St Mary in the Castle, Saturday 7 March, 2020

What a wonderful way to end two weeks of magnificent music-making. The Pasadena Roof Orchestra and Puppini Sisters turned Saturday night into an end of season party for all of us, greatly helped by the gradually increasing numbers of dancers who made excellent use of the space available.

If Managing Director Ian Roberts needed any vindication of the undeniable risks involved in launching any new venture, this was it. A full house, at the end of a series of wide ranging events, which had encouraged a large number of generous donations enabling the HIPF to support educational work with young musicians in the area and provide over 1000 free tickets for under 18s. This alone makes the festival worthwhile, and when the quality of performances is added into the mix we are doubly blessed.

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra (PRO) opened with a breezy reading of High Society which included a number of solo breaks which were to become a feature of the evening. The Puppini Sisters, dressed alarming like Carmen Miranda, then joined the orchestra for their first set, opening with Sing, sing sing.  If Boogie, Woogie Bugle Boy was to be expected, their use of more modern favourites, in highly effective 1940s arrangements was not, and proved to be all the more captivating. Dolly Parton’s Working 9 to 5 sounded as if it had been written for the Land Army! They ended this set with Jealousy announcing it was a tango and bringing dancers onto the floor again. Throughout the evening we were increasingly entertained with fine examples of Lindy Hop, Balboa, Swing Jive and Shag.

PRO’s lead singer Duncan Galloway then introduced Jubilee Stomp before he crooned What more can I ask. His range of styles enabled him to move smoothly on to I’ll be glad when you’re dead, you rascal you, but his finest moment came with Bing Crosby’s classic Don’t fence me in with the Puppini’s standing in admirably for the Andrews Sisters. To move on immediately to I will survive – again in 1940s style – was unexpected and stunningly impressive.

After the interval the dancers were able to enjoy Anything Goes before we heard an Italian number from the Puppini’s and a foxtrot which was a mashup of Lady Gaga and Billie Holiday. I put a spell on you and Putting on the Ritz brought us once again to Duncan Galloway with Zing went the strings of my heart and a very up-tempo version of Old man river. The Sisters final set opened with I want to dance with somebody and then exploded with a salsa version of Dancing Queen!

The last number was supposed to be Mack the Knife, when the dance floor heaved with excitement, but encores were of course wildly encouraged and we ended the evening where we had begun, back in the 1940s with an improvised rendition of In the Mood. We were – and could have gone on for much longer.  Let’s hope the festival becomes a fixity for many years to come.

St Mary in the Castle, Thursday 5 March 2020

The newly launched festival aims to cover all aspects of the piano and so brought a jazz evening to St Mary’s, led by acclaimed international jazz vocalist Claire Martin. She was joined by her regular partners Martin Sjöstedt, piano, Niklas Fernqvist, double bass, and Daniel Fredriksson, percussion and special guests Alex Garnett and Liane Carroll.

If the piano was not quite at the heart of the evening then it certainly played a respectable part with some fine breaks from Martin Sjöstedt in the first half and the more familiar presence of Liane Carroll in the second.

Claire Martin has an eclectic style, drawing on numbers by Tony Bennett, Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald as well as more recent songs. She also ranges vocally from clearly articulated items like the laid-back approach to A rainy night in Tokyo or the scat vocals of Believe in it. It was a pity that she seemed to assume her audience would be familiar with much of her music as her introductions did not carry well within the acoustic at St Mary’s so we missed much of what passed between the items.

Saxophonist Alex Garnett is a recent visitor to Hastings, bringing an evening of Ronnie Scott’s Jazz to the White Rock, but here he played duets with Claire as well as adding a number of scintillating breaks alongside the trio.

In the second half Claire was joined by Lianne Carroll who is well known to us for her many years of enthusiastic music-making in Hastings. She has collaborated with Claire Martin in he past and this shone through as the evening progressed.

White Rock Theatre, Saturday 29 February 2020

No competition this year but a celebration of the piano in all its splendid variety. The concert last Saturday at the White Rock came closest to the competition itself in reflecting the final concert with three piano concertos played by three pianists. The real difference this time was that they were all prize-winners. Sylvia Jiang opened with Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto. In many ways she drew the short straw not only playing first but presenting the most complex and demanding of concerti as far as the audience is concerned. Her exciting, fluid approach, with the many changes in mood and texture made it seem more approachable than it possibly is and the solo cello playing was a delightfully engaging moment.

This was followed by Ravel’s G major piano concerto with Martin James Bartlett as soloist. The work starts, coincidentally, where the Liszt ends with rapid glissandi across the keyboard as if the two works were linked, but Ravel has something very different in store. The Gershwinesque jazz influence pervades throughout and Martin Bartlett brought a real sense of fun to his playing which lifted our engagement and enjoyment at his dazzling technique.

After the interval we were on more familiar territory with Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. The young Japanese pianist Fumiya Koido brought great clarity to his playing with a lightness of touch even in the more dynamic passages which prevented any over sentimentality in the extended romantic writing. It was very warmly received by the large audience, which included many younger listeners attending a concert for the first time.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jessica Cottis had accompanied throughout with aplomb. They had opened with a rather tentative reading of Beethoven’s overture The Creatures of Prometheus but the second half brought us the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin which had real panache and vigour.

The concert was dedicated to the memory of Molly Townsend who did so much for the musical life of Hastings.

There is far more to come and, in the introduction, Managing Director Ian Roberts and newly appointed President of the Jury Professor Vanessa Latarche hinted at the changes we will see when the competition itself returns next year. As they say – watch this space.

Christ Church, St Leonards-on-sea, 21 February2020

One woman; one instrument; one evening – but what an evening, instrument and woman.  It was mesmerising and beautiful, thrilling and enchanting.  The music of one instrument was so expertly and magnificently played that we were transported. At one moment we were set in green pastures, the next in wind swept barren heights, at another set beside still waters, then shooting musical white water.

At the start of the evening Turkish born Aysen introduced us to what is perhaps her  own preferred style, or even her own composition.  It was beautifully arresting and dramatic.  Well chosen because it made us sit up and listen and wonder what other delights were in store. It was her statement, ‘This is what a violin can do!’  I do not know anything about it except that it was entitled ‘Violin’      Brilliantly apt!

We next listened to a piece from a composer of her own country, Ozkan Manav, entitled Horon.  A style and composition unfamiliar to most of the audience. Apparently, Manav incorporated his country’s folk dance and song into his music.  Well, you heard the dance and you heard the song and you certainly heard another tradition. The piece made you want to hear more.

We were then on more familiar ground; Bach, Sonata for violin. There is a puzzle as to why Bach composed this piece for violin and it is thought that he must have had some violinist of outstanding ability in mind. He must have been clairvoyant, because here, in Aysen, was a violinist of incredible talent. Who played it more than brilliantly.  The piece has a fugue in it. How can you have a fugue with one instrument, one asks? Aysen did it.  I heard it. Her petite stature, so enraptured and at one with her violin did it wondrously.

Aysen finished with Bartok, Sonata for Solo violin. By this time she didn’t need to prove herself and I just sat back and enjoyed her virtuoso, the look of her, her nimble finger movements over the strings, her arm movement with bow,  her concentration, her dedication and expertise, her sheer talent, and most impressive, all totally by memory.

A wonderful evening . Thank you Aysen Ulucan

Revd Bernard Crosby

St Mary in the Castle, Friday 7 February 2020

London Mozart Players certainly fulfilled their intention of working closely with young musicians last Friday when they drew on players of all levels – quite literally so, from tiny performers playing on single open strings, to teens who are looking towards a professional career – in the premiere of Jeff Moore’s Fiddler’s Hill.  This is a deceptively immediate work but digging only slightly below the surface reveals a piece which allows all potential performers, at whatever level, to feel fully involved and important to the final outcome. What better way to encourage young musicians than to make them feel that they matter and are as essential to the impact of the work as the long standing members of LMP?

The evening was carefully structured to cover a wide range of styles and techniques, enabling the audience to experience the demands on a professional player as well as the wide range of skills they need. The second movement of Britten’s Simple Symphony – Playful Pizzicato- is certainly familiar but also brings us the range of tone available to the composer just using plucked strings.

In the second half the orchestra played Holst’s St Paul’s Suite, itself written for young musicians and a fascinating segue, via Bach’s popular Air on a G string into Fiddler’s Hill.

LMP work without a conductor – except for the premiere which was conducted by the composer – but are led with tact and considerable skill by first violin Ruth Rogers, who also introduced the works as the evening progressed.

If I have left the finest moment of the evening till last it was because it was the most unexpected. The arrangement for string orchestra of Piazzolla’s Oblivion and the popular Libertango was superb, and raised what had been a pleasant evening’s music making to another level all together. We could do with a whole evening given over to the LMP and the tango, surely?

White Rock Theatre, Thursday 6 February 2020

Ellen Kent’s approach to Madama Butterfly is nothing if not traditional. The setting is beautifully crafted and lit, the costumes are comfortably Japanese and the production is undemanding, particularly if you know the work well in the first place.

If this can lead to some uncomfortable moments then they swiftly pass. Pinkerton’s glib assumption that he will marry a ‘real wife in America’ is cheerfully ignored by the Consul  whose problems only really start in the second half when Pinkerton brings his wife with him to Nagasaki.

Vitalii Liskovetskyi brings a naïve, boyish charm to Pinkerton but it is difficult to forgive him for his callousness. Iurie Gisca is splendid as Sharpless, the Consul, adding genuine authority and weight to a presentation which can often seem visually superficial. He is matched by Vadim Cernovettky’s passionate Bonze whose brief explosion clouds the rest of the act.

Alyona Kistenyova presents a strong, and strongly sung, Cio-Cio San, happier in the love duet and the final scenes than in the more delicate opening scenes with her family. Myroslava Shvakh-Pekar was an unusually young Suzuki, the voice fully up to part but her appearance disconcerting alongside Cio-Cio San.

The production provides a full orchestra, under the careful guidance of Nicolae Dohotaru and a small but effective chorus.

The company return to Bexhill next year with Tosca and Carmen.