How to be an Individual Artist: Interview with Aïda Lahlou
Aïda Lahlou discusses her album “Mirrors and Echoes,” emphasizing themes like nature and self-introspection, and advocating for individuality in classical music programming and artistry.
Preparing for the Chopin Competition: Interview with Yuanfan Yang
We think that a lot of piano playing and this kind of competition preparation is physical, but actually so much of it is mental. How you think mentally can affect how you play or practice something.
Richard Goode’s late Beethoven and Schumann at Wigmore Hall
What better way to break my summer hiatus from Wigmore Hall than to attend a recital by Richard Goode? The cool autumn breeze out on Wigmore Street put me in the perfect mood for late Beethoven and Schumann, and Goode delivered a masterly reading that showed just how warm and intimate the music of the…
Playing Messiaen’s “End of Time” Quartet at the Fidelio Café
Last Tuesday I returned to Fidelio Café to perform Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” with the Fidelio Collective. Once again an intense experience with the music turned into a beautiful evening meeting wonderful new people and sharing great food with friends. Three of the four in the quartet had performed the “End of…
Pairing Schubert and Wine
Last week I was invited to perform in a wine tasting event at Fidelio Café. I have talked about Fidelio in a previous blog post. Its walls peppered with music scores and Bauhaus-style posters of classical music make it a very Instagram-worthy alternative venue for classical music. A majestic Steinway in the middle of the…
Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” in English at the Proms
On Monday evening I found myself on the train once again, swimming against the current of commuters towards the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. This time the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers and English National Opera joined forces under John Storgårds’ baton to present Shostakovich’s grand operatic tragedy Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, celebrating the…
My First Time at a French Festival: Part Two
Day Three I was glad the Chopin Waltzes were over, but I couldn’t put my feet up totally just yet. There was still the duet recital to do. Bridget and I basically had one rehearsal—during which we were both sightreading—three months prior before we met again yesterday. She had spent the last two months in…
My First time at a French Festival
I’m currently on the train to Paris from Montpellier, zooming across the vast landscapes of southern France, after having spent a magical three days at the beautiful village of Lunel-Viel near Montpellier, performing at the “Un Piano Sous Les Arbes” Festival. Not only was this my first time performing at a summer festival, it was…
Iván Fischer and his Grand Budapest Festival Orchestra at Proms
The Budapest Festival Orchestra gave a tremendous performance of Beethoven and Bartók to an absolutely packed Royal Albert Hall last night. The air sizzled with their electrifying energy and their boundless eagerness to share music captured everyone from the standing arena to the top gallery. I had heard Iván and the BFO a few years…
Yunchan Lim owning Rach 4 at BBC Proms
There is a reason why Yunchan Lim is currently one of the hottest young pianists on the classical scene and tonight at the Royal Albert Hall he has once again proven with an incredible performance of Rachmaninov’s 4th Concerto why he deserves such a stellar reputation. The energetic Kazuki Yamada and the City of Birmingham…
The Fidelio Collective Debuts at Fidelio Café
The Fidelio Collective made its successful debut yesterday evening at a packed Fidelio Café in Clerkenwell. As commuters swarmed towards Farringdon station on a cool summer evening in London, I gingerly picked my way against the tide and ducked into Fidelio Café, bang in the centre of Clerkenwell Road commanding an open view on that…
Enchanting Kantorow at the Proms
On Friday I finally had the chance to see Alexandre Kantorow, a pianist who is only gone on to scale higher and higher heights since his magnificent win at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition. Unfortunately, I didn’t seem to be the only one to think that, because not only were the sitting tickets sold out, the…
Sophia Lim plays Godowsky’s complete Java Suite
Leopold Godowsky’s Java Suite is a monumental work made up of four parts. The individual parts are not programmed often–I certainly have never come across them in recitals–not to mention the work in its entirety. Despite being published in 1925, it wasn’t until 2000 that the work received its first complete recording. So it was…
Beneath the surface: Lugansky’s Rach 3
Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto. The pinnacle of pianism. The king of concertos. A name that was once an Everest for worthy pianists but now is a regular feature in concert halls, perhaps even more so in competitions. This concerto is so familiar, especially to pianists like me, that one already has certain expectations of how they…
Artist Diploma Final Recital Programme Notes
For my Artist Diploma graduation recital, the summation of five years of intensive study at the Guildhall School, I have chosen a programme which presents passion in many different aspects. Programme: Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025) Chaconne César Franck (1822-1890) Prelude, Chorale and Fugue Manuel De Falla (1876-1946) Fantasia Baetica Interval Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Piano Sonata No.…
Bavouzet’s Ravel-athon: storm and drama at Wigmore Hall
2025 marks the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth (also the 100th anniversary of Satie’s death but that’s just an excuse for a handful of pianists to break World Records by performing his “Vexations”) and somehow his complete oeuvre for solo piano manage to fit into an extended solo recital, so a select few pianists have…
Creative Minds in Song and Michał Kawecki‘s “My Child”: Telling stories with music
Music has, in some ways, always been a kind of storytelling but at times it becomes a crucial way of sharing real life stories of struggle and healing, a creative outlet of de-stigmatising certain experiences, the oil to lubricate the wheels of social change. I attended the 10-year celebration concert of Creative Minds in Song…
Yunchan Lim takes on the Goldberg Variations
I still cannot believe the pianist I saw at Wigmore Hall today is only 21 years old! Yunchan Lim took on Bach’s Goldberg Variations, a monumental piece in piano literature stigmatically branded with a “Touch but do not perform until mature” label in the classical world, with a confidence and assuredness such as I have…
Mao Fujita playing Mozart with the Philharmonia: delicate as bubbles
In the third movement of Mozart’s final piano concerto, he quotes a popular children’s song, Longing for Spring, using it as his rondo theme. Quite a fitting theme for yesterday’s programme with the Philharmonia Orchestra, since after much back and forth I have decided that spring had indeed finally arrived in London. A bold statement…
Nobuyuki Tsujii at Royal Festival Hall: Fearless
Despite being a pianist myself, and having (struggled) through the Chopin First Concerto, nothing prepared me for the unbelievable feat that Nobuyuki Tsujii pulled off right before my eyes tonight at the Royal Festival Hall. The evening began with the Philharmonia Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien, which under Principal Conductor Santtu Matias-Rouvali’s baton had a…
Bayerische Staatsoper’s “Lucrezia Borgia”: Minimalist, modern, melodrama
I’m happy to report that my first experience at a German Opera House was a very good one! Last night the Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) put on Donizetti’s “Lucrezia Borgia”, a two-act musical melodrama about Italian families at war, illegitimate children and murderous, cheating wives. Oh, and just casual incest when we realize the…
Leif Ove Andsnes at Wigmore Hall: a Deep respect for sound
Programme Edvard Grieg Piano Sonata in E minor, op. 7 Geirr Tveitt Piano Sonata No. 29 “Sonata Etere”, op. 129 Fryderyk Chopin 24 Preludes, op. 28 I was lucky to snag a last-minute return ticket to Leif Ove Andsnes’ sold out Wigmore Hall recital last night. I had to pay a little more than the…
Sir Stephen Hough at Barbican Hall: a brilliant showman
Programme: The programme Sir Stephen Hough presented at the Barbican Hall last night was almost exclusively Romantic; even his own composition, Sonatina Nostalgica–commissioned by his alma mater Chetham’s School of Music and written for British pianist Philip Fowke–was, as he told his audience, steeped in the language of English Romanticism. Nevertheless, it was a mixed…
Daniel Kidane at Wigmore Hall: a new voice drawing from the past
Programme: Interval In the final concert of the Daniel Kidane Focus Day at Wigmore Hall, the Manchester Camerata presented works by the British composer which highlighted his creative dialogue with Ye Olde Grand Master of classical music, Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as his affinity for the string sound. The programme juxtaposed Daniel Kidane’s compositions–the…
Alexandra Dariescu’s “The Nutcracker and I” at Milton Court
A full house at Milton Court Concert Hall sits waiting as little Clara walks to the upright piano and begins playing her first chords. Then her image disappears, replaced by graceful snowflakes whirling around, and behind the gauze screen on which a digital animated story would unfold before our eyes for the next 45 minutes,…
Martín García García at Westminster Cathedral Hall for the Fryderyk Chopin Institute
This afternoon I was invited to a promotional event put on jointly by the Chopin Society UK and the Fredyryk Chopin Institute of Poland during which I got to hear Martín García García, 3rd Prize Winner of the most recent Chopin Competition, perform an hour-long all-Chopin recital. I had wanted to hear Martín play for…
Review: Dmitri Alexeev at the Penderecki European Centre for Music
On Tuesday evening I had the great fortune of hearing a recital the likes of which are rare–if even possible–to hear in concert halls today. Dmitri Alexeev, in a rare public appearance, performed three Chopin nocturnes followed by Rachmaninoff’s monumental First Piano Sonata. I say public; it was still a rather exclusive event. I am…
Review: Karin Miura at St. James’s Piccadilly
Braving the incessant drizzle that seemed a dreary premonition of what’s to come in the UK in less than a month, I dodged all the Saturday Piccadilly promenaders and stepped into St. James’s Church for Karin Miura’s lunchtime recital. Nestled amongst Hatchard’s, Fortnum and Mason and other landmark British establishments along Piccadilly, St. James’s Church…
Review: Steven Isserlis, Charles Owen and Irène Duval at Fidelio Café
The trio brought a diverse programme that fitted the cosy and intimate setting of Fidelio Café in Clerkenwell to a tee yesterday. The small café looking out on the bustling Farringdon Road was packed with diners yesterday as they eagerly awaited the trio. At Fidelio you get the unique experience of exquisite piano music juxtaposed…
Proms 27 Review: Saariaho, Seong Jin Cho and Strauss
Yesterday was my first time back at the BBC Proms this year, the annual summer classical music festival hosted by the UK’s official radio station at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s always nice to see classical music being performed in less formal settings, and the BBC have done well in their programming, introducing new music…
Standing ovation for Angela Hewitt’s Goldberg Variations
I have long adored Angela Hewitt’s Hyperion recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations but have never been able to see her perform it live, so when Gerald Finley cancelled their Wigmore lieder recital and Angela pulled out the Goldberg Variations as a substitute, I considered it a happy misfortune. Once again, a completely packed Wigmore Hall…
The Yuja Wang Phenomenon at Royal Festival Hall
Programme: Barber: Piano Sonata in E flat minor, Op.26 Shostakovich: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, Op.87 No.2; Prelude in G sharp minor, Op.34 No.12; Prelude in C sharp minor, Op.34 No.10; Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor, Op.87 No.8; Prelude in D minor, Op.34 No.24; Prelude in D, Op.34 No.5; Prelude in B flat minor, Op.34 No.16; Prelude and Fugue in D…
A creative programme of flute music by Karen Wong and Lance Mok
Programme: Lili Boulanger “D’un matin de printemps” (1917) Claude Arrieu Sonatine for Flute and Piano (1943) Philippe Gaubert Fantasie for Flute and Piano (1912) Maurice Ravel, arr. Alain Craens “Ma Mer l’Oye” Suite for Flute and Piano (1908, 2018) Francis Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano (1957) Hong Kong flautist Karen Wong and her duo…
Aurélien Pontier: “Joyful Apocalypse” and the Power of Nostalgia
Ahead of his album release for Warner Classics, I had the pleasure of speaking to French pianist Aurélien Pontier about his new album “Joyful Apocalypse”. “The title is taken from an exhibition put on by the Musée d’Orsay which I visited some years ago,” Aurélien told me. “Artworks from fin-de-siècle Vienna were displayed,” he said,…
Brahms and Messiaen presented by Anthony McGill and the Kaleidoscope Collective
Anthony McGill and the Kaleidoscope Collective presented a fantastic concert last night at Milton Court Concert Hall centring on two major works that incorporates the clarinet into a traditional ensemble structure: Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet and Messiaen’s “End of Time Quartet”. The Brahms adds the clarinet to a conventional string quartet formation while the Messiaen substitutes…
Full house for Angela Hewitt at Wigmore Hall
It was a full house last night welcoming Angela Hewitt back to the Wigmore Hall for yet another triumphant recital. You really feel the capacity of this venue when it takes you the entire interval just to queue to the toilet! At an age where many would pare down their repertoire to a few gems,…
A marriage of words and music: “Rachmaninov Songs” at Wigmore Hall
What a wonderful marriage of words and music, of intellect and expression, of ideas and feelings in the third of four concerts as part of the Wigmore Hall “Rachmaninov Song Series” co-curated by pianist and accompanist Iain Burnside and Oxford University Professor of Russian Literature and Music Philip Ross Bullock! The concert was presented alongside…
Vadym Kholodenko’s core-shaking Rzewski Variations
It takes courage and commitment on the part of the audience member to attend a Sunday afternoon recital featuring two ultra heavyweight pieces: Mozart’s Requiem (arranged for solo piano) and Rzewski’s Variations on “The People United Will Never Be Defeated”. But this was Vadym Kholodenko, and people make exceptions for this unassuming yet radically unconventional…
Seong-Jin Cho’s Electrifying Beethoven 4 with the LPO
Seong-Jin Cho gave a supreme performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto with Ed Gardner leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. Regrettably I was sat high up in the balcony, in the last row to be exact. Tickets for concerts with star Korean pianists are often hard to come by, and I didn’t…
Ana-Carmen Balestra’s Guildhall Wigmore Prize Recital
“Not your average Wigmore recital” is how I would describe Ana-Carmen Balestra’s concert last night to those who weren’t there. An opera singer by nature (even her name bears traces of an operatic destiny), Ana brought her compelling personality and charm from the theatre stage to the intimate Wigmore Hall and enlarged the space with…
Charles Owen’s magical recital at Westminster Cathedral Hall
Programme: Chopin Polonaise-Fantasie, op. 61 Schumann Carnaval, op. 9 Chopin Berceuse, op. 57 Chopin Barcarolle, op. 60 Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 2 in D minor, op. 14 Encore: Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte On Sunday afternoon pianist Charles Owen delivered a magical recital for the Chopin Society UK. It was a concert where Charles…
Exciting debut for Willow Orchestra and Bogdan Skrypka
Programme: Franz von Suppé Overture to the Queen of Spades Sergei Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 Encore: Shostakovich Waltz from Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 On Thursday evening Willow Orchestra gave its auspicious debut concert at Holy Sepulchre Church under the direction of founder and conductor Bogdan…
Review: Classical Piano meets…comedy show?
It is the creation of someone who wants to communicate her love for classical music in a much more relatable and contemporary context, who sees classical music as a way of interacting with modern life rather than being insulated from it.
Two weeks of making music in the mountains of Québec: Part 2
My second week at Orford Musique was a lot more intense than the first. The “studio” cultures of Jean Saulnier and André Laplante were totally different.
Two weeks of making music in the mountains of Québec: Part 1
A recount of my first week at Orford Musique, the insight I got from Jean Saulnier and the people I met.
Seong-Jin Cho at the Barbican: Stunning, sensational, and yet…
It was the performance of a great master and a showcase of magnificent playing as well as impressive endurance, yet Cho for me didn’t bring the personal touch required of the pieces he chose to programme.
Beethoven 4 by Eric Lu, Marin Alsop and the LSO
Right from the very beginning of the concerto, Eric had firmly placed his signature mark on it with the unique, exquisite sound only he could evince from this grand ivory instrument.
CD Review: KaJeng Wong’s “God Pray Love”
“KaJeng brings to it a deep and personal idea of what programming should be like, a skilled honed through years of experimenting and performing, and takes his listeners on a journey that is simultaneously personal and universal.”
Paul Lewis at the Wigmore Hall
A very different kind of performance from a very different kind of pianist. Schubert Sonatas at the Wigmore Hall.
William Bracken: Taming the Turangalîla
An interview with pianist William Bracken in which he talks about Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony and his experience of learning it.
Matthew Johnson: More than a Musician’s Photographer
I talked to Matthew Johnson about being a musician’s photographer and his own creative journey which crosses paths with classical music.
Olli Mustonen plays Prokofiev at Wigmore Hall
A rather disappointing Prokofiev sonata cycle and sadly not one for the books.
Clare Hammond on “Ghosts and Whispers”
Clare Hammond talks about teaming up with composer John Woolrich and filmmakers the Quay Brothers in their grand multimedia project with sinister undertones, “Ghosts and Whispers”.
London Piano Festival 2022: Paul Roberts and Charles Owen exploring Liszt
I was really touched by the fragile beauty that he achieved through this inspiration, an inspiration which came from words as much as sound.
Noriko Ogawa and Katya Apekisheva at the London Piano Festival 2022
Played together as sets, the preludes give the audience short and sweet musical vignettes to bring home in their memories as inspirational souvenirs.
London Piano Festival 2022: Schubertiade
There were a lot of crossing and joining of hands tonight, and even some crossing of feet, at the Schubertiade of the London Piano Festival
London Piano Festival 2022: A Conversation with co-founder Charles Owen
200 years on, the Schubertian idea of camaraderie and friendship among artists has travelled across Europe and come to rest at the heart of England’s bustling capital, London, in the form of the London Piano Festival, brainchild of acclaimed pianists Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva.
Tamara Stefanovich at the London Piano Festival 2022
Watching one of Tamara’s recital is like watching an entire series of Breaking Bad; it all makes sense but the ending is the furthest thing you can imagine happening from the first note she plays.
My Final Recital Programme Notes
I often find programme notes at concerts to be dreadfully dull with their objective, third-person description of instrumentations and key changes, so I am going to offer you perfectly biased opinions of the pieces I am going to play / am playing / have just played
Igor Levit’s Masterclass at the Royal Academy of Music
It’s only April but I have decided that one of my greatest musical regrets in 2022 will certainly be missing Igor Levit’s Wigmore recital
Observations of a Celestial in an Orchestra
Who knew banging out F-sharp crotchet beats would be so difficult?
Yoav Levanon’s UK Debut Recital
Serious déjà vu last night when Franz Liszt took leave of his grave to perform a stunning recital for us in the form of a young Israeli pianist called Yoav Levanon.
Pollini at 80
There was great narrative drive in his playing–never did he once compromise the voicing of the melodies, even at technically treacherous bits–and I thought the last movement of the Fantasie was beautiful played at the rather brisker-than-normal tempo and devoid of sloppy sentimentality.
Tamara Stefanovich’s 20 Sonatas at Southbank Centre
Went to see Tamara Stefanovich play her marathon of 20 sonatas today, what an incredible experience. She played 20 sonatas from across the history of the sonata form, mixing Scarlatti with Hindemith, Soler with Ustvolskaya to create the most amazing cocktail of classical music I have ever tasted! She divided the sonatas into three recitals…
Ballet for the first time!
Went to my first ballet in a long while, and when I say long I mean at least fifteen years! In fact, to my conscious memory, I have never seen a ballet before! And boy did I enjoy the Royal Ballet’s production of Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” at the Royal Opera House tonight (I know,…
Critique of the Gould Plan for the Abolition of Applause and Demonstrations of All Kinds, a.k.a GPAADAK
Pianist Glenn Gould’s proposed plan for the Abolition of Applause and Demonstrations of All Kinds need reviewing. Its implications may be critical for the future of classical music.
‘Twas the night before…
The Gold Medal preliminary rounds. Obviously there’s naught to be worried about, but I just wanna write here that I feel very happy that I’m no longer stressed about performing. Even tackling something as huge and challenging as Rach 2, I feel excited to play it. Somehow, while practising for this competition, I’ve found out…
Dürer’s Artistic Journey
Today I went to visit the exhibition on the famous 15th-century German artist Albrecht Dürer’s journeys throughout Europe they were showing at the National Gallery. I was getting really excited to see all the many characters he managed to draw on his very populated canvases until I realized the famous miniaturist from around the same…
Boss passage of Rach 2: completed!
Today, as I start stressing about Gold Medal prelims next week, something finally clicked and I managed to play the most difficult passage in the whole of Rach2! The definition of being able to play something difficult is when you no longer find it difficult. Today I got to that stage with this nightmare passage…
A Musician’s Search for Meaning
Without that anchor, I would be lost in sea, unsure of what all that practice had led up to, all that time spent trying to read dots on a page and then reproduce them on ivory keys. And then I would probably drown in a sea of self-doubt. I may sound dramatic but when anxiety…
The concert as a spiritual journey
s a greater force at work than the emotional effect of the musical pieces chosen. The separate pieces lose their individual significance as they merge into something greater, a power of pure sound, passion and even mysticism.
Franck violin/cello sonata?
Just finished listening to the replay of Anastasia Kobekina and Jean-Selim Abdelmoula’s Wigmore Hall recital. Am reminded of how good the quality of recording is nowadays. Only downside of watching through a screen is I can’t really clap by myself in a room. It’s just not the same, you know? Anyways, they performed Franck’s infamous…
Hey Gnarls Barkley
Hey Gnarls Barkley, do you know what makes ME crazy? The fact that your bass plays the root a quaver before the downbeat of your famous refrain. Peace.
Living and breathing music: my experience at Chetham’s International Piano Summer School
I definitely felt that I briefly lived in a reality suspended slightly above normal life during those five days, an experience which has created a deep impression that I hope will last as I return to London…
Concert Review: BBC Proms Opening Night
Thank god for the return of full-capacity theatres and concert halls! Thank god for the return of promming! Managed to get a hold of two Promming tickets online (thank god for online ticketing systems!) this morning and so was able to join in the celebration of the return of a live audience to the BBC…
Creative Minds in Song project: music, mental health and the delight of putting the two together
Creative Minds in Song is a project which brings together music and mental health to show how classical music can interact with contemporary problems. Musicians and composers from Guildhall School of Music and Drama collaborated with poets and participants from the Tower Hamlets branch of Mind, a nationwide mental health charity, to create new songs…
Concert Review: Benjamin Grosvenor for the BBC Radio 3 Rush Hour Concert
Tonight was my first time attending a concert at Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s, literally steps away from my school. To honour the establishment of my concert-going relationship with this incredible church-converted music hall, I had the privilege of listening to Benjamin Grosvenor’s astounding piano playing. Jerwood Hall was a peaceful shelter away from the…
Concert Review: Flute, Cello and Piano Trio Recital at St James’s Church, Sussex Gardens
Under the resonant arches of the church, I listened to a very entertaining programme curated by flautist (and my friend) Karen Wong.
Concert Review: EXAUDI’s Chromatic Renaissance at the Wigmore Hall
To feast my ears on the wonderfully eclectic programme curated by the EXAUDI vocal ensemble and, of course, to attend the Wigmore Hall debut as well as world premiere of the composition of my dear friend, Elisabet Dijkstra: here, now.
Concert Review: London Symphony Orchestra/ Michael Tilson Thomas & Yuja Wang
My review of a shockingly disappointing post-lockdown opening concert by the LSO
How I got into Bach, finally
The short story of how I came to love Bach’s music, and why the composer’s music endures the test of time
A Day in the Life of an (Online) Conservatoire Student
Do you ever wonder what online learning life is like for a conservatoire student during Covid times? Well, here’s an excerpt from a diary of just such a student!
5 Reasons Why You Should Study With David Murray
Or a tribute to my former piano teacher, or a nostalgia for the North, or memories of happy undergraduate times, or perhaps even an ode to my old pretentious self.
Why you should include Beethoven in your pandemic routine
The time saved by the commute from your kitchen to your desk can be well-spent on a Beethoven piano sonata.
Classical Music in the Age of Apple Music and Spotify
Can classical music survive in the Age of Apple Music and Spotify?
4 Classical Musicians with Great Instagram Profiles
This is an article about some of the best classical musicians with their Instagram game on point.
Afterthoughts on Sir Andras Schiff’s Wigmore Hall Recital and meditations on Beethoven’s Late Works
For what is most transcendent, what is closest to the heart of the truth, what may perhaps open the door to immortality is not always the most glamourous.
Leeds International Piano Competition entry #10: My Top Ten Moments
Terribly sorry for the long due post to conclude my small project of following the Leeds, but I’ve been very busy since the finale of this grand competition, and now I’ve finally got some time to write about it! Firstly, a long due congratulations to the prize winners: Eric Lu, Mario Häring and Xinyuan Wang,…
Leeds International Piano Competition entry #9: What do you do when your nail comes off halfway through a performance?
So the first night of the Leeds Finals happened last night. I went to bed at 8:30pm and got up at 2 just to watch it, feeling all excited, but frankly, I was a bit disappointed. Hear me out. I don’t think the pianist’s lack of flair or musicality is the only factor when I…
Leeds International Piano Competition entry #8: The Magic of Eric Lu
I love Eric Lu. I think I first came across Eric when he played in the Chopin Competition around four years back. He got 4th prize, and he was only 17 then. Now, at the age of 20, he has come back to grace the stage in Leeds with his presence, bringing with him his…
Leeds International Piano Competition entry #7: Aljoša’s fall from grace
I think it’s true when people say that classical musicians are only the medium between composers and their music. Ultimately a pianist doesn’t own the music he plays, even if he composed it himself. I could say that I like Horowitz playing Rachmaninoff rather than Rachmaninoff playing Rachmaninoff. Strangely, this seems to echo with religious…
Leeds International Piano Competition entry #6: Round 1 Final Post
Group 5 Alexia Mouza (Greece/ Venezuela) Tamila Salimdjanova (Uzbekistan) Yoonji Kim (South Korea) Xinyuan Yang (China) Alexia Mouza, 28 Instead of performing Bach or Scarlatti, Alexia Mouza from Greece made the unorthodox choice of presenting Couperin’s Les roseaux in B minor as her Baroque piece-of-choice. I must confess, I’m not really familiar with the composer. Upon…
Leeds International Piano Competition Entry #4: Mid-week Muse
A blog post I recently read about individualism of musicians really struck a chord within me (pun intended). Written by Hong Kong pianist Stephen Hung–who, coincidentally, shares the same former piano teacher with me–muses on the idea of being “individual” in the world of music. The Chinese word 自我 literally translates into “self-me”, so one…
Leeds International Piano Competition Entry #3: Round 1 (still)
GROUP 3 Anna Geniushene (Russia) Salih Can Gevrek (Turkey) Yilei Hao (China) Mario Häring (Germany) Anna Geniushene, 27 Your profile picture doesn’t look bad, why do you have to dress like a grandmother? Sorry, that was my first thought when I saw Anna’s concert dress. For her first round, Anna Geniushene presented Clementi’s Sonata…
Leeds International Piano Competition Entry #2: Round 1
After my first entry on the Leeds Piano Competition, an avid reader of my blog (my dad actually) suggested to me that I should take into account the quality of sound I get from the laptop I use, which is why from now on I vow to refrain from listening to the performances on the…
Leeds International Piano Competition Entry #1: Round 1
The first round was held internationally in three different venues: Berlin’s University of Arts, Singapore’s Yong Siew Toh Music Conservatory and New York’s DiMenna Center. Competitors only played for 25 minutes (yup, that’s considered short), and had to offer a programme which included pieces from the baroque/classical AND romantic/20th century periods. Listening to the 24…
Literally Left-handed 