PrettyInScarlett

A chance to take an extended break and visit a different part of the University of Leeds campus. I'd not previously been in the Marks & Spencer Archive , and it looks like a really interesting place. Definitely worth a future lunchtime visit. The seminar room in the Archive was pretty full for the pop-up concert. Second round competitors Florian Caroubi and Fuko Ishii performed and took questions from the audience. Florian started off with Liszt's Sposalizio , followed by selections from Schumann's Carnaval . Very fluid and warm playing. Fuko Ishii contrasted with the latter movements of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy D760 .  Following on from the performances, there was a 20 minute question & answer session in which both pianists answered general questions about their musical background and what inspires them. The event was very enjoyable indeed! There are photos on the M&S Archive Twitter feed .

Three years passes pretty quickly! After a busy summer, my cultural activities are starting up again and first in line was the Leeds International Piano Competition . Sadly not enough annual leave left to binge-attend, so I selected one of the second round events (Friday 7th at 7pm) and a semi-final (Sunday 9th at 7pm).  Firstly, I had forgotten how long the rounds take! Each competitor was effectively playing a full on recital. Hard on the audience too, lots of concentration required (so I was very tired indeed on Friday after a full week and then 3 hours of music)! The second round competitors I saw were Chao Wang, Anna Geniushene, Siqian Li and Samson Tsoy.  Chao Wang played a superb Moonlight Sonata   - such balance and softness! All the amateur pianists I know would love to play the first movement with the same sense of movement but stillness. However he didn't have the projection of the other 3 performers so maybe that was a factor in his elimination. Samso...

Last year I suffered from stress-related anxiety problems. Since then I've been exploring ways to help myself with the aid of a few stress management/stress reduction courses. So far, so good. One thing I have tried is to go to a concert with no expectations of myself. Somehow, I think I'd fallen into the trap of thinking about what I would write from a concert experience, therefore missing out on being really in the moment. I've tried writing no notes, taking no photos, doing no prior research (sometimes avoiding programme notes), nor listening, leading to some reflections on the recent round of concerts that I've attended.   Last week, 11th March, I attended a celebratory event 'A Life in Music: Celebrating Dame Fanny Waterman' at University of Leeds. The event comprised an extract from Dame Fanny's personal archives (recently donated to the University), a conversation and a concert. The archive documents looked really interesting and there were lots ...

January brought 'piano night' to Skipton for the piano recital event of this year's Skipton Music season. Following on from her win at the 2015 Leeds International Piano Competition, Anna Tsybuleva has received several concert invites including here in Skipton. After her performance in Hebden Bridge last spring, I was looking forward to this concert. Whereas the Hebden Bridge programme was more 'traditional' - Schubert, Beethoven, Liszt - the programme for the 24th January recital in Skipton was more varied (more of her own favourites, perhaps?): CPE Bach Fantasy in F sharp minor H.300 ; Schumann Symphonic Etudes Op. 13 ; Medtner Sonata in G minor Op. 22 ; a selection from da Játékok by György Kurtág; and four Preludes plus L'Isle Joyeuse of Debussy.  Anna's demeanour throughout was of unfussy, confident elegance. The Fantasy started out in contemplative mode (quite apt for a work night concert!?) with the expression following almost acting as a sta...

This time it didn't rain! After a few years' gap we returned to Hebden Bridge for another sellout Piano Festival concert. I left it so late that we almost didn't get tickets for headliner Anna Tsybuleva! Understandably a sellout as Anna is the winner of the 2015 Leeds International Piano Competition. A pretty impressive biography listed on the festival website - and the concert programme was equally impressive: Beethoven - Fantasy Op. 77 ; Schubert -  'Der Wanderer' Fantasy in C, D.760 ; Brahms -  '7 Fantasies' Op.116 ; and Liszt -  Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 .  Described by Jonathan Biss as a little odd, the Fantasy Op. 77 is a multi-key, multi-meter, many-tempoed smorgasbord of writing, clearly showing Beethoven's genius as an improviser. Certainly parts of the Fantasy felt like a musical puppet show! Anna displayed the piece superbly (especially the quieter sections).  Suitably warmed, we headed for the intense dark/light of the '...

Not quite 2 weeks into Skipton life and time for my first concert courtesy of Skipton Music . I recognised Yuanfan Yang from his Leeds International Piano Competition entry - definitely a 'one to watch' name! Arriving at Skipton Town Hall , I found that the main hall was pretty full. Definitely more people than a typical Darlington Piano Society concert. The hall has quite a high stage so there aren't really any bad seats.  In his brief speech to the crowd, Yuanfan referenced his previous concert here, 10 years ago!?! Yuanfan spoke with a good degree of confidence and humour. The concert programme was as follows: Liszt, La Vallée d'Obermann from Années de Pélerinage Y. Yang, Ode to the Atlantic Schumann, Carnaval Op. 9 Schubert, Klavierstücke - No. 1 in E flat from Drei Klavierstücke D. 946 P. Cashian, Landscape (1995) Prokofiev, Sonata No. 7 in B flat, Op. 83 I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of a self-penned work and a recent compos...

Since returning to the piano as an adult and through listening to lots of music, I have come to look forward to 'The Leeds' - the world-class Leeds International Piano Competition . The Leeds runs every 3 years, currently running for the 18th time. This year I decided to had along to one of the first round events - nicely coinciding with my birthday! Keyboard seats a must. After lunch with a friend, M and I arrived at the Leeds University Great Hall in time to soak up a bit of atmosphere before the first competitor of the afternoon arrived on stage. Whilst all 5 competitors (in order: Drew Petersen , Rodolfo Leone , Peng Lin, Célia Oneto Bensaid and Gunyoung Hwang) were all very technically competent, it was interesting for the listening experience of hearing successive performers in the same room on the same instrument. Seated position, shoulders, feet, projection - lots of variables! Petersen had a very 'proper' posture and technique, but his pieces lacked what ...