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