Friday 11 December 2015, 1:10pm |
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St James’s Piccadilly London W1J 9LL United Kingdom |
BPSE Lunchtime recital series
Mark Viner – piano A CONNOISSEUR’S RECITAL We were treated to a programme of rare interest given by the young British virtuoso Mark Viner. As recently elected Chairman of the Alkan Society it was natural that Viner should open with two pieces by that fascinating yet still shadowy figure, the spectre at the feast of Chopin, Liszt, Saint-Saens and other more recognised figures. Unknown to me, the two works – ‘Salut, cendre de pauvre!’ (Paraphrase, op 45) and ‘Super flumina Babylonis’ (Paraphrase, op 52) displayed a quiet, meditative mien till the second piece morphed into a lively tarantella. Viner’s beautiful tone, warm yet not cloying, had dimension and a wealth of interesting balance. The Beethoven items, two little Allegrettos in C minor and C major (WoO 53 and 56) continued in the same enigmatic vein, with lively contrapuntal work in the second piece. Viner resisted any temptation to prettify these or over-characterise them. Alkan was reputedly the only pianist before whom Liszt himself was nervous. Ending with Liszt’s fearsome ‘Reminiscences of Lucrezia Borgia’, I felt Viner could finally have allowed himself a little more flamboyance and theatricality: yet he displayed a sonorous orchestral virtuosity and control to marvel at in the service of this rarely heard virtuoso paraphrase. ©Julian Jacobson
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Wednesday 28 October 2015, 1:10pm |
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St James’s Piccadilly London W1J 9LL United Kingdom |
BPSE Lunchtime recital series
Julius Berger, cello Beethoven (arr. Julis Berger) Early pieces for mandolin
Can there really be such a thing as a Beethoven premiere any more? In a modest sense yes, as two of the skilful arrangements by Julius Berger of three charming early pieces for mandolin were evidently receiving their first British outing. Played with poise and dexterity by Berger himself, with Alberto Portugheis an attentive and light-fingered accompanist, they continued with two early works of Webern, finding the heart of their tremulous Romanticism. They concluded with an involving performance of Schubert’s heavenly “Arpeggione” Sonata that effortlessly encompassed its many moods. This is not a sonata that yields its secrets easily, performances often erring either too much on the straight-and-narrow side and missing its Viennese charm and melancholy, or going overboard and treating it like proto-Rachmaninov. Berger and Portugheis, showing the wisdom of experience, seemed to me to steer a quasi-ideal middle course, inflecting and bending the music to convey its emotional richness while maintaining line and structure. Yet the essential Schubertian spontaneity was respected, never did anything sound pre-planned or set in stone. © Julian Jacobson
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Tuesday 6 October 2015, 1pm |
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St Martin-in-the-Fields |
BPSE Competition-Winners Recital series
BPSE Senior Intercollegiate Piano competition prizewinner Mihai Ritivoiu, piano Beethoven Two Bagatelles op 33 nos. 1 and 2
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Monday 7 September 2015, 1pm |
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St Martin-in-the-Fields |
BPSE Competition-Winners Recital series
Winners of 2015 BPSE Chamber Music Competition Michael Foyle, violin Beethoven Sonata No.4 in A minor, Op.23
What pleasure this well-matched duo gave us; not only through their unity in musical thought, but both, violinist and pianist,performing by heart. Sonata No.4 in A minor, Op.23 by Beethoven was very well characterized, the outer movements delivered with temperament and finesse. The Andante – quasi Allegretto – was musical, but could have benefitted from a graceful and expressive “scherzoso”. Brahms’ powerful third and last Sonata, in D minor Op.108, received a majestic, masterful performance. A treacherous work, the violin, which so often is drowned by the piano, shone without any difficulty. My only objection, although I admit this is purely a personal stance, in the D minor key I like a more intense colour, almost as if one was listening to the viola. I look forward to the next concert of the Foyle-Stsura team. © Alberto Portugheis |
Monday 17 August 2015, 1:10pm |
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St James’s Piccadilly |
BPSE Lunchtime Recital series
James Brawn, piano Beethoven Sonata in G major Op.79 |
Tuesday 4 August 2015, 1pm |
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St Martin-in-the-Fields |
BPSE Lunchtime Recital series
Meng Yang Pan, piano Beethoven Sonata in F major, Op.10 No.2
Many remarkable moments stay in my memory from the inspired recital given to a large audience by the young Chinese pianist Meng Yang Pan, particularly her Beethoven Sonata in F major, Op.10 No.2 and two Impromptus by Schubert, the 2nd and 3rd from the Op.90. Careful attention to detail, to the quality of sound, to the balance between inner and outer voices and a genuine feeling for the variety of moods, were present from beginning to end of these works. The concert started with a surprisingly fast Rondo ‘alla ungarese’, Op.129, known as ‘Rage over a lost penny’, Beethoven’s capricious, whimsical, humorous turns somehow lost in what sounded Presto instead of Beethoven’s Allegro vivace. The programme finished with a powerful, expressive and virtuoso performance of Liszt’s Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto. © Alberto Portugheis |
Wednesday 24 June 2015, 1:10pm |
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St James’s Piccadilly London W1J 9LL United Kingdom |
BPSE Lunchtime Recital series
Oscar Bohorquez, violin Beethoven Sonata No.10 in G, Op.96 |
Friday, 8 May 2015 |
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Regent Hall 275 Oxford St W1C 2DJ London United Kingdom |
BPSE Lunchtime recital series
Paolo Rinaldi, piano J S Bach Toccata No 2 in E minor BWV914 Since a young age Paolo Rinaldi has been performing with great acclaim both in Italy and abroad. Among notable performances at that time, he lists the Mozart Concerto KV456 in Bb, which he performed in 2010 with the Mantova Conservatory orchestra at Palazzo Ducale, Mantova (Sala di Manto), under the direction of Domenico Tondo. He has also been invited to play in Lugano, Switzerland, in an event sponsored by the Cultural Centre ‘Artis Magistri’ in a memorial concert dedicated to Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. In 2007 he won 2nd prize in the piano competition ‘Città di Bardolino’, as well as having been awarded the ‘Rinaldo Rossi’ Prize for the best interpretation of a composition of the twentieth century. He further received the ‘Egidio for music’ scholarship in 2011, from the Comune di Salò (BS), followed by a concert in the Town Hall of the city. Whilst studying at the Conservatory of Music in Mantova, he took part in the Masterclasses of Bruno Canino, Arabel Moraguez, Boris Petrushansky, Eser Öykü Dede and Pier Narciso Masi. In 2011 he attended the Internationale Sommerakademie Mozarteum in Salzburg, as a participant in the advanced course led by Prof. Andrzej Jasinski, and was chosen to play in the Akademiekonzert at the Wiener Saal. After his performance of Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue BWV 904, he was cited as one of the best students of the Internationale Sommerakademie Mozarteum course. In 2013, Paolo was accepted on the MA post-graduate course at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he now studies with Sulamita Aronovsky. |
Monday, 20 April 2015 |
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Steinway Hall 44 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2DB United Kingdom |
Beethoven Chamber Music Masterclass and Competition 2015 Violin & Piano DuosCello & Piano DuosThe “Gwyneth George Award”
(£400 and a concert in the BPSE 2015-16 series) April 20/21 2015 Entry Fee: £60 per duo Monday April 20th: Daytime Masterclass 10:30am – 4.00 pm Duos should send a biography, name of the work by Beethoven, Further information is available from: secretary@bpse.org |
Friday, 10 April 2015m 1:10pm |
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St James’s Piccadilly W1J 9LL London United Kingdom |
BPSE Lunchtime Recital series
Stephen Savage, piano. Programme: Beethoven Sonata in D minor Op.31/2 ‘Tempest’ Biography: Stephen Savage received his early training from Dorothy Hesse and began his career in his native UK where he came to attention at 16 with a performance of Beethoven’s 4th Concerto with the National Youth Orchestra. Study with Bruno Seidlhofer in Vienna was followed by four intensive years with Cyril Smith at the Royal College of Music where he won major prizes. He soon appeared in recital at the Wigmore Hall’s London Piano Series and made many BBC broadcasts including live appearances in the Invitation Concerts. His repertoire covers the fullest range, from Bach to Tippett and Lutoslawski, with special emphasis on the great Viennese classics. From 1982 he lived in Australia and appeared frequently as concerto soloist with most of the country’s leading orchestras, collaborating with Werner Andreas Albert, Nicholas Braithwaite, Omri Hadari and Ronald Zollman, among others. He was invited by the composer to give the first Australian performance of the Lutoslawski Concerto, with the Sydney Symphony. He performed in the international festivals of Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. Stephen has made distinguished recordings of works by Beethoven, Debussy, Liszt, Moussorgsky and Tippett and toured regularly, especially in Asia. His contribution as an influential teacher has been enduring, with extended periods at the RCM and the Queensland Conservatorium now followed by his current appointment to the RNCM, Manchester. |
Sunday, 22 March 2015 |
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Austrian Cultural Forum London 28 Rutland Gate SW7 1PQ London United Kingdom |
BPSE Intercollegiate Junior Competition
All UK Conservatoire Junior Departments and Specialist Music Schools are invited to nominate a pianist to represent them in London. Each competitor performs a complete Beethoven piano sonata in addition to a compulsory Bagatelle before a distinguished jury.
Each competitor plays a Beethoven sonata of choice and the compulsory Bagatelle Op.126 No.2 in G Minor |
Monday, 26 January 2015, 1:10pm |
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St James’s Piccadilly W1J 9LL London United Kingdom |
BPSE Lunchtime Recital series
Alberto Portugheis, piano J S Bach/F Busoni Chaconne in D minor (from violin Partita No.4)
Dinu Lipatti Nocturne in F sharp minor, Op.6 Johannes Brahms 24 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op.24 |
Friday, 9 January 2015, 1:10pm |
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St James’s Piccadilly W1J 9LL London United Kingdom |
BPSE Lunchtime Recital series
Gregor Prozesky, piano Alban Berg Sonata Op. 1
Beethoven Bagatelle Op.126 No.3 HaydnAdagio in F, Hob. XVII/9 BeethovenSonata No.32 in C minor Op. 111 |