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Music bonanza: It's All About Piano

This year I finally made time to go to the It's All About Piano festival at the Institut Français in London. Now 4 years old, the festival seems to be ever stronger than when I attended in 2013 - and also more affordable: all my events were £5 per ticket.

This year, the festival introduced a 'Come and Play' event for pianists of grade 6 or above - selected pianists to play, presented by Erica Worth of Pianist Magazine. I jumped at the challenge, applied, forgot all about it in the intervening few months, then received an invite! Very exciting - a second opportunity to play for a paying audience. I'd also bought tickets for concerts by Jonas Vitaud and Eliane Reyes.  Eliane Reyes in particular was amazing.

Due to train times, I arrived at the 'Come and Play' event a little late but in time to hear half of Zala Kravos' performance. Zala is 15, studies with Maria João Pires and is clearly a pro in the making. I heard her performances of Brahms' Ballade Op.10 No 1 in D Minor and Chopin 'Revolutionary' Etude Op. 10 No.12. Really good and very confident playing.

The variety of performers was super - a mix of piano teachers, good amateurs, all ages, from as far away as Australia... fantastic to hear! I enjoyed everyone's performances - from 11 year old Tristan Vermeulen (he played a Beethoven sonatina and a Chinese piece, Seagrass Dance by Mingxin Du) to 53 year old Marie Askin who performed Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66.  I followed Marie in the running order. I performed Massenet's Nocturne Op. 10 No. 1 from 10 Pièces de genre. Generally it went well - especially on a super piano (we were all playing a Steinway grand)! 

The last performer was another future pro, 16 year old Julian Trevelyan. Julian came top in the piano category of last year's  Long–Thibaud–Crespin Competition. There was a little confusion over his arrival on Saturday - so Julian literally ran in the door, sat down and played! Very good though, especially his performances of Schumann's 'Warum' from Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 and Kapustin's Etude

After all of that (still only 1.15!!) I went to see the remainder of Jonas Vitaud's recital. I heard parts of Debussy's Suite Bergamasque but fully heard his performance of Henri Dutilleux's Sonate Op. 1. I heard part of this Sonate last summer at the Leeds; listening to the full work was very interesting. Pain, anguish and acceptance indeed. Jonas made the work sound very cool - jazzy in parts of the first movement, a cool elegant blue 2nd movement changing to a piercing third movement.

After the intensity of Dutilleux I went for a coffee & cake stop before Eliane Reyes' recital. Eliane had been in the audience for the 'Come and Play' event and we'd briefly discussed Massenet and Benjamin Godard, whose works she had programmed. Eliane's recital balanced Godard and Chopin. The whole thing was amazing -an intense, spellbinding atmosphere (there was a collective 'ah' after the end of the Grande Valse brillante Op. 42/5 and Fantaisie-Impromptu). Benjamin Godard is a French Romantic composer; the pieces Eliane played worked very well with Chopin. The Sonate No. 2 was both lyrical and powerful; but the soundscapes evoked in Sur la mer Op. 44 and Rêve vécu Op. 140 were amazing. As good as many Debussy or Ravel piano pieces. I feel a few Godard pieces being added to my 'to learn' list....

A full day, an intense day of really high quality music making.  

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