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AN EVENING IN WITH….

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Hastings International Piano presents the next in a series of online short concerts.
In these times when the livelihood of our musicians is at risk, we are launching this series to support the careers of our prizewinners and will be paying them a performance fee.
The concerts are free to view, but viewers will be able to make a voluntary donation to Hastings International Piano Engagement Fund, or choose to join as a Friend.
CONCERT 5: FUMIYA KOIDO
The fifth in our series is 2019 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition Winner Fumiya Koido. This will premiere on Friday 17th April at 7pm GMT +1
Programme:
Chopin Etude Op10-11
Haydn Sonata No.33 in C minor 1st mov
Scriabin Sonata No.3 Op.23 1st mov
Watch live on our facebook page or website.
Fumiya Koido was born in Kamaishi, Japan in1995. In 2014, he entered the Toho University of Music and won the Grand prix in the 1st KAWAI International Piano Competition in Tokyo in 2015. In 2017, Fumiya won the First Prize in the 21st Hamamatsu Piano Academy Competition, First Prize in the Coimbra World Piano Competition and Second Prize in the 4th Victor Merzhanov International Piano Competition.
In 2018, he graduated from the Toho University of Music and is now studying a Soloist Diploma Course with Professor Mamiko Suda,and in Imola Piano Academy with Boris Petrushansky.

CDs/DVDs April 2020 (2)

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Purcell: King Arthur
Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Rene Jacobs
NAXOS 2.110658

There are a number of very obvious difficulties with this production, the most immediate of which is the fact that it is far more play-with-music than opera. While Purcell’s score is very well sung and played under Rene Jacobs, the production itself updates the story to the 1940s with Arthur as an 8 year old indulging fantasies of his father who is a dead fighter-pilot. The musical numbers are sung in English but the play text is in German with subtitles. King Arthur has never been an easy work to stage – Dido is possibly the only stage work of Purcell which stages easily today – but this production, for all its occasional felicities, never quite comes off.

Verdi: Falstaff
Teatro Real, Madrid, Danielle Rustioni
BELAIR BAC177

This production, like a number of other recent stagings, moves the action into the 1950s and then carries through with conviction. The opening scene in a cramped café is brilliant in setting the seedy background for the whole work, bringing the realities of class clearly into focus at the same time as making sense of the sexual politics. Roberto de Candia is a fine and rascally Falstaff, and I particularly enjoyed Joel Prieto’s Fenton, but the whole cast work well as an ensemble and their enjoyment carries sympathetically.

Wagner: Die Walkure
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
BR KLASSIK 900177

This was recorded live in Munich over a year ago but only just released. The previous Das Rheingold had assumed a fairly rapid release for the whole cycle, even if it was being built up over a number of years, but the rather lukewarm reception for that recording may lie behind the late release of the second part of the Ring. Rattle is not an obvious Wagnerian but the more romantic, lyrical score which imbues Walkure seems more to his taste and, with a very well balanced cast, this is certainly a much stronger argument for pursuing this Ring. Stuart Skelton is surely one of the finest Sigmund’s around at the moment, and the first act is very impressive.  Irene Theorin is a steely Brunnhilde and James Rutherford a youthful Wotan. In all, a splendid release and one which makes me look forward to the other two operas with enthusiasm.

Beethoven: the Piano Concertos
Stephen Hough, piano; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu
HYPERION CDA68291/3

This is a pleasing set – a light, fresh approach to the concerti. I particularly enjoyed the Third and Fourth concerti which don’t get quite as much coverage as the Fifth. Stephen Hough is obviously enjoying himself and this comes across with ease.

Clara Schumann; Piano Trio, Fanny Mendelssohn, Piano Trio, String Quartet
The Nash Ensemble
HYPERION CDA68307

Three works which prove to be highly contrasted. I particularly enjoyed Fanny Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio which is forthright, almost aggressive in its writing, and makes an immediate impact. If the Clara Schumann is more contemplative it is also lyrically uplifting. An impressive coupling.

Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset
ALPHA CLASSICS ALPHA 449

This is an engaging disc with counter-tenor Christophe Rousset particularly impressive. In addition to the more familiar Stabat Mater we also have Nicola Porpora’s Salve Regina with Sandrine Piau as soloist and Leonardo Leo’s Beatus Vir.  A fine combination and all the more valuable for the rarer works.

Join NYO in Beethoven

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Grab an instrument and play along with thousands of musicians across the UK in a heartfelt performance of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ dedicated to those who need it the most.

While the concert halls and schools are closed, the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain’s musicians are still on a mission, ready to share music and inspire others through performance, and making every effort to continue to be an uplifting musical community at this time.

Although NYO cannot meet physically as an orchestra, they are inviting every musician in the UK to pick up their instruments and share a massed performance of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’, as a gesture of community and solidarity, dedicated to the people in society who might be in need of a musical-pick-me-up: our hospital staff, key workers, supermarket workers, friends and family in isolation, and vulnerable members of society.

At 5pm on 17th April, NYO’s 164 musicians will throw open their windows, get out on their doorstep, and share their own 40 second performance of the well-known piece. In the days before, they will all be meeting on a ‘digital residency’, where they will spend time playing together in small groups, creating multi-track videos, perfecting their practice techniques, and connecting with each other musically, as well as creating resources and guidance for everyone joining in with the Ode to Joy-a-thon at home. 

NYO want as many musicians as possible to join in, and have published the music for those who play at all levels, coming up with ways for everyone to perform, whatever their instrument.

Sheet music can be downloaded at this link: https://www.nyo.org.uk/ode-to-joy

They will be sharing the performances as widely as possible on their channels, and encourage those involved to capture their performance on video or photo and share using the hashtag #NYOdetoJoy, including who they’re dedicating the performance to.

BBC Proms Statement

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Like all cultural organisations, we at the BBC Proms are currently dealing with unprecedented challenges and uncertainty. We are still hoping that the Proms will be part of the summer this year, although that will involve adapting and changing the festival we originally planned. We are working hard to find the best way to deliver Sir Henry Wood’s mission to make the best classical music available to the widest possible audience.

Due to the current situation we are delaying the announcement of our season, the publication of the Official Proms Guide and tickets won’t be going on sale on 16 May as had been planned. We are closely following developing news and guidance from the government and public health authorities, and will update everyone with our plans for the 125th-anniversary season of the Proms by the end of May. Our number one priority will always be the safety of everyone involved with, and attending the Proms.

All of us at the BBC Proms stand with music lovers everywhere and cultural friends and artists around the world affected by COVID-19.

HIPC on line

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Alexander Panfilov

Hastings International Piano presents a series of online short concerts, which continues this Friday 10th April at 7pm GMT+1 with a recital from our 2015 Competition winner Alexander Panfilov.

Programme

L.Beethoven – Sonata op.57 (Apassionata) 1. Allegro assai
S.Scriabin – Etudé op.42 no.5
S.Rachmaninov – Prelude op.32 no.12
Chopin – Etudé op.10 no.1

Watch on our FACEBOOK page or via our WEBSITE

In these times when the livelihood of our musicians is at risk, we have launched this series to support the careers of our prizewinners and will be paying them a performance fee. The concerts are free to view, but viewers will be able to make a voluntary donation to Hastings International Piano Engagement Fund, or choose to join as a Friend.

DVDs/CDs April 2020 (1)

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Handel: Messiah ed. Goossens / Beecham
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Griffith
SIGNUM SIGCD610
Those of us of a certain age can recall a time when most Messiah’s were far closer to this full orchestral sound than the original instrument versions we have come to expect more recently. There really is a great deal to enjoy here particularly if you are prepared to indulge in the romanticised approach. The purists may not like it but I certainly did and the solo singing – minus any hint of ornamentation – is delightful, and tempi under Jonathan Griffith keep the pace moving smoothly. A welcome addition to the many recordings currently available – just sit back and enjoy the trombones and cymbal crashes.
Handel: works for viola da gamba and harpsichord
Ibrahim Aziz, viola da gamba; Masumi Yamamoto, harpsichord
FHR 91
This is not quite what it seems as much of the disc is given over to solo works for either gamba or harpsichord and two of the works are only attributed to Handel. That said most of the music here will be unfamiliar to all but the real enthusiast and therefore all the more welcome in expanding our knowledge of chamber music from Handel.
Cole Porter; A Celebration
Juliane Banse, soprano; Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Dorian Wilson
SWR 19091CD
A strange mixture here but quite entertaining. Concert overtures are mixed with songs from Julianne Banse. Her voice is not an obvious one for musicals, seeming at times to be over-operatic but the music itself comes over with style and panache.
Rachmaninoff: Complete works for piano duo
Genova and Dimitrov Piano Duo
CPO 555 326-2
This recording mixes works specifically for piano duo with arrangements by the composer of more familiar works for two pianos. The cd opens with the Prelude in C sharp minor and the second concludes with the Symphonic Dances Op45. But as is so often the case, it is the lesser known works which prove to be equally engaging, even the brief Romance in G or the Polka Italienne.
Sullivan: Haddon Hall, Cellier: Captain Billy, Ford: Mr Jericho
BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers, John Andrews
DUTTON EPOCH 2CDLX 7372
There was a time when the only way of hearing very rare works was thanks to the BBC and here we certainly have some rarities. While the G&S canon is over-familiar I doubt there will be many who know Sullivan’s Haddon Hall, written in 1892 to a libretto by Sydney Grundy. But preceding this is Mr Jericho by Ernest Ford and you could be forgiven for thinking this is also by Sullivan, so similar is the style and melodic structure. This, and Francois Cellier’s Captain Billy, was written as a short curtain raiser, like Sullivan’s own Cox and Box. The booklet notes that these are world premiere recordings of the Cellier and Ford, and the first professional recording of Haddon Hall. It is certainly good to have them.
Rachmaninoff: Victor Talking Machine Company Recordings
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano – recorded 1922-24
NAXOS 8.111413
There are some fascinating items here. Not only do we hear the composer playing his own scores but can witness his approach to others, notably Chopin and Tchaikovsky. The recording also includes the second piano concerto, with two attempts at the first movement! Fascinating. My only slight caveat, as one who has a player piano, is that Rachmaninoff sounds far better playing on our piano than he does on 78s!

Schumann: Cello Concerto, Alfredo Piatti, Cello Concerto No2, Concertino for cello and orchestra
Josephine Knight, cello, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Martin Yates
DUTTONCDLX 7371
Although slightly younger than Schumann, Piatti lived into the twentieth century, though the two works here are firmly within the mid-nineteenth century romantic school. I particularly enjoyed the Concertino written in the early 1860s and here receiving its world premiere recording. The Schumann may seem more familiar but this is the original version, again recorded for the first time, and as such a welcome addition to the otherwise large number of recordings of the familiar version. A strong performance throughout from soloist and orchestra.

 

The joys of being a robot

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Visiting Hastings Contemporary via robot

Being in total lockdown myself, the robot experience at Hastings Contemporary seemed remarkably apt. I had been booked in for a private tour to get to grips with the system – which proved to be remarkably easy – though getting used to just who you are when you log on was at first a little disconcerting. Those who recall Silent Running may remember the three little robots, Huey, Dewey and Louie. At Hastings Contemporary I suddenly became one of them with a very similar sense of articulation. Using the arrows on my keyboard I was able to move forward and backward, and then turn left or right with the side arrows. There is also a facility for lifting the camera – my eye – to a higher vantage point. After basic instruction I was able to tour one of the galleries by myself. The present exhibition includes work by Ann Ryan entitled Earthly Delites. I found it easy to navigate the various tables on which the pieces are displayed, and the robot has a zoom feature which allows for close up inspection of objects. This is splendid as it gives a much better focus than one might achieve actually wandering round the gallery when there are so many more things to distract you.

The real advantage over the virtual tours offered by other art galleries and museums is that this is your own, live, tour, not a pre-recorded video. If things go wrong – you bump into a table – then this is real.

The system now being tested is unique to Hastings and has been installed by Bristol Robotics. Praminda Caleb-Solly, Professor for Assistive Robotics and Intelligent Health Technologies at the Bristol Robotics Lab, UWE said “I am absolutely thrilled to team up with Hastings Contemporary as part of our Arts and Humanities Research Council D4D project to provide people who are socially isolated the opportunity to enjoy art via the telepresence robot. This is an excellent example of how robotics technology can be used to support people in difficult situations such as we are currently experiencing. There are other applications for use of telepresence robots within health and social care and I look forward to learning from our experiences at Hastings to apply elsewhere.”

Though I was privileged to get an early insight into the system, the gallery very much hopes that this will soon be opened to a much wider audience. Those self-isolating will be able to book time slots for a visit and it will be possible for individuals to set up a visit and then invite others to join them. They will then obviously follow the leader round the gallery but will be able to interact immediately to pause or move on. The educational possibilities are enormous and only just beginning to be explored. Teachers will I am sure be excited at the prospect of involving whole classes in virtual tours, and once the system is exported to other centres and possibilities are endless.

The gallery is planning, in addition, further ways to use innovative technologies to ‘flip’ the gallery inside out so that people can continue to benefit from its work while stuck at home, including developing a new online hub of art and mindfulness resources, with the children of key workers in mind; creating bespoke digital art lessons and creative learning activities for many of the now closed schools in Hastings; and virtual 3D renderings of its three postponed Spring shows, Victor Pasmore: Line & Space, Stephen Chambers: The Court of Redonda, and Quentin Blake: We Live In Worrying Times.

To visit the gallery and be one of the first people in the UK to experience this technology please email info@hastingscontemporary.org.

 

HASTINGS INTERNATIONAL PIANO LAUNCHES ONLINE CONCERT SERIES: ‘AN EVENING IN WITH…’

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Hastings International Piano, the charity responsible for the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition and the Hastings International Piano Festival, has launched an online concert series to support the careers of their prizewinners in this time of national crisis. The short recitals premier every Friday evening on Facebook at 7pm GMT and at Hastingsinternationalpiano.org

In these times when the livelihood of our musicians is at risk, with engagements being cancelled and studies on hold, this series aims to provide an income to the young competition prizewinners as well as offering Hastings Piano supporters and the wider public something to look forward to at the end of the week.
The series launched on Friday 20th March with 2018 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition Winner Roman Kosyakov giving a concert from his Birmingham Conservatoire, and continues every Friday evening. The concerts are free to view, but viewers are able to make a voluntary donation to Hastings International Piano Engagement Fund, or choose to join as a Friend whilst watching. These donations help to continue the organisations work supporting young pianists as well as engagement projects offered to the young people of Hastings and the surrounding area. This includes free tickets to events as well as workshops, school visits and inspirational talks from visiting artists.
The Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition is an internationally-renowned competition for young concert pianists from around the world, attracting 170 applicants in 2019 across global auditions, 40 of which came to compete in Hastings. Their prize: the opportunity to perform with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on our two-night final and to win a first prize of £15,000. The Competition returns in February 2021.
The inaugural Hastings International Piano Festival took place in February/March 2020 as the Concerto Competition moved to every other year. The Festival was a spectacular 2-week celebration of the piano involving 168 international artists including Rufus Wainwright, Guy Chambers, Reuben James, Claire Martin OBE, Rachel Portman OBE, Mark Kermode, Martin James Bartlett, The Puppini Sisters, The Dodge Brothers, The Swedish Trio, Liane Carroll, Neil Brand, The Pasadena Roof Orchestra and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who all performed at multiple venues across the creative hub of Hastings on England’s south coast.
A major success of the inaugural festival was the growth in young audiences across the region enabled to experience the festival, with the under-21 ticket scheme devised to provide free tickets for performances and a hugely popular free interactive piano concert for younger children. The music education programme provided over 1000 children with an opportunity to attend youth workshops, performances and master-classes, provided by many of the headline artists.
Curator and Managing Director of Hastings International Piano Ian Roberts says – “It is so important to help and support young exceptional talent who are forging ahead with their careers. The current situation musicians find themselves in has denied them the opportunity to perform all over the world with ensembles, orchestras and as solo artists. Our on-line concert series is our own way of providing a regular performance opportunity and continuing to support our past and current competition winners in their future development and endeavours. “

Visit our new website https://hastingsinternationalpiano.org

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