This post is one in a sequence which lists live music I have heard, as best my memory allows, from the Pandemic onwards. I will update this as time permits. In some cases, I am also motivated to write about what I heard.
Other posts in this collection can be found here.
- Gabriele Sutkute: Solo recital at St-Mary-Le-Strand, London, 23 November 2023, details here. The programme was:
- P. Rameau: Suite in D major (Pièces de Clavecin) (I. Les Tendres Plaintes (Rondeau) and #VIII. Les Cyclopes (Rondeau))
- Scriabin: Piano Sonata in G-sharp minor, Op. 19 No. 2
- Bartók: “Out of doors” (“With Drums and Pipes”, “Barcarolla”, “Musettes”, “The Night’s Music”, “The Chase”)
- Liszt: Venezia e Napoli, Années de pèlerinage II, S.162 (Gondoliera, Canzone, Tarantella).
- Ayane Nakajima: Solo piano recital at Steinway Hall, London, 15 November 2023. The programme was:
- JS Bach: Prelude and Fugue #12 in Book 2 of the 48, in F minor
- Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111
- Chopin: Andante Spianato et Grand Polonaise Brilliante in E-Flat major, Op. 22.
Ms Nakajima played with great technical skill and power.
- Kasparas Mikužis: Solo Piano Recital at St Mary’s Church, Sittingborne, UK, 11 November 2023. The programme was:
- JS Bach: Prelude and Fugue #8 in Book 1 of the 48, in Eb/D# minor
- Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Corelli
- Mikalojus Čiurlionis: Five Preludes
- Chopin: Scherzo #3, Op. 39 in C# minor.
The concert began at 11am on Armistice Day, so the 50 or so people present first held two minutes of silence to remember the war dead. The opening Bach Prelude and Fugue was very fitting for a recital in a church and on this particular day, and allowed the thoughts that had arisen during the Remembrance silence to linger.
The Preludes by fellow Lithuanian composer (and painter) Mikalojus Čiurlionis were new to me, and were quite charming. They are impressionistic in a style akin to Debussy; definitely music to seek out and play. Both the Rachmaninoff/Corelli and Chopin Scherzo #3 were excellent. A recording of a previous performance by Mr Mikužis of these two pieces can be heard here.
Overall, the acoustics of the church were bright, which allowed us to enjoy this superb performance, one of great intelligence, maturity and artistry. Particularly for the Bach, Mr Mikužis’s performance was transcendent and sublime.
- Various artists: Drake Calleja Trust Scholars Concert 2023, Corinthia Hotel, London, 4 November 2023, to an audience of about 100 people. The artists were: Vladyslav Biliachenko, Joseph Chalmers, Alexander Doronin, Bryan Evans, Maria Filippova, Dmytro Fonariuk, Siping Guo, Oleksandr Ilvakhin, Misha Kaploukhii, Anastasia Koorn, Liu Miao, Kasparas Mikužis, Alexandria Moon, Henna Mun, Eyra Norman, and Agustin Pennino.
The highlight for me was Alexander Doronin’s performance of two Ligeti Etudes, #10 – Der Zauberlehrling (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and #13 – L’escalier du diable (The Devil’s Staircase). As well as being technically demanding, these are musically very interesting, and this was clear in Mr Doronin’s interpretations. I once heard the late Hungarian-Danish pianist Elisabeth Klein (1911-2003) play a selection of these Etudes, including #10, in a recital in 2002, when she was 91 years old.