Piano Street's Classical Piano Blog

The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in London is arranging a Dame Myra Hess Day on the 25th of November (2008). This annual event honours Dame Myra Hess who initiated, directed and performed a series of legendary concerts at the National Gallery during the Second World War.
This year’s concerts will take place in the Barry Rooms (Room 36), where the original concerts were also held. UK-based international pianist Piers Lane is the artistic director of the Myra Hess concerts, and the arrangement is supported by The Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation.

During the war years and the blitz, Dame Myra Hess organized over one
thousand concerts at the National Gallery. The Gallery had removed all
the paintings, keeping just one on display each month, and thousands of
people (many not regular concertgoers) came to listen, be inspired, and
possibly garner a little hope from these wartime concerts.
The concerts were a cultural oasis for thousands of Londoners during a time when the concert halls and theatres were otherwise closed. For Myra Hess, the concerts were a wonderful opportunity to “give spiritual solace to those who are giving all to combat the evil”.

Legendary English pianist Dame Myra Hess (1890-1965) studied at the Royal Academy of Music. She made her London debut in 1907, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 under Sir Thomas Beecham.
She first appeared in the United States in 1922.
Her playing was acclaimed in terms of both its virtuosity and poetic sensitivity.
Hess was most renowned for her interpretations of the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann, but had a wide repertoire ranging from Domenico Scarlatti to works by contemporary composers.

In this rendition of the first movement of Beethoven´s “Appassionata” Op. 57 from 1945, her modern sense of drive and virtuosity, which never overshadows the poetic vision of drama and contrast, is clear for all to hear.

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920 -1995) was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered among the most commanding and individualistic piano virtuosi of the 20th century, alongside names such as Vladimir Horowitz and Sviatoslav Richter.
Along with Ferruccio Busoni, he is often described as the most important Italian pianist ever.
He obtained his soloist’s diploma at the age of fourteen, and was immediately launched into his concert career. His extraordinary talent was recognized instantly and in 1939 he won first prize in the prestigious Geneva International Competition, under a jury headed by Ignaz Paderewski. His importance as a key figure among 20th-century pianists was confirmed when Cortot said:
“Here is a new Liszt”.

Michelangeli built a reputation as much on the frequency of his cancellation of concerts as on his piano performances.
He recorded for Deutsche Grammophon between 1971 and 1989, including four Mozart and three Beethoven concerti with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Carlo Maria Giulini. The Beethoven recordings are from live television broadcasts.

Michelangeli’s early recordings were made for HMV in Milan from 1939 to 1942. In addition to works by Grieg, Albéniz, Granados and Mompou, some excellent Scarlatti sonatas stand out, as does his rendition of the Beethoven Piano Sonata in C major Op. 2 No. 3 .
On this video, he plays the first movement from that same work, recorded in 1970.

One plus one equals three?
Synergy.
It’s a word most of us are familiar with, but sometimes difficult to grasp.
Synergies arise when the combination of energies, resources, talents and efforts add up to more than the sum of their parts.
The idea of combining challenging principles in the Études of Chopin (Opp. 10 and 25) was tested at an early stage by Leopold Godowsky in his 48 Studies on Chopin´s Études (and recorded by Marc-André Hamelin in 2000).

This is Tiempo´s own two Chopin études mix-arrangement of the ”Revolutionary” Op. 10/12 and the ”Thirds” Op. 25/6.

Heralded by critics and fellow musicians as one of the outstanding pianists of his generation, Argentine-Venezuelan pianist Sergio Tiempo has quickly risen to international prominence since his debut in 1986 at age 14 as part of the “Great Pianists” series at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
He now appears regularly in recitals and with orchestras in the great concert halls of Europe, North America, South America and Japan.