszts Am Grabe Richard Wagners, written in memory of Wagner
in 1883, which can also be seen as a fantasy on motifs from
Parsifal. In all of Liszts Wagner arrangements, Liszts own voice
is always present.
Several of Liszts pupils also went on to become notable
Wagner arrangers. Of his early students, Karl Klindworth
WagnE r B I cE nT E na ry
(1830-1916) and Hans von Blow (1830-1894) are perhaps the
most closely associated with Wagner. Klindworth prepared
the frst piano scores of many of Wagners operas, while Hans
von Blows Wagner catalogue includes both piano scores
and concert transcriptions. Klindworths arrangements were
intended solely for personal study and practice. For this reason,
he was unable to deviate from the original scores or add any
pianistic decoration. The same asceticism applies to Blows
piano scores; even Blows concert transcriptions are a touch
too literal and sound rather stufy in performance.
carl Tausig (1841-1871) acquainted himself with Blows piano
score of Tristan and Isolde while visiting Wagners home. Tausig
was later to prepare his own splendid three-part suite for piano on
themes from the same opera. Tausig is ofen considered to have
been Liszts most accomplished student, and he was admired
not only by Wagner and Liszt but also by Johannes Brahms
and his great patron Eduard
Hanslick. Tausigs Wagner
arrangements combine
a deep understanding of
the original works and
the freedom to integrate
pianistic fgurations into
the texture. all the pianistic
efects used are in perfect
balance with the structural
integrity of the music. For
instance, in his arrangement
of the Ride of the Valkyries,
Tausig develops increasingly
intricate textures to lend
the arrangement a sense
of expressive abundance.
Though the fgurations
mark a radical departure
from Wagners original,
they always remain in clear
relation to the overall form
of the work. The great
crescendo towards the end
is created simply through
the relentless motion of ever-
denser textures.
Tausigs arrangements are
technically challenging, but
the Wagner arrangements
of Liszts Bohemian student
august Stradal (1860-1930) are, in places, almost impossible
to perform. as well as studying with Liszt, Stradal was also
a pupil of another signifcant piano pedagogue, Theodor
Leschetizky, and studied with anton Bruckner. Stradals
catalogue of arrangements is immense, yet it has been almost
entirely forgotten since his death. He produced seven Wagner
arrangements in total, ranging from the standard piano-
reduction style of his solo piano arrangement of the Wesendonck
Lieder to the highly challenging and virtuosic transcription of
the Ride of the Valkyries.
Wagner at the piano

Other notable 19th-century
Wagner arrangers
There were notable Wagner arrangers outside Liszts
immediate circle, too. Of greatest interest is perhaps Louis
Brassin (1840-1884), the Belgian student of Beethovens
student Ignaz Moscheles. Brassin arranged a fve-part piano
suite from the Ring tetralogy, comprising the movements
Walhalla, Sigmunds Liebesgesang, Feuerzauber, Walkrenritt and
Waldweben. Brassins arrangements are conceived in more of a
salon style than those of Liszt or Tausig and do not appear to
strive towards an orchestral weight of sound. They display two
prevalent features: frstly, they are meticulously constructed
as regards the physicality of the keyboard and the hands,
making them pleasant to play. Secondly, Brassin highlights
the sonic dimensions of Wagners music, so much so that at
times the music sounds almost like the piano music of the
Impressionists, lending his arrangements an exceptional sheen.
Brassins arrangement of Feuerzauber was the frst Wagner
arrangement ever to be recorded, when the legendary pianist
Josef Hofmann played it on to a phonographic roll in 1896.
Later, in 1923, he also made a studio recording, which ranks
among the greatest commercial recordings he ever made.
Like Brassin, Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925) and Ernest
Schelling (1876-1939) also strove towards arrangements that
explored Wagners timbral dimensions while remaining technically
ergonomic. Moszkowskis arrangements of the Venusberg music
from Tannhuser and Isoldes Liebestod come close to Liszts
arrangements in the sheer richness of their sound. Schellings
arrangement of the overture to Tristan and Isolde is like a notated
improvisation. Schelling, student of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, makes
notable departures from the original score with regard to pianistic
fgurations, and truly succeeds in making this an independent
work for piano. Paderewskis recording of Schellings Tristan
arrangement is one of the most towering performances of any
Wagner transcription.
Wagner arrangements at the Fin
de Sicle
Two of the most signifcant pianists of the late 19th century,
Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) and Leopold Godowsky (1870-
1938) also felt the infuence of Wagners music. Both made
Wagner arrangements, though Busoni produced only one.
In his youth, Busoni was something of a Wagnerian,
though later in his career he made a clear break with Wagners
style. Busonis arrangement of the funeral march from
Gtterdmmerung is one of the best Wagner arrangements of
all time. Like Liszt and Tausig, Busoni uses the full gamut of
pianistic expression in conjuring his own vision of Wagners
original. Busonis fngering solutions, fgurations and
orchestral approach represent the same deep understanding
of the pianos idiosyncrasies that he developed much later in his
volumes of Klavierbung.
In addition to ingenious virtuoso arrangements, Leopold
Godowskys oeuvre encompasses both original works and a
wealth of pedagogical material. Godowsky arranged volumes
of operatic and orchestral repertoire for his students, and his
Wagner arrangements belong to this category. Though their
WaGnE r B I cE nT E na ry
levels of technical difculty are deliberately kept to a minimum,
these arrangements are well crafed; very subtly, Godowsky
makes the piano sound far more fully than his simple notation
suggests. Through these arrangements, the student not
only has access to excellent music but can deepen his or her
understanding of the pianos sonic possibilities. Godowskys
Wagner arrangements deserve to re-establish themselves as
standard pedagogical material.
From Glenn Gould to the present day
afer the Second World War, arrangements seemed to disappear
from musical life. a change in aesthetics notwithstanding,
one reason may be the advent of radio and the recording
industry. recordings soon replaced sheet music as the primary
method of music dissemination, and the practice of domestic
music-making began to dwindle. The tradition of arranging,
however, continued as a performers art, albeit one that was
considered of less value than compositional art.
However, a number of interesting Wagner arrangements
were produced afer the Second World War. Perhaps the most
important among them are those by Glenn Gould (1932-1982).
Goulds passion for the possibilities of studio technology can
be heard in his Wagner arrangements, recorded in 1973. Of
these, only his transcription of the Siegfried Idyll can be played
entirely with two hands. The opening of his transcription of
the overture to Die Meistersinger is written for two hands, but
about halfway through there appears a part for a third hand.
Gould originally recorded these separately using multitrack
technology. The arrangement of Siegfrieds Rhine Journey also
features a third hand. Goulds Wagner arrangements divide
opinion, partly because of his use of studio technology. Still,
they form an integral part of Goulds artistry. His performances
of Wagner like his Bach recordings reveal his understanding
of polyphony and stern rhythmic structures.
The age of Wagner transcriptions is not over, though plenty
of recordings of the original works are available. Successive
generations of pianists enthuse over Wagners music and wish
to share their own visions through arrangements. It would
appear that pianists still wish to interpret arrangements by
Liszt, Tausig and others in concert. Moreover, the piano
scores by Klindworth and others still help musicians acquaint
themselves with Wagners operas just as much as when they
were frst published. Using these and, say, Godowskys
pedagogical arrangements, amateur pianists and young players
now have full access to Wagners world.
The opening of Goulds
transcription of the overture to
Die Meistersinger is written for
two hands, but about halfway
through there appears a part
for a third hand
i n r e t ros p e c t
L
amentabLy, the pubLication
a decade ago of my article
on alexander brailowskys
prodigious career (Sovereign Command,
IP, september/october 2002) does not
seem to have bolstered the pianists
reputation appreciably, for highly
diverse and ofen misconceived opinions
about him still abound. For example, a
Wikipedia article stating the brailowsky
reached his zenith between the two
world wars and thus implying that he
descended abruptly and irreversibly
into eclipse thereafer is a particularly
egregious distortion. in contrast, James
methuen-campbell presents a more
positive assessment of the calibre and
durability of brailowskys career in the
New Grove Dictionary, opining that his
warm personality and discernment in
presenting efective recital programmes
ensured a lasting success and lauding
his cleanly articulated phrasing and
technical panache.
others have decried brailowsky
as a perfunctory musician whose
interpretative afnities were ill-suited to
the most sublime works of beethoven and
schubert. seymour bernstein, despite
his esteem for brailowsky, has voiced
some dismay over his idols seemingly
non-intellectual approach to music
and unwillingness or inability to ofer
specifc pedagogical advice during the
handful of coaching sessions brailowsky
was able to accommodate annually.
piano devotees are thus confronted
by a bewildering farrago of divergent
claims about brailowsky. the resulting
confusion warrants an examination
of how these conficting statements
comport with the historical record.
seymour bernstein recounts a rare
traumatic session with his matre
brailowsky prompted by disagreement
over a tempo indication in beethovens
op 110 sonata that underscores how
greatly our urtext-obsessed age diverges
from the Leschetizky era in matters of
beethoven interpretation and musical
scholarship. in defense of brailowsky,
it should be noted that he, benno
moiseiwitsch, and mark hambourg
took particular pride in being able to
trace their musical lineage directly to
beethoven via Leschetizkys studies
with beethovens disciple czerny, who
claimed that the titanic composer
was capricious in the performance of
his piano sonatas. Ferdinand ries, a
beethoven pupil, is quoted by anton
schindler as observing that beethoven
varied his tempi widely to produce subtle
emotional colorations. For example, in
the execution of a crescendo passage in
one of his sonatas he introduced a ritard,
which produced a beautiful and highly
striking efect.
if riess accounts are reliable,
beethoven seems to have emphasised
dramatic conception and rhetoric
over scrupulous observance of textual
minutiae, and the interpretations of many
of todays beethoven specialists would, if
the composer were now in our midst,
no doubt strike him as arid. brailowsky
and his contemporaries, their adherence
to long obsolete von buelow editions
notwithstanding, thus saw themselves as
true exponents of the beethoven tradition
chopin specialist
AlexAnder
BrAilowsky
(1896-1976)
remains largely
forgotten or
misunderstood,
despite his notable
career. John Joswick
sets the historical
record straight
A fAllen Angel
restored
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26_29_IP0113_InRetrospect_CJ .indd 26 05/12/2012 13:07:50
given their anecdotal knowledge of

the composers performance practices.
The scholarly focus of these pianists
was confned largely to exploring a
composers mind-set and milieu to
illuminate the meaning underlying
the notes. An obsession with textual
matters would have been considered
pedantic. Brailowskys attitude toward
the interpretation of Beethoven and other
monumental composers was by no means
cavalier. He considered knowledge of the
scores of Beethovens symphonies and
string quartets an essential underpinning
for interpreting the piano sonatas. He had
also been infuenced by hearing Busoni
in Beethoven. Bernstein might well be
astonished to learn that Brailowskys debut
in 1919 was not in one of the hackneyed
virtuoso vehicles but in Beethovens G
major concerto under Camille Chevillard.
For many years he also pondered
including the Hammerklavier sonata in
his recital repertoire.
The related misconception that
Brailowsky was preoccupied with the
virtuosic side of piano playing to the
detriment of musical values, which
is also Bernsteins assumption, is a
regrettable consequence of the piano
legends reluctance to speak about his
artistic convictions. From the inception
of his career, Brailowsky, in various
publications, vehemently denied that
routine scales and exercises were part of
his daily practice regimen. He asserted
repeatedly that technique should always
be subordinated to musical expression
and once lofily described the virtuoso as
a missionary of the musical gospel. As
the following excerpt from The Training
of a Pianist (The Etude, February 1949)
substantiates, his principles were largely
in accord with Bernsteins:
The pianist who spends half his life
training his fngers to feats of strength,
speed, and skill does not necessarily
make himself a musician. During the
average concert season, one is made all
too aware, alas, of the number of young
aspirants who give the impression of
having a splendid technical equipment
a well-developed means of voicing
musical utterance but with nothing to
utter in a musically revealing way.
Bernstein, who no doubt regarded
Brailowsky as a potential wellspring of
pianistic and musical insight, found
his quest for such knowledge thwarted
by the veteran performers apparent
inefectuality as a teacher. Brailowsky
rarely did more than demonstrate his
own conceptions of the works Bernstein
presented for comment and, when asked
for the secret of his so-called dimensional
tone, would reply unhelpfully, as if he
had been asked to explain something
inefable, What do you mean, how do I
produce my tone? It is an expression of
my soul! Similarly, Arthur Rubinstein
once proclaimed to a BBC interviewer
who pressed him for the secret of his
expressive tone, Quite frankly, I dont
know how I do it!
What comes to light through
Bernsteins encounters with Brailowsky
is the contrast in attitudes toward
pedagogy between virtuosos rooted in
the 19th century and those of our era.
Like his friend Rachmaninov, Brailowsky
believed pianistic ability to be innate and
thus only minimally improvable through
teaching. These sentiments derived
from fgures such as Leschetizky, Liszt,
Busoni, and Anton Rubinstein, who did
not espouse specifc methods but focused
solely on encouraging talented pupils to
become self-reliant interpreters.
Although Bernstein was the
only pianist Brailowsky, despite his
disinclination to teach, was willing to
hear a few times each year for two decades,
he also counselled or worked intensively
for short periods with William Kapell,
Joao de Souza Lima, Yara Bernette,
Leo Nadelmann, the French resistance
fghter Francois Lang, Eve Curie and
Raymond Lewenthal among others. He
once even discussed an approach to an
accord glissando in one of the Brahms
Paganini Variations with Rudolf Serkin.
During these more limited encounters,
Brailowsky, in contrast to Bernsteins
experiences with him, reportedly was
willing to impart specifc technical and
interpretative advice. The personality
of each pupil apparently dictated
his approach. The Swiss pianist Leo
Nadelmann, who sought Brailowskys
insights into the complete works of
Chopin in 1940, recalled spending three
unforgettable weeks with the renowned
Chopin interpreter during which we
played Chopin from morning to night,
examining his complex works over and
over again. In point of fact, Brailowsky
presented highly articulate statements
on rotational motion, pedalling, and
tone production in various interviews.
Indeed, in the following excerpt from An
Approach to Chopin Playing (The Etude,
February 1944), he was less reticent
about tone production than he had been
with Bernstein:
While it is extremely difcult to ofer
any general counsels on the way in which
to secure tone quality, I may say that the
thing to watch for in attacking Chopins
chords and octaves is the approach. Do
not let the attack fall noisily from above,
with full body weight concentrated in the
shoulders or upper arms. Do concentrate
the body weight in the forearms and the
wrists and hands, allowing the attack to
reach the keys frmly, forcefully, yet with
that sense of sinking deep into the keys
that precludes all hardness.
In Master Secret of a Great Teacher (The
Etude, June 1925), Brailowsky referred to
a natural fow of energy to the keyboard,
through the arms, from the shoulders
with the fngers prepared in advance
of each attack rather than permitting
the hand to jump spasmodically and
hysterically toward the keys in a kind of
musical epilepsy.
Seymour Bernsteins autobiographical
Monsters and Angels: Surviving a Career
in Music the sequel to this pianists major
pedagogical work With Your Own Two
Hands, is a telling exposition of the often
brutal realities confronting those who
pursue careers in music a profession
fraught with frustration, deception, and
heartache. Nevertheless, as both books
compellingly demonstrate, music has
intrinsic values that transcend these
mundane considerations. Bernsteins
gallery of monsters and angels is
populated by several of the 20th centurys
most distinguished performers and
pedagogues, including his esteemed
mentors Sir Clifford Curzon and Alexander
Brailowsky. The observations on
Brailowsky are noteworthy because they
rescue a particularly generous musical
angel from relative obscurity more then
35 years after his death by rightly recalling
not only that his popularity rivalled
that of Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir
Horowitz but that his amiable personality,
in contrast to some of his colleagues, was
informed by an unfailing graciousness
and selfess concern for others.
I N R E T RoS P E C T
Finally, Bernstein raises the issue
of what some perceived as a decline
in Brailowsky during the 1960s and
speculates about the possibility of senility
or some specifc malady. Having enjoyed
several extended conversations with the
pianist in the mid-1970s, I can attest
that, aside from the efects of sciatica and
osteoporosis of the spine, no debilitating
illness or neuropsychiatric impairment
was evident, and Brailowskys brother-in-
law of 40 years, the eminent neuroscientist
Alexander G Karczmar, MD, PhD, has
confrmed my impression. Indeed,
whenever I would have the pleasure of
visiting with Brailowsky, he would with
great wit and animation regale me for
hours nonstop with detailed memories of
his career interspersed by demonstrations
at the piano.
There was, however, an aspect of
Brailowskys psychological makeup that
may have eluded some observers and
may not have been evident to Bernstein
given the time limitations imposed by
Brailowskys frenetic touring schedule.
Although invariably congenial, he would
ofen extricate himself from socially
awkward or embarrassing situations by
becoming aloof or appearing to enter a
trancelike state as a defense mechanism.
He once described himself as being
intriguingly withdrawn and spoke
of deliberately cultivating such a state.
Conductor Massimo Freccia reported
that Brailowsky at a luncheon that caused
him social discomfort began going
through the motions of playing Mozarts
K 488 concerto on a tabletop and became
entirely oblivious to the other guests.
What also belies the notion of
deterioration is the sheer scope of
Brailowskys professional activities in
the 1960s and beyond, for he continued
to concertise extensively throughout
Europe and North America during
the 1960s, ofering substantial recital
programmes as well as several abbreviated
Chopin cycles for the composers
sesquicentennial in 1960. He also
returned to then Soviet Russia in 1961 for
the frst time in 50 years for recitals and
concerto performances in leading cities
and was even ofered a professorship at
the Moscow Conservatory. His artistic
activities extended into the 1970s and
included performances, interviews with
Radio Canada, and adjudication at the
Queen Elisabeth Competition, where he
had previously served on the piano jury
in 1956 and 1964, in 1972 at the age of
76 in the company of Gilels, Fleischer
and others.
Another contention is that the alleged
erosion of Brailowskys psychological
and physical health was paralleled by
a precipitous downturn in pianistic
prowess and interpretative insight. In
point of fact, Brailowskys keyboard
fuency and level of musical inspiration
fuctuated perplexingly throughout
his career. Bryce Morrison, who has
conceded Brailowskys immense fame
and stature, concurs with this view
and has characterised the artist as
having been wildly inconsistent. Some
commentators found his playing at times
headlong and percussive in the late 1940s
through the 1950s, whereas the post-1960
period was perceived as being marked by
greater mellowness and renewed artistic
commitment recalling the best playing of
his earlier years. In March 1959, Harold
Schonberg lauded Brailowskys dashing
account in Carnegie Hall of the Liszt
B minor sonata and the high degree of
nuance with phrases carefully built up
and released that informed his diverse
program. A reviewer in the British
Times also extolled a 1958 Brailowsky
performance of the Liszt sonata in Festival
Hall as a magnifcent interpretation
of a richness of keyboard orchestration
and pungent phrasing rarely heard on
the concert platform, although minor
reservations were voiced about other
portions of the programme.
A few broadcast recordings
substantiating that Brailowsky remained
capable of performing at a high level
afer 1960 can also be cited. For example,
a tape of a noteworthy April 1962
collaboration with Louis de Froment
and the Luxembourg Radio Orchestra
in the Schumann concerto evidences
technically secure, emotionally engaged,
and expressive playing that surpasses what
can be heard from the documentation of
a September 1955 traversal of the same
concerto with Adrian Boult at the helm.
The fnale of the concerto in the 1962
version is dispatched with a verve and
artistic commitment that would have
been unattainable by a pianist on the
verge of senility.
On the other hand, the March 1967
Carnegie Hall Chopin recital discussed
by Bernstein did not exhibit the more
uniform excellence of the New York
programmes given in 1962 and 1965.
Nevertheless, I still vividly recall his
stirring account of the concluding
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise
and the thundering ovation it elicited
from the capacity audience. The image of
his literally sprinting unto the platform
and pouncing at the keyboard to repeat
the Op 25, No 12 Ocean Etude followed
by a dozen encores remains indelibly
impressed in my mind.
A survey of Brailowskys recordings
reveals a similar pattern of fuctuation
in quality rather than continuous
decline. Despite the prevailing opinion
that Brailowsky reached the acme of
his success as a commercial recording
artist in the late 1930s, his much-
vaunted 1938 London HMV discs are
arguably outstripped by some of his last
recordings for RCA in 1957 and 1958
as well as, perhaps, by one or two of
his Schumann interpretations and the
Saint-Saens and Rachmaninov C minor
concertos. A 1958 encores compilation
contains, for example, the most
convincing of his three recorded versions
of Scriabins tumultuous D-sharp minor
etude, and the purling legato in the
passagework of Chopins trifing Trois
Ecossaises evident in the 1958 recording
makes the execution of the same pieces
in the 1938 production seem laboured
by comparison (some of these recordings
from the 1950s were reissued on BMG
09026-68164 and 68165). Interestingly,
the rhythmically robust account of
I N R E T ROS P E C T
The pianist who

spends half his life
training his fngers to
feats of strength, speed,
and skill does not
necessarily make
himself a musician
From The Training oF a PianisT,
The eTude, February 1949
Chopins Andante spianato and Grande
Polonaise from Brailowskys fnal
Columbia Masterworks sessions in April
1963 (reissued in France in 1989 on CBS
CD MPK 45554) ranks among his best
studio eforts. Also notable is the unissued
material recorded by French Philips
between 1959 and 1961 for Columbia
Masterworks that now has fallen into
obscurity because most of the master
tapes and session information appear
to have vanished. On the other hand,
some of the mid-1950s RCA recordings
intended to display Brailowskys afnity
for Liszt seem curiously lacklustre and
wanting in the pianists usual assurance.
What factors may account for the
variability that informed Brailowskys
playing from the inception of his career?
Rumours of Brailowskys Russian
proclivity for heavy social drinking
circulated in the late 1920s and early 1930s
during the period of the pianists contract
with Polydor. Henry Chwast, a Polish
friend of the Karczmar family living in
Paris, accompanied Brailowsky on a tour
of Scandinavia before his 1931 marriage
to Ela Karczmar and reported that both
he and the pianist had spent many
nights drinking mightily throughout
the tour. It is imperative to emphasise,
however, that there is no evidence that
Brailowsky, unlike Josef Hofmann, was
aficted by alcoholism. By dint of sheer
discipline augmented by stern post-
marriage measures imposed by his new
wife, the pianist was transformed into a
virtual teetotaler and was able to pursue
his career without disruption. He is not
known to have relapsed, and I perceived
no signs of alcohol consumption during
my conversations with him. Any lapses,
however, would inevitably have had
short-term deleterious efects.
Ela Brailowsky once observed to
me that her husband possessed such a
phenomenal musical facility that he was
seemingly able to assimilate reams of
music almost instantaneously without
always immediately seeking to hone
thorny passages to the highest level
of Fingerfertigkeit before beginning
to experiment with performance
possibilities. Brailowskys mother would
sometimes chide her son for a lack of
Sitzfeisch in his practising for fear this
tendency might give some observers the
impression of nonchalance. Brailowsky
prized virtuosity and could always
summon the requisite brilliance when he
felt disposed to do so, but his paramount
aim was to communicate with his
audiences through music to musizieren
rather than to wow his listeners with
tawdry pianistic stunts. The quest for
achieving perfection in sterile recording
studios thus did not always engage his
interest. RCA producer Richard Mohr
described Brailowsky as once leaving a
session in some displeasure and asking
the engineer to select the take with
the fewest mistakes. Gyorgy Sandor
commented that recordings could
never convey the highly individualistic
approach of a Brailowsky.
As an audience-oriented musician,
Brailowskys deepening awareness of
a major transformation in the nature
of performance over the course of his
career undoubtedly contributed to the
pensiveness and nostalgia he sometimes
manifested in his later years. In the early
decades of the 20th century, recitalists
and audiences interacted directly, and
the primitive recordings of that era
were regarded as mere momentos of an
artist. Brailowsky averred that I have
a passion for my art and the taste for
communicating through it with others.
He elaborated on the nature of that
communion by noting that There is no
such thing as an unresponsive audience;
diferent people respond to diferent
things. The pianist must make them
respond! It is up to him to make the
audience understand what he is trying to
say. If he doesnt have that sparkle, that
special ability to communicate, he fails
to make contact with his listeners.
By the 1950s, however, recordings
had substantially altered the personal,
creative dimension of this interchange by
supplanting the concert experience with
a medium that invited listeners to analyse
and compare the minutest details of
interpretations and to place performers
in hierarchies accordingly. The ability
to edify and uplif through the concert
experience came to matter less.
As stated in my 2002 article, Brailowsky
had a chameleonic susceptibility to
his environment when playing. The
presence of receptive listeners could elicit
moments of breathtaking brilliance and
spontaneity from him. I still vividly recall
his illustrating passages from Chopins
B-fat minor Nocturne, Schumanns
Humoresque and frst Novelette, and
the Grieg sonata when he was in his late
seventies. I marvelled at his uncontrived
rubato and expressivity and mused that
he would have felt more constrained
and self-conscious in some performing
or recording situations. Bernstein aptly
described Brailowskys demonstrations
at the piano as creating the sense that
the music was playing him, and not the
other way around. Brailowskys Ampico
roll of Chopins ubiquitous Op 9, No 2
Nocturne, which features more sensitive,
less constrained agogics than are evident
from his three commercial versions for
the phonograph, gives some sense of his
capabilities when he was most inspired
and uninhibited.
In a brief interview from the 1972
Queen Elisabeth Competition excerpted
for a DVD (A Queens Competition,
Cypres 1105), Brailowsky, when he was
asked if piano playing had evolved
and young pianists had come to play
diferently, replied that he believed
this observation to be true but perhaps
with a tinge of irony implied that it was
technical profciency that had evolved
without commensurate development in
musical expression and the cultivation
of a strong interpretative personality. He
would ofen lament to me that pianists
particularly highly gifed competition
victors who had no ability to engage the
interest of concertgoers were establishing
careers solely through recordings.
Whatever else may be said about
Brailowsky, he derived as much pleasure
from communicating through the
piano as his audiences did in hearing
him. The aphorism Happy is the
man whose vocation is his hobby he
frequently quoted in relation to himself
is especially telling in this context. The
piano was so much an extension of
his being that he seemed to embody
the notion that playing the piano is
experienced as a Gestalt, a totality of
activity enjoyed from childhood as
naturally and unconsiciously as any
other form of play (Harold Taylor, The
Pianists Talent, Taplinger, 1982). He
admirably embodied Bernsteins ideal of
self-integration. e
I N R E T ROS P E C T
G
reat musicians today
come in many shapes and
sizes, to say nothing of ages,
nationalities and stylistic inclinations.
nevertheless, there is one man whose
artistic stature seems to cast most others
into the shade, whether it is for the music
he writes, the works he conducts or the
infuence he has had on generations of
younger composers and performers.
notorious for his outspoken tendencies
in his youth but revered by even the
most hard-bitten orchestral players, his
star has never dimmed. He is, of course,
Pierre Boulez.
i was fortunate enough to meet Boulez
at the Lucerne Festival in the summer,
where he was giving conducting
masterclasses and had hoped to give a
concert too, though problems following
an eye operation prevented this at the last
moment. at 87, Boulez may no longer
have the physical stamina that attended
him when he conducted Wagners Ring
cycle in the now legendary production
by Patrice chreau in 1976. But his mind
is as incisive as ever, and still bubbling
non-stop with creativity.
Boulezs frst musical training was as
a pianist, and that experience has had
a lasting efect on his musicianship and
the way he approaches his compositions.
i write for the piano much more easily
than for other instruments, and even
more easily than for the orchestra,
because it was my instrument when i was
young, he says. i was never performing
in the virtuosity department, but i know
what virtuosity is: i tried to be a virtuoso
myself and i know the problems. the
questions are not abstract, but practical:
if i put the digit like that, it will not sound
well. With other instruments i have a
less direct sense of the necessary
technique than with the piano therefore
i like the piano.
Boulezs piano music is not extensive
indeed, his entire output is not especially
extensive but what it lacks in quantity
it makes up for in concentration and
impact. His second Piano sonata, written
in 1947/48, remains one of his most
famous and uncompromising works, and
a landmark in the canon of 20th-century
piano music as a whole. so demanding
is it that the great French pianist yvonne
Loriod wife of messiaen, who was
Boulezs most important teacher is
rumoured to have burst into tears at the
prospect of performing it.
odern
master
m
at 87, Pierre Boulez is revered for his complex writing and
inspired educational work; musical spheres infuenced
substantially by his pianistic training. Jessica Duchen meets the
conductor-composer in switzerland
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30_31_IP0113_Pierre Boulez signed off by Claire.indd 30 05/12/2012 09:41:46
Perhaps the pianist who is most familiar
with Boulezs working methods and
closest to his heritage is Pierre-Laurent
Aimard, who was for many years a member
of Boulezs Ensemble Intercontemporain
and has a mix of technical wizardry
and inside understanding that few
can match. That doesnt mean Boulezs
work comes easily to him, of course. Its
extremely challenging music, Aimard
comments. Boulez loves complexity,
difculty, virtuosity. It is one of the
hardest musics to play because you have
every dimension in it: the hypersensibility
of a great artist, the superior thought
of one of the most marvellous brains in
the history of music, and this taste for
challenge and virtuosity. So this mix
means that the real pieces by him not
pieces like Notations for Piano, which is
a youthful piece that he didnt intend to
be printed are very ofen among the
hardest. And, by the way, they are very
little played.
The Second Piano Sonata, he remarks,
is a nightmare. Thats really one of the
hardest pieces ever composed. It has
a level of architecture to render, and
a length also [around 30 mins] which
makes it one of the most demanding of
all piano compositions.
Boulezs mind, it seems, never stops
probing at new pathways, whether they
are directly musical or concern music
in the practical sense the ways, means
and settings with which and in which
to perform it. His electronic works, and
the pioneering studio he founded in
Paris in the 1960s, IRCAM, broke
new ground in the feld, opening up a
world of sounds that would have been
unimaginable to any previous generation.
But the piano is not exempt from his
explorations and he has intriguing ideas
about how the instrument itself could be
further developed.
I tried to interest Steinway but they
were not interested to enrich the piano
like the harpsichord, he says. To have,
for instance, stops a stop that mufes
the strings, as the harpsichord has, or to
allow some notes to resonate more than
others. But as long as the piano does not
sell to everybody, they are not interested
to do that. This I regret. We can make
this modifcation to the sound with a
computer, but it is not a direct sound;
it is a sound through a loudspeaker,
which is diferent. Also, I would like
to try to make certain things easier, for
example, to transform the tuning of the
piano. Again, we can do this through the
computer immediately you can have
everything at your disposal. But I would
like much more a mutual infuence
between computer technology and the
old instrument technology.
Boulez has never worked rapidly, and
his Third Piano Sonata still remains
unfnished. Will he write any more piano
music? Maybe, he replies. I am not sure.
In Sur incises Ive given an example of
what I think the piano can be: virtuoso
in the sense that there are a lot of notes
per minute, but also in terms of the
piano resonance. This work (written in
1996-98) is scored for three pianos, three
harps and three percussionists and is a
powerful example of Boulezs fascination
with timbre and resonance, musical
elements that ofen lead him to choose
instrumentation that might never occur
to a more earth-bound imagination.
The virtuosity of resonance, he says, is
something that I did in my Third Sonata
also. And thats why I did not continue
with the Third Sonata, because I looked
at what I had written in the other
movements and it was too close to what I
had written in the two movements which
are fnished. Only two movements
and a fragment of the third have been
published. He kept working on it up to
1963, but he doesnt seem to have written
of entirely the idea of completing it,
some 50 years on. Maybe if I reach 103,
like Elliott Carter, then I will do it.
Creators are not always people who
constantly speak about how they are
creating, remarks Aimard. But Boulez
has spoken, and taught, and written.
Its not a secret that he always comes
back to previous pieces to recompose
them. There are ideas for materials that
he prepares; he starts to work on them
and gives up and comes back to them
years later, sometimes decades later. He
may reuse the material in another work,
make developments, make experiments,
try things, achieve something, or not.
Or then take the material and make
something else.
The old image of Boulez as a near-
incendiary iconoclast was very much of its
time. His most controversial statements
his declaration that opera houses should
be burned down even saw him added
to a terrorism blacklist date from the
1950s and 1960s. It is not that Boulez is
less of a frebrand today but he is, of
course, older, and also wiser. I was not
more radical than now, he refects. But
I was, I suppose, more frank than now.
Now I see that maybe, sometimes, given
the situation, you have to be less direct
and more efective in yourself. But when
things are wrong, or insufcient, or not
exactly the way they should be, then you
have to say so. And I did tell it, sometimes
with paradox or provocation all right,
but I did not stay at this point. I am not
speaking now of doing or writing the
way I was in 1950. People think generally
of me as a man of 1950 and not a man of
today. I have to accept that.
Hes an adorable person, says Aimard.
Hes very generous with his time, very
dedicated to what he does and a very
noble soul which is not what his image
has been. Boulez has been phenomenally
misjudged, he feels, by people who just
look at this in a superfcial way. One
picks up a couple of sentences of some
text from the youth of somebody who
is polemical and thats all? That makes
no sense. I think one should look at the
complete picture of what somebody has
done and then the evidence is so high
that there is no discussion any more.
Can such a composer have a successor?
Aimard believes not. I think that
somebody with this strength and
multifaceted constructed world, and
with this originality, has certainly no
successor. And should not have.
I write for the piano much more easily than
for other instruments, and even more easily
than for the orchestra, because it was my
instrument when I was young
30_31_IP0113_Pierre Boulez signed off by Claire.indd 31 05/12/2012 09:41:52
I
t sounds somethIng of a
neat clich, but as I am welcomed
into the charming West London
home of Brazilian pianist Cllia Iruzun
and her husband Renato, there is a
palpable, infectious south american
warmth about the couple. Iruzun leads
me to their comfortable music study,
which is flled with a brace of steinways.
In no time at all, conversation fows
as easily as the fne Brazilian cofee,
covering everything from formative
infuences and a fascination for
philosophy to her latest recording of
mompou for the somm label.
Im fortunate to have met some very
interesting musicians, she says. When
I was 13 I met nelson freire, who has
always been a hero of mine. I played for
him in his house in Rio and he said many
interesting things which immediately
helped me. he then gave me sort of
regular lessons, but never charged me.
he used to say, Just play for me. Its not
a lesson, its just listening. sometimes he
would set me pieces to learn horrendous
fugues with four or fve voices and I
would think, why am I studying this?
Its good for you, he would say. another
pianist I worked with was Jacques Klein.
hes not very well known outside Brazil,
but he was a real pianists pianist. they
were not my teachers and it was all very
informal, but I was extremely lucky to
have such great artists help me in the
beginning of my development.
a signifcant part of Iruzuns extensive
recorded output covers south american
composers. as a teenager I just wanted
to play all the Romantic works, the big
concertos like every young pianist, I
suppose. I had played Villa Lobos and
Cllia iruzun
is best known for
championing south
american repertoire,
but for her latest
recording she was
drawn to Catalan
composer frederic
mompou. Leandro
Ferraccioli fnds
out why
R e p e Rt oI R e
M
o
M
p
o
u
Discovering
32_33_IP0113_Repertoire signed off by Claire.indd 32 05/12/2012 09:38:48
others, but I didnt realise just
how much good music there
was. Perhaps I had to leave
Brazil in order to look back
from another perspective and
see what it had to oer.
In London, when people
asked me if Brazilian music
was any good, my pride was
a little dented. I thought I
must investigate more and
began listening, researching.
Now I have a whole library
of scores, most of which are
out of print. Of course I play
lots of standard repertoire in
concerts, which I love, but
its much more useful if I
record things which are less
well known, especially from
my country. I would say its
almost a mission.
Iruzun is the dedicatee
of a number of works
by contemporary South
American composer Marlos
Nobre and the late Francisco
Mignone, with whom she
struck up an artistic kinship
at the tender age of seven. She
smiles fondly at the memory.
I met Mignone by total
coincidence. He was staying in
the same hotel where I was holidaying
with my family. The place was run by
priests and they had a church with a little
two-pedal harmonium. I was a curious
child and wanted to play it, so one of
the priests said, Okay, you can play in
the Sunday mass. I couldnt even reach
the pedals; someone sat beside me and
operated them while I played a short piece
by Mignone called Japanese Toy. Mignone
happened to be there and aerwards told
me he was the composer of the piece Id
just played.
Years passed then, and my piano
teacher in Rio, Mercs de Silva Telles (a
wonderful lady and a pupil of Claudio
Arrau who knew Mignone very well),
said she would teach me one of his
famous waltzes and take me to play it for
him. When I did play for him, we had
a connection straight away he was a
lovely, gentle man. Months later, his wife
called my mother and said that he had
written a suite of ve childrens pieces
for me, which I premiered in Rio. He
even came to the concert. Actually, his
birthday was one day aer mine. On my
15th he celebrated his 81st along with
me: we blew out the candles on the cake
together. I still have the photos.
Iruzuns latest recording project is a
recital disc of Mompous early Impresiones
Intimas, the rst six Canciones y Danzas,
Pessebres and the Chopin Variations, a
canon that is still woefully underplayed.
I dont know why this is, she says. His
music is so special. I dont nd it at all
unapproachable: I hadnt played it in my
young years, but I immediately saw that
he has a unique, intimate language; hes a
master of emotions.
The atmosphere of Mompous
music goes beyond even Impressionists
like Debussy or Ravel. Its like theres
a complete stillness sometimes, a
directness he starts to remove bar lines,
to break away from any structure that
may restrict freedom. But this is di cult.
You have to free yourself completely from
all that accumulated orthodox learning:
we are told to respect bar lines, not to
lose tempo or break lines; suddenly,
you have to break with this in order to
do justice to the music. Its challenging:
with Mompou its a journey of learning.
I suggest we are very fortunate to
have the composers own recordings as a
reference point. Yes, they are beautiful
a great inspiration and you have to
respect that reference. He was a fantastic
pianist and really knew how to write for
the instrument. He probably had very big
hands. I have reasonably big hands for my
size, so normally I more or less manage,
but his music has large stretches and
chords. You have to get your hand loose
and the balance right so you can li some
harmonics and try to hear more things
coming through. You can lose yourself
experimenting with the sound. Thats
why, when I listened to my rst take of the
recording yesterday, I thought, one could
go on forever with Mompou reading
between the lines there is so much.
Between being a mother to two
children, giving concert tours,
masterclasses and performing with the
Warwick-based Coull Quartet, will
there be time for more recordings? Yes,
there will be at least one more recording
of Mompou as I want to complete the
second book of dances and some other
pieces. Im also thinking of doing some
Ernesto Nazareth and there are many,
many other things I want to play. Lots of
notes to learn!
Cllia Iruzuns disc Federico Mompou,
Selected Works Vol 1 will be released on 17
December on the SOMM label
R E P E RT OI R E
With Mompou
its a journey
of learning
32_33_IP0113_Repertoire signed off by Claire.indd 33 04/12/2012 17:08:59
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Untitled-2 1 28/11/2012 11:59:46
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LIPS.indd 1 04/12/2012 13:21:26
Untitled-3 1 23/07/2012 14:58:03
034_IP_0113.indd 34 05/12/2012 13:36:08
J
ohn Lewis has many cLaims
to fame. of course, hes remembered
chiefy for his time with the modern
Jazz Quartet (mJQ), the group he co-led
for more than 40 years. yet even before the
mJQ formed in 1952, hed appeared on
some notable recordings, including charlie
Parkers Parkers Mood and miles Daviss
Birth of the Cool, to which he contributed his
own Rouge.
a prolifc composer, he wrote highly
regarded scores for Roger Vadims flm
No Sun in Venice (1957) and Robert wises
thriller noir Odds Against Tomorrow (1959),
and later became a leading fgure in the
Third stream movement of the early
1960s, which strove to combine elements
of jazz and european classical music a
project Lewis had anticipated in pieces
such as Vendome and Three Windows, which
introduced fugue and counterpoint to the
mJQs repertoire. Fascinated particularly
by baroque music, in the 1980s he recorded his own versions of
Bachs Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier.
Lewiss frst love, however, was jazz; steeped in bebop,
blues and swing, he saw himself primarily as an improviser,
once confessing to writer Len Lyons that he never wrote out
anything he played himself: i invent the piano part each time.
For me, improvisation is the main attraction. he was never a
famboyant or demonstrative performer; his elegant, concise
style, a refnement of count Basies adroit functionalism,
IPs jazz columnist Graham Lock
suggests a clutch of recordings
by John Lewis
Ta k e F i V e
Take Five
1. One Never Knows, from
No Sun in Venice
by the MJQ (Atlantic,
1957)
2. Skating in Central
Park, from Odds Against
Tomorrow by the MJQ
(Blue Note, 1959)
3. Two Degrees East, Three
Degrees West,
from The Wonderful World
of Jazz by John Lewis
(Atlantic, 1961)
4. Gemini, from Private
Concert by John Lewis
(Emarcy, 1991)
5. Django, from Evolution
by John Lewis (Atlantic,
1999)
John Lewis recording at the Broadcast Studios
in Geneva on 5-6 July 1972 (Photo courtesy
of Jean-Jacques Becciolini/Jazclass)
was directed towards the greater cohesion of the music. The
members of the mJQ embodied this collective ideal, able to
improvise together with the kind of polyphonic intricacy
more ofen associated with classical string quartets. Though
criticised by some for its formality and european infuences
(controversial in a period when black cultural nationalism was
on the rise), the mJQ proved extremely popular and its style of
chamber jazz was here to stay.
There are several mJQ recordings from the 1950s and 1960s
i could recommend, but ill limit myself to just two personal
favourites. One Never Knows, from No Sun in Venice, tends to be
overlooked, perhaps because it doesnt sound very jazz-like (its
a set of improvised variations), although its melancholy theme is
hauntingly beautiful: fragments of melody shimmer and foat like
lights on water as Lewis and vibist milt Jackson take turns to refect
on the tune. Skating in Central Park, a lilting waltz from Odds
Against Tomorrow, is (in the words of critic Gunther schuller) a
marvel of musical integration and continuity; Lewis, the perfect
inspired accompanist, both supports Jacksons solo and engages
in elaborate interplay, piano and vibes chiming together to create
what schuller calls the almost magical, luminous sonority that
is the mJQs unique signature. There are later live versions too,
though for me, the groups original Blue note recording achieves
a matchless poise and rapport.
Lewis enjoyed a similar afnity with guitarist Jim hall, who
featured on a handful of the albums the pianist made away
from the mJQ, notably Grand Encounter and The Wonderful
World of Jazz. Lewis wrote Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West
for the former, but i prefer the latters more fowing, polished
take. he is again the inspired accompanist, in dialogue with
halls pellucid guitar, and here adds a sparkling solo of his
own, its relaxed swing (a Lewis trademark) the ideal tempo for
this urbane blues.
when the mJQ broke up in 1974, Lewis began to explore
other creative avenues, such as a chamber jazz line-up with
violin and fute (kansas city Breaks) and a duo partnership with
fellow pianist hank Jones (an evening with Two Grand Pianos);
then, in 1981, the mJQ reformed and these albums remain as
tantalising signposts to roads not taken. an alternative path
Lewis did continue to pursue was the solo recital, and in 1990
he took his steinway into the crystalline acoustic of new
yorks church of the ascension to record Private Concert, one
highlight being his minor-to-major composition Gemini. Terse,
insinuating melody, spacious yet emphatic swing imagine a
synthesis of erik satie and the blues.
his fnal solo set, Evolution, dates from almost a decade later,
just two years before his death in 2001. Lewis revisits several
old favourites, though only to dissect and reconfgure them;
so Django, his best-known work (a tribute to guitarist Django
Reinhardt, frst recorded by the mJQ in 1954), becomes an
angular, attenuated tango, beset by teasing haydnesque pauses.
The reworking feels experimental and valedictory at the same
time, a curious blend of the edgy and the crepuscular that is
utterly compelling.
Graham Lock has written several books on jazz, including Forces
in Motion, Chasing the Vibration and Blutopia
35_IP0113_Take Five signed off by Claire.indd 35 04/12/2012 17:10:05
T
he fifTieTh anniversary
of the quintessentially french
composer francis Poulencs
death of a heart attack on 30 January
1963 is a good excuse for looking at his
paradoxically pleasing piano legacy. a
gifed pianist himself, Poulenc wrote
a quantity of works for piano solo in
addition to concertos and chamber
music with piano, but openly disliked
many of them. Poulencs statements are
unambiguous, causing some problems
in france, where composers oeuvres are
either totally idolised or wholly shunned,
making the idea of selective achievement
difcult for some Gallic piano lovers. There
is also the general question of whether a
composer is necessarily the best judge of
his own creations. a sophisticated author
such as Poulenc, who wrote a delightful
book published in english translation
in 1982 by Dobson Books but alas long
out of print explaining why he adored
the music of emmanuel Chabrier, was a
more acute critic of music, including his
own, than many another more nave or
guileless composer for piano.
readers of Poulencs lucid Journal de
mes Mlodies, an english translation of
which, Diary of My Songs, was reprinted
by Kahn & averill Publishers in 2007, or
his voluminously witty letters, published
by Les editions fayard as Correspondance,
1910-1963 in 1994, can only admire
his self-awareness both as a man and
a composer. and Poulenc was quite
open and above-board in writing both
for publication and in letters to friends
that he felt his solo piano works were
disappointments.
This point of view is emphatically
not shared by some admiring listeners,
and Wilfrid Mellers Francis Poulenc
(Oxford University Press, 1995)
makes a sympathetic, if not entirely
convincing, case for liking even
those works denigrated by Poulenc.
Uncompromisingly, Poulenc wrote: it
is paradoxical, but true, that my piano
music is the least representative genre in
my output. The paradox lay in the fact
that Poulenc was intimately involved in
piano sounds, as a pupil of the gifed
virtuoso ricardo vies, a pioneering
performer of works by Debussy, ravel,
and others. Poulenc even tried to explain
the reasons for what he saw as his failure
to compose wholly satisfying solo piano
works: Many of my pieces have failed
because i know too well how to write
for the piano...as soon as i begin writing
piano accompaniments for my songs,
i begin to be innovative. similarly, my
piano writing with orchestra or chamber
ensemble is of a diferent order. it is the
solo piano that somehow escapes me.
With it i am a victim of false pretences.
The notion that an overabundance of
knowledge or understanding about the
piano led Poulenc to write badly for the
instrument seems a cop-out at best. yet
we can draw from his words the useful
thought that he was also aware that some
of his most characterful and zesty works
include the piano, whether his 1932
Le Bal Masqu, a profane cantata for
baritone, piano and chamber ensemble;
his 1937 song cycle, Tel jour telle nuit
setting poems by Paul luard; his 1946
Story of Babar, the Little Elephant (Histoire
de Babar, le petit elephant) for narrator and
piano; or his 1957 flute sonata. in all of
these, the writing for piano is masterfully
collaborative and individually expressive
at the same time.
The surrealistically willful abruptness
of le Bal Masqu set to wild poems by
Max Jacob is enhanced by the festive
atmosphere of the piano part. for
Poulenc, an accomplished composer of
sacred choral works, the piano seems to
have been mostly a profane instrument
to express worldly pleasures as indeed
it is in le Bal Masqu. still, in other,
lofier works such as Tel jour telle nuit,
in which the idealistic luard addressed
topics from romantic love and nature
to brotherly afection, Poulenc achieves
a metaphysical density unusual in
his piano writing, adding a keyboard
postlude which Graham Johnson aptly
compares to the postlude that robert
schumann wrote for the pianist in his
1840 song cycle Dichterliebe. Poulenc
belonged to a generation some of
whom following the example of
Jean Cocteau who, despite not being a
musician, profered dictatorial opinions
about music explicitly rejected the
German introspective school of piano
composition. Beethoven sonatas were
scorned by Cocteau as music you have to
listen to holding your head in your hands,
as if the very thought of pensive, inward-
P OUL e nC a nni v e r s a ry
Were Francis Poulencs piano works as bad as he believed
them be? as we reach the ffieth anniversary of the french
composers death, Benjamin Ivry calls for reassessment
Poulencs
Piano legacy
36_39_IP0113_Poulenc signed off by Claire.indd 36 04/12/2012 17:11:20
p oul e nc a nni v e r s a ry
It is paradoxical, but true, that my
piano music is the least representative
genre in my output
looking keyboard sonatas was inherently
ridiculous. Despite such fashionable
strictures, Poulenc would create refned
and sensitive piano writing for song texts
he genuinely adhered to, such as Louis
Aragons comparably idealistic C, with
its allegorical references to the wartime
Nazi occupation of France.
Expressing an entirely diferent
emotional spectrum, Babar is
particularly rewarding for a pianist with
a strong stage presence and a sense of
humour. Those fortunate enough to
hear the French pianist Billy Eidi, a pupil
of Magda Tagliaferro, perform Babar
alongside the great Swiss tenor Hugues
Cunod as narrator will never forget
the experience. Such works by Poulenc
are theatrical without being superfcial;
indeed, their innate theatricality is
profoundly pleasing because of its
candidly open-hearted emotional
generosity and humour. They share
these permanent qualities with Poulencs
best songs, such as Le Bestiaire (settings
from 1918 and 1919 of poems about
diverse fauna by Guillaume Apollinaire),
not coincidentally also bringing the
animal world to life via keyboard
characterisations, much like Babar.
This vivacity is also present in
Poulencs works written for piano, such
as his 1953 Sonata for Two Pianos, where
a combination of soloists conducts a
conversation. Poulenc was surely capable
of writing ephemeral music for two
pianos, as such Le Voyage en Amrique
and LEmbarquement pour Cythre, both
from 1951, which only mean to please
and succeed well enough in this limited
ambition. However this is the exception,
rather than the rule, for Poulencs work
for two pianos.
When he wrote for a single pianist,
even if the results were as charming as Les
Soires de Nazelles (Evenings at Nazelles)
written from 1930 to 1936, the results
can resemble lightweight salon music.
Even though Poulencs inspiration for
Les Soires de Nazelles was social, as a
recollection of pleasant evenings with
friends gathered around the piano
as he played, the musical monologue
framework still prevents any enlivening
spark which would turn a placidly
pleasant work into a more bitingly
pointed one. Poulenc was particularly
harsh about Soires de Nazelles, feeling the
need to condemn [it] without reprieve.
Given these tendencies, it is
understandable that Poulencs 1932
Concerto for Two Pianos (Le Concerto
pour deux pianos en r mineur) is a joy to
hear and perform, with its sassy mutual
undercutting, as well as call and response
between the soloists. As a devotee
of interchanges as a group musical
statement, Poulenc was inspired in part
for his Two Piano Concerto afer hearing
a Balinese gamelan orchestra at the 1931
Paris International Colonial Exhibition.
The gamelan, as an ultimate jangly
expression of urban group endeavour in
Asia, was understandably attractive to
Poulenc, the Parisian bon viveur.
This aspect is especially audible in the
recording a performance also flmed
for French TV and posted in part on
YouTube.com in which Poulenc is
partnered with his old friend and fellow
gay denizen of Parisian high society, the
champagne-dry pianist Jacques Fvrier.
The kind of socially based exchange
which is fundamental to this work can
be sensed in performances by other
artists, and must have been present even
in 1945 at Londons Royal Albert Hall,
when Poulenc performed his Concerto
for Two Pianos with the composer/
pianist Benjamin Britten, with whom he
was barely acquainted at the time.
Characteristically, Poulenc saw his 1949
Piano Concerto as a disappointment,
although it was indubitably fun for him
to perform. Poulenc privately referred
to his Piano Concerto as the Concerto
en casquette, or Concerto While Wearing a
Cap. During its amusing passages verging
on burlesque, the soloist was meant
to impersonate an athletic, naughty
working-class humorist such as the
young Maurice Chevalier, whom Poulenc
admired. Although it is still performed by
aspiring soloists, it clearly lacks the depth
of Poulencs Concerto for Two Pianos.
P
ouLENC WAS FIRST AND
foremost a society composer in
the broadest sense of the term.
Born in 1899 to wealth as an heir to what
became the Rhne-Poulenc chemicals
and pharmaceuticals fortune, Poulenc
lived his life in cushy circumstances,
although constantly crabbing about
money to his richer friends, and
complaining that he had to work for
a living. I well recall a chat in Paris
decades ago with the charming French
publisher Grard Worms, husband of
the gifed author Jeannine Worms,
who ofen dined out in the 1950s with
Poulenc and Jean Cocteau (on separate
evenings). Worms exclaimed, Neither of
them [Poulenc or Cocteau] ever picked
up a cheque!
Whether such stinginess ever translated
into a lack of emotional generosity in
Poulencs piano works is a moot point.
More pertinent is that beyond the high
society setting of Poulencs life aptly
enough he dropped dead in his fat in one
of Pariss poshest neighbourhoods, on
the rue de Mdicis just across the street
from the Luxembourg Gardens Poulenc
was, more than a mere social butterfy, a
devotee of interpersonal communication.
The eminent choral conductor Robert
Shaw once told me that Poulenc adored
gossip: He was like an old woman!
Shaw chuckled. Poulencs fnest works
involving piano convey an aura of avid
and much-relished discussion, whether
spicy discord or mutual emphatic concord
among instruments, such as his 1926 Trio
for oboe, Bassoon, and Piano; his 1931-32
Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet; and
his 1962 Sonata for Clarinet and Piano.
In these works, the piano, as well
as solo instruments, seem to speak in
human voices. As a great reader of French
literature, Poulenc knew that examples of
breathless gossip elevated to the rank of
P ouL E NC A NNI V E R S A RY
a
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s

t
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y

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n
the fne arts distinguished some highly
esteemed writers, from Saint-Simon and
Tallemant des Raux to Madame du
Defand. In its intensity and urgency,
gossip or bavardage to use the French
term, could be the basis for permanently
admirable artistic statements.
Perhaps because of their orality, wind
instruments were particularly attractive
to Poulenc, whereas he was less drawn
to string instruments. Harsh on his solo
piano works, Poulenc felt comparable
dislike for his sonatas for violin and cello,
with some justifcation. His 1929 Aubade
(subtitled as a Choreographic concerto)
is a hybrid work that succeeds more in its
chamber aspects than in solo writing for
the piano against an orchestral palette.
His earlier 1927-8 Concert champtre,
intended for Wanda Landowskas built-up
Pleyel harpsichord as solo instrument, has
ofen been performed by a solo pianist
instead. Even when the piano soloist
was Poulenc himself, or a keyboard
artist as accomplished as Emil Gilels,
the results could sound ungainly. Nor is
Concert champtre among Poulencs most
communicative works, even when played
by a harpsichordist, although it is ofen
performed as one of the few palatable
modern works for that instrument.
An efusively oral type, Poulenc
always made much of his appreciation
of gourmet delights and the wine
available in the region of his country
estate outside Tours. Reportedly a long-
time cruiser at gay pickup sites around
Paris, Poulenc further indulged his
oral inclinations, as his now-published
private letters amply state. All of these
tendencies point to a composer who
became himself when surrounded by
and communicating with others. A social
being, he might have concurred with the
poem Lauds by Wystan Auden: Men of
their neighbours become sensible:/ In
solitude, for company. In Poulencs best
works, the piano is acutely sensitive to
its neighbouring instruments, and the
only solitude that really suits Poulenc
is indeed the kind that turns out to be a
form of companionship.
One exception is Poulencs Mouvement
Perptuel No 1 (1918), a consciously
simple efort in the Erik Satie vein by
a young Poulenc that gained celebrity
by its inclusion on the soundtrack of
Alfred Hitchcocks 1948 Hollywood
thriller Rope. Hitchcock scholars have
long noted the directors intermittent
cinematic obsession with the subtext of
homosexuality, and for this adaptation
of a 1929 play about two real-life gay
child-killers, the notorious Leopold
and Loeb, Hitchcock hired gay author
Arthur Laurents to write a screenplay for
two gay lead actors, John Dall and Farley
Granger, as the murderous duo. Granger,
who portrayed a pianist in the story
keyboard talent ofen being a Hollywood
screenwriters tipof that something
sinister is about to occur plays Poulencs
Mouvement Perptuel No 1. Practising this
piece even when interrogated about the
murder by a suspicious visitor, Granger
at the keyboard speeds up the tempo
to indicate his emotional distress, in a
typical Hitchcock touch. Despite this
dramatic usage, Poulenc made no major
claims for his Mouvement perpetual,
classing it in Me and My Friends, a 1963
book of conversations with Stphane
Audel, among his modest beginners
works, fairly infantile.
Like the benevolent Wilfrid Mellers,
we may retain a trife more afection for
Poulencs piano compositions than he
himself did, while admitting that with
his customary acumen, he may well
have been correct in his judgment about
them. And even if infantile, Poulenc, as
composer and man, always played well
with others.
P OuL E NC A NNI v E R S A Ry
Poulenc: a selective
discograPhy
Compiled by Benjamin Ivry
Francis Poulenc Plays Poulenc and Satie (1950
recording), CBS Masterworks Portrait
reprinted by ArkivCD
Composers In Person, EMI Classics, includes
Poulencs recordings from the 1920s and 30s
of such works as his Nocturnes, Novelettes,
Improvisations, and Aubade for Piano and 18
instruments
Pierre Bernac & Francis Poulenc, Preiser
Records, includes songs by Poulenc,
Chabrier, and Ravel
The Essential Pierre Bernac, Testament
Records, reprints the recordings Poulenc
made with baritone Pierre Bernac, from
the 1930s and 40s, their artistic peak as
performing partners
Poulenc: Concertos, EMI Classics, includes
the recording by Poulenc and Jacques Fvrier
of Poulencs Concerto for Two Pianos in D
minor conducted by Pierre Dervaux
Walter Gieseking A Retrospective Vol 1,
Pearl Records, includes Giesekings 1930s
recording of Mouvements perptuels
Rubinstein Collection Vol 7, RCA Victor
Red Seal, reprints Arthur Rubinsteins 1938
recording of Poulencs Mouvements perptuels
Rubinstein Collection Works By Ravel,
Poulenc, Faure, Chabrier, RCA Victor
Red Seal, reissued on ArkivCD. Contains
Poulencs Intermezzo No 2 in D fat
major and No 3 in A fat major, as well as
Mouvements perptuels as interpreted by a
fellow bon vivant
Horowitz Legendary RCA Recordings, RCA
Victor Red Seal, includes Poulencs Presto
for Piano in B fat major (written in 1934)
recorded in 1947 by Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz The HMV Recordings
1930-1951, EMI Classics Rfrences reissued
on ArkivCD. Includes 1932 recordings of
Poulencs Pastourelle and Toccata
Andor Foldes Wizard Of The Keyboard,
Deutsche Grammophon, includes
Poulencs Nocturne for Piano No 4 in C minor
Bal fantme
Shura Cherkassky The Complete HMV Stereo
Recordings, First Hand Records, reprints
Cherkasskys 1950s recording of Poulencs
Toccata
Poulenc: Works for 2 Pianos, Jacques Fvrier,
Gabriel Tacchino, EMI Classics reissued on
ArkivCD. Includes the Sonata for Two Pianos
and Lembarquement pour Cythre among other
works major and minor
Theo Bruins 1929-1993, Globe Records,
contains a live 1974 performance of Poulencs
Pastourelle from a recital at Amsterdams
Concertgebouw, by his fellow composer/
pianist the Dutchman Bruins
Poulenc: Aubade, Concerto Pour Piano, EMI
Classics reissued on ArkivCD. Includes
1960s recordings by the Fvrier student
Gabriel Tacchino
Legendary Treasures Sviatoslav Richter Archives
Vol 16, Doremi Records. The great Richter as
soloist in Aubade and with Elisabeth Leonskaja
in Poulencs Concerto for Two Pianos in D
minor may be like putting
borscht in champagne, but is a must-hear
at least once
Kaleidoscope, Marc-Andr Hamelin,
Hyperion Records, includes Poulencs
Intermezzo No 3 in A fat major
Gilels, BBC Legends, includes Emil Gilels
performance of Poulencs Pastourelle
Poulenc: Le Bal Masqu, Decca Records,
features Pascal Rogs propulsive performance
of the piano part in this vocal work
W
e all knoW that aWful
feeling of powerlessness that
can come upon us when we try
to play evenly, but end up accident prone
even in the most simple of passages. accents,
bumps, unexpected silences and uneven jolts
can be most disconcerting for both player
and listener, yet are very rarely discussed
in textbooks on technique. It can be really
unsettling to fnd that a well intentioned
attempt at pianissimo in a relatively easy
piece (such as the opening of Debussys
Clair de lune or even something as modest
as edward MacDowells To a Wild Rose) can
lead to disaster, with half the notes failing to
sound, or at least failing to sound as evenly
and carefully as intended. So how can we
guarantee that a chord will speak when
we depress the keys? how can we avoid a
jarring accent in the middle of a pianissimo
phrase? Being able to control sounds at all
times has to be a top priority when building
a successful and reliable technique. lets look
at the causes for mishaps for bumps and
blanks, so to speak and then try to fnd
some practical solutions so that they can be
avoided as much as possible.
lack of control in this sense is chiefy
caused by stifness in the wrists and elbows. It
is vital to remain fexible and supple in both,
as well as in the shoulders and neck. firm
fnger work from the knuckles downwards
is essential for reliable articulation, but
must be co-ordinated and synchronised
with relaxation from the rest of the
body. of course, wayward instruments with
poor regulation can be a law unto themselves,
but the odds of being able to control sounds
are made more favourable when the player
is able to adopt a few requisite technical
principles that are basic to healthy and
reliable pianism at all levels.
Begin by preparing notes in advance;
never attack the keys from above. this will
eliminate percussive sonorities from the
tonal palette, ensuring that the arm and body
are directly involved in the production of the
sound. this technique can be described as a
touch and press approach, and immediately
ensures that sounds are being controlled by
much more than mere fngertip brilliance.
If you are feeling uncertain about whether
or not notes will speak when you attempt
to depress them, it can be also be helpful to
begin the touch and press technique with
a small upward backswing keeping the
fngers stuck on the keys at all times so
that you have more leverage. at the precise
moment the note(s) does speak, take special
care to ensure that your wrists and forearms
are in perfect alignment, forming a straight
line. avoid at all costs wrists that stick
either upwards or downwards. this is vitally
important as it is only through excellent co-
ordination between wrists and arms that you
can be guaranteed control over your playing.
example one (bars 1-4 of the second
movement in Beethovens Sonata in D major,
op 10 no 3, largo e mesto) is taken at an
exceptionally broad tempo and so requires
confdent control and excellent co-ordination
if bumps and blanks are to be avoided.
try using concentrated arm movement on
every note at frst. the touch and press
technique described above will enable
beautiful sounds to emerge, and each one of
the six notes in each chord should sound out
with appropriate hushed resonance if you
try small back swings in your practising as
a means towards perfect ensemble playing
on each chord. Make sure that your wrists
and forearms are in perfect alignment at the
point at which the key is depressed fully. use
a mirror to examine where your wrists and
arms end up afer each quaver is struck.
example two (bars 1-2 of Chopins aeolian
harp etude in a fat op 25 no 1) can be
notoriously hard for students to realise
efectively. too ofen, notes remain silent
Prolifc concert and
recording artist Murray
McLachlan is head of
keyboard at Chethams
School of Music and a
tutor at the Royal Northern
College of Music. He is
also artistic director of the
Chethams International
Summer School and Festival
for Pianists
Even playing is a vital skill for a
pianists CV. Murray McLachlan
outlines some useful techniques
F
inding a way to phrase
seamlessly, to hold the line and
unify the melodic contours of a
piece into an organic whole, is clearly of
paramount importance in music-making.
with advanced students, teachers normally
spend a considerable amount of time and
energy working towards this essential
ideal, as it is only by cultivating convincing
phrasing that a pianist can hope to emulate
the art of a great singer. But within this
unifed melodic fow, the music also needs
to breathe and have expansive spaciousness.
in technical terms, too, it is essential to be
aware of the points of repose: of the silences,
pauses for consideration and space that
exists in virtually every piece. as pianists
with so many notes to play, we can all too
readily fall into the trap of forgetting that
it is the rests and silences that ofen make
an interpretation really convincing. and
in down-to-earth, technical terms alone,
it is this awareness of musical space of
the gaps between the notes that can
mean the diference between reliability and
insecurity. Lets look at some of the ways in
which minding the gap can make a huge
diference.
Firstly, it is important to remember to
fnish what you are doing before moving
on to something else! too ofen technical
problems occur because players are thinking
of the next challenge too early. Lack of
clarity and control ofen occurs at the end of
a musical sentence or period rather than at
the beginning. reduce problematic passages
to the smallest musical units you can:
isolate challenges, and celebrate the musical
space between each challenge. Being able
to live in the present and stop worrying
about what is about to happen next is the
solution to numerous technical issues. take
time when practising to radically lengthen
space between phrase markings and during
rests. Before the gaps, you can experiment
by slowing down and getting louder. if
you work on small passages, one at a time,
with repetition, ritardando and a consistent
crescendo in place on each re-playing, then
you are much less likely to panic when you
come to perform these passages in public.
Clarity and control in articulation comes
from being aware of what you are doing at
all times. exaggeration by augmentation of
musical space will help with this, as it helps
you to focus on smaller musical units.
But musical space does far more than
just enhance technical control: it also
enables you to feel, and so show colouristic
diferences much more easily between
phrases that follow each other. it is a
historical fact that many of the great
political orators knew and exploited via
impeccable timing the art of milking a
pause. we pianists should always be aware
of the acoustical power of exploiting
silences, no matter how short.
it is all too simple to forget that the
acoustics of a hall, and the distance between
the audience and the concert platform,
are crucial. notes played take time to
register in the ears of listeners who may
sit hundreds of metres away from a solo
pianist in the royal albert or Carnegie
halls. young pianists in particular can be
overcome by adrenalin and so rush forward
in performance, tripping over rests and
accelerating from phrase to phrase in a
helter-skelter manner that at best makes for
a sense of agitation and at worse leads to
disasters such as memory lapses or complete
technical breakdown.
eXaMpLe one shows the infamous double
third opening (bars 1 and 2) of Beethovens
third piano sonata in C major op 2 no 3
a horror spot that becomes user-friendly
when mind the gap thinking is applied.
players frequently panic about this excerpt,
Prolifc concert and
recording artist Murray
McLachlan is head of
keyboard at Chethams
School of Music and a
tutor at the Royal Northern
College of Music. He is
also artistic director of the
Summer School and Festival
for Pianists
Mind the gap
m a s t e r c l a s s
Seamless phrasing is a tricky task, but
IPs resident expert Murray McLachlan
has some advice
042_043_IP1112 signed off by Claire.indd 42 21/09/2012 15:13:15
Things that go
BUMP in the night
m a s t e r c l a s s
40_41_IP0113_Masterclass signed off by Claire.indd 40 04/12/2012 17:15:05
afer they have been played, leaving holes
in the texture for the listener and a sense
of real bewilderment and frustration
for the pianist. It is all too easy to
rush over the less vital arpeggiated
accompaniment fourishes in the treble
and bass parts of this Etude by focusing
exclusively on the ffh fnger notes
in both hands. Of course, ffh fnger
notes are vitally important here, but in
order to play everything in the texture
(rather than omitting literally dozens of
notes!) it is essential to listen out when
practising for everything. Try stopping at
the end of each bar and using your ears
to detect if there are any notes missing
in the beautiful chords that you sustain
with the pedal afer every beat. If you
notice holes, then you can concentrate
your eforts when practising by using
a little arm movement on every single
semiquaver. When you have fnished
working in this way and are ready for a
performance, try using the momentum
of one single arm movement from each
ffh fnger note as you play through
every beat in the study. Try and keep
your fngers as close as possible to the
keyboard. Ideally, you should also adopt
the touch and press technique here,
along with a subtle rotary movement as
the arpeggios gently oscillate.
Example three (bars 1-4 of Sposalizio
from Liszts Annes de Plerinage, book
two) shows a much more Spartan texture
than the Chopin Etude but therein lies
the problem. Ofen, a shortage of notes
means that the player becomes more
concerned than ever about mishaps
and a lack of control. Bars 1-2 can be
mastered by gently swinging from one
note to the next with economical but
concentrated wrist movements. Use
clockwise rotary movements to frmly
navigate your accent-free path down
the pentatonically favoured lef hand
fragment. In contrast, bars 3-4 can
perhaps best be viewed as a musical
sigh. Take each three-note phrase as a
one-movement gesture. Relax and enjoy
sinking into these delicious sounds; the
other notes will foat efortlessly out
from the impact you have created via
relaxed, co-ordinated arm movements.
e
x
a
m
p
l
e
s
example 1
example 3
example 2
example one: Beethoven piano sonata in D major, Op 10 No 3, second movement largo e mesto, bars 1-5
example three: liszt sposalizio from annees de pelerinage volume two Italy, bars 1-4
example two: Chopin etude in a fat Op 25 No 1, bars 1-2
40_41_IP0113_Masterclass signed off by Claire.indd 41 04/12/2012 17:15:42
Ballades Opp. 23, 38, 47, 52 SLB 3833 [Fr]
Ballads Opp. 23, 38, 47, 52 SLB 3834 [En]
Etudes (12) Op. 10 SLB 3798 [Fr]
Studies (12) Op. 10 SLB 3799 [En]
Etudes (12) Op. 25 SLB 3821 [Fr]
Studies (12) Op. 25 SLB 3822 [En]
Impromptus (4) Opp. 9, 36, 51 - Fantaisie-Impromptu
Op. 66 SLB 3830 [Fr]
Mazurkas (21) Vol. 1: Opp. 6, 7, 17, 24, 30 SLB 3844 [Fr]
Mazurkas (14) Vol. 2: Opp. 33, 41, 50, 56 SLB 3845 [Fr]
Mazurkas (15) Vol. 3: Opp. 59, 63, 67, 68 posth.
SLB 3846 [Fr]
FRENCH VERSION ENGLISH VERSION
Nocturnes (10) Vol. 1: Opp. 9, 15, 27, 32 SLB 3838 [Fr]
Nocturnes (10) Vol. 1: Opp. 9, 15, 27, 32 SLB 3839 [En]
Nocturnes (8) Vol. 2: Opp. 37, 48, 55, 62 SLB 3840 [Fr]
Nocturnes (8) Vol. 2: Opp. 37, 48, 55, 62 SLB 3841 [En]
Polonaises (7) Opp. 26, 40, 44 - Polonaise hroque Op.
53 - Polonaise-fantaisie Op. 61 SLB 3828 [Fr]
Prludes (24) Op. 28 SLB 3816 [Fr]
Preludes (24) Op. 28 SLB 3817 [En]
Rondos (3) Opp. 1, 5, 16 SLB 3886 [Fr]
Scherzos (4) Opp. 20, 31, 39, 54 SLB 3836 [Fr]
Sonate Op. 35 SLB 3852 [Fr]
Sonate Op. 38 SLB 3853 [Fr]
Valses (14) Opp. 18, 34, 42, 64, Op. 69 n
os
1-2, Op. 70 n
os
1-2-3, Op. posthume en mi min. SLB 3831 [Fr]
Waltzes (14) Opp. 18, 34, 42, 64, Op. 69 nos. 1-2, Op. 70
nos. 1-2-3, Op. posthume in E min. SLB 3832 [En]
uvres posthumes SLB 3887 [Fr]
Pices diverses Vol. 1 SLB 3829 [Fr]
Pices diverses Vol. 2 SLB 3885 [Fr]
Introduction to the Cortot Editions of Chopin
(selected pieces) SLB 3818 [En]
[Fr] French Edition / [En] English Edition
MGB HAL LEONARD
Via Liguria 4, Sesto Ulteriano
20098 S. Giuliano Milanese (MI)
ITALY
sales@mgbhalleonard.com
www.mgbhalleonard.com
DE HASKE HAL LEONARD
17/18 Henrietta Street
Covent Garden
London WC2E 8QH
sales@dehaske.co.uk
Untitled-3 1 29/11/2012 16:51:38
Untitled-3 1 30/11/2012 09:40:51
042_IP_0113.indd 42 05/12/2012 11:24:15
B
UILDING AN EFFECTIVE AND
reliable staccato technique takes
patience and co-ordination. It
can prove a frustrating process if lef for
too long and this is ofen sadly the case,
as many teachers refuse to teach staccato
in the earliest stages. From certain
viewpoints this is understandable, as
examination boards do not require scales
to be played with staccato articulation
until afer Grade 5. Teachers ofen
mention that legato playing is essential
in order to make the piano sing, and
that staccato playing is in many ways
contrary to this, causing stifness and
tension. I would argue that staccato is
a basic touch, is required in music from
the earliest grades, and is more easily
mastered when tackled sooner rather
than later. Stifness and tension can be
avoided in staccato playing through
good monitoring from the teacher and
intelligent awareness from the student.
As in most technical work, progress is
best made through small sessions of
daily practise rather than with irregular
marathon stints of work. Economy and
concentration of movement are essential
in this technique. When you play staccato
try not to move your entire arm on every
note. Focus on your fngertips.
Before analysing how staccato can
be efectively achieved, it is worth
mentioning that there are all kinds
of diferent staccato touches in the
repertoire, from the most delicate
leggiero sounds in Mozart through to the
heavy, detached but resonant sounds in
Brahms and later composers. Obviously,
we need to adjust our technical set-up in
order to cope with stylistic demands, and
with this in mind, it is useful to identify
and work at three basic staccato touches
from the earliest stages of work.
Lets begin with close staccato. This
can be introduced by placing your 10
fngers over 10 notes on the keyboard.
Imagine they are literally held down by
superglue and cannot move of the keys.
Try and play staccato with each fnger in
turn. This version of staccato technique
is very useful for specifc musical efects
in performance, as well as for facilitating
more technical control.
Next try leggiero staccato. As in
close staccato, work can begin here
by again placing your fngers over 10
notes. Keep both hands still and draw
each fnger towards your body in a
scratching movement as you play. This
touch can be built up to a fast speed and
is extremely efective in baroque music,
certain scales in Mozart and ornamental
fligree passages in Chopin, to give a
few examples.
Finally, there is wrist staccato, an
approach which can perhaps best be
described as a vibrato technique. It
involves rapid fre, concentrated ricochet
movements from the wrist. These work
most efectively when the fngers are
close to the keyboard. The technique can
be practised on the lid of the piano or
on a worktop surface. Stifness can make
wrist staccato challenging, to say the
least, and though loosening of the wrists
can prove challenging, progress will be
possible when work is taken at a calm
pace, with a gradual build-up in terms of
both quantities of notes and velocity.
The excerpt below comes from the
Gavotte in JS Bachs French Suite No 5 in
G major, BWV 816 (bars 16-20). The lef-
hand quaver runs require concentration
and economy of movement if they are
to be realised efectively with a delicate
leggiero staccato touch in performance.
Finger independence and the ability
to keep the hand still while adopting
lateral arm movements up and down the
keyboard are necessary for an accurate
realisation of passages like this. It does
not matter if you decide to play all of the
notes staccato or choose to mix slurred
notes with short groups of staccato notes.
Whatever you choose to do will require
a concentrated non-legato technique.
This can be efectively developed
through careful and regular staccato
scale practice.
Many pianists struggle with
articulation, but, as Murray
McLachlan explains, its never too
late to develop detached playing
Building staccato technique
h e l P I ng h a n ds
Visit the
RhinegoLd
shop foR
sheet
Music and
MoRe
Pianists are often expected to perform
herculean intervallic jumps and chords, but
there are certain tricks of the trade, suggests
Murray McLachlan
Coping with awkward stretches
O
NE OF THE MAJOR
di culties encountered when
learning the piano is coping with
stretches. Students with smaller
hands frequently discover chords
and intervallic jumps, to say nothing
of octaves that they nd extremely
challenging to cope with. There is
nothing more dispiriting than nding
passages in the music you long to
perform that you nd uncomfortable
or even impossible to execute. Too
oen negativity and frustration sets in,
with complaints and defeatism then
aecting a players overall condence.
The truth is much more positive: It is
always worth remembering that one
of the greatest performers of the last
century, the late Alicia de Larrocha,
had miniscule hands, yet she was able
to play Granados, Albniz and even
the Liszt B minor sonata with mastery
and authority. So lets try and nd
ways to make what appears impossible
manageable, and lets try and bury for
good the notion that certain works
should never be attempted by pianists
with smaller hands.
Many players restrict their exibility
and range at the keyboard by being
too sti, xed and rigid in their elbows
and wrists. Old myths about keeping
your arms close to your torso in a
xed position still circulate and cause
considerable harm. By using your wrists
and elbows as pivots it is possible to
extend your ability. Find dierent angles
and positions by using your wrists with
relaxation and exibility. Playing will
become much more comfortable and
manageable. Obviously this is a huge
subject that requires an experienced
teacher for guidance and development
through weekly lessons.
If exibility with relaxed freedom
at the instrument is insu cient to
overcome a particular technical issue
then other pragmatic solutions can be
considered. Cunning ngering and/or
shrewd re-distribution of notes between
the two hands can oen work wonders.
Dont forget that your thumb can play
more than one note at a time! This is
particularly useful for chords with four
or more notes. Re-distribution between
two hands of passages designed to be
played by only one is a black art that is
most successful when it goes unnoticed
by the listener. Provided the composers
message remains undisturbed, then
there is nothing wrong with editing
your music to make performance a
comfortable possibility.
Doctoring of impossible passages
follows the same maxim if no-one
notices what you are doing, then its ne
to do it! There is nothing wrong with
missing out the odd note here and there
in a chordal passage if the omissions
make performance possible. Of course
the skill lies in knowing which notes to
miss out. In general in these situations
it is best to avoid leaving out the lowest
and highest notes. Middle notes in
chords and lower notes in octaves
tend to work well when it comes to
being deleted. Experimentation with
balancing dynamics in the texture
can make doctored passages more
convincing. Avoid playing with an
equality of tone through each part.
Omitted middle voices are oen less
noticeable when the top melodic line
and supporting bass are played more
strongly.
O
F COURSE THERE ARE MORE
subtle methods of coping
with stretches, as the two examples
below from the second movement of
Beethovens Sonatina in F, Anh 5 show.
Example ones le hand C major chord
requires swi execution and can prove
awkward unless a split realisation in
which the lowest note is played rst is
utilised. Using the pedal here is helpful
as it means you can release the lowest
note and so avoid discomfort when
playing the remainder of the chord.
Example two shows a possible solution
to the octaves and chordal stretches
in the movements nal two bars. By
omitting the middle notes in the
texture and projecting the highest and
lowest lines, minimum disruption to the
composers intentions will occur. e
H E L P I NG H A N DS
Visit the
Rhinegold
Shop for
sheet music
and more
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
Pianists are often expected to perform
herculean intervallic jumps and chords, but
there are certain tricks of the trade, suggests
Murray McLachlan
Coping with awkward stretches
O
NE OF THE MAJOR
di culties encountered when
learning the piano is coping with
stretches. Students with smaller
hands frequently discover chords
and intervallic jumps, to say nothing
of octaves that they nd extremely
challenging to cope with. There is
nothing more dispiriting than nding
passages in the music you long to
perform that you nd uncomfortable
or even impossible to execute. Too
oen negativity and frustration sets in,
with complaints and defeatism then
aecting a players overall condence.
The truth is much more positive: It is
always worth remembering that one
of the greatest performers of the last
century, the late Alicia de Larrocha,
had miniscule hands, yet she was able
to play Granados, Albniz and even
the Liszt B minor sonata with mastery
and authority. So lets try and nd
ways to make what appears impossible
manageable, and lets try and bury for
good the notion that certain works
should never be attempted by pianists
with smaller hands.
Many players restrict their exibility
and range at the keyboard by being
too sti, xed and rigid in their elbows
and wrists. Old myths about keeping
your arms close to your torso in a
xed position still circulate and cause
considerable harm. By using your wrists
and elbows as pivots it is possible to
extend your ability. Find dierent angles
and positions by using your wrists with
relaxation and exibility. Playing will
become much more comfortable and
manageable. Obviously this is a huge
subject that requires an experienced
teacher for guidance and development
through weekly lessons.
If exibility with relaxed freedom
at the instrument is insu cient to
overcome a particular technical issue
then other pragmatic solutions can be
considered. Cunning ngering and/or
shrewd re-distribution of notes between
the two hands can oen work wonders.
Dont forget that your thumb can play
more than one note at a time! This is
particularly useful for chords with four
or more notes. Re-distribution between
two hands of passages designed to be
played by only one is a black art that is
most successful when it goes unnoticed
by the listener. Provided the composers
message remains undisturbed, then
there is nothing wrong with editing
your music to make performance a
comfortable possibility.
Doctoring of impossible passages
follows the same maxim if no-one
notices what you are doing, then its ne
to do it! There is nothing wrong with
missing out the odd note here and there
in a chordal passage if the omissions
make performance possible. Of course
the skill lies in knowing which notes to
miss out. In general in these situations
it is best to avoid leaving out the lowest
and highest notes. Middle notes in
chords and lower notes in octaves
tend to work well when it comes to
being deleted. Experimentation with
balancing dynamics in the texture
can make doctored passages more
convincing. Avoid playing with an
equality of tone through each part.
Omitted middle voices are oen less
noticeable when the top melodic line
and supporting bass are played more
strongly.
O
F COURSE THERE ARE MORE
subtle methods of coping
with stretches, as the two examples
below from the second movement of
Beethovens Sonatina in F, Anh 5 show.
Example ones le hand C major chord
requires swi execution and can prove
awkward unless a split realisation in
which the lowest note is played rst is
utilised. Using the pedal here is helpful
as it means you can release the lowest
note and so avoid discomfort when
playing the remainder of the chord.
Example two shows a possible solution
to the octaves and chordal stretches
in the movements nal two bars. By
omitting the middle notes in the
texture and projecting the highest and
lowest lines, minimum disruption to the
composers intentions will occur. e
H E L P I NG H A N DS
Visit the
Rhinegold
Shop for
sheet music
and more
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
43_IP0113_HHands signed off by Claire.indd 43 04/12/2012 17:17:47
The Piano Music of
J ohn Ramsden Williamson
www.jrwilliamson.com
The reader may find it unbelievable when I write that all of the music
which I have seen is immediately individual, instantly recognisable as
J ohn R. Williamson rather than any other composer. It is certainly
highly unusual in contemporary music that such a late, intensely prolific
flowering as this can also be regarded, whatever subjective opinions
on the quality of the music may be, as unique, extraordinary, but true.
Murray McLachlan Unsung Heroes, Piano (Rhinegold Sept/Oct 2004)
Publications:
7 I nterval Studies, Sonata no. 5 (www.dacapomusic.co.uk)
Discs: 3 Volumes of Piano Works - Murray McLachlan, piano
(Divine Art Label - www.divine-art.co.uk)
Selected Works in Mss: c160 Preludes, 9 Sonatas, 5 Pft Concerti
The Piano Music of
Publications:
The Piano Music of
Publications:
11 Preludes, (vols 1 & 2),
Sonatina, 2 Part I nventions,
7 I nterval Studies, Sonata no. 7
(www.dacapomusic.co.uk)
The Piano Music of
Publications:
The Piano Music of
Publications:
For extract or purchase visit DIVERSIONS ddv24144
IP_4_2011_10_(new).indd 1 15/11/2012 09:29:25
Discover New
Piano Repertoire!
For videos, programme notes and details on
this unique project, log on to
www.petrushka-project.com
Dances of Our Time
A collection of new pieces for piano
by 75 composers from 26 countries
350 pages
ISMN: 979-0-001-19144-9
ED 21470 33,50
Untitled-8 1 04/12/2012 10:37:03
To purchase, or fnd out more, please visit:
www.soundsketches.co.uk
Volumes 1-3 now available, with other volumes following soon
Sound Sketches
An exciting new series of graded piano
pieces by Graham Lynch that will
appeal to pupils of all ages.
What is special here is that Lynch succeeds triumphantly in
realising his noble ambition of writing relatively easy music
that has substance
International Piano Vol 3
Tese sound images are evoked through strong melodic
ideas which hide their technical challenges within a sense
of the delight that can be had from conjuring music from
the keyboard. Pieces to be enjoyed, and performed!
Sound sketchesv2.indd 1 24/07/2012 14:27:44
044_IP_0113.indd 44 05/12/2012 13:45:49
SHEET MUSIC
international
Seven Interval Studies, No 4: Fourths
By John Ramsden Williamson
T h is study is one of a collection of s e v e n pieces that focus
on basic intervals, f r o m o c t a v e s t o s e c o n d s . T h e basis of its
harmonic construction is not the major or minor modes, b u t
k e y -c e n t r e d modes . T h e k e y -c e n t r ed m o d e s r e l a t e t o pentatonic
and palindromic features in chordal and melodic structures.
T h e opening t w o -b a r p h r a s e u s e s b o t h o f t h e s e ideas, with
c o n t r a r y motion between t h e h a n d s , showing m o v e m e n t s o f
c h o r d s in f o u r t h s t h r o u g h shiing progressions . This m e t h o d
o f composition m a y appear mechanical , b u t the r e s u l t is o f
musical s atisfaction.
The basic chord of these harmonic movements is heard at
page one, line four, bar 2; this cadence produces a palindromic
chord CFGC characteristic of all more complex harmonic
structures. In performance, any voice may be expressed at will,
be it in the lower or inner parts.
The unresolved fourth, originally a suspension to the third,
follows a trend in harmonic evolution: discords were usually
derived from suspensions; modulations between keys have
found new resolutions. This study in fourths is not modulatory
and does not relate to traditional harmonic progressions.
N o t e t h e n e w t r e a t m e n t of the middle section o n p a g e t w o :
t h e fourth is a u g m e n t e d , sounding a contrasting mood using
antiphonal inversion. Note also the nal eight bars, showing
palindromic chords sounding the same in rising or falling
arpeggio fashion.
Throughout the history of music, composers have used
technical devices canons, inversions, augmentations and so
on as a means to create satisfactory musical expression. In the
construction of this study, and many of my other works, every
device used has a musical purpose.
My style of composing evolved gradually from imitation
of traditional methods and use of traditional harmony. An
earlier work 12 New Preludes illustrates my rst successful
attempts to be free from the two traditional modes.
Following the establishment of well-tempered tuning,
composers aer JS Bach have continued to develop the
traditional 24-key system as a formal design; so we have the
48 by Bach; the famous 24 Preludes by Chopin; t h e m o r e
c o n t e m p o r a r y approach o f S h o s t a k o vich s 2 4 Pr e l u d e s a n d
Fu g u e s . T h e Debussy E t u d e s g o p a r t o f t h e w a y in numbers
two t o ve , with pieces exploiting thirds, fourths, sixths a n d
o c t a v e s . M y constructions in the Interval Studies s h o w a t o t a l
d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e interval t h r o u g h o u t all parts , again with
t h e u s e o f i nverted a n d p alindromic t echniques.
I a m most indebted t o Murray M c L a c h l a n f o r recording
this w o r k a s p a r t o f v o l u m e s o n the Divine Art label ; t h e three
v o l u m e s c ontain a v aried s election o f m y o t h e r piano w orks .

Visit www.divine-art.com for a sample extract | Diversions
DDV24144 Piano Music Vol 2, track 21
About the music
45_50_IP0113_Sheet Music signed off by Claire.indd 47 06/12/2012 10:15:50
John Ramsden Williamson This music is copyright. Photocopying is ILLEGAL and is THEFT.
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Untitled-8 1 30/11/2012 16:06:12
051_IP_0113.indd 1 05/12/2012 13:50:36
www.rhinegold.co.uk
Essential music supplements offering practical
advice and key information for students,
parents, teachers, performers and enthusiasts.
rhinegold
MUSiC
SUPPleMenTS
Available in digital or print format.
Buy your copy now from
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Supplements_FP_215x280 - pianonotes.indd 45 05/12/2012 15:59:17 052_IP_0113-House ad.indd 21 05/12/2012 16:18:20
JEREMY SIEPMANN: A womAns
preaching is like a dogs walking on
his hind legs. It is not done well; but
you are surprised to fnd it done at
all. Thus spake one of Englands great
misogynists, Dr samuel Johnson. And
a womans playing? It is not only done
well; it is often done supremely well,
and we shouldnt be in the least
surprised. But if it be not less in quality
than that of men (this 18th-century
stuff is catching), wherein lies the
explanation of its doers comparative
neglect in concert series and record
catalogues around the world? Exploring
this vexed topic below are fve of the
best in the business, and they begin by
going back to basics. Are there, in fact,
any differences between the playing of
male and female pianists?
IMOGEN COOPER: There must be!
Why else, when a woman pianist
cancels, do promoters look for
another woman?
ANGELA HEWITT: We certainly have
more stamina. I was part of a group we
had in Canada, called Piano Six three
women, three men and whenever we
rehearsed a work for six pianos, which
of course wasnt all that ofen, the three
women Janina, Angela Cheng and
myself were all still going strong when
the men began to wilt.
JANINA FIALKOWSKA: But one has
only to sit on an international jury and
listen to hundreds of pianists, one afer
another, to notice immediately that the
vast majority of men have a higher volume
level than their female counterparts.
There are exceptions, naturally, but on the
whole, if a normal male pianist attempts
a long, fortissimo octave passage, hell
generally fnd it easier to do and will
achieve it with a louder sound than a
normal female pianist. Because of this
(and for other reasons) most female
pianists have gravitated to the works of the
classical and baroque composers and the
French Impressionists. Id like to say that
women have a certain delicate sensitivity
in their playing that eludes most male
pianists, but then my mind immediately
conjures up pictures of Radu Lupu or
Murray Perahia. I do think, though, that
there are certain composers for whom
women seem to have a special and unique
understanding, which translates itself into
their performance Bach and Schumann
being the two biggest examples.
NORIKO OGAWA: Ive noticed, too,
that some male pianists enjoy learning
and playing acrobatic and very athletic
repertoire Horowitz transcriptions,
for example. This is one feld Ive
never been interested in, and Ive come
across very few women pianists who
are. As for myself, I never try to excuse
or explain anything because of my
gender. It never occurs to me. As it
happens, Im physically quite strong. Im
not into weight-lifing, but luckily Im
strongly built.
THE PANEL (left to right): Imogen Cooper, Janina Fialkowska, Angela Hewitt, Noriko Ogawa, Susan Tomes
With distinguished guests, Jeremy Siepmann explores the role,
and the experience, of the modern-day woman pianist
VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!
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53_57_IP0113_Symposium_CJ .indd 53 05/12/2012 18:11:02
She shouldnt play with her hair up and
Shes been around a while , and this just
made me furious. I mean, they wouldnt
have said that kind of thing about
Richard Goode or Alfred Brendel. The
whole idea that a female artist should
be sexy and have long hair and look like
she just came out of the shower or the
bedroom is disgusting. And of course
it can work against female artists. It
makes it harder for women who allow
themselves to be portrayed in that way
to be taken seriously as artists.

OGAWA: And then theres what you
might call the stalker/groupie factor.
Ive received letters and emails from
some men with completely misguided,
over-the-top feelings towards me. Lots of
male pianists probably get similar things
from passionate fans too. But when
one is a woman, one feels much more
vulnerable and scared.
JS: So much for promoters and the
public. Have you experienced much
in the way of so-called gender
discrimination among colleagues and
agents and so on?
OGAWA: Ive been lucky to feel very
little discrimination in my career. I
come from a more traditional society,
where, funnily enough, 90 per cent of
active pianists are female. Lots of little
boys are discouraged from continuing
their musical studies at an early age.
To do music isnt proper for a man.
But while boys grow up with social
pressure like that, girls happily continue
practising and make their way to the
top. Theyre much more imaginative and
ambitious. I know Japanese women have
a gentle image, but dont you believe it!
Were a strong and determined species.
FIALKOWSKA: Good managers hide
episodes of gender discrimination
from their clients. But there have been
a couple of glaring exceptions in my
case, one being a critic in Montreal who
truly loathes women. More dangerous
to me personally, though, were a couple
of powerful orchestral managers who
considered the term misogynist a
compliment! When I was starting my
career in the 1970s, many promoters felt
that the public preferred to hear male
pianists. Nowadays, though, I think this
kind of discrimination has virtually
disappeared.
COOPER: It seems that a lot of men
cant cope with strong women and,
SUSAN TOMES: I really dont think
theres any direct correlation between
physical size, gender and the sound
made at the piano. How pianists use their
natural forces has much more efect on
their sound than whether theyre male
or female. Weve all heard plenty of men
with a feeble, indistinct sound and plenty
of women with great power and control.
However, my family has noticed that
when male pianists come for a lesson at
our house, on my piano, they do tend to
generate a higher volume level than I do.
JS: Are there particular challenges
facing women pianists that male
pianists dont experience?
FIALKOWSKA: Wardrobe!
COOPER: Oh god, the late-night ironing
sessions on eves of departure, the
realisation that youre out of that vital
hair product! Grrrrrrr! Mr X or Y or Z
doesnt have to deal with this!
HEWITT: In these days of emphasis
on image , women have a much more
complicated time of it than men. When
I was looking for a new agent some years
ago, my American agent came over to
London to talk to some of the big agents
over here, and one of them told him,
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ofen unknowingly, use condescending
language that gently keeps us in our
place language they wouldnt dream
of using with men. And it would seem
that if you come over too directly or
seductively, youre a nymphomaniac,
and if youre seen as more compliant,
youre patted on the head as if you
were a child. Ive had this experience,
intermittently, from every corner of the
profession.
HEWITT: When I was a competitor
in the Bach Competition in Toronto
in 1985, one of the judges marked me
down for playing the Brahms F minor
Sonata (even before I began to play!)
on the grounds that no woman could
play Brahms. I know this because
one of the other judges told me so.
And another time, when I played the
complete Chopin Nocturnes in Europe,
a very misogynist German declared that
women could never understand male
romanticism!
JS: Do conductors, who are still mostly
male, treat female pianists differently
from male pianists?
COOPER: Russian ones, yes! Almost
universally.
HEWITT: Isnt that interesting? The
two worst cases of that kind of thing
that Ive known both involved Russian
conductors, who were quite clearly
trying to intimidate me. Both, by the
way, were trying out for positions
with the orchestras I was playing with,
and I complained very strongly to the
management about their attitudes,
because I really think that kind of
behaviour is inexcusable. Neither of
them, Im happy to say, got the job.

FIALKOWSKA: The younger men tend
to tease or to firt; some of the older
ones, in my past, tried to dominate;
very few harassed me unpleasantly,
but basically it follows the patterns of
everyday male-female relationships.
Come to think of it, rather a lot of
younger male conductors now like to
confde in me I have reached motherly
middle age!
TOMES: Ive never played a concerto
under a female conductor, but Ive
certainly had some strange psychological
vibes with male ones. The worst was
when I felt frustrated with a conductor
for not saying all kinds of things to the
orchestra that I felt really needed to be
said. Time was very short, and I asked his
permission to say a few things myself.
Very sarcastically, he pretended to hand
me his baton with a fourish, and stood
back with arms folded, looking at the
ceiling while I said my bit. From that
moment on he made life as difcult as
possible for me, though whether this
was because I had crossed a boundary
of orchestral etiquette, had insulted his
ego or was a woman (or the last two
combined), I dont know.

OGAWA: Ive come across some
conductors who wanted to get to
know me away from the piano which
I absolutely hate. But usually, these
days, theyre straightforward. Once, a
fedgling conductor told me that men
prefer having lady soloists rather than
males, because they look nice on the
stage, are more fun to work with and are
less problematical or argumentative. So,
theyre usually nicer to us.

JS: But there are some (there used to
be very many) whose niceness is in
fact quite the opposite, and comes
into play before rather than at or after
the engagement. I have it on the good
and disgusted authority of a highly
experienced agent that it defnitely
goes on still. On one occasion, his
wife, already a very successful pianist,
was actually propositioned by a
conductor in his presence. And I know
of more than one occasion on which
a promised engagement was actually
withdrawn when the soloist refused
to go to bed with the conductor. But
having brought sex into the discussion,
this might be the time to ask whether
family life poses special challenges for
women pianists.
FIALKOWSKA: For younger women its
defnitely a problem. Until relatively
recently, a great many women pianists
only began to achieve renown afer
their 50th birthday or so, once their
childbearing and child-raising years
were over. In fact, I was told by my frst
manager, at the venerable Hurok agency
in New York (now long gone), that I
should expect my career to be a struggle
but if I could hang on until I was 50 Id
be a star .
JS: Which brings us inevitably to the
question of children. How diffcult is
it to combine having and raising them
with practising, preparing for concerts
and being on the road?
FIALKOWSKA: Only superwomen can
manage this one. I can think of no man
who has single handedly been able to
raise children (not to mention the fact
that they avoid the pregnancy part!),
practise and tour. A few women have
done I think of Clara Schumann,
Teresa Carreo, Martha Argerich,
Alicia de Larrocha, Maria Joo Pires
and my extraordinary colleague Angela
Cheng, whos crucially supported by a
wonderful husband. But so many of us
are childless because its just such an
impossible combination. I dont care
what anyone says, fnding a husband
willing to stay home and devote his life
to kids, house-cleaning, ironing and
cooking is still extremely rare.
OGAWA: This really is the biggest
problem every woman pianist has to
face. I could never see myself having
children. Since I go back to Japan on
average 12 times a year, it could only
be a disaster. Ever since I made my
debut in 1987-88, Japanese people
audiences, fans and promoters have
asked me when was I getting married
and having children (its perfectly
normal for Japanese people to ask such
personal, threatening questions, in total
innocence). I give away very little of my
S Y MP OS I UM
I never try to
excuse or explain
anything because
of my gender. It
never occurs to me
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personal life because theres no other
pianist in Japan (male or female) who
travels as much as I do.
COOPER: I know very few women
who havent agonised over this decision.
For some it means functioning in a
fog for a few years while they sort
out the dilemma, simply being less
focused than a man would. Coming
to terms with this is a major challenge
in itself.
TOMES: I could write a book about
this! I was a lone parent for 10 years
while trying to stick with my concert
commitments, coping throughout with
what seemed like an endless series of
unsatisfactory au pairs and childcare
arrangements, and the stress level was
intense. As each year ended, I found
myself thinking, I got through that, but
could I do it again? My daughter kept
asking why I couldnt have got a job as
a baker or a librarian working down the
road. The worst aspect is that concerts
happen in the evenings. This makes
our working hours far more unsocial
and difcult to organise than for 99 per
cent of working parents. I had countless
babysitters who told me that theyd be
happy to stay until the usual 11pm or
so, but not until 2am to allow me to get
back from a concert in another town,
and certainly not overnight. Thinking
back about all this still makes my blood
pressure soar.
JS: And returning to the strictly
pianistic: what about small hands?
Is this a liability?
TOMES: I have small hands, and
theres certainly some repertoire which
is literally outside my scope. Liszt,
Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, certain
pieces of Chopin and Brahms. To stretch
enormous intervals or chords, I have
to break them, and the sound annoys
me afer a while. There are, however,
quite a few big works which I have
gradually found a way to play, usually
by lateral extensions and sometimes
sheer willpower. But luckily, the pieces
I cant stretch to tend to be the sorts of
pieces which dont interest me anyway.
Im happy to leave the famous warhorses
to people who fnd them exciting and
convincing.
HEWITT: It cuts both ways. Women
with rather more delicate fngers are
ofen at an advantage in playing lots of
fligree stuf, and things like the C sharp
major Fugue from book one of The
Well-Tempered Clavier, where so much of
the playing is between the black keys.
Pianists with big hands, mostly men, are
ofen at a disadvantage when it comes to
writing of that kind.
OGAWA: Im fortunate to have big
hands for a Japanese female. I can
reach a 10th all right. But in the end,
how we work our hands is the most
important thing, I think. My technical
shortcomings have nothing to do with
the size of my hands!
s y MP os I uM

FIALKOWSKA: One beauty of being a
pianist is that the repertoire is so huge
that it can accommodate all kinds of
hands and minds. But of course the
shape and strength of the hands dictates
the kind of repertoire one plays, whether
one is male or female. In general, a
small-handed person would be wise not
to attempt the Brahms B fat concerto
but then theres Ashkenazy, and Gina
Bachauer and Rosalyn Tureck and some
others, so its risky to generalise.
JS: What role, if any, does being a
woman have in your playing?
COOPER: At one level, none at all. Im
a musician. On another, deeper level, a
great deal. Im among those who believe
that what you are on stage is what you
are of it (there are those who believe
theres no connection whatsoever), and
as I believe women are capable of a
broader overview of life than men, that
they can be more intuitive, look more
for connections in everything, I feel
that when my own inner channels of
communication are clear, I can fruitfully
bring this to what I do.
FIALKOWSKA: For me it plays no
role at all, to tell the truth. Generally
speaking up until the cancer in my
lef arm a few years ago the repertoire
I didnt feel up to physically wasnt of
much interest to me. The pieces that
were considered more for males that I
did wish to play (pieces of Brahms and
Liszt), I played without problems. They
ft me physically just fne.
Ive never really thought about being
a woman when I actually play. My
interpretation has very little to do with
what sex I belong to. Its what the music
says to us and how we express it.
JS: Do you think you can hear the
difference between a female and a male
pianist? Is there a difference in sound,
colour, power?
FIALKOWSKA: For me, its more of
a question of the individual and not
whether theyre male or female. When
I hear Imogen on the radio, or Angela,
or Martha Argerich, I recognise their
playing immediately, but not because
of their gender. Great pianists can all
be recognised by their unique sound
quality. It would be tempting to say that
women pianists are more subtle, have
more pianissimo colours in their palette,
are more sensitive to the delicacies and
shadings in their interpretations, that
they can approach the instrument with
lighter touches and can understand
the composers mind with more
intuition. And maybe some of this is
true, but again, theres a wealth of male
pianists past and present whose playing
highlights all these qualities, so its hard
to generalise.
JS: And fnally, any ideas why there
are still far fewer female pianists
whove gained international
recognition than male?
TOMES: I think this has a lot to do
with family matters and the fact that
its still not accepted not even within
the family, sometimes that a woman
needs to fulfl her talent. Even when it
is accepted, many women themselves
fnd it excruciatingly difcult to walk
away from little ones who hate to
see them going out of the front door
with a suitcase. Looking around, I see
male colleagues who are fond fathers
but dont seem to experience the
same visceral longing to be with their
children. They never agonise about
whether or not to accept concerts,
because they know their wives will be
at home with the kids. My friends ofen
said to me, What you need is a wife!
s y Mp Os I uM
R
emembeR that weekend
last may when a dog won
500,000 and a sensationally
talented 14-year-old cellist just 2,000?
Pudsey and his owner ashleigh attracted
an audience of around 14.5 million as
they won Britains Got Talent, and grabbed
the front pages of all the tabloids the
following day. Laura van der heijdens
considerable achievement in winning
bbC Young musician of the Year was,
by contrast, hardly deemed worthy of a
column inch.
thats pop culture, you might surmise,
and classical music will always be a niche
art form. but does it have to be like that?
what happens if you have a competition
that is not simply about a group of young
artists doing battle but gets an entire
city behind it? what if you can bestow
on the winner a life-changing sum of
money, plus the support to build on their
promise? what if you look for an artist
who is not just fashy-fngered and capable
of thrilling, but a chamber musician as
much as a soloist?
these are all questions that have
been taken on board by the honens
International Piano Competition, held
every three years in the Canadian city
of Calgary. the competition itself was
the brainchild of the remarkable esther
honens. She was a self-made millionaire
with a passion for the piano, who saw
what the Van Cliburn competition
had done for Fort worth and aimed to
create something comparable in Calgary.
that was back in 1991, with the frst
competition occurring a year later. It was
the only one honens lived to see she
died fve days afer the fnal, aged 89.
the fnals of the latest competition took
place in October 2012.
the winner of the honens is awarded
the accolade Prize Laureate and
Ca$100,000, the most substantial prize
on the competition circuit. but theres a
lot more to honens than the money. add
to the cash prize a career development
programme that includes worldwide
management for three years, dates at
major venues, residencies at the nearby
banf Centre, a recording with hyperion
and mentorship from artists including
Jean-efam bavouzet (himself a honens
laureate) and Stephen hough, and you
can see why this package said to be
worth around half a million Canadian
dollars attracts some of the best talent
from around the world.
though its now deeply unfashionable
for competitions to admit that theyre
looking for the next super-virtuoso, the
honens goes further than most in its
quest to fnd the all-round musician.
Last years seven-strong jury consisted of
not only four concert pianists but also
a cellist, a conductor, a festival director
and an a&R specialist from the record
industry. and the semi-fnalists had to
ofer not only a solo recital but a chamber
one, too. these two each counted for 30
per cent towards the total mark, with a
concerto counting for another 30 per cent
and the fnal 10 per cent coming from
an interview presumably a particularly
daunting prospect for those whose frst
language was not english. the chamber
round was demanding, too, with a choice
of three programmes featuring works such
as Schumanns Second Violin Sonata,
mendelssohns Second Cello Sonata and
songs by composers as tricky as debussy,
bridge, Schoenberg and wolf. It did
cross my mind that prowess in this wide
range of felds doesnt necessarily equate
to a great pianist imagine Shura
Cherkassky, arcadi Volodos or Grigory
Sokolov being asked to do such things.
but, of course, this is true to honenss
concept of the complete artist.
what was very evident from the
atmosphere during the event was that
the competition has become a source of
civic and even national pride. In years
gone by, Calgary was better known for its
annual Stampede and its proximity to the
Rockies than for its cultural credentials.
much of the credit for changing that must
go to the competitions extraordinarily
energetic and determined president and
artistic director Stephen mcholm. he
has taken esther honenss vision and
brought it frmly into the 21st century,
while simultaneously bringing together
arts and business in a very north
american way, with ample and highly
visible sponsorship. the whole city
C OmP e t I t I On R e P ORt
Honens
HigHligHts
the triennial Honens InternatIonal PIano ComPetItIon
ofers the most substantial prize money on the circuit,
but, as Harriet Smith reports from Calgary, the winner
reaps far greater rewards than just cash
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58_59_IP0113_CompReport_CJ .indd 58 05/12/2012 13:12:02
seemed to take on a festival atmosphere,
with music going on late into the night
at Le Bison Noir, a Calgarian take on
New Yorks famous Poisson Rouge,
where members of the jury and laureates
could be heard playing everything
from Schuberts mighty E fat Piano
Trio to Dudley Moores devilish take on
Beethoven. Horowitzs famed Steinway D
was also in town, and you could not only see
it but touch it, too. There were screenings
of Bruno Monsaingeon flms and
a touching photography exhibition
dedicated to Glenn Gould.
But the key question is: did it work?
The eventual winner was the Russian
pianist Pavel Kolesnikov (afectionately
known as Kalashnikov, though there
was nothing brutal about his playing), a
baby-faced 23-year-old who is currently
studying in Moscow (at the State
Conservatory) and at Londons Royal
College of Music. His performance of
Tchaikovskys First Piano Concerto
played down the works barnstorming
qualities and emphasised its poetry.
The sounds that he produced from
the Hamburg Steinway were suitably
poetic, though to my mind it wasnt
an entirely joined-up performance in
terms of piano and orchestra. Conductor
Roberto Minczuk, who led the Calgary
Philharmonic in the fve concertos, later
told me that once he heard Kolesnikovs
reading of the frst-movement cadenza
he was convinced that he was a great
artist in the making.
Of the other four fnalists, three
performed Brahmss First Concerto,
which made for fascinating comparison.
First up was the Italian Lorenzo Cossi,
the only player to choose the Fazioli over
the Steinway. The performance sounded
slightly underpowered; it was almost as
if this wasnt the right choice of work,
though he clearly loves Brahms, having
programmed him in earlier rounds. On
the second evening, 30-year-old Maria
Mazo from Russia went for the epic
and coaxed from the keyboard some
truly ravishing sounds: although such
an Olympian approach was not to my
taste, she almost convinced me, such was
the belief in her interpretation. Shes a
pianist of great variety: in the previous
round shed given an outstanding reading
of Boulezs Notations. In complete
contrast, Jong-Hai Park, the 22-year-old
South Korean pianist, seemed at times
determined to break the speed limits
in his Brahms D minor. But, though at
times too mercurial for its own good, it
was full of panache, glee and wonderfully
imaginative touches. To hear two
such compelling performances of this
warhorse in a single evening perhaps
demonstrates how strong the line-up
was. The remaining fnalist, American
Eric Zuber, had the unenviable task of
going frst. His Rachmaninov Concerto
No 2 was not lacking in virtuosity but
it was not the most characterised of
performances and at this stage it did feel
as if the orchestra was still getting into
the swing of things. Did anyone slip
through the net? Perhaps one: Zenan
Yu, from China, who produced some
particularly outstanding Debussy in the
semi-fnal and whose Hammerklavier
proved he had power and drama running
through his veins.
So did Honens get it right? On
balance, yes. And it will be fascinating
to follow Kolesnikovs career over the
next few years. It will also be interesting
to see how many other talented pianists
this competition will attract in 2015 and
beyond.
Gilles Vonsattel, a Honens Laureate from
2009, will be making his Wigmore Hall
debut on 5 April 2013. This concert is part
of his prize from the Honens
C OMP E T I T I ON R E P ORT
Pavel Kolesnikov with the Calgary Philharmonic
Lorenzo Cossi
The fnalists
58_59_IP0113_CompReport_CJ .indd 59 05/12/2012 13:12:15
Untitled-3 1 26/11/2012 10:59:52
137A Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8TU
Tel: 020 7242 9865 www.peregrines-pianos.com
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Piano dealer
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International Piano Jan2013.ai 1 26/11/2012 14:18:15
Untitled-3 1 26/11/2012 15:36:33
060_IP_0113.indd 60 05/12/2012 13:51:44
O
nce upOn a time, the pianO ruled the
roost. it sat proudly in the best room of the house,
played regularly by family and friends. the piano is
as culturally relevant as ever, but its role in society is evolving.
in a domestic capacity, smaller accommodation and changing
priorities means that space is at a premium. Financial pressures
ensure that cost is at the forefront of consumers minds.
how do piano dealers harness demand in a market that
everyone agrees albeit in hushed voices is contracting at
worst and challenging at best? during the early 20th century,
when the piano was frst produced for the mass market, there
were around 100 small-scale factories and workshops in london
alone. the factories may have moved to more exotic climes, but
the capital still boasts a relatively wide range of piano shops.
a visit to a selection of london showrooms illustrates how
organisations are responding to the ever-challenging world of
piano sales, and how, while the economy continues to threaten
to knock the unsuspecting of course, the industrious remain
determined to get the instrument back into the home.
non-musical parents need particular guidance when
purchasing a piano for their ofspring; the range on ofer can
be bafing, and without a certain level of customer service, one
wouldnt blame them for giving up in entirely and purchasing a
guitar instead. With prices as equally intimidating, many dealers
now ofer pay-monthly hire schemes, ofen from as little as 500
a year, including delivery.
piano Warehouse has around 600 acoustic pianos out on
rental at present, and the organisation has a strong focus on
helping families make the right choice. We are very family-
oriented, says manager martin Weedon. We go out of our way
to make people feel comfortable. a lot of parents arent pianists
and they are encouraging their children to take up the piano,
and it can be daunting. We try to be friendly and approachable;
if the children dont learn, then who will be the piano-buying
public in generations to come?
as we talk in the companys newly opened Willesden Green
branch (it also owns premises in Surbiton), a young girl comes
in for her piano lesson in the shops practice room. piano
Warehouse has resident teachers in both shops, and the lessons
add a sense of community. the space used to be a car showroom
in fact, Weedon bought a car here in the early 1990s but
piano Warehouse undertook an intensive three-week building
programme to turn it into a room ft to house around
100 pianos (pictured, overleaf). its bright, clean and welcoming,
and neatly presents acoustic and digital pianos from Yamaha,
Kemble, Weber, Steinmayer, roland and electronic instrument
specialist Kurzweil, for whom the company is now the
sole distributor.
Families are also well catered for over at markson pianos near
regents park. the showroom is an aladdins cave of pianistic
treasures, flled with restored pianos from bygone eras; such as
a beautiful italian-made Furnstein and a rare Bechstein upright
with a rosewood inlaid case. there are also new instruments
for sale too, including digital models. the company has been
operational for 100 years and its sales department is bolstered by
a thriving event hire service (markson pianos has instruments
in the elgar room at the royal albert hall and many of the
West end theatres, for example), and a piano maintenance
department (work is undertaken in the uK and in poland).
there is an atmosphere of earnest musicianship; an apprentice
piano tuner works on a newly restored upright and a technician
recalls the time he was sent to paris to fx a piano emergency
for elton John. in truth, its a little jam-packed and in need of
a lick of paint but then, thats part of its charm. Both frst-
p i a nO ma K e r S
amid economic turmoil and social upheaval, the domestic
piano market has changed dramatically. But a promenade
around londons dealerships ofers a snapshot of an industry
determined to prosper. By Claire Jackson
capital gains
61_63_IP0113_Piano_makers signed off by Claire.indd 61 04/12/2012 17:37:56
Our competitive edge
is rather blunt
At Grand Passion Pianos we dont have the biggest showroom
for our selection of Steinway, Bsendorfer, Pleyel and Rnisch
pianos. In fact we dont have a showroom. We dont have the
slickest sales team. Actually, we dont have a sales team. We
dont have the widest range or the biggest advertising budget
(as you can see).
What we do have on our side is the most powerful force in
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Untitled-2 1 28/11/2012 12:02:33 Untitled-3 1 28/09/2012 10:32:54
www.worldpianist.org
perform live at
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
in Washington, D.C.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS APRIL 13, 2013
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time buyers and connoisseurs stand a strong chance of fnding
a special one-of piano here.
The sales environment couldnt be more diferent from
that at Steinway on Marylebone Lane or Blthner in Berkeley
Square. Both showrooms are, unsurprisingly, presented with
impeccable taste and ofer the highest levels of customer service.
But then, their customers regularly spend upwards of 70,000 in
one sitting. The two shops focus on their own branded products,
but Blthner also supplies Haessler, Irmler and Rnisch pianos.
Director Peter Corney explains that Blthner clients seeking a
piano with the golden tone expect and deserve to be treated
with class. The shop is situated in the most exclusive postcode in
the country its neighbours include Bentley and Porsche and
its practice room is the only one in Mayfair, upstairs in Blthners
roomy two-storey suite. There is no sales patter and customers
beneft from additional services, such as extra visits from piano
technicians and free delivery. Maintenance and repairs are done
in-house, in the UK.
While many of us can only dream of spending such amounts on
a piano, there is a strong argument in favour of mid to top-priced
acoustics, simply because these instruments will last a lifetime, if
looked afer properly. Of course, new students or families may not
want to make such a commitment, but for serious amateurs and
professional musicians, it is an important investment. Recently
launched Grand Passion Pianos specialises in Rnisch, Steinway,
Pleyel and Bsendorfer, and director Muzz Shah agrees that you
get what you pay for: Youre buying the Rolls-Royce of pianos and
it will probably last longer than a sports car.
Grand Passion Pianos doesnt have a permanent shop foor.
The key part of our business is that we dont use traditional
showrooms, says Shah. We display pianos in private homes
and art galleries. We only exhibit one piano at a time so that
we can focus all our attention on rebuilding and researching
the instrument to the highest level. The company has already
had healthy interest in its current ofering, a rare Bsendorfer
model 180, which is displayed in a trendy east London
warehouse apartment.
In a showroom, you cant get a good idea of what the piano
will sound like in your home, so we use intimate settings that
are acoustically checked beforehand, Shah says. Some people
fnd piano showrooms intimidating, and because we arent a
shop we can allow people to practise in private, even at, say,
9pm on a Sunday.
Not having permanent premises allows Grand Passion
Pianos a certain economic freedom that the owners are keen
to pass on to their customers. One gets the distinct impression
that a lot of time and love has gone into the project; one of the
partners is pianist Daniel Grimwood, who demonstrates the
instruments to interested parties, and is amenable to ofering
complimentary recitals to the winning bidder a cultural sales
bonus that befts the boutique nature of the business.
Elsewhere, other piano dealers have chosen to specialise
in certain brands. Peregrines Pianos on Grays Inn Road is
the exclusive London dealer for German maker Schimmel
(as outlined in issue 13, May/June 2012) and Jaques Samuels
on Edgware Road has a specially created room complete
with temperature and humidity settings for Italian-made
Fazioli pianos, famously supported by Angela Hewitt. Both
Peregrines and Jaques Samuels ofer a range of other pianos,
as well as practice rooms, but have gained credibility through
specialisation. For most people, purchasing a piano is an
event that they do not ofen go through and the dealer should
exercise the integrity to advise the customer properly, says
Dawn Elizabeth Howells, proprietor of Peregrines. In a similar
vein, Chappell of Bond Street promotes Yamaha instruments,
including Bsendorfer and Kemble, and a large selection from
the companys digital range.
This study of mainstream piano shops in the UK capital
clearly has its limitations, and it would be useful to repeat the
exercise elsewhere in the country, and further afeld, in order
to gain a detailed picture of how piano sales are developing.
It would also be relevant to compare and contrast actual sales
fgures from each store, although for obvious reasons dealers
are reluctant to release such sensitive data. But this research
does provide a broad overview of the diferent approaches
piano sales teams are focusing on today, loosely split into the
following categories: family friendly; elite service; new wave;
and specialist brand knowledge.
P I A NO MA K E R S
61_63_IP0113_Piano_makers signed off by Claire.indd 63 04/12/2012 17:38:23
p rof i l e
Composer and pianist Frdric Meinders
tells Leandro Ferraccioli how a rebellious
rearrangement opened the door
to an absorbing world of transcription
Weaving
melodies
Frdric Meinders at the
home of friends in the
Hague. Photograph
by Leandro Ferraccioli
65_67_IP0113_Profile signed off by Claire.indd 64 04/12/2012 17:39:41
january/February 2013 International Piano 65
p rof i l e
f
ine, ill admit it: i am a transcription
junkie. and it is precisely this fxation that led to my
extended correspondence and friendship with frdric
meinders. pianist, composer and transcription wizard, he
is probably one of the best-kept secrets in the piano world,
performing mostly in Brazil or at specialist events such as
Germanys Husum festival, to which keyboard anoraks such
as myself fock compulsively. When we meet in the Hague,
meinders native city, he plays for me at length with seemingly
boundless energy, as well as regaling me with stories and musical
insights, all conveyed with an irrepressible, trenchant wit.
i ask why, 15 years ago, despite a fourishing concert career,
he decided to step out of the limelight and settle in Belo
Horizonte, in south-eastern Brazil. my wife, who is Brazilian,
was studying piano in the Hague and afer we married we
decided to continue our life here. But it was exhausting: i was
teaching and playing too much, working too hard there were
some years when i gave over 80 concerts a season. so, when my
wife went back to visit her mother, who was unwell, i thought
maybe i could do something in Brazil instead.
i was already composing a little, but wanted to do more. if id
stayed in Holland i would have given many more concerts but,
in all honesty, creating and writing music makes me happier
than performing. Who is really happy afer a concert? there
are always things where you say, ah, it could have been better.
But if you have a composition youre satisfed with and you
never revise the score, then youre really happy. With so many
concerts, you think: oh god, 40 minutes were good but in one
moment i played a horrible note. this is terrible for pianists.
When we talk of meinders formative years, two particular
fgures loom large: dutchman (and cor de Groot pupil) Jan
de man and Georgian-russian master technician nikita
magalof. magalof had a facility for control and light playing
something martha [argerich], who introduced me to him,
also says. i was playing very fast at that time, perhaps too fast, so
he taught me about the hold back as he called it. He gave me
exercises that help if you have problems with control (which
many people do) and i still use them every day. its useful in
the fnale of chopins second sonata, which is difcult for
everybody: the frst time chopin played it he was afraid of
that movement. now i can play it without any problem, which
wasnt always the case.
Jan de man, on the other hand, taught me nothing about
technique because he said i could do it at home; he focused
instead on interpretation. for example, the frst time i played
the liszt sonata (i was 17 or something), i came for a lesson
and he said, oK, play the frst note staccato. so i did. no, he
said. try again. and again. He spent about half an hour just
on how the frst note should sound. He said: i closed my eyes
and didnt feel anything. You must play it as if its the middle
of the night: youre in bed, its midnight and the moon comes
out slowly; youre nearly asleep and then you hear a knock. You
must play it so i become afraid and say, my god, who is behind
the door? a wonderful lesson!
i remember i also had a very interesting session with cor de
Groot the week before taking part in the scriabin competition
in olso [1972]. in the end i won frst prize and it marked the start
of my piano career in Holland. de Groot was not only a great
pianist but also a very good composer and transcriber, he knew
so much about music. the lesson was on scriabins ffh sonata
because this was the compulsory competition piece. at one
point and ill never forget this he asked me what the sonatas
opening could mean? Well, i had no idea then. for instance,
what do you think it could mean? His question catches me of
guard: given the great works radical departure from previous
scriabin, with its foating harmonic nature, i speculate it could
be some abstract representation of the dissolution of tonality.
at this he suppresses a convulsion of laughter, his wry smile
confrming the real explanations incongruity. Well, de Groot
told me that scriabin had a cleaning lady who worked for him
and, one day, he heard her cleaning his piano with a duster
[he mimics the sonatas opening skittish presto ascent up the
keyboard] and this is what scriabin wrote down! isnt that
just an amazing story? Because then you also try it like that;
you say to yourself im simply cleaning the piano and you
have to play it as the cleaner would so you dont perform it
too chic. But nobody had ever told me about that before; or
perhaps nobody else knew and de Groot only did because he
was a friend of Gilels.
despite something of a resurgence in the past few decades,
transcription is more associated with the pianos so-called
Golden age, and meinders mentions Vladimir Horowitz and
alexis Weissenberg as two of the greatest exponents from that
period. But of the bijou group of pianists who still practise this
art form today, whom does he admire? stephen Hough and,
in particular, arcadi Volodos. in the Volodos in Vienna recital
[sony classical] he plays his version of tchaikovskys Lullaby
in a Storm. i also transcribed that song a long time ago for my
old friend nelson freire, but i think Volodoss version is much
more interesting; its more modern. i did it with rachmaninov-
like harmonies, but Volodos goes further. theres no pianist in
the world lets say afer Horowitz who amazes me so much,
not only as a pianist but as a transcriber. His harmonies, how
he writes his arrangement of the andante of rachmaninovs
cello sonata is just amazing.
aside from the pianist-transcribers, i ask him about
contemporary interpreters he esteems. compared with the
rest, pianistically and musically, Volodos is still absolutely mr
God. though there is one other pianist for whom i have great
respect: enrico pace. Hes a devil at the piano sometimes. i
heard him in Utrecht playing schumanns Davidsbndlertnze,
which was just amazing so poetic that i said to myself: this is
the second cortot.
meinders recalls that his very frst transcription (of fritz
Kreislers Schn Rosmarin) was actually an act of revenge;
written to spite the the royal conservatory of the Hagues
avant-garde director, who forbade him from playing Kreisler
with a violin student at an end-of-year concert. He grins at the
memory of this chutzpah. Yes, i love Kreislers music hes just
a fantastic composer. i started with him because i discovered the
rachmaninov Liebesleid and Liebesfreud. if i can blow my own
trumpet for a moment, when cor de Groot heard my Schn
Rosmarin he said, Well, violinists should listen to it because you
can play the rubato on the piano better than most violinists.
p rof i l e
Contrapuntal studies for two hands by Frdric Meinders.
Full version available to download from www.international-piano.com www.fredericmeinders.com
What fascinated me when I heard Rachmaninov was that he
was transcribing music for two instruments onto one piano.
And why did he do it? Because he loved these pieces and he
loved Kreisler as a musician.
For pianists seeking new repertoire, Meinders website is
a veritable Ali Babas cave: a brief perusal reveals a staggering
catalogue of 750 or so works, consisting of originals and
transcriptions. Around 150 of these are for the lef hand alone.
So what is his fascination with this pianistic straitjacket the
technical test? The compositional challenge? Both. I have sold
many lef-hand scores, so dont forget there are actually more
people than you might imagine who cannot play with the right
hand. I have also been invited to perform in the Evmelia Festival
in Greece in 2014 and the director, Dino Mastroyiannis [a
former pupil of Roberto Szidon], asked me to compose a piece
for lef hand and chamber orchestra based on Greek songs.
I played many Godowsky lef-hand works for the radio in
Holland and, compositionally, I was very inspired by him: I
think this technique where a person can play with the lef hand
alone but make it sound as if there are two hands is just fantastic.
The lef can play bass, melody and harmonies, so in your mind
you get a better idea of the piano. You can learn a lot, too: when
you are writing, you try it and then say, Oh, this is possible, how
fantastic! So you enrich yourself in the process.
Putting aside the superfcial consideration of keyboard
tightrope-walking, I wonder just what it is that Meinders the
transcriber admires about Godowsky the transcriber. Well,
the frst thing is the harmonic aspect. If you divide music into
three components melody, harmony and rhythm I would
say harmony is the most important, perhaps even more so
than melody. And I think this may be the case for Godowsky,
otherwise why would he transcribe Bachs Cello Suites and
Violin Partitas? He wanted to put in the implied harmonies.
And if I listen to a Bach Partita, where the violin plays a single
note, I feel the harmonies on the piano. In his reworking of
Chopins Etudes, I believe he wanted to modernise them; this is
what I love in his work. There are moments where you wonder
how it is possible to fnd this amazing harmony or that counter
theme. For instance, where he takes the Third Nouvelle Etude
and discovers an absolutely gorgeous melody.
Purists tend to take a dim view of such tinkerings, and one
of Meinders favourite musical tricks, guaranteed to raise urtext
hackles, is the so-called quodlibet. This is the technique of
interposing a second melody (usually a popular tune) with
a classical theme as counterpoint or a second melodic line
frequently to humorous efect. Bach did this, notably in the
last of his Goldberg Variations, and another example of just
how beautifully this sacrilege can work is Meinders delicious
reworking of Somewhere over the Rainbow, with no fewer than
four counter-subjects. The arrangement begins with an original
theme, which forms a counterpoint with the Somewhere over
the Rainbow song; then, alongside this, appear Bachs Jesu, Joy
of Mans Desiring and two themes from Chopins Impromptu
in G fat. You can try it for yourself, as the score is reproduced
here and on IPs website, with the composers kind permission.
You see, counterpoint is for me something fascinating as
it was, of course, for Godowsky. His 53 Studies on Chopins
Etudes opened my eyes and infuenced me a great deal,
because then I also noticed this aspect in other Etudes where
Chopin didnt explore it so explicitly. For example, in Op 10
No 11 I realised that you can combine other Etudes as a sort
of counterpoint. Or even a Chopin Impromptu in the lef and
a Chopin Etude in the right. (Meinders has, in fact, written a
remarkable set of elaborations on Op 10 No 11 and others on
the Second Nouvelle Etude.)
Well, if you see these things in Chopin then you can go
completely crazy you start to put Happy Birthday in a
Beethoven sonata! I laugh, thinking this is merely rhetorical.
But no: to prove it he makes for the piano and, with subversive
glee, proceeds to weave the melody into Bachs Jesu, Joy of
Mans Desiring, then Beethovens Sonata Op 110, followed by
Chopins Etudes Op 25 Nos 1, 2 and 9. I get the feeling he could
keep going all afernoon.
A favourite discussion point for Meinders, which has sparked
many an exchange of email tennis , is the issue of style, both
in interpretation and transcription. What is allowed and what
is not is an interesting question. I cant explain why, in some
Schubert songs, you can go further as Rachmaninov did, for
instance, in Wohin. It depends also on the person who plays or
listens to it. For example, my teacher thought Rachmaninov
was wrong, but Im more modern and believe what he did with
the chromaticism is fascinating. However, if you take another
Schubert song and do the same, it might well be horrible. So I
cant explain why this modernising works with some Schubert
Lieder and not others. It comes down to what you feel.
In terms of style, I suggest that the great pianists of the past
did things with which people wouldnt necessarily agree,
but did them with such conviction that one is compelled to
listen. Yes, magic is the word pianophile Farhan Malik uses
for Horowitz and I can see what he means. Yet my wife fnds
Rubinstein more magical than Horowitz and, while I also love
Rubinstein, for me its not magic. Horowitz is really a pianist
for pianists, I think. Sometimes he seemed to be out to prove to
other pianists that they couldnt play like him. He was a one-of.
As well as composing tirelessly, negotiating with Schott to
publish his latest transcriptions of Giesekings (unfortunately
unknown) songs and preparing for concerts, Meinders
has lately been focusing more on the music of Bach.
These days Im coming back to Bach, whom I never loved
when I was young; Im listening a lot to Rosalyn Tureck.
Some pianists play Bach as if its all about sound-making, as
in Chopin. But Bachs music has nothing to do with creating
a beautiful sound on the modern piano its the structure
that has to be shown. So I am learning from Tureck as well
as listening to old music; one is never too old to learn.
P ROF I L E
Compared to the
rest, pianistically and
musically, Volodos is
still absolutely Mr God
International Piano January/February 2013 68
Oxford
Philomusica
Alfred Brendel
Patron
Andrs Schi
President
Marios Papadopoulos
Artistic Director
Piano Festival and
Summer Academy
28 July - 6 August 2013
Masterclasses and
Concerts in Oxford
Tel: 01865 980 980
info@oxfordphil.com
www.oxfordphil.com
Artists to include
Federico Colli
Mahan Esfahani
Peter Frankl
Rustem Hayroudino
Niel Immelman
Yoheved Kaplinsky
Stephen Kovacevich
Tessa Nicholson
Marios Papadopoulos
Christoph Prgardien
Menahem Pressler
Andrs Schi
Untitled-2 1 29/11/2012 10:18:07
21st 5UMMER ACADEMY FOR
PIANO AND CHAMBER MU5IC
18th August - 1st 5cptcmbcr 2013
PartIcIpants pcrfnrm In pub!Ic cnnccrts
. Twn wcck IntcnsIvc pIann traInIng prngrammc
. Chambcr musIc wIth pIann
. CnnccrtI fnr pIann and nrchcstra
. IrIcnd!y IntcrnatInna! atmnsphcrc
KONZ
Saai-MoseIIe
Ceinany
Fnr mnrc InfnrmatInn vIsIt:
www.pIann-acadcmy.dc & www.akadcmIcknnz.cnm
5nmmcrakadcmIc
Pnstfach 1961
D-54324 Knnz / Gcrmany
EmaI!: InfnpIann-acadcmy.dc
Untitled-4 1 27/11/2012 10:36:36
Applications must be received by Feb. 15, 2013
mtroyal.ca/musicbridge
Program highlights include our International Concerto Competition
where nalists have the privilege of performing in
concert with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra!
Cash prizes are awarded rst prize
includes a $2,500 cash award.
MMB alumni include international concert artists like
Yuja Wang and Ning Feng; members of the New York Philharmonic,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, London Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic,
Montreal and Toronto Symphony Orchestras; and top prize winners of the
Tchaikovsky, Paganini, George Enescu and Wieniawski Competitions.
How well do you stand up to the worlds best? Find out this summer.
July 3-Aug. 2, 2013 Calgary, AB Canada
Untitled-8 1 24/08/2012 10:25:45
068_IP_0113.indd 68 05/12/2012 10:41:23
Switzerland
Verbier Festival Academy
19 July-4 August 2013, Verbier
All pianists play in solo masterclasses with
two distinguished teachers and participate
in a piano quartet as part of the chamber
music programme.
Closing date for applications: 21 January
Fees: CHF2,500; scholarships available
Age/ability level: Pre-professionals aged
up to 27
Faculty: Christian Thompson,
academy director
Tel: +41 21 925 90 60
Email: academy@verbierfestival.com
www.verbierfestival.com/academy
UK
Aldeburgh Festival/
Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme
7-23 June 2013, Suffolk
The Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme
forms an integral part of the Aldeburgh
Festival as well as offering a year-round
programme of concerts and events. In
2013, programming celebrates
Brittens centenary.
Closing date for applications:
3 December 2012
Fees: Various
Age/ability level: Advanced music
students; no formal age limit but applicants
are usually aged 19-30
Tel: 01728 687100
Email: britten-pears@aldeburgh.co.uk
www.aldeburgh.co.uk
Chethams International Summer
School and Festival for Pianists
14-20 and 20-26 August 2013,
Manchester
Residential and non-residential piano
courses for pianists of any age young
children, amateur adults and aspiring
young professionals. Individual lessons
with international faculty of over
50 teachers. Extra courses in jazz,
improvisation, organ, composition and
piano duets.
Closing date for applications: 8 June
Fees: One part 595. Discounts available
for multiple bookings
Age/ability level: Courses for all ages
and abilities
Faculty: Murray McLachlan,
artistic director
Tel: 01625 266899
Email: info@pianosummerschool.com
www.pianosummerschool.com
City Lit
Various, London
Courses for adults all year round in piano
and other instruments, mainly at City
Lits premises in central London; all levels
accommodated.
Closing date for applications: Various,
depending on course
Fees: Various, depending on course
Age/ability level: Adults 18+
Faculty: Janet Obi-Keller, head of music
Tel: 020 7492 2630
Email: music@citylit.ac.uk
www.citylit.ac.uk
Dartington International
Summer School
27 July-31 August 2013, South Devon
Five-week summer school featuring
various piano masterclasses, workshops
and courses. Opportunities for solo,
duet, ensemble, accompanying and
chamber music, and informal performance
opportunities. Tuition from world-
renowned pianists.
Closing date for applications: Various,
according to course
Fees: From 600 for a week for full board
accommodation, courses and concerts;
fnancial assistance available
Age/ability level: All ages and abilities
Faculty: John Woolrich, artistic director;
Emily Hoare, creative producer; Esther
Robinson, administrator; Sophia Sheridan,
bookings administrator
Tel: 01803 847 080
Email: summerschool@dartington.org
www.dartington.org/summer-school
North London Piano School
From 11 August 2013 at the Purcell
School, London
Summer school and competition;
ensembles, accompaniment, one-to-one
lessons, masterclasses, lectures,
S umme r S chool S
While the elements may suggest otherwise, summer will be here
before we know it and its never too early to plan which
residential courses to attend. IP lists the best piano summer
schools for pre-professionals and amateurs from across the globe
Sumer is icumen in
English retreat:
The grounds at Dartington
69_71_IP0113_SSchools signed off by Claire.indd 69 04/12/2012 17:44:29
Summer School &
Festival for Pianists
Artistic Director: Murray McLachlan
Part One: 1420 August 2013
Part Two: 2026 August 2013
The Friendliest Piano Summer School
in the World!
For further information call +44 (0)1625 266899
or email info@pianosummerschool.com
www.pianosummerschool.com
With daily concerts, lectures, improvisation, jazz, composition,
intensive one-to-one coaching, duets, organ and harpsichord.
Faculty includes: Elena Ashkenazy, Philippe Cassard,
Peter Donohoe, Jos Feghali, Carlo Grante, Harry Harris,
David Horne, Eugen Indjic, Nikki Iles, Matthias Kirschnereit,
John McLeod, Noriko Ogawa, Artur Pizarro, Vladimir Tropp.
SS 2013 122x92 Int Piano:Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:48 Page 1
Untitled-7 1 19/11/2012 11:25:29
JERSEY
INTERNATIONAL
FESTIVAL for
AMATEUR PIANISTS
25th MAY 2nd JUNE 2013
Masterclass / Student Class by

Individual and Group Tuition
Extensive practice facilities - one piano per person
Introduction to the piano method of
Alfred Cortot
Many opportunities to perform
Closing Public Concert to be recorded by
BBC Radio Jersey
Option of staying with host families
www.normandypianocourses.com
normandypianocourses@hotmail.com
idil biret
QP_J AN-FEB.indd 1 28/11/2012 16:33:29
Summertrios
A vibrant musical experience
ofering chamber music for
amateur and professional musicians
001 212-222-1289
lilypiano@summertrios.org
www.summertrios.org
Unique piano-centred
chamber music summer school
Premium, regular and concerto programs available
June 2013
Bryn Mawr and Chambersburg
Application Deadline: March 1st 2013
Untitled-4 1 05/12/2012 15:35:21 Untitled-4 1 29/11/2012 16:56:08
070_IP_0113.indd 70 05/12/2012 16:43:33
CD recordings on site, preparation for
solo recitals, competitions and auditions,
daily concerts. Gala concert at the Royal
Academy of Music.
Closing date for applications: 31 May
Fees: From 470; some bursaries available
for students
Age/ability level: Grade 6+ to
postgraduate level
Faculty: Professors from the UK and
abroad. Michael Schreider, artistic director;
Lesley Willner, executive director
Tel: 020 8958 5206
Email: nlpsch@hotmail.com
www.learn-music.com/nlps2
Oxford Philomusica International
Piano Festival and Summer Academy
28 July-6 August 2013, Oxford
An international forum of performing
artists, pedagogues and students,
celebrating all aspects of the instrument.
Featuring public masterclasses and
concerts, lectures and classes with
internationally recognised artists.
Closing date for applications: May (TBC)
Fees: Approx 200-800 (TBC)
Age/ability level: Grade 8+
Faculty: Past members have included
Dame Fanny Waterman, Marios
Papadopoulos and Christopher Elton.
Marios Papadopoulos is artistic director
Tel: 01865 987 222
Email: sophie@oxfordphil.com
www.oxfordphil.com/piano
US
Aspen Music Festival and School
27 June-18 August 2013, Colorado
Programmes in collaborative piano,
solo piano and chamber music. Piano
programme features masterclasses,
workshops, performance opportunities;
also includes a festival of music events
throughout the summer.
Closing date for applications: Varies
according to programme
Fees: $3,200 per course plus $3,300 room
and board; scholarships available
Age/ability level: Advanced students;
young musicians
Contact: Jennifer Johnston, vice president
and dean of students
Tel: +1 970 925 3254 (offce);
+1 970 925 9042 (box offce)
Email: jjohnston@aspenmusic.org
http://aspenmusicfestival.com
Boston University Tanglewood
Institute Young Artists Piano Program
16 June-10 August 2013, Massachusetts
In association with the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, the course offers private
lessons, daily masterclasses and
select chamber and large ensemble
opportunities. Two three-week
programmes; some students stay for all
six weeks.
Closing date for applications: 8 February
Fees: From $2,805 including
accommodation, depending on length of
stay; scholarships available
Age/ability level: Ages 15-18
Faculty: Sharon Boaz, director
Tel: +1 617 353 3386
Email: tanglewd@bu.edu
www.bu.edu/cfa/music/tanglewood
California Summer Music
6-29 July 2013, California
A chamber music festival featuring solo
and chamber performances, masterclasses,
collaboration with student composers in
premieres of their works, daily chamber
music coaching and individual lessons.
Closing date for applications: 23 January
Fees: $4,200 for tuition, room and board
Age/ability level: Ages 11-25, advanced
students
Faculty: Timothy Bach, Lori Lack, Julie
Nishimura and Hans Boepple
Tel: +1 415 753 8920
Email: csm@csmusic.org
www.csmusic.org
Golandsky Institute Summer
Symposium and International
Piano Festival
13-21 July 2013, Princeton,
New Jersey
Seven-day programme focusing on the
Taubman approach for pianists and string
players. Private lessons, masterclasses,
technique clinics, performance
opportunities, concerts and more.
Closing date for applications: TBC;
check website
Fees: TBC
Tel: +1 877 343 3434
Email: admin@golandskyinstitute.org
www.golandskyinstitute.org
Universty of Houstons International
Piano Festival
1-3 February 2013, Houston, Texas
Festival run by the Universty of
Houstons Moores School of Music.
Students must apply to participate in
masterclasses with artists. See website
for more information and details of
how to apply for masterclasses. A number
of guest artists perform recitals during
the festival.
Closing date for applications:
4 December 2012
Fees: Single masterclasses from $5
Age/ability level: Three levels: ages 13-14,
15-17 and 18-graduate
Faculty: Markus Groh, Alberto Reyes,
Abbey Simon
Contact: Alan Austin, director of special
projects
Tel: +1 713 743 3167
Email: tmf@uh.edu
www.music.uh.edu/pianofestival
S umme r S chool S
Institute founder: Edna Golandsky
69_71_IP0113_SSchools signed off by Claire.indd 71 04/12/2012 17:45:20
The seventh Summer School for Singers run by Neil & Penny Jenkins
will take place once again in Eastbourne.

AIMS INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SCHOOL
at Eastbourne College
AUGUST 18th 25th 2013
For details of fees for Residents and Non-Residents contact:
Address: AIMS, Barn End, Castle Lane, Bramber, West Sussex,
BN44 3FB
Telephone: 01903 879591 Email: neil@AIMS.uk.com
Full details are shown on the website: www.AIMS.uk.com
Comments from past students include: ...I am an AIMS virgin - my
frst time, but certainly not my last. I was totally inspired and in absolute
heaven! ...Once again it was a wonderful week of learning, performing,
and appreciating wonderful music and wonderful singing. ...Theatre
critics would have the headingTriumph. I cannot but totally admire the
administration: it is faultless ... ...The concerts have been wonderful, the
masterclasses enlightening, the warm-ups and vocal technique classes
huge fun. Thank you for making the week such a fulflling experience...
CLASSES FOR STUDENT PIANISTS
Te week will commence with a Gala solo Recital by Catherine Wyn Rogers accompanied
by Eugene Asti.
David Willison will again be running the Piano accompanists course, and will give every
student pianist at least 2 solo sessions. Pianists are encouraged to form partnerships with
the solo singers on the Singers course, and accompany them to their sessions. Please
indicate if you need to be paired up, or if you have partnerships already in place. Tere
will be group sessions every day, when the accompaniments to selected repertoire will be
studied with either David, Terence Allbright or Eugene Asti. In 2013 the songs of the
featured composers Britten & Poulenc will be particularly studied. Tere will be a visit by
Julius Drake on Monday 19th August for a special masterclass; and at the end of the week
there will be an Informal Concert.
Untitled-4 1 26/11/2012 11:52:14
CHAUTAUQUA I NSTI TUTI ON CHAUTAUQUA, NY
http://music.ciweb.org
Rebecca Penneys, chair
www.rebeccapenneys.com
The Chautauqua Institution uses Steinway pianos
exclusively for its festival. The family of Steinway
designed pianos at Chautauqua are facilitated by
Denton, Cottier & Daniels, Buffalo, New York.
XVIII Chautauqua
Piano Competition
First Prize: $7,500
Second prize: $3,000
Application deadline: March 15
To apply, visit our website below.
Signifcant fnancial
assistance available
June 22 August 8, 2013
PI ANO
CHAUTAUQUA, NEW YORK
C H A U T A U Q U A M U S I C F E S T I V A L
Untitled-23 1 07/09/2012 09:24:11
International Music Course
11
th
- 18
th
August 2013
hosted by the Purcell School
STRING PLAYERS, PIANISTS, VOCALISTS
Soloists, Duos, Accompanists, Ensembles
ASSOCIATE TEACHERS INVITED
Tuition by professors from world leading conservatoires
Concerts and masterclasses. CD recording on site
Individual schedule for everyone
Gala Concert
Sunday 18th August
Contact : Dr Michael Schreider
78 Warwick Ave. Middlesex HA8 8UJ, United Kingdom
Tel. +44 (0)20 8958 5206 / 8363 3858.
Fax +44 (0)560 312 4864
e-mail: nlpsch@hotmail.com
Website: Learn-music.com/nlps2
Untitled-3 1 23/07/2012 14:58:03
072_IP_0113.indd 72 05/12/2012 14:52:36
2
The IP wishlist
Essential and non-essential items to take
on this years residential courses
1
4
3
1 iPhone case
Show your allegiance with this piano keys case,
available for iPhone 4/4S/5
Price: $17.99 (c.11.53) | iCaseSeraSera
www.etsy.com
2 Lanyard
A stylish way to keep ID cards and keys
safe while travelling from dorm to masterclass
Price: 5.45 | SewMuchDetail
www.etsy.com
3 Diary 2013
This bestselling music diary features composer
anniversaries and events so you wont forget a thing.
Cover design based on The Rite of Spring manuscript
Price: 6.99
shop.rhinegold.co.uk
4 Piano Manual
Know about the Hammerklavier but less
about the hammers? Expand your knowledge
of piano care with the classic Haynes manual
Price: 19.99 | ISBN: 9781844254859
www.haynes.co.uk
5 Shower gel
Brighten up someones washbag with
this piano-inspired novelty shower gel
Price: 3.50
shop.rhinegold.co.uk
5
73_IP_0113_Wishlist_CJ .indd 73 05/12/2012 13:06:37
REVIEWS Concerts

UK

Francesco Piemontesi:
supremely accomplished
74_75_IP0113_ConcertReviews_CJ .indd 74 05/12/2012 18:48:06
Stifters Dinge revisited Heiner Goebbels
University of Westminster, London
4-18 November
Heiner Goebbels is a multimedia artist
whose works, such as Hashirigaki,
Eislermaterial and Surrogate Cities,
combine classical, jazz and popular
genres. Some have been released on disc,
particularly on ECM notably Stiers
Dinge, in 2012. But Goebbels home is the
theatre and his works really need to be
experienced live.
Stiers Dinge, a homage to Austrian
nature writer and poet Adalbert Stier
(1805-1868), is realised over 70 minutes by
a piano sculpture of ve pianos without
pianists, mechanically rigged to produce
a huge range of sounds and set against
recorded montages of elemental sources
including wind, water and ice, and speech
and music. Having experienced the
wonderful Hashirigaki three times live,
I eagerly anticipated this performance
without performers or performative
installation, and it didnt disappoint.
The production took place in the
works original 2008 home, the cavernous
Ambika P3 underneath Marylebone Road,
where concrete was tested for the Westway
yover and which is now a University of
Westminster art project space. Artangel,
sponsor of work by Brian Eno, Michael
Landy, Rachel Whiteread and others,
commissioned Stiers Dinge in 2008, and
under their aegis Goebbels transformed
this vast concrete box into a site for a
compelling multimedia experience.
The ve stripped-down pianos we are
told all are grand pianos but only one seems
to be are mounted on a stage, which is set
on rails and can move towards and away
from the audience; two instruments have
had keyboards removed, their strings now
played by means of various mechanical
contraptions, and all of them are operated
through computerised player-piano
mechanisms. In front of the stage is an
area of illuminated oorspace. The event
begins when two stagehands the only
visible human presence throughout
sprinkle salt over this area. Wall-mounted
pipes are struck mechanically and water
falls over the powder to create an articial
illuminated lake.
The scene is now set for The Trees, full
of foreboding, featuring a long perhaps
overlong recorded reading by Bill
Paterson of The Ice Tale from Stiers My
Great Grandfathers Portfolio. (The only
possible slight misjudgment by Goebbels.)
With a uidity that marks the transition
between scenes, The Storm builds from
Nancarrow-ish multiple piano glissandos
as dry ice rises from front of stage. The
Rain sets an interview with a pessimistic
Claude Levi-Strauss, against Bachs Italian
Concerto on one of the pianos, and
sounds of owing water. The Thunder
begins with cavernous industrial sounds,
on which William S Burroughs gravelly
monotone gradually intrudes; a quicker
cross-rhythm introduces Malcolm Xs
stirring declamation. Almost human, the
pianos take a concluding bow, moving
forwards, backwards, then forwards
again. In this ingenious setting, Goebbels
creates a unied eect from disparate
collage elements music, sound, staging
and lighting, all beautifully judged.
ANDY HAMILTON
Nicolas Hodges/Philip Thomas
Hudderseld Contemporary Music
Festival, St Pauls Hall/Phipps Hall,
Hudderseld 17/22 November
At this years Hudderseld Contemporary
Music Festival, two solo piano recitals
stood out. During the rst weekend,
Nicolas Hodges presented the work
of Jean Barraqu (19281973), still a
neglected modernist despite the early
advocacy of Andr Hodeir; the jazz
writer and composer who argued that
Beethoven and Debussy, Barraqus
idols, had only one successor Barraqu
himself. The composers six works are
all substantial; for him, artistic creation
was a Promethean act ex nihilo. Like
fellow Messiaen student Pierre Boulez,
he followed the path of total serialism.
But the formidable 40-minute Piano
Sonata (1952) opposes that strict, almost
automatic tendency with a freer style. The
Sonata was the centrepiece of Hodgess
recital, an incandescent performance of
controlled explosive brilliance. The Sonata
is Barraqus o cial Opus 1, but earlier
works were discovered recently in a lo
in Paris. The recital featured a selection,
all short or relatively so, and written
in 1945-49. Retour is tonal; Intermezzo
is transitional to 12-tonal. None were
forgotten masterpieces, but they provided
interesting historical background to the
composers mature output.
Philip Thomass project Canada
Connections features Canadian and
British experimental composers. His
recital presented three pieces focusing
on irregular progression and sustained
sounds: Christopher Foxs Lascenseur,
Martin Arnolds Points and Waltzes and
Cassandra Millers Philip the Wanderer,
dedicated to Thomas. By progression I
dont mean development, which these
pieces avoided. The pianist pointed out
aerwards that similarities between the
pieces were accidental, as they were all new
commissions world premieres, indeed.
Arnold is a Toronto-based composer
who studied with Rzewski, Cage and
Andriessen, and makes his living as a
landscape gardener. His delightful Points
and Waltzes exhibits a subtle, indirect
propulsion, imitating the wonderful,
non-narrative polyphonic meander of
Elizabeth fantasies, as the composer puts
it a point, in 16th-century England,
was a piece of counterpoint. Arnolds
composition is not a set of pieces, but an
extended reection expressed through
the medium of the slow waltz. It begins
minimally as two single lines in the middle
and upper registers, a quixotic discourse
that eventually dissolves into hypnagogic
musings that at times suggested Ran
Blakes oblique jazz harmonies.
Christopher Fox is a real musical
thinker, a conceptual artist in the best
sense. Lascenseur exploits an obvious but
ingenious and engaging idea, creating a
kind of process music of jagged, apparently
fumbling, eortful-seeming rhythms.
The composers surreal musical wit
bland and inscrutable as a Thelonious
Monk smile informed proceedings.
Equally obsessive rhythmically was
Philip the Wanderer by young Montreal-
based Cassandra Miller, an adaptation of
traditional music from Mozambique. The
piece punctiliously follows the original
rhythms, lling them out harmonically
to create a rich, multi-faceted, larger-than-
life portrait. AH
74_75_IP0113_ConcertReviews_CJ .indd 75 05/12/2012 14:52:24
Lennox Berkeley and Friends:
Writings, Letters and Interviews
Edited by Peter Dickinson
Boydell Press, 344 pages,
45.00 ($90.00)
Oxford-born Lennox Berkeley (1903-89) composed
delectable music for keyboard, including Three
Pieces (1935), Paysage (1944), Six Preludes (1945)
and his Piano Concerto in B at major (1947/48).
As anyone who knows the recordings by Colin
Horsley and Margaret Fingerhut (on Lyrita
and Chandos respectively) will be aware, these
works are urbane, charming and pleasurable.
Lennox Berkeley and Friends is lovingly edited
by the British composer and pianist Peter
Dickinson, author of The Music of Lennox Berkeley
(Boydell) as well as studies of Samuel Barber,
Aaron Copland and Lord Berners. Berkeleys
writings reveal the same kindly, urbane and by
no means undiscerning personality that is heard
in his music.
Pianistic matters are central to his imagination
and, at a 1930 concert at which Walter Gieseking
played Beethovens Emperor Concerto, Berkeley
has this to say: The piano seemed to have more
variety of tone colour than the orchestra. A year
later, Berkeley praised further performances by
Gieseking for their utter absence of show and
exterior eect [...] one had the feeling of listening
for the rst time to things that one knew by
heart. Vladimir Horowitz was another favourite:
as Berkeley was nishing his Four Concert Studies
in 1939, he wistfully wrote to Nadia Boulanger
that Horowitz would be needed, but unlikely
to embrace the new works: Like most virtuosos,
hes probably not dying to play modern music.
Friendships with other composer-pianists, from
Francis Poulenc to Benjamin Britten the latter
a one-time lover only helped deepen Berkeleys
lifelong fascination with the instrument.
BENJAMIN IVRY
At the 2012 Frankfurt Musikmesse, Modartts
Niclas Fogwall joked that his team of programmers
were too good; the release of Pianoteq 4 was
delayed because the developers kept suggesting
improvements to the existing design. So, aer three
years in the making, does the nished product live
up to expectations?
Modartt has been making virtual pianos for
use on home computers since 2006. A Steinway
D grand piano from Hamburg serves as the
reference for the new D4 preset range, while the
latest upgrade oering is a Blthner Model 1 add-
on, authorised by Blthner and the worlds rst
physical model of its prized concert grand.
While Id hesitate to make a judgement as
to whether Modartt has captured that famous
golden tone, the preset sounds are imbued with
a real warmth and surprising depth, capable of
achieving everything from treble twinkles and
shimmers to crisp staccatos and sonorous bass.
There are no sampled sounds here; everything
is based on physical modelling with real time
response but at the same time, the entire
package is only 20MB in size, making it extremely
economical in terms of both cost and space.
Theres the freedom to adjust up to 22
parameters, from the tuning, shape of the
soundboard, hammer hardness and damper
control to the position of the lid and even the
mic placement. The note edit window allows you
to edit the parameters of each individual note,
allowing for limitless customisation.
One handy new feature is the automatic save.
Even if you havent clicked the record button,
your last performance will be saved on le; useful
for those moments of inspired improvisation. Its
a thoughtful addition, but a loop playback button
would be an even more welcome component.
All in all, this is an excellent new oering,
and at just 29 for an upgrade to version 4,
existing Pianoteq users will nd real value here.
LOUISE GREENER
Pianoteq 4 Pro
From Modartt
From 29 | www.pianoteq.com
There is nothing worse than over-excitable, over-
interpreted Schumann, so it comes as something
of a relief to encounter this second volume of
favourite works from Jerome Rose, who absorbs
the composers free-owing imagination into
compelling musical paragraphs. Even when
the ights of fancy come thick and fast, as in
Davidsbndlertnze, one is le with the sensation
of supreme logic binding everything together.
In the Op 12 Fantasiestcke, not a single ugly note
is sounded. No matter how awkward and fatiguing
Schumanns gurations most infamously in
Traumes Wirren Rose maintains a remarkably
relaxed action, so that at times it looks as if he is
merely opping his ngers gently onto the keys
and somehow sounding the right notes.
Not surprisingly, the Etudes symphoniques
(without the posthumous numbers) respond
particularly well to his ability to sustain the long
line that underpins the whole structure. Without
resorting to extremes of dynamic or articulation,
this is a reading that emphasises the symphonic
rather than the etude. However, there are
technical triumphs along the way too, not least
in Etude 10, where Rose manages to despatch
the toccata-like gurations against continuously
sounded dotted rhythms without using the
sustaining pedal.
Kreisleriana is another magisterial conception
that refreshingly avoids outbursts of mannered
interpretative rhetoric, yet it is the Second Sonata
that really lis the roof o, with its combination
of high-velocity agility and velvety sonorities.
The recording and pin-sharp picture quality
capture Roses eortless playing to perfection,
and the direction rightly focuses our attention
on where it needs to be those amazing hands.
JULIAN HAYLOCK
Schumann Davidsbndlertnze,
Op 6; Fantasiestcke, Op 12;
Etudes symphoniques, Op
13; Kreisleriana, Op 16; Piano
Sonata No 2 in G minor, Op 22
Jerome Rose (pf)
Medici Classics M60079 (Blu-Ray),
134 minutes, PCM stereo
REVIEWS Books, DVDs & software
CHOICE
76_77_IP0113_BooksDVDs signed off by Claire.indd 76 05/12/2012 11:31:07
REVIEWS DVDs
Follow International
Piano on Twitter:
@IP_mag
Released in celebration of what would have
been Glenn Goulds 80th birthday (he was
born in 1932), this deluxe 10-DVD set oers
Goulds Canadian television broadcasts over
nearly a quarter of a century. Although much
has been previously available, the present set
creates an opportunity for proper reappraisal
of Goulds art, while simultaneously
reminding us of his unique genius.
The earliest footage here is of Beethovens
First Piano Concerto, captured in December
1954. Though its in grainy black and white,
with the orchestra sounding none too clear,
theres an unmistakable vivacity to Goulds
reading (he plays his own cadenza, which is
unsurprisingly highly contrapuntal). Even
at this early stage, Goulds mannerisms
are in evidence, most notably his mobility
on the piano stool, his swaying made even
more giddying by a camera that seems
loath to stay still.
Sharing the rst disc is a 1961 broadcast
entitled The Subject is Beethoven, with Gould
assuming the roles of both performer and
educator for the rst time (it is preceded
by a passionate studio recording of the
Tempest Sonata of 1960 that tests the tape
sonics to their limits; there is also a 1967
performance in better sound later on in
the box). Throughout his commentaries
and interviews, Gould manages to mix
approachability with nuggets of great insight.
His enthusiasm is infectious his talk on
Beethoven that precedes the performance
of Beethovens Third Cello Sonata (with
Leonard Rose) is compelling, closed by an
emphatic Lets just play it, which leads to a
remarkable example of true chamber music,
with two great artists in complete accord.
That is more than can be said about the
encounter between Gould and Menuhin,
a striking example of two musical minds
not meeting (in Beethovens Op 96 Sonata,
at least). More enlightening is Gould in
conversation with Humphrey Burton,
which includes the pianists take on
recording and the death of the concert hall:
Burtons incredulity forms the bedrock
from which Goulds ights of fantasy take
wing. The second interview centres on
Beethoven: Goulds Columbia recording of
the Emperor with Stokowski is invoked,
with the idea that it sounds as much like
the Eroica with a descant piano as we
could (there is, incidentally, a Toronto
performance of the Emperor included
in this set); and two more lms explore
Schoenberg and Richard Strauss. Goulds
love of Strauss is palpable and reinforced by
a 1967 Toronto performance of the Burleske.
The polemic Gould is found in purest
form is his talk I detest audiences. The
reaction from a young Zubin Mehta says it
all: I think hes out of his mind. Gould on
music in the USSR is highly stimulating and
his reading of Prokoevs Seventh Sonata
is the antithesis of Pollinis mechanistic
take, yet no less powerful for it. And how
amazing to nd him extemporising a fugue
on Doe, a deer from The Sound of Music in
the exemplary lecture The Anatomy of the
Fugue before he traces the fugue from its
prehistory (Marenzio, Lasso) through Bach,
on to Hindemith and beyond.
Goulds talk Richard Strauss a Personal
View nds him describing himself as
addicted to Strauss as some people are to
chocolate sundaes. Lois Marshall gives
a tremendous Ccilie, as well as the three
of the more progressive Ophelia-Lieder;
Oscar Shumsky is superb in the rst
movement of the Violin Sonata. The talk
Anthology of Variation (including an
astonishingly beautiful Sweelinck Fantasia)
is remarkably informative, focusing on
the canonic variations from the Goldbergs
before springing o to Webern. He is most
persuasive, perhaps, in the nal two DVDs,
where he persuasively presents music by
Scriabin, Walton, Poulenc, Kenek and
Casella, among others.
We also see Gould also as conductor
and pianist/director. He conducts Mahler
(Urlicht with Maureen Forrester),
although in truth it looks as if he is directing
tra c. He directs a luscious performance
of Bachs Cantata BWV54 (Russell Oberlin,
countertenor; Julius Baker, ute and Oscar
Shumsky, violin). There is fun here, too:
the 1974 commercials for Musicamera
with Gould as Sir Nigel Twitt-Thornwaite,
Dr Karlheinz Klopweisser (no relation to
Stockhausen, surely?) and Myron Chianti.
That magnicent non-conformist
Johann Sebastian Bach, as Gould refers to
him, and with whom his name is forever
inextricably linked, forms a thread running
through the set. Among the many items is
a programme that nds Gould playing a
rather strange hybrid, the harpsipiano, in
the Fih Brandenburg Concerto (where he
is joined by Isaac Stern and Oscar Shumsky).
Pay no attention to critics, ever, Gould
says at one point. Perhaps pay attention
to this, though: this is a remarkable
box covering territory from Sweelinck
to Webern, Walton and Hindemith via
Bach that oers the most eloquent tribute
imaginable for Goulds 80th.
COLIN CLARKE
Glenn Gould on Television: The Complete
CBC Broadcasts, 19541977
Glenn Gould (pf/narrator)
Sony 8697952109 (10 DVDs, 19 hours
12 minutes)
CHOICE
76_77_IP0113_BooksDVDs signed off by Claire.indd 77 05/12/2012 11:30:53
International Piano January/February 2013 21
Untitled-1 1 02/10/2012 10:10:20 078_IP_0113.indd 21 05/12/2012 14:56:45
REVIEWS CDs REVIEWS CDs
Weinberg Volume 9: Piano Sonatas: No 1, Op 5;
No 2, Op 8; No 3, Op 31; 17 Easy Pieces, Op 24
Divine Art dda25105, 71 minutes
Weinberg Volume 10: Piano Sonatas: No 4, Op
56; No 5, Op 58; No 6, Op 73.
Divine Art dda25107, 67 minutes
Murray McLachlan (pf)
Here are Volumes 9 and 10 of Divine Arts
ever-enterprising Russian Piano Music
Series. My colleague Colin Clarke reviewed
a rival Grand Piano Weinberg sonata CD
for IP in July/August, and supplied some
background. There is now a Grand Piano
sequel (GP607), coupling the Fourth
Sonata with the Sonatina, Op 49 and the
10-movement Partita, Op 54, placing the
two labels in more direct competition.
First impressions of Mieczysaw
Weinberg (191996), alias Moishe Vainberg?
Shostakovich without the jokes, you may
think. The sound-world is bleak and
oen frenzied, unsurprisingly recalling
Shostakovich, given the older mans friendly
(and on one occasion life-saving) inuence.
The humourlessness is understandable,
given Weinbergs hounding by successively
the Nazis and Stalin, and is summed up
with artless understatement in the note-
writers comment, A Jewish artist in the
Soviet Union did not exactly enjoy an easy
life. Weinberg composed indefatigably,
however: just six piano sonatas (194060)
but, among his total of 154 opus numbers,
there are also 22 symphonies and 17 string
quartets and a Trumpet Concerto that piano
accompanists may already know.
The best entry for newcomers be they
listeners or players is the Fourth Sonata
(premiered by Gilels, no less), the most well-
known and arguably nest piece in these two
volumes. Murray McLachlans performance,
here as elsewhere, is brawny, relentlessly
energetic and fully committed, encompassing
the slow movements gigantic stretches with
enviable ease. Nervous listeners should warm
up on the 17 Easy Pieces, all very short,
enticingly harmonised and many of them
ripe for early-grade exam syllabuses. Both
discs were originally recorded in Sweden in
1996 and issued on Olympia: the recorded
piano sound stops just this side of twangy.
MICHAEL ROUND
A Tcherepnin Sonatas: No 1, Op 22a; No 2, Op
94 a; Four Prludes nostalgiques, Op 23a; Prelude,
Op 85 No 9a; Moment musical;
Petite Suite, Op 6b; Rondo la Russe; Entretiens,
Op 46b; Polkab; Scherzo, Op 3b; Expressions, Op
81b; La Quatrime
Alexander Tcherepnin, Mikhail Shilyaev (pfs)
Toccata Classics TOCC 0079, 80 minutes
A Tcherepnin Complete Piano Music,
Volume 1: 10 Bagatelles, Op 5. Sonata No 1, Op
22; 9 Inventions, Op 13; Sonata No 2, Op 94; 10
tudes, Op 18
Giorgio Koukl (pf)
Grand Piano GP608, 63 minutes
A Tcherepnin Complete Piano Music,
Volume 2: Sonatine romantique, Op 4;
Petite Suite, Op 6; Toccata No 1, Op 1; Pices sans
titres, Op 7; Nocturne No 1, Op. 2 No 1; Dance No
1, Op 2 No 2; Nocturne No 2, Op 8 No 1; Dance
No 2, Op 8 No 2; Scherzo, Op 3.
Message, Op 39
Giorgio Koukl (pf)
It is 14 years since Alexander
Tcherepnins centenary (not celebrated
at the time as widely as it should have
been) and 36 since his death so the
appearance of three discs of his piano
music in rapid succession is as welcome
as it is unexpected. The Toccata Classics
disc opens with archival recordings made
by the composer in New York in March
1965 (produced by the composer Philip
Ramey, a former Tcherepnin pupil and
subject of an earlier Toccata Classics
release) of the two sonatas, Prludes
nostalgiques and the ninth of his Op 85
Preludes. The performances are the most
exciting of any under review here and
have been remastered very nely under
the auspices of the Tcherepnin Society.
The greater part of the disc is made up
of a deliciously varied selection of his
smaller pieces (the earliest, the Moment
musical of 1913, dating from his mid-
teens) and sets of miniatures the early
Petite Suite (191819), Entretiens (1920
30) and 10 Expressions (1951) all
played with compelling assurance by
Mikhail Shilyaev.
With the exception of the Expressions,
all the pieces performed by Shilyaev are
rst recordings. The second of Grand
Pianos two releases, between them
initiating a series devoted to Tcherepnin
played by Giorgio Koukl, would have
been almost entirely of premieres had
not Toccata Classics pipped them to the
post with the Scherzo and Petite Suite.
However, the Op 1 Toccata was recorded
by Murray McLachlan for Olympia in
2000. On Koukls Volume 1, the 1921
Inventions and 1920 tudes also appear
for the rst time on disc; note the
misleading opus numbers, respectively
13 and 18, do not reect the sequence of
composition; the tudes originate from
the same period as the Bagatelles (1912
18). Indeed, both Grand Piano volumes
focus on early works, the exceptions
being the Second Sonata (1961; Volume
1) and the essay in rhythmic virtuosity
Message (1926; Volume 2 how has this
not been recorded before?). The early sets
that rework juvenile miniatures do so
with considerable acuity and charm, not
least the Bagatelles, Petite Suite and Pices
sans titres. The Op 1 Toccata and Op 3
Scherzo (Koukls account a touch slower
than Shilyaevs but better characterised)
foreshadow the later creative giant while
the pairs of Nocturnes and Dances
Opp 2 and 8 indicate the range of
inuences on his then still-forming
creative personality.
Koukl fresh from his revelatory
recordings for Naxos of Martins
complete piano music and concertos
proves himself a most sympathetic
advocate for Tcherepnins music,
whether on a small or large scale. It is
instructive to compare his interpretations
of the sonatas with the composers
somewhat wayward ones: Koukl may
not achieve the same fury in the First
Sonatas opening Allegro commodo
but his pacing and structuring of the
movement, while subtly dierent, is just
as convincing; and his playing as a whole,
especially in the Second Sonata, is much
more precise. The sound for both discs is
top-notch.
GUY RICKARDS
79_83_CDrevs signed off by Claire.indd 79 05/12/2012 13:34:43
REVIEWS CDs
When Shostakovich graduated in 1925,
he was regarded as a pianist rst and
foremost, who also composed. That
perception changed with the First
Symphonys premiere a year later but he
wrote for the keyboard throughout his
life, not least with four-hand reductions
of his symphonies. Toccata Classicss new
series devoted to his complete works
for piano duo and duet opens with the
Ninth Symphony and it should be no
surprise that it transfers remarkably well
to the keyboard. The early F sharp minor
Suite of 1922 is much less characteristic,
stylistically with ambition outstripping
technical ability yet its four movements
make a considerable cumulative impact,
suggestive of the symphonist to come (the
suite may have originated as an abortive
attempt at a symphony).
Vicky Yannoula and Jakob Fichert
provide sparkling interpretations
throughout their hugely entertaining
programme, which concludes with the
A minor Concertino (1953) that followed
hard on the heels of the 10th Symphony.
Older listeners may recall the composers
1956 recording with son Maxim (at one
time reissued with Shostakovich and
Weinberg performing the four-hand
version of No 10), which is over two-
and-a-half minutes shorter. Yannoula
and Fichert are less hectic but what they
lack in sheer excitement is made up for
in superb precision and a genuinely
rethought interpretation. Punctuating
the main works are a handful of lighter
pieces, the pick of which is The Chase from
the lm music to Korzinkinas Adventures
(1940). Recommended. GR
Shostakovich Complete Music for
Piano Duet and Piano Duo, Volume 1:
Symphony No 9 in E at major, Op 70; Waltz
and Polka; Korzinkinas Adventures, Op 59
No 3, The Chase; Suite in F sharp minor, Op
6; Tarantella, Op 84d; Merry March, Op 84c;
Concertino in A minor, Op 94
Vicky Yannoula (pf), Jakob Fichert (pf)
Toccata Classics TOCC0034, 75 minutes
This is Benjamin Grosvenors rst concerto
disc. The programming is exemplary, with
each major piece followed by an intriguing,
brief encore; in two cases, transcriptions
add another musical voice to the mix.
Grosvenors way with Saint-Sanss Second
Piano Concerto is most aecting, capturing
not only its fantasy but also its Bachian
inspiration. The major competition here
comes from Stephen Hough (Hyperion),
and if Grosvenor does not quite match
Houghs lightness of touch in the central
Allegro scherzando, he certainly gives him
a run for his money in the breezy nale,
where eet ngerwork and zzing trills
li Grosvenors performance to another
level. The ligree of Godowskys Swan
transcription takes the musics trajectory
closer to Ravel.
He gives a ne account of the Ravel
concerto too, if not quite scaling the
heights of Michelangelis legendary
reading. The recording allows for plenty of
orchestral detail and Grosvenor highlights
the intimacy of the rst movement, thus
linking it to the heartfelt central Adagio
assai (where the pianist is eclipsed by a
heartbreaking cor anglais solo). But it is
in the nale that he nally hits true form.
The 1913 Prlude is a blissful encore.
The clarinets sliding glissando that opens
the Gershwin is alone worth the price of
the disc. The sound stage for the jazz band
is generally convincing, although there is
some spotlighting. Nevertheless this is a
bright and breezy account, full of felicitous
touches from Grosvenor, complementing
rather than eclipsing Previn/LSOs full-fat
Gershwin.
COLIN CLARKE
Rhapsody in Blue: Saint-Sans Piano
Concerto No 2 in G minor, Op 22; The Swan
(trans. Godowsky); Ravel Piano Concerto in
G; Prlude in A minor; Gershwin Rhapsody
in Blue (original jazz band version, arr. Grof);
Love Walked In (trans. Grainger)
Benjamin Grosvenor (pf); Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra/James Judd
Decca 478 3527, 66 minutes
Play Braxton
Marilyn Crispell (pf); Mark Dresser (bass),
Gerry Hemingway (drums)
Tzadik TZ 7640, 40 minutes
From 1985 to 1994, Marilyn Crispell,
Mark Dresser and Gerry Hemingway
were three-quarters of the Anthony
Braxton Quartet, one of the most
exciting and innovative groups in jazz,
which explored new kinds of structure
and fresh approaches to improvisation.
The trio re-formed in 2010 to play at
Braxtons 65th-birthday festivities,
whereupon Tzadik invited them to
record this disc.
Given the trios familiarity with so
much of Braxtons enormous oeuvre,
the CDs meagre 40-minute duration is
inexcusable; however, the playing itself is
top notch and the works chosen, though
all written pre-1985, do indicate the
variety of Braxtons innovative forms,
from Composition 23Cs catchy additive
repetition to Composition 116s layered,
synchronised pulse tracks, sounding
here like a spiky, demented march music.
As before, the trio deal expertly
with the musics technical complexities
and rise to its more poetic moments,
such as Composition 110A, once
likened by Braxton to the sensation
of blowing winds and trees (on an
island experiencing a rainstorm). They
bring their own erce clarity to the
music too, showing it can stand apart
from its creator; with his reeds absent,
Crispells piano becomes the lead voice,
hammering an intense improvisation
from Composition 69Bs language music
and skipping gaily through the bebop-
inspired Composition 40B. Dresser and
Hemingway are just as superb in what
is essentially democratic ensemble music.
So, though it may only be half a
CD, its denitely half full rather than
half empty.
GRAHAM LOCK
REVIEWS CDs
Nebra Desde el silencio / From silence
Moiss Ferndez Via (pf)
Verso VRS 2118, 60 minutes.
Mozart Piano Concertos: No 17 in G major,
K453; No 22 in E at major, K482; Rondo in A
major, K386
Kristian Bezuidenhout (fp), Freiburger
Barockorchester/Petra Mllejans (violin)
Harmonia Mundi HMC902147, 73 minutes
Mozart Piano Concertos: No 17 in G major,
K453; No 26 in D major, K537, Coronation
Ronald Brautigam (fp); Die Klner
Akademie/Michael Alexander Willens
BIS BIS-1944, 55 minutes
The music of the Spanish baroque
remains a largely unexplored treasure
trove, especially on record, hence the
evocative title for this selection of
Nebras long-lost sonatas and toccatas for
keyboard, although to open the disc with
a track of symbolic silence is possibly to
labour the point. Jos de Nebra (1702-
68) or Joseph Nebra, as Verso calls
him was the most celebrated member
of an inuential musical dynasty, famous
chiey for his many zarzuelas, operas
and sacred works, though renowned also
as an organist and teacher (his pupils
included his nephew Manuel Blasco de
Nebra and Antonio Soler). Nearly all the
pieces on this disc are manuscript copies
unearthed in private collections and
archives; most are undated and devoid
of tempo and dynamic markings, which
suggests Nebra used them for teaching.
Though probably intended for clavichord
or harpsichord, they sound perfectly
suited to the piano on this superbly
recorded live recital, and, didactic or not,
they make delightful listening, full of
darting rhythms, vivacious ourishes and
ingenious harmonic twists.
The young, prize-winning Spanish
pianist Moiss Ferndez Via makes a
persuasive advocate, keenly alert to
Nebras nesse and lively idiosyncrasies,
from plangent yearning (Toccata in
C minor) and skipping gaiety (two
Toccatas in G major) to the serene calm
and de ligree of the Grave on the 8th
Tone. Via closes his recital with a rapt
improvisation on a fragment from a lost
Grave; its a lovely gesture, cajoling new
beauty from old as he draws Nebra into
the 21st century. GL
In 1802 music theorist Heinrich
Christoph Koch praised Mozarts
concertos for their passionate sense of
dialogue between soloist and orchestra.
His remark appears in the notes to
Ronald Brautigams CD, although its
the South African pianist Kristian
Bezuidenhout and the Freiburger
Barockorchester (FBO), on their rst disc
of Mozart piano concertos, who bring
this sense of dialogue gloriously to life.
Key to their success, as Bezuidenhout
explains in his own CD note, was an
experimental recording set-up strings
in a semi-circle behind him, winds in
a line facing him: a layout designed to
bring the winds to the fore of the sonic
picture and to allow more natural
and vivid interplay between piano and
winds. These priorities are historically
appropriate, reecting the more
innovatory aspects of Mozarts later piano
concertos, not least K453, one of the rst
to assign to the winds a prominent role,
and K482, the rst to feature clarinets.
The result, as Bezuidenhout notes, is the
piano, playing both solo and continuo,
darts in and out of the lush orchestral
texture; the listener is there too, in the
midst of the action, hearing the music as
if from the inside.
Perhaps it wont be to all tastes, but
I found this immediacy thrilling; the
extreme textural and dynamic variations
give the music terric bite, especially in
K482, with its extrovert tutti ourishes
and pockets of hushed intimacy
(enhanced by the reduction of strings
to one-per-part). And if Bezuidenhout
sometimes risks compromising the
bigger picture in his scrutiny of the close-
up particularly striking in the Andante
of the G major, where he turns gentle
pathos into near despair his playing
is always imaginative and constantly
engaging. Hes vivacious in the A major
Rondo, delightfully zestful in K453s
bua nale and subtle yet expressive
throughout the dark-hued and bright-
tinted contrasts of the magical E at
major work.
Bezuidenhout plays a recent copy
of an 1805 Walter fortepiano, which
is technically 20 years too advanced,
but has a clear and pleasant tone.
Ronald Brautigams fortepiano is a
modern copy of a Walter from c1795;
its slightly thinner, more pinched tone
is presumably closer to Mozarts own
Walter (c1782) but is his disc any closer
to that Mozartian spirit of interaction?
Certainly he and Die Klner Akademie
enjoy a good rapport (this is their third
disc of Mozart concertos), though
Id describe it as a courteous rather
than passionate relationship, and one
that exists more between pianist and
orchestra en bloc than between individual
players. Die Klner Akademies orchestral
sound is smooth and more homogenous
than the FBOs, and their sculpted
phrasing complements Brautigams own:
everything is nicely shaped and crisply
articulated, if a little detached. I enjoyed
their brisk, coolly measured take on the
relatively lighthearted G major Concerto,
although a similar approach to K537
made its stylised elegance seem overly
chilly and inscrutable. The disc will have
its admirers, but that passionate sense
of dialogue is more fully embraced by
Bezuidenhout and the FBO, who revel in
the colours and dramas of Mozarts richly
volatile music. GL
REVIEWS CDs
Beethoven The Piano Concertos
Daniel Barenboim (pf); Staatskapelle Berlin
Decca 478 3515 (3CD), 183 minutes
These 2007 performances have been
previously available on DVD and are
Barenboims third Beethoven cycle
in which he appears as soloist. The
rst thing to strike the listener is the
wide recording range and involving
soundstage. The orchestra is superb,
too, with a gloriously warm sound, and
Barenboims rapport with the players
is palpable. In the First Concerto he
plays his own cadenza (the remaining
concertos feature Beethovens own).
Barenboim projects the melodies of the
slow movements to perfection (try No
1s Largo, for instance, with its superb
sense of dialogue). If No 2s orchestral
exposition sounds almost Mozartian,
it is to match Barenboims grace and
clarity of articulation; but on the whole
he sounds less involved in this piece than
the First. The nal two concertos are
puzzling in that No 4 is the weakest of
the set (uninvolving, with some irritating
agogics), while No 5, full of energy and
depth, is its crowning glory. CC
Pixis Piano Concerto in C major, Op 100;
Concertino in E at, Op 68; Thalberg Piano
Concerto in F minor, Op. 5
Howard Shelley (pf), Tasmanian
Symphony Orchestra
Hyperion CDA67915, 70 minutes
Johann Peter Pixis (17881874) was a
respected virtuoso in his day, perhaps
best known for his contribution to
Liszts collaborative work Hexamron (to
which Thalberg also contributed). The
soundworld of Weber looms large both in
Pixiss Concerto, both in its scintillatingly
virtuoso passages and in the dark, forest-
like atmosphere of the Adagio cantabile.
The music can sound over-decorative
in places, but its sheer vivacity holds it
all together. The earlier Concertino is
extremely charming, with some gloriously
imaginative scoring.
Sigismond Thalberg (181271) is
somewhat better known, and there exist
alternatives to this recording by Francesco
Nicolosi (Naxos) and Michael Ponti
(Vox). Ponti has plenty of charm but the
recording and orchestra let him down;
Nicolosi gives a grand and thoughtful
reading that complements Shelley, but
it is the new Hyperion disc that is most
consistently convincing. Perhaps the nest
movement is the gorgeous Adagio, with its
Chopinesque arabesques. A superb disc. CC
Schubert Fantasy in C major, Wanderer,
D760; Four Impromptus, Op 142 (D935);
Four Impromptus, Op 90 (D899)
Viviana Sofronitsky (fp)
Avi Music AVI8553250
Equally excellent are the production values
on Avi Musics new disc of Schubert on the
fortepiano featuring Viviana Sofronitsky,
whose father Vladimir will be familiar
to older pianophiles. The rather clattery
tone of the instrument takes a bit of
getting used to and, in a Wanderer Fantasy
executed a touch faster than usual, does not
always help clarity of articulation. Matters
are easier in the two sets of Impromptus
with their more lyrical, at times lilting,
melodies. The variation-form B at major
Impromptu (D935 No 3), based on one of
Schuberts best-known tunes, is very neatly
done. Sofronitskys strong interpretation of
the set seems to support the view (rst put
forward by Robert Schumann) that this
is in fact a free-format sonata. The D899
tetralogy is scarcely less cohesive a design
and is delivered with panache. GR
F Schmitt Complete Original Works
for Piano Duet and Duo, Volume 1:
Trois Rapsodies, Op 53; Sept Pices, Op 15;
Rhapsodie Parisienne
Ivencia Piano Duo (Andrey Kasparov and
Oksana Lutsyshyn, pf)
The music on this disc highlights the
highly perfumed world of French
composer Florent Schmitt (18701958) and
presents two world premiere recordings.
Only the three Op 53 Rapsodies of 19034
for two pianos are otherwise currently
represented (on Dutton Vocalion),
although they were previously recorded
by Robert and Gaby Casadesus in the
1950s. The central Polonaise has an energy
and ferocity that seems to pregure the
wildness of Ravels La valse. Schmitts
nale, itself a waltz (Viennoise) is
harmonically adventurous and the duo
bring great swing to its later stages. At over
30 minutes, the Sept Pices was Schmitts
rst large-scale cycle for piano duet and
it exudes a mood of sweet reminiscence.
The Rhapsodie Parisienne, with which the
disc ends, is again for piano duet and is
currently unpublished. The Invencia Duos
nonchalant delivery perfectly matches
the spirit of the piece as they track the
harmonys sweet twists and turns with
exquisite precision. CC
Schumann Complete Piano Works,
Volume 3: Charakterstcke I: Abegg Variations,
Op 1; Papillons, Op 2; Drei Romanzen, Op 28;
Intermezzi, Op 4 plus shorter pieces
Florian Uhlig (pf)
Hnssler Classic CD98.646, 76 minutes
This is the gem of my selection for this
issue. Uhlig has embarked on a project
to record all of Schumanns piano pieces
on 15 discs. He is a true visionary (as
anyone familiar with his Black Box CD
Venezia, featuring music by Wagner,
Chopin, Galuppi, Alkan et al., will know).
In Papillons, Uhlig seems alive to every
nuance. His playing is full of cheeky
staccatos and evinces a great sense of
uidity, line and texture. There follow
an exquisitely planned sequence of short
pieces related in various ways to Op 2,
forming a magical musical appendix. Every
item in this enterprise, no matter how
small, is clearly a labour of love. The Op
28 Romanzen nd Schumann focused on
weightier matters and again they are ideally
shaped by Uhlig, while Op 4 adds drama
and virtuosity to the mix. CC
In Brief...
CHOICE
REVIEWS CDs
In Brief...
Debussy Childrens Corner; Suite
bergamasque; Danse; Deux Arabesques; Pour le
piano; Masques; Lisle joyeuse; La plus que lente
Angela Hewitt (pf)
Hyperion CDA67898, 80 minutes
Angela Hewitts previous recordings of
Bach, Mozart and Ravel with their
combination of rigour, precision and
poetry stand her in good stead in
her new recital for Hyperion, which
comprises the essential Debussy piano
music outside the Prludes, tudes and
Images. Childrens Corner is delightfully
light and airy, with some remarkably
delicate touches, culminating in a
rollicking Golliwogs Cakewalk. The
playing in the Suite bergamasque is
near ideal, Clair de lune weaving its
subtle magic but as a part (for once) of
a convincing whole. The Arabesques,
Masques and Pour le piano sparkle in her
hands but it is in the Danse (originally
the Tarantelle styrienne, later orchestrated
by Ravel) and Lisle joyeuse that the most
sublime playing is to be found. La plus que
lente completes a hugely enjoyable disc.
Hyperions production values are superb.
GR
Le Buf sur le Toit Swinging Paris
Miniatures and arrangements for piano
Alexandre Tharaud (pf), Frank Braley
(pf), with Bnabar, Jean Delescluse,
Juliette, Madeleine Peyroux, Natalie
Dessay (vocals), David Chevallier (banjo),
Florent Jodelet (percussion)
Virgin Classics 5099944073725
Alexandre Tharauds new Virgin Classics
album Le Buf sur le Toit is a 26-track
evocation of Swinging Paris built
around arrangements or compositions
by Clment Doucet and Jean Winer
(who between them contribute 12 pieces,
including four joint arrangements for
two pianos). Doucets Chopinata is a fun
foxtrot based on Chopin themes as is his
Liszt skit, Hungaria. However, Isoldina
trivialises its Wagnerian material,
showing poor musical judgment.
Milhauds title-track appears only by
virtue of the extracted Tango des Fratellini
(its most famous passage, for sure) as
does Caramel mou, one of several tracks
to include guest performers: here tenor
Jean Delescluse. An ethereal-sounding
Natalie Dessay turns up in Winers Blues
chant and Madeleine Peyroux gives a
mannered and tedious rendition of Cole
Porters Lets Do It. Tharauds playing,
when the music gives him anything
interesting to do as in the Gershwin
songs compels attention; otherwise
this is no more than frothy wallpaper
music, pleasant enough in a hotel bar,
but I could not wait to return to Debussy,
Schubert and Tcherepnin. GR
Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No 2 in B at
minor, Op 36 (1913 version); Moreaux de
fantaisie, Op 3; Variations on a Theme by
Corelli, Op 42
Alessandro Mazzamuto (pf)
Arts SACD47761-8, 71 minutes
This is a remarkable debut disc from
the young Sicilian pianist Alessandro
Mazzamuto, who was born in 1988.
The booklet notes talk of Mazzamutos
approach being closer to that of an older
era of pianists (something that is oen
said about Benjamin Grosvenor, too)
and it is easy to see what they mean.
Although Hlne Grimaud on DG opts
for a slightly dierent, hybrid text of the
Second Sonata, it is still instructive to
compare the two and it is Mazzamuto
who triumphs in his remarkably uency.
He balances the textures impeccably
(though perhaps the bell-like descants
are slightly under-accented) and the
Non allegro is tender without a hint
of wallowing. This is a thinking mans
Rachmaninov. Even the famous Prelude
in C sharp minor (from Op. 3) becomes
a miniature tone-poem. The Corelli
Variations (given as one track) unveils
itself mysteriously in playing that belies
the pianists tender years. CC
Ravel Sonatine; Gaspard de la nuit, Menuet
antique; Le tombeau de Couperin
Paolo Giacometti (pf)
Channel Classics CCS SA 31612 (2CD),
134 minutes
Each work here is performed twice, on
an rard and on a Steinway. Ravel had
experience of both and composed using
the French instrument. The older piano is
featured on the rst disc. The rard has a
dulcet, even ethereal timbre and is slightly
fuzzy (perhaps because it was recorded in a
church) but it has an attractive sound, with
no excessive brightness in the treble and
with a dry bass that that doesnt obfuscate
Ravels textures. Its a little watery-
sounding at times, somewhat tinkling,
but that is analogous to the rened sound-
world that Ravel conjures. Gaspard de
la nuit is perhaps the biggest test of the
rards potential. This is not the most
powerful account around, but its certainly
vivid, not least in Scarbo, brought o by
Paolo Giacometti with dash and drama.
The Steinway, unsurprisingly, oers a
wider dynamic range, a growly bass and
a dazzling treble, all of which is exploited
by Giacometti while remaining sensitive
to Ravels unique aural imagination. The
sound-image has a greater clarity, the
Steinway having been recorded more
closely and in a dryer acoustic. It might
have been better if the same venue had
been used for both instruments. Overall,
Giacometti is a sensitive and innate
performer, giving shapely, thoughtful and
vibrant interpretations, responding to
and working within the pianos respective
qualities and oering subtle dierences in
the same works. However, Ravels music
seems less magical and less involving
heavier, in fact when heard on the
Steinway, so in this particular contest it is
the rard that wins the day!
COLIN ANDERSON
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Untitled-7 1 19/11/2012 11:27:44
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Untitled-1 1 31/07/2012 11:55:46
084_IP_0113.indd 84 05/12/2012 15:07:08
Beethoven Rondo in B at major for
Piano and Orchestra, WoO 6
(Edited by Hans-Werner Kuthen, ngering
by Andreas Groethuysen, reduction for
two pianos by Johannes Umbreit)
G. Henle Verlag
ISMN 979-0-2018-1149-9
Beethoven produced four versions of his
Second Piano Concerto (which, in fact, was
his rst). This delightful Mozartian Rondo
was originally the nal movement of the
piece and it is the earliest surviving example
of a Beethoven orchestral score. Though
heavily indebted to Mozart in terms of
structure (it seems modelled on the nale of
Mozarts E at Concerto, K271, as both
works have slower central sections in
opposing rhythmic metres to their outer
ones) it is far from anonymous. Indeed,
there are lots of welcome bravura passages
for the soloist, including challenging
gurations in 10ths and some cadenza-like
ourishes. But overall, there is less rhythmic
energy and melodic memorability than in
the eventual last movement of the Second
Concerto. The orchestral writing is also
much more conservative. Nonetheless, the
piece deserves to be much better known
and could be useful material for younger
pianists and school orchestras to use.
Solo Tango Vol 2
Solo piano arrangements by Gustavo
Beytelmann
Universal Edition UE 35029
ISMN 979-0-008-08406-5
The rst volume of Beytelmanns solo
tango arrangements was a treasure trove
of contrasted delights. In this follow-up
anthology, we are oered a further seven
highly individual, oen quirky
transcriptions that are full of intrigue,
originality and provocation. Agustn
Bardi shows vivid and unexpected twists
of harmony, texture and mood in his
highly energised Qu noche!. In contrast,
Melodia de Arrabal by Carlos Gardel works
as a slow crescendo, leading to an
extremely invigorating climax.
Heightened expressivity and intense
sentiment are hallmarks of Francisco de
REVIEWS SHEET MUSIC
Caros Flores negras, while passion really
lets y with abandon in Gardels Por una
cabeza. In total contrast, the minimalist
textures and sparse non-pedalled sounds
of Don Juan by Ernesto Ponzio are
impressive, while the almost philosophical
quiet musings of Bardis Nunca tuvo novio,
complete with its memorable melodies,
make for a poignant conclusion to the
collection. Warmly recommended.
Mendelssohn Rondo capriccioso, Op 14
(Edited by Ullrich Scheideler, ngering by
Hans-Martin Theopold)
G. Henle Verlag
ISM M M-2018-0919-9
Ullrich Scheidelers painstakingly
researched new edition of Mendelssohns
beloved party piece involved no fewer
than three autograph scores, three rst
editions and two later editions during its
preparation. As someone who has
performed this work for many years, I was
pleasantly surprised, therefore, to nd
that there are no major dierences on
oer from what has been presented in the
past from other houses. But Scheidelers
workmanship exudes authority and it is
fascinating to read his footnotes, where
alternatives are given to the precise
placements on the score of a tempo
markings following ritardandos. Precision
in terms of pedalling in the opening
Andante is also most welcome here, and it
was interesting to note just how few pedal
indications Mendelssohn actually wrote.
Excellent background notes on the
gestation of the piece are included, while
Hans-Martin Theopolds ngering is both
practical and intelligent.
Edward Gregson An Album for my
Friends (2011)
Novello NOV 100452
Edward Gregson (born 1945) has an
idiomatic understanding of the piano, and
this is impressively on display in this
charming suite of baroque dance
movements. Each movement is dedicated
to a particular friend, and cunningly
modelled on a particular piece from one of
the Bach French or English suites. For
example, Adams Allemande (dedicated to
composer Adam Gorb) is extremely close
motivically and in character to the
Allemande from Bachs G major French
Suite. Gregsons harmonic vocabulary
makes use of sequences, dissonances and
lots of superimposed fourths, but always
combined with a populist appeal. These
pieces will be extremely useful to talented
younger players in particular as they search
for material to present in competitive
festivals and school concerts. It would be
wonderful to juxtapose the original dances
with these charming new pieces in
performance, though they can equally
stand on their own.
Bohuslav Martinu
La revue de cuisine
Version for piano from the concert suite,
edited by Christopher Hogwood
Leduc AL18 054
ISMN-CZC-0-046-18054-5
Those who enjoy Martins Etudes and
Polkas will nd this jazz-inuenced
reduction from his ballet score La revue de
cuisine surprising. Though perhaps less
individual in style than his piano concertos
and arguably less idiomatic in terms of
pianistic layout than his most famous solo
pieces, this newly edited version by
Christopher Hogwood of the composers
own solo piano suite certainly makes for
enjoyable sight-reading. Martin made his
arrangement for solo piano in 1930. The
ballet itself shows inuences of popular
music, including jazz, tango, foxtrot and
Charleston, as well as shades of Poulenc,
Stravinsky and possibly a little of Martins
teacher Albert Roussel. Perhaps too much
of it sounds like a reduced orchestral score
when played on piano for it to be included
in recital programmes, but this music will
certainly provide lots of stimulation in
private study. In this sense, it can be
favourably compared with the reductions
for solo piano of the great Debussy
orchestral scores such as Jeux and Prlude
Laprs-midi dun faune.
MURRAY MCLACHLAN
Schumann
Urtext Allegro h-moll
Opus 8
Allegro in b minor
op. 8
G. HenleVerlag
480
Beethoven
Urtext Rondo B-dur
fr Klavier und Orchester
WoO 6 Klavierauszug
Rondo in Bb major for Piano and Orchestra
WoO 6 Piano Reduction
1149
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(K
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ISMN 979-0-2018-1149-9
Printed in Germany
HN 1149 www.henle.com
HN 1149 Beethoven Cover.indd 1 13.01.2012 11:28:55
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87_IP0113_Nxt Issue signed off by Claire.indd 87 05/12/2012 13:20:38
I
TS VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO
talk about music. Im doing music
because I am not a person who can
express her feelings very well in words.
Its easier with the piano! My rst teacher
didnt support the method of teaching a
child with Czerny or Hanon studies. He
thought I should deal immediately with
real music. So he gave me Bach: the C
major Invention was the very rst piece
I ever played. I was three years old and
putting together all the dierent voices
was just like a puzzle game for me. So
for the rst few years I played nothing
but Bach Two-Part and then Three-
Part Inventions. Then a friend of my
parents bought me the Glenn Gould
Goldberg Variations as a present. I would
have been six or seven. I fell in love with
the Goldbergs it just happened to be
Glenn Gould playing. It was only later
that I found out about his character.
It inspired me not to listen to anyone
elses interpretation of a piece that I was
preparing, because you need to nd your
own way and thats exactly what hes
doing. Its not something you can copy
or imitate. You can learn from it, of
course, but its always been important for
me to nd my own approach.
One day when I was ten or eleven, I was
home alone in Munich. I got bored with
practising and I just wanted to play some
other music to the piece I was rehearsing.
So I looked at my mothers score shelf
and found some Schubert lieder (she is
a pianist but she took up singing lessons
when we moved to Germany). I started
playing the piano parts and singing the
melody and really loved it. The next
day I went to this very good DVD shop
we have in Munich people love going
there because the people who work there
know a lot about classical music. Its not
like this anymore! They recommended
Fischer-Dieskau with Gerald Moore.
Later I listened to soprano versions and
Hermann Prey but what I liked about
Fischer-Dieskaus is that, even though
the intonation is not always perfect, it
has so much character and charisma
but it never disturbs. One day I want
to make a recording of Schubert lieder
accompanying a singer coupled with
some Liszt transcriptions of the songs.
I discovered Czira through Liszt. My
rst teacher, who I studied with for six or
seven years, was Hungarian and he was
a great fan of Czira. Theres no doubt
that he is one of the greatest interpreters
of Liszts music, but two years ago I rst
heard him playing French Baroque music
Couperin, Lully, Rameau. Tambourin
that he plays I love because of the rhythm
he had in his blood. Its so special. Nobody
can copy this. When you hear the piece
you also imagine Gypsies and dancing
and Czira is a master at this Gypsy-style
rhythm. You also feel it in the Hungarian
Rhapsodies or anything he does.
I was on the train to Verbier with
Steven Isserlis and he asked me which
version of the Bach Cello Suites I liked
best and I said Daniil Shafran! He said
that was all right, he wouldnt hate
me! When I rst heard this recording
I was in Russia. Some friends played
it for me. One of them was doing an
exam or something on Shafran and so
I found out a lot about him. You can
really hear from the way he plays that
he has dedicated his whole life to music.
It must have been very di cult for his
wife because music was his priority. No
5 is my favourite. One day when I have
more time Id like to take cello lessons.
It would be my goal to play the Gigue
from the Suite.
Discovering special recordings always
happens when Im with friends, always
by accident. One time it was before
Deutsche Grammophon signed me I
was with a Hungarian friend and we
were having some nice Tokai wine and
he put on Cortot playing the Chopin
Waltzes. From the rst note I was really
shocked because the sound was of a
dierent time, a dierent world. Today
we dont have time for anything. You see
people at the opera. Theyre not chatting
to each other anymore. Theyre only
communicating with their Blackberries
and iPhones. Nobody has the time to
just sit down on the ground and listen to
the air, to the birds. Listening to Cortot
is a sound from a time when people had
time to enjoy these things. Its a sound
we have lost. It makes you drunk. Not
because of the Tokai but because of the
music! I cant put it in a dierent way.
INTERVIEW BY JEREMY NICHOLAS
Alice Sara Otts Mussorgsky and Schubert
disc is released by Deutsche Grammophon
on 21 January. Ott performs at Londons
Royal Festival Hall on 12 February, as part
of the International Piano series
Bach: Goldberg Variations
Glenn Gould (pf)
Sony Classical SMK52594 (1955 version)
& S3K87703 (1981 version)
Schubert: Winterreise
Fischer-Dieskau (baritone)
& Gerald Moore (pf)
DG 00289 477 8391
Rameau: Tambourin
Georges Cziffra (pf)
EMI 7243 5 65253 2
Bach: Cello Suite No.5
Daniil Shafran (cello)
AULOS MUSIC AMC2 012
Chopin: Waltzes
Alfred Cortot (pf)
Naxos 8.111035
Alice Sara Ott The German-Japanese
pianist shares her favourite recordings
P
H
O
T
O

E
S
T
H
E
R

H
A
A
S
E
/
D
G
T
HERES NO SINGLE PIANIST
who has inuenced me more than
another, but that whole group
of Golden Age pianists Hofmann,
Lhvinne, Rosenthal, Rachmaninov very
much did. It was more the over-arching
style of the period that inuenced me.
My rst choice is John Kirkpatrick
playing Ivess Concord Sonata, recorded
in 1968. It still hasnt been issued on
CD. My father used to subscribe to what
was then called Clavier magazine. For
the Ives centenary in 1974, the October
issue devoted much space to his music
and mentioned this recording. I was
13 and very intrigued. My parents and
I were living at that time in Laval [a
suburb of Montreal, Quebec]. I went
down to our local small record shop
and they had a copy. It was the rst
recording I bought for myself and, in
a sense, this was the most important
one because it introduced me to record
buying and what a wonderful shock
the piece was! It opened up a new world
because nothing Id experienced before
was like it harmonically, spiritually or,
of course, pianistically. I listened to that
recording literally all summer. I bought
it in June and got the score in September.
Kirkpatrick recorded it once before in
1948, right at the beginning of the LP
era. Sony, issue these two performances
on a single disc!
A year later in 1976, in that same little
music store, I came across two double
albums on Deutsche Grammophon of
the complete Scriabin sonatas played by
Roberto Szidon. For some reason my
father had no Scriabin scores in his library,
so these pieces were totally unknown to
both of us. What attracted me initially
was the artwork on the album covers
(sadly not reproduced for the CD release):
abstract shapes in wonderful colours. I
was reasonably familiar with all of the
standard repertoire by then, especially the
Romantics, and had a fanatical desire to
absorb everything. You can imagine, given
how much of a ground-breaker Scriabin
was, how incredibly fascinating this music
was to me. Its not for everybody, but I
still have a very high regard for it.
A friend, a fellow student at the
Vincent dIndy School [in Montreal],
introduced me to Pierre Henry and his
Apocalypse de Jean, a setting of part of
the Book of Revelations. Its an electro-
acoustic work with narration thats
to say it combines elements of musique
concrte with music produced purely by
electronic instruments. Henry uses these
resources to paint a very powerful picture
of Revelations. Theres one passage where
souls are crying and Henry uses the
sounds of a hoard of little baby wolves.
Its an extraordinarily evocative work
there are parts that are quite terrifying.
It lasts about one hour 45 minutes and is
a piece that I know enriched me greatly
artistically. The narration is in French but
that shouldnt deter anyone from hearing
what is a truly great work in my opinion.
All these choices, Ive realised, are from
my student days before I le Montreal at
the age of 19 to go to the States. Theres
a label in California called 1750 Arch
Records and they issued The Complete
Player Piano Studies of Conlon
Nancarrow (volume one). I came across
this just by chance, took it home and
I was just oored! The third study is in
ve parts and is subtitled Boogie-Woogie
Suite. Someone described it as 16 Art
Tatums playing together! It opened up a
totally new world of musical perception
for me. There have been various re-issues
but the one on the Other Minds label is a
remastering in a 4-CD set of the one
I bought.
I became a true Frank Zappa fanatic
aer someone played me an album
called Studio Tan, which was basically
a collection of instrumental as
opposed to vocal tracks. One side was
devoted to a 20-minute piece called
The Adventures of Greggery Peccary. Its
a wild and woolly thing narrated by
Zappa himself with all kinds of voices.
The music is very dense, very tricky
and very cartoon-ish. Everything in
the music illustrates the narration.
Its an absolutely silly story but you
have to marvel at the complexity, the
inventiveness and the imagination
of Frank Zappa. Hes been rather
overlooked because his music didnt
lend itself to airplay or the dance oor
and rhythmically he liked to trip people
up. You can also pick The Adventures of
Greggery Peccary up on a compilation
of Zappas instrumental works called
Lther. Its got a nice picture of a cow on
the cover! e
INTERVIEW BY JEREMY NICHOLAS
Ives: Sonata No 2 Concord
John Kirkpatrick (pf) Available as a
download from Amazon
Scriabin: Complete Piano Sonatas
Roberto Szidon (pf)
DG 0289 477 0492 8 (3-CD)
Henry: Apocalypse de Jean (Oratorio
lectronique En Cinq Temps)
Pierre Henry (pf); Jean Ngroni (vocals)
Philips 464 401-2 (2-CD)
Nancarrow: Studies for Player
Piano (complete, vol 1-4)
Supervised by the composer
Other Minds OM CD 1012/1015-2 (4-CD)
Zappa: The Adventures of
Greggery Peccary
Frank Zappa & others
Zappa 3857
Music of my life
Marc-Andr Hamelin discusses the
recordings that inuenced him most
P
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K
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088_IP1112 signed off by Claire.indd 88 03/10/2012 11:04:19 88_IP0113_MusicofmyLife_CJ .indd 88 05/12/2012 16:48:14
Untitled-2 1 28/09/2012 09:44:02 089_IP_0113 -IBC.indd 1 05/12/2012 17:45:37
Please visit our website Visitez notre site internet
WWW.WFIMC.ORG WWW.FMCIM.ORG
The WFIMC represents more than 120 member competitions on 6 continents.
La FMCIM runit plus de 120 concours membres sur 6 continents.
International music competitions - a key to success
Les concours internationaux de musique - la cl de la russite
Untitled-11 1 29/08/2012 12:09:15 090_IP_0113 -OBC.indd 21 05/12/2012 15:23:52

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OH, I WAS WRONG. SO WRONG! LAUGHS STEVEN

[pics in, no credit for the scanned

Wagner at the piano

given their anecdotal knowledge of

The pianist who

January/February 2013 International Piano 55

53_57_IP0113_Symposium_CJ .indd 56 05/12/2012 18:13:11

Excerpt: Mystery Melody by John Kember

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