2015

Friday 11 December 2015, 1:10pm

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

 

Wednesday 28 October 2015, 1:10pm

St James’s Piccadilly
London
W1J 9LL
United Kingdom
BPSE Lunchtime recital series

Julius Berger, cello
Alberto Portugheis, piano

Beethoven (arr. Julis Berger) Early pieces for mandolin
Schubert “Arpeggione” Sonata

 

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

 

Tuesday 6 October 2015, 1pm

St Martin-in-the-Fields
Trafalgar Square
London (WC2N 4JJ)
United Kingdom

BPSE Competition-Winners Recital series

BPSE Senior Intercollegiate Piano competition prizewinner

Mihai Ritivoiu, piano

Beethoven Two Bagatelles op 33 nos. 1 and 2
Mozart Sonata in A minor K 310
De Falla Fantasia Baetica
Liszt  Au bord d’une source
Messiaen Regard de l’Esprit de Joie

 

Monday 7 September 2015, 1pm

St Martin-in-the-Fields
Trafalgar Square
London (WC2N 4JJ)
United Kingdom

BPSE Competition-Winners Recital series

Winners of 2015 BPSE Chamber Music Competition

Michael Foyle, violin
Maksim Stsura, piano

Beethoven Sonata No.4 in A minor, Op.23
Brahms Sonata in D minor Op.108

 

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

St James’s Piccadilly
London
W1J 9LL
United Kingdom

BPSE Lunchtime Recital series

James Brawn, piano

Beethoven Sonata in G major Op.79
Beethoven Sonata in E minor Op. 90
Beethoven Sonata in D Op. 28

Tuesday 4 August 2015, 1pm

St Martin-in-the-Fields
Trafalgar Square
London (WC2N 4JJ)
United Kingdom

BPSE Lunchtime Recital series

Meng Yang Pan, piano

Beethoven Sonata in F major, Op.10 No.2
Schubert Two Impromptus – 2nd and 3rd from the Op.90

 

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

St James’s Piccadilly
London
W1J 9LL
United Kingdom
BPSE Lunchtime Recital series

Oscar Bohorquez, violin
Julian Jacobson, piano

Beethoven Sonata No.10 in G, Op.96
Mozart Camargo Guarnieri Sonata no. 4 for violin & piano

Friday, 8 May 2015

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
Beethoven Sonata for Piano No 32 in C minor Op. 111
Debussy Reflets dans l’eau, from 6 Images
Debussy Hommage à Rameau, from ‘6 Images’
Debussy Mouvement, from ‘6 Images’
Luigi Dallapiccola Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera
Paolo Rinaldi was born in Desenzano del Garda, Italy, in 1991 into a musical family. He started playing the piano at the age of six, and initially was taught by his pianist parents, Roberta Bambace and Isacco Rinaldi. Since 2002 he continued with Umberto Bertetti at the Conservatory ‘L Campiani’ of Mantova (Mantua), and from the age of 16, studied there with Antonio Pulleghini, graduating with distinction in 2011. During his Conservatory years, Paolo received the ‘Rinaldo Rossi’ and ‘Lions Club Mantova Host’ scholarships, in addition to being named piano student of the year in 2010.

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

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
Both the Masterclass and the Competition are open to the public:

Monday April 20th: Daytime Masterclass 10:30am – 4.00 pm
Tuesday April 21st: Daytime Masterclass 10:30am – 4.00pm
Tuesday April 21st: Concert/Competition 6.00pm (free entrance)
Masterclass:
Observers, BPSE/EPTA/ESTA non-members: £10 per day; £15 for two days.
BPSE/EPTA/ESTA Members: £8 per day – £12 for two days

Duos should send a biography, name of the work by Beethoven,
they wish to present and a cheque (payable to EPTA West London) to:
BPSE Masterclass and Competition, 14a Lakeside Road, London W14 0DU.

Further information is available from: secretary@bpse.org

Friday, 10 April 2015m 1:10pm

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’
Sonata in F minor, Op.57 ‘Appassionata’

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

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

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

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
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