Hinty and Mr Logic

[ahinton]

I can offer you a good deal on printed tickets.

I work for a printers that specialises in short runs.

Once again, I must thank you for your kind offer but tell you that not only am I not the one organising these concerts but that the series is about to commence so I have to assume that all these kinds of arrangement are already in place.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Right you are.

Maybe i can help next time.

Thal

[ahinton]

Right you are.

Maybe i can help next time.

I'm right, am I? Well, thre's something! You can actually help this time around, just by turning up, buying a ticket and absorbing what's on offer at whichever of the concerts you may choose.

Best,

Alistair

[m]

I'm right, am I? Well, thre's something! You can actually help this time around, just by turning up, buying a ticket and absorbing what's on offer at whichever of the concerts you may choose.

I actually would be more than happy to live on that side of the pond and attend the concerts (and yes, I do have a required beard)...

but alas...

Best, M

[ahinton]

I actually would be more than happy to live on that side of the pond and attend the concerts (and yes, I do have a required beard)...

but alas...

Best, M

And you would of course be most welcome, whether sporting a beard or not! I don't know what it is about Thal and beards, for it's not even as though he's clean-shaven himself; the relevance of these things to the subject at hand seems to exist nowhere outside that unique phenomenon known to us all as the Thalimagination.

Most if not all of the performers in the series do not have beards, by the way.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

I would be interested to know what other composers will be represented in this series.

Any Finnissey??

Thal

[ahinton]

I would be interested to know what other composers will be represented in this series.

Any Finnissey??

No, but there is one piece by Finnissy in Jonathan Powell's own programme. I have appended below, for your own and everyone else's delectation, the entire series details.

Best,

Alistair



SPRING PIANO SERIES 2009
at the
SCHOTT RECITAL ROOM LONDON
 
The enterprising British pianist and composer JONATHAN POWELL has brought together eight innovative pianists from six countries in devising this fresh concert series held in Schott's brand new recital venue in central London.
 
Their programmes combine classics of the piano repertoire (Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt and Albeniz) with more rarely heard music from the early 20th-century (Medtner, Scriabin, Karg-Elert and Mosolov) and new pieces ranging in style from the jazz-inspired and post-minimalist to the experimental.
 
All concerts start at 6.30 p.m.
 
Tickets are sold on the door: £8 / £5 (concessions).
 
The Schott Recital Room is located at
48 Great Marlborough Street
London W1F 7BB
Tel.        0207 292 6090
 
Underground: Oxford Circus / Tottenham Court Rd.
 
 
2 April
Chisato Kusunoki
Chopin
Nocturnes op.27 no.1, op.62 no.2
 
Medtner
Sonata op.22
 
David Hackbridge Johnson
New work
 
Balakirev
Sonata
 
 
Chisato's programme reflects both her love of standard piano repertoire and her commitment to contemporary music.  She has also made a special study of the music of Russian Romantic Nikolay Medtner, on whose works she worked closely with Hamish Milne.
 
 
9 April
Mary Dullea
Cowell
Banshee, Aeolian Harp
 
Nancarrow
Sonatina
 
Crumb
Gnomic Variations
 
Mawhinney
Batu
 
Albeniz
Almeria, Triana
 

Irish pianist Mary Dullea is in demand as both soloist and chamber musician; she has recently been exploring and performing repertoire that incorporates the use of the inside and the outside of the piano, and this programme places music employing these extended techniques by US composers, alongside other 20th-century works, in turn virtuosic and evocative, that in their own individual ways make extraordinary use of the keyboard and the sonic capacity of the piano.
 
 
16 April
Jørgen Hald Nielsen
Nielsen
Chaconne
 
Bach-Møller
Chaconne
 
Ravel-Sorabji
Rapsodie espagnole
 
Hinton
Variations and Fugue on a theme of Grieg
 

Two chaconnes by his Danish countrymen open this programme (Jørgen worked with Møller, who died young), and these are well complemented by the perfumed and colourful palette of Sorabji's Ravel transcription.  Hinton's huge and fantastically varied work (which Jørgen has performed often in Denmark, but which has not been heard in the UK for 15 years) completes the bill.
 
 
 
23 April                Composer Double Bill:
John White
Beethoven
Sonata op.110

Liszt
Weinachtsbaum (extracts); La lugubre gondola no.2

Karg-Elert
Miniatures including Ritornello à la Brahms, Poema esaltata à la Skrjabin, Crucifixus etiam pro nobis à la Reger

White
Sonatas nos.162, 165, 156, 166
 

John White returns to the German roots of his musical personality with this late Beethoven work that he studied with Arthur Alexander, a friend of Bax and Medtner, over half a century ago.  The highly individual and evocative music of late Liszt and Karg-Elert have both had influences on John's own work, recent examples of which end his selection.
 

Dave Smith
Smith
Toccantella, Al contrario, Stuck with Robert, selections from 42 1-minute pieces


Dave is well known to London audiences for his engaging performances of his own music, which is variously allusive, thought-provoking and entertaining, but always original and brilliantly written for the piano.
 
 
 
30 April
Jonathan Powell
Schubert
Reliquie Sonate

Kornauth
Fantasie
 
White
Sonata no.168
 
Mosolov
Turkmenian Nights
 
Scriabin
Sonata no.6
 
Finnissy
Skryabin in Itself
 
Haydn
Adagio
 

Juxtaposing the musical worlds of Vienna, early 20th-century Moscow and contemporary Britain, this programme reflects not only Jonathan's broad tastes but also his areas of special interest.  Kornauth's music is unknown in the UK, but its rich palette and similarity to Mahler and Strauss are sure to endear it to audiences here.  Mosolov's impressively thunderous take on central Asian folk music is simply a must-hear!
 
 
 
7 May
Ivo de Greef
A Tribute to Keith Jarrett
 
Originally conceived in 2008 by Ivo De Greef and the Portuguese radio station Antena 2, this project combines the music of Keith Jarrett with new compositions in hommage to this pianist-composer.  The individual approaches of Gustavo Beytelmann, Robert Mitchell, Jonathan Powell, Sergio Azevedo and Kris Defoort (all pianist-composers themselves) highlight different aspects of Jarrett's musical legacy and create a dialogue with original Jarrett compositions (from the Köln Concert through to The Melody at Night With You).  The varied backgrounds of these composers accentuate the multi-faceted output, influence and appeal of Keith Jarrett.  Belgian pianist Ivo De Greef is sought-after in the fields of contemporary (with London-based ensemble Noszferatu) and tango music (with Quinteto El Después), having performed across the world.
 
 
 
14 May
Simon Mawhinney
Messiaen
Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus
 

Simon's career embraces performing, composing (go to Mary Dullea's concert on 9 April to hear one of his pieces) and teaching at Queen's University, Belfast.  His compositions have been performed from USA to Korea and range from pieces for symphony orchestra to electro-acoustic music.  As a pianist, he has a particular interest in works of longer duration and in 20th-century and contemporary repertoire.  His recent Belfast performance of this Messiaen work earned him a standing ovation.
 
 
www.schott.co.uk

[thalbergmad]

I think the one on the 2nd April will probably be best for me.

Thal

[ahinton]

I think the one on the 2nd April will probably be best for me.

OK, but it would be nice to think that you'd also be prepared to try some others (I'm not necessarily mentioning the one of the 16th, of course, but...)

At least you now know what the series contains.

Best,

Alistair

[term]

Hinton
Variations and Fugue on a theme of Grieg

Ahh, a fugue. Is there any chance to have a listen to a fugue of yours online?

[thalbergmad]

Why would you want to listen online when you can buy the CD for the incredibly cheap price of £112.61.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alistair-Hinton-Kaikhosru-Sorabji-Stevenson/dp/B000003IXS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1238096892&sr=8-1

[ahinton]

Why would you want to listen online when you can buy the CD for the incredibly cheap price of £112.61.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alistair-Hinton-Kaikhosru-Sorabji-Stevenson/dp/B000003IXS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1238096892&sr=8-1

Why indeed would anyone want to listen online or pay the utterly ridiculous price advertised by some opportunist on Amazon when it is easy to obtain the CD concerned for £15 inclusive of shipping within UK direct from us by the simple expedient of writing to sorabji-archive@lineone.net? I have no idea why, but this is not the first such absurd rip-off to which we have had occasion to draw attention. Whatever the manner in which you wrote about this, Thal, I do very much appreciate your providing the opportunity to trounce this ridiculous con; £15 inclusive of UK shipping is ample, frankly - so people now know where to come to get one if they want one!

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

I did not actually know that was available from you, so i am obliged.

I once saw the Sorabji Organ Symphony offered by a seller on Amazon for a similar amount and thought that that kind of stupidity encouraged piracy.

As we speak, there is a 1798 edition of Steibelt's Piano Concerto No 3 up for sale for £75, which would appear to be of better value.

Thal

[ahinton]

I did not actually know that was available from you, so i am obliged.

I once saw the Sorabji Organ Symphony offered by a seller on Amazon for a similar amount and thought that that kind of stupidity encouraged piracy.

I saw that, too - but then at present that work is unavailable on a current CD so, if there's a rarity or other inaccessibility problem involved, what might otherwise seem to be a very high price might be justifiable; when, as in the case with the CD including my Grieg variations, the recording is available new on the open market for the price of a new CD, however, it is clear that anyone offering a used one for many times the price that one would reasonably expect to pay for it in the form of a new CD in a shop represents something of a con.

Best,

Alistair

[term]

when it is easy to obtain the CD concerned for £15 inclusive of shipping within UK direct from us by the simple expedient of writing to sorabji-archive@lineone.net?

Hm, so i guess the answer is no.
I collect good fugues that's why i'm asking, but of course I can't buy anything without knowing what i can expect. :o|

[ahinton]

Hm, so i guess the answer is no.
I collect good fugues that's why i'm asking, but of course I can't buy anything without knowing what i can expect. |

SO are you asking if I will do something on this for you? If so, I'm not quite sure what. I belive that there may be samples of the piece out there in cyberspace (in that recording) - in fact there is one out there, come to think of it, but it comprises the first 10 minutes of the piece so no part of the fugue is represented there.

Best,

Alistair

[term]

SO are you asking if I will do something on this for you? If so, I'm not quite sure what.

I wouldn't go so far, no, unless of course you care to provide a sample yourself, but it's true i was thinking of a sample i could find maybe via google.
Have you composed more than one fugue?

[ahinton]

Have you composed more than one fugue?

Yes. Off the top of my head, the ones that immediately occur to me are the finale of my Sequentia Claviensis for piano (premièred by Jonathan Powell in 2006), the penultimate movement of my Szymanowski-Etiud for 18 wind instruments and a section of the finale of my string quintet (recorded 1999, released 2002).

Best,

Alistair