O brave new world, that has such people in ‘t, was Miranda’s hopeful remark to Prospero who didn’t share her daughter’s optimism. Rich in musical references as Shakespeare is, the title for this concert series came from elsewhere – namely, from Aldous Huxley’s similarly named utopian novel. Paradoxically what had inspired Huxley was the Tempest, a play with numerous musical representations, some of which could easily have made it into this concert series.
But as there is no Tempest in this series, neither by Beethoven nor Sibelius, let us begin with Mozart and the revelation of how enlightened a composer he actually was. Continue reading →
Kun korona paiskasi meidät taiteilijat ja teidät yleisön erilleen maaliskuussa 2020, alkoi nopea sopeutuminen. Aluksi päivät kuluivat sovittuja suunnitelmia uudelleen järjestellen. Aika täyttyi niin striimatuista, siirretyistä, lyhennetyistä ja uudelleen ohjelmoiduista konserteista kuin viime hetken peruutuksista ja erilaisten rajoitusten kyttäämisestä aivan konserttien kynnykselle. Harjoittelin kappaleita, jotka useimmiten jäivät jakamatta yleisön kanssa. Kaiken keskellä huomasin kaipaavani Chopinia.
Today might be the day and let’s assume it is. There are no birth records, just a baptism certificate and an assumption that his birth took place the previous day. Good enough. So today, 250 years since December 16th in 1770, we celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven. What do we actually celebrate? His life? His music? […]
Working on two major chamber music works by Beethoven for upcoming concerts in Helsinki and in New York, the Quintet for Piano and Winds Op. 16 and the Eroica Symphony arranged for Piano Quartet by Ferdinand Ries, I wrote down observations from a couple paths of history opened by these works. The Eroica Symphony, […]
All hope abandon, ye that enter here! Franz Liszt: Après une lecture du Dante (Alfred Brendel) A known fact among the pianists who’ve studied Franz Liszt’s Dante Sonata, or Après une lecture du Dante (eng. After a Reading of Dante) as the title goes, is that the opening passages of the work depict the opening of the […]
Die Kunst der Fuge eli Fuugan taide oli J. S. Bachin (1685–1750) viimeisen vuosikymmenen suurhanke. Urkuvirtuoosi ja polyfonian kruunaamaton kuningas halusi ladata teokseen koko osaamisensa ja luoda koruttoman teeman sisäisistä rikkauksista ennen kokemattoman musiikillisen kertomuksen. Die Kunst der Fuge, the Art of Fugue was to be Johann Sebastian Bach’s opus magnum in the realm of […]
I will perform the three Piano Sonatas by Pierre Boulez (1925–2016) this coming Tuesday at the House of Nobility in Helsinki at 7 pm. The concert, Pierre Boulez in memoriam, is a part of the Key Discoveries Piano Festival, which brings to Helsinki such masters of the keyboard as Roland Pöntinen from Sweden and Alexei Lubimov […]
Työstin erään opettajani johdolla Beethovenin neljättä pianokonserttoa ja hän neuvoi: “aina kun tulet huoneeseen jossa on piano, kävele sen ääreen ja soita neljännen konserton alku, sillä yhtä epävarmalta tuntuu kun kävelet lavalle orkesterin eteen ja joudut soittaman konserton alun koraalin.” Hän tarkoitti, että tuttukin soitin tuntuu yleisön edessä tuntemattomalta, kun konserttitilanteen transkendenssi on kunnolla päällä. […]
A Masterpiece article by Paavali Jumppanen published in the Wall Street Journal on Oct 7, 2017 In 1804, following works born of the idealism of the French Revolution and the Enlightenment such as his “Eroica” Symphony, Beethoven created the greatest musical explosion for solo piano of its time: the Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, […]
“It’s okay to use rubato. Think Milhaud. As sensual as possible. Sounds great.” Bill While preparing for a performance of some music by William Duckworth (1943–2012) in New York this coming weekend, I want to record some thoughts about the music and relate some experiences I had with the composer. I’ll be playing a selection […]