Piano Fever!
Students from the RCM's internationally acclaimed keyboard faculty have
been enjoying incredible success in the world's most important competitions.
Now they take over the RCM for five days of fevered excitement in their
festival, Piano Fever! The festival's featured composer is Fryderyk Chopin, born
on 1 March 1810. His music will be celebrated with the help of two very
special pianos on loan from Steinway: the "Ferrari Red Piano", a uniquely
coloured modern Model D Steinway; and a replica of "Steinway no 1", the first
piano Henry Steinway ever built, which he put together in his kitchen in 1836.
I very much look forward to seeing you at the following events, which are all
free, no ticket required!
Vanessa Latarche
Head of Keyboard
Festival Summary
Pole Position I
Friday 5 March, 4.30pm, RCM Foyer
Appropriately enough, the "Ferrari Red Piano" will be hosting a competition
across the weekend to see who can perform Chopin's Minute Waltz the
quickest. Don't miss this fun chance to see fingers fly!
Red Jazz
Friday 5 March, 4.45pm, RCM Foyer
Wine will be on sale in the reception area
Pianos and Plugs
Friday 5 March, 6.00pm, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
A concert of contemporary music features multiple pianos, strange tunings
and electronics including new works by RCM composers
Pole Position II
Saturday 6 March, 2.00pm, RCM Foyer
See Pole Position I for details
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Poles Apart
Sunday 7 March, 11.00am - 6.30pm, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
The RCM throws open its doors for a full day of events. To mark the 200th
anniversary of Chopin's birth, pianists and harpsichordists from the keyboard
faculty present a mixed programme of music by Chopin and other Polish
composers, including Lutoslawski, Szymanowski and Moszkowski. This event
will also be available to view online via our live streaming service
www.rcm.ac.uk/live. The cafe will be open from 10.00am
Pole Position III
Sunday 7 March, 3.00pm, RCM Foyer
See Pole Position I for details
Pole Position IV
Monday 8 March, 12.00pm, RCM Foyer
After this final round of our Minute Waltz, a prize for the fastest
performance will be presented to the winning pianist.
A History of Steinway
Monday 8 March, 12.30pm, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
A special lecture presentation by Glenn Gough, Managing Director of
Steinway and Sons UK. This event will also be available to view online via our
live streaming service www.rcm.ac.uk/live
Steinway no 1 Piano Recital
Monday 8 March, 1.05pm, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
The replica of the Steinway no 1 (the first piano Henry Steinway ever built,
which he put together in his kitchen in 1836) takes centre stage for a
programme including the music of Chopin, played by RCM pianists.This event
will also be available to view online via our live streaming service
www.rcm.ac.uk/live
Piano Masterclass with Peter Frankl - Belle Shenkman International Masterclass
Tuesday 9 March, 10.00am, Recital Hall
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Poles Apart
Sunday 7 March, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
The centrepiece of the festival is the keyboard faculty’s celebration of the
200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth. Fryderyk Chopin was born on the 1st
March 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, and studied at the Warsaw Conservatory
before leaving Poland to travel, living in Paris where he died in 1849. Much of
his best-loved piano music will be played today (including a selection of
Nocturnes, Preludes, Waltzes, and other ‘salon pieces ‘ written for the Parisian
salons of the day), together with many of his major solo works for piano,
(including Ballades, Scherzi and the Barcarolle) and the principal national
Polish dances, the Polonaise and the Mazurka. Other Polish masters
represented today are Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925) also known for his
salon pieces, most notably his piano duets ; Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
whose writing shows the influence of Polish folk music and the music of his
countryman Chopin; Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994), arguably one of the
greatest composers of the twentieth century; Wladyslaw Szpilman (1911-
2000) known for his book and the film of his memoirs, The Pianist; and three
important living composers Henryk Górecki (born 1933), Zygmunt Krauze
(born 1938) and Paweł Szymański (born 1954). The piece for pedal
harpsichord by Szymański, Through the Looking Glass…III (which is being
played this afternoon), will be a UK première.
The day will feature almost non-stop performances of a variety of music, all
with a distinctly Polish flavour, so feel free to drop in for ten minutes or stay
for hours. We look forward to seeing you and if you are unable to be here for
the whole day, today’s concert will also be streamed live on the web
www.rcm.ac.uk/live.
Vanessa Latarche
Head of Keyboard
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11.00am
Chopin Polonaise in C minor op 40 no 2 Valarie Liow
Moszkowski Caprice Espagnol op 37 Dominic Doutney
Chopin Allegro de concert op 46 Yoon-Seok Shin
Szymanowski Fantasia in C major op 14 Tara Clifford
Grave; Non troppo allegro; Allegro molto
Chopin Fantaisie in F minor op 49 Lynn Kang
12.00pm
Chopin Variations on a German Air (op posth.) in E major Miho Kawashima
Szymanowski Etude op 4 no 1 Maggie Ho
Chopin Nocturne op 9 no 1 Arne Gieshoff
Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major op 61 Yoko Nakamura
Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki Piano Sonata no 1 op 6 Alex Wilson
Allegro molto, con fuoco; Grave pesante e corale;
Allegro vivace (ma non troppo)
Chopin Mazurkas op 17 nos 1,2 and 4 Mizuki Komori
Chopin Prelude op 28 no 15 in D-flat major ‘Raindrop’ Charis Cheung
Szymanowski Etudes op 33 nos 7, 8, 9 and 10 Andrew Ball
1.15pm Lunch break
2.00pm
Chopin Ballade no 1 op 23 in G minor Natsumi Ikenaga
Paweł Szymański Through the Looking Glass... III (UK première) Kumi Matsuo
Chopin Ballade no 2 in F major op 38 João Bettencourt
Moszkowski Etudes de Virtuosité no 6 and 9 Meng Yang Pan
Chopin Etudes op 25 nos 4 and 10 David Malusa
Chopin Ballade no 3 in A flat major op 47 Adam Taylor
Lutoslawski Variations on a Theme by Paganini Agnieszka Pluta &
Nigel Clayton
3.00pm Pole Position III in the RCM Foyer
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3.20pm
Chopin Ballade no 4 in F minor op 52 Jun Ishimura
Zygmunt Krauze Commencement Sophia Russell
Chopin op 44 Polonaise in F sharp minor Richard Powell
Chopin (arr. Renaud de Vilbac) Impromptu in A flat op 29 Vanessa Latarche
& Ian Jones
4.00pm
Chopin Polonaise in A flat major op 53 Michael Foyle
Chopin Etude op 10 no 5 Channarong Jantararat
Chopin Barcarolle op 60 Dominika Dopierala
Szpilman Suite for Piano: The Life of Machines Matthew McCombie
Chopin Nocturne op 32 no 2 in A flat major Hannah Harnest
Chopin Andante Spianato e Grande Polacca Brillante op 22
Francesca Leonardi
& Nigel Clayton (orchestral piano)
Chopin (trans. Liszt) The Maiden's Wish Yulia Vorontsova
5.00pm
Chopin Scherzo no 3 in C sharp minor op 39 Jonathan Musgrave
Szymanowski 20 Mazurkas op 50 nos 1 and 11 Kentaro Nagai
Szymanowski Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor Kentaro Nagai
Chopin Etude op 25 no 75 Lara Omeroglu
Chopin Nocturne in B major op 9 no 3 Sasha Millwood
Chopin Nocturne in C sharp minor op. posth Michael Ierace
Chopin Impromptu in F sharp op 36 Asagi Nakata
Moszkowski Spanish Dances op 12 nos 3, 4 and 5 Wendy Cheang &
Nigel Clayton
6.00pm
Chopin Waltz in C sharp minor op 64 no 2 Martin Bartlett
Szymanowski Etude in B flat minor op 4 no 3 Patrick Milne
Chopin Berceuse op 57 Nina Del Ser
Lutoslawski Study 2 2 Alicia Chaffey
Chopin Valse op 34 no 1 Zizhou Zhang
Chopin Etude op 10 no 8 Sarah Lyo
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A History of Steinway
Monday 8 March, 12.30pm, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
A special lecture presentation by Glenn Gough, Managing Director of
Steinway and Sons UK.
Steinway no 1 Piano Recital
Monday 8 March, 1.05pm, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
Schumann Abegg Variations op 1 Balder Neergard
Schubert Impromptu in G flat Aron Tringali
Chopin Preludes 1,5,3,6,7,8,11,13,21 and 23 Andrew Aarons
Chopin Berceuse op 57 Andrew Aarons
A History of Steinway and Steinway no 1 Piano Recital will also be available to
view online via our live streaming service www.rcm.ac.uk/live
Piano Masterclass with Peter Frankl
Tuesday 9 March, 10.00am, Recital Hall
Belle Shenkman International Masterclass
Liszt Funérailles Joana Vieria
Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie op 61 Alexey Chernov
Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor S 178 Jianing Kong
Peter Frankl made his name on the international circuit as a young pianist in
the 1960s and, since that time, he has appeared with the conductors Abbado,
Ashkenazy, Barbirolli, Blomstedt, Boulez, Chailly, Davis, Doráti, Fischer, Haitink,
Kempe, Kertész, Leinsdorf, Maazel, Masur, Muti, Sanderling, Solti, Szell, among
others. Following his London debut in 1962 and his New York debut with the
Cleveland Orchestra, he has been performing with many orchestras in the
USA (Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
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Pittsburg etc), the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Amsterdam
Concertgebouw, Orchestre de Paris, Israel Philharmonic, all London orchestras
and many others in Europe. He has also toured Japan, Korea, Australia, New
Zealand and South Africa, playing with orchestras, in recitals and also in
chamber music concerts. He has appeared over twenty times at London’s BBC
Promenade Concerts and has been a regular participant at the Edinburgh,
Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, Verbier and Kuhmo Festivals. Among the highlights
of his many Edinburgh Festival appearances were his performance of the
Britten Concerto under the baton of the composer and the opening televised
concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Muti. He was the
soloist at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest with the Budapest Festival Orches-
tra at one of the last concerts Yehudi Menuhin ever conducted.
In the USA, Peter Frankl has been regular guest-artist at the summer festivals
in Aspen, Chautauqua, Hollywood Bowl, Marlboro, Norfolk, Ravinia and Santa
Fé and he often performs with well-known artists, such as Kyung Wha Chung,
Ralph Kirshbaum, András Schiff, Tamás Vásáry and many string quartets like
the Amadeus, Bartók, Borodin, Fine Arts, Guarneri, Lindsay, Panocha, Takács,
Tokyo and Vermeer. He has given master classes all over the world, including
the Royal Academy and Royal College in London, Liszt Academy in Budapest
and the Van Cliburn Institute in Texas.
Peter Frankl’s discography is very wide-ranging: in addition to his recordings
of the complete piano works by Schumann and Debussy, he has also recorded
solo works by Chopin, Schubert, Beethoven, Bartok and other Hungarian
composers, piano concerti by Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann and
Chopin and chamber works by Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann,
Dvorak, Dohnanyi, Martinu and Bartok.
Peter Frankl studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Professors
Hernádi, Kodály, Weiner and won first prizes at several international
competitions. He lives in London and is visiting professor at Yale University in
the USA.
His 70th birthday this year was marked with special concerts in the USA and
in Europe and in Hungary he was given one of the highest civilian awards by
the Hungarian Republic for his lifetime artistic achievement in the world of
music.
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There are so many people to thank for their help and support in making this
exciting festival happen, too numerous to mention everybody, but special
thanks must be given to the following people for going that extra mile for the
keyboard faculty. Thank you everyone!
Steinway and Sons for the pianos and generous sponsorship
Professor Colin Lawson (RCM Director) for his support of the project
Antoine Francoise (RCM student) for his brilliant organisation of the Pianos
and Plugs evening, and for galvanising the troops of pianists and composers
into action!
Michael Oliva (Area Leader in Electro Acoustic Music) & RCM studios for
providing the “Plugs” for Friday’s concert
Chris Moulton (Piano Technician and Supervisor) for working tirelessly for us
David Badger & Valeria Farruggia (Faculties Administration Office)
John Fosbrook (Marketing Manager) and the Marketing Team
Katherine Hainsworth (Performance Administrator) for the programmes
Chris Tomlin for the designs of posters and flyers
Nick Watkins (Head of ICT Services) for supporting us in the live streaming of
Poles Apart and the Steinway no 1 concert
Mary Cosgrave (Professional Relations Manager)
Ian Jones (Assistant Head of Keyboard)
Avenance for catering especially on Sunday
Performance Management Department for logistical organisation
Facilities Officers for manning the desks over the weekend
Pianists, harpsichordists, fortepianists, composers & professors
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The Royal College of Music would like to thank the many supporters whose
generosity has enabled the transformation of the Amaryllis Fleming Concert
Hall in 2009. We would particularly like to thank:
The Amaryllis Fleming Foundation Mary & David Bowerman
The Wolfson Foundation CBE HonRCM
The Foyle Foundation Joseph Williams
Garfield Weston Foundation Deloitte & Touche LLP
Anonymous Donor Sally Bott
Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Leopold de Rothschild CBE
The Hon Richard & Mrs Victoria Sharp FRCM
The Friends of the Royal College of Music Richard & Susan Price
The Mercers’ Company Celia Clarke HonRCM
Professor Lord Winston The Hon Simon Windsor-
ShareGift Clive
Newton Investment Management Limited Tony Leifer
The Wyseliot Charitable Trust David Lewis
Anthony Bolton The Marsh Christian Trust
Alan Parnell John Ward
Michael Steen HonRCM Jerry del Missier
Honeymead Arts Trust Halina Bennett
Vernon & Hazel Ellis Ingrid Elizabeth Pearson
Roger & Stephanie Carr
Professor Colin Lawson FRCM & Hilary Birch
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Forthcoming events at the Royal College of Music
Piano Masterclass Chamber Music Centre Stage
with Steven Osborne Monday 17 May, 7.30pm,
Friday 14 May, 2.00pm, Recital Hall Britten Theatre
Flavours of Spain – Programme to include:
A tribute to Albéniz, Grünfeld Soirée de Vienne op 56
Friday 14 May, 6.00pm Recital Hall Liszt Rigoletto: Paraphrase de concert
S 434
Rodrigo Serenata al Alba del Dia for Arvo Pärt Fratres
guitar and flute Bridge Cello Sonata
Albéniz Evocación, El Puerto,Rondeña Schumann Violin Sonata no 1 in A
and Triana fromIberia (Books I and II) minor op 105
Mompou Aureana Do Sil
Falla El Paño Moruno, Nanaand Polo This prestigious series showcases
from Sietecanciones populares es- some of our very best soloists and
panoles chamber groups, in the stunning
Albéniz El Albaicín, El Polo,Málaga surroundings of our Britten Theatre.
and Eritaña fromIberia (Books III and
IV) Tickets: £5, £8
With so many big composer
RCM Box Office 020 7591 4314
anniversaries taking place in 2009,
weekdays 10.00am – 4.00pm
the 100th anniversary of Albéniz’s
www.boxoffice.rcm.ac.uk
death didn’t garner much attention.
Booking opens onMonday 12 April.
We’re happy to put that right with
RCM Friends priority booking
this concert, featuring selections
fromTuesday 6 April.
from Albéniz’s celebrated Iberia
alongside music by other leading
Spanish composers, and an
appearance from a very special
guest Flamenco artist.
Tickets: £5
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