The Stables has, for the past few months, given a series of piano recitals, mainly by the well-established British pianist Margaret Fingerhut and various of her pupils. Forty or so years before Xhosa Cole, she was also selected as a Young Musician of the Year, and she has had an impeccable career as a soloist and teacher.

Fitting, then, that the final concert in The Stables series was by one of her pupils: a Hastings-born, unassuming prodigy named Phillip Leslie. It was a rare privilege to hear him perform. The programme was, in his own words, “quite difficult”. In fact, like the other young pupil, Daisuke Yoshida, this pianist presented us with astonishing renditions of fiendishly complex pieces, which even their composers found challenging.

The first piece, Mozart’s second sonata, is perhaps not known for its difficulty, though obviously not in easy pieces territory. However, Mozart ,under the hands of Phillip Leslie, is Mozart as you have never quite heard him before. Like a handful of other great pianists, Leslie makes you hear the eternity and the modernity in everything he plays. This Mozart, far from sounding baroque, sounded quirky and intangible, fast and furious or slow and lyrical, and rendered us unusually aware of its adventurous harmonic leaps and pauses.

Full of drama, love, and passion, the second piece by Schumann is clearly a favourite of Leslie’s. We experienced in the three movements a splendid, dramatic rendering, the pianist expounding the glorious contrast between the romance and the tragedy, the gravity and the passion, the ultimate peace. Full of angels and demons, and again, an individual interpretation which perhaps illuminated the character of Schumann, whose own long anguished quest for inner peace finished tragically in a sanatorium at the age of just 46.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition, apart from numerous orchestral adaptations,has frequently made it into unexpected genre territory: Ralph Burns arranged it for jazz orchestra, a whole album by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, was devoted to it, and it somehow became audible in the middle of a Michael Jackson rock medley. Tangerine Dream recorded the Promenade in 1994; Segovia arranged The Old Castle picture for classical guitar. It’s therefore a composition that absolutely lends itself to genre crossover.

This afternoon, however, we were treated to the original piano solo work. If Leslie’s playing is augmented by his own clear mental vision, in Pictures this is obviously already written into the score, so it seemed a natural choice for his interpretative style. I was moved to tears as each painting – The Gnome, The Old Castle, The Unhatched Chicks, and so on – was musically realised, with the promenades in between, and the final walking out into the open. Leslie is master of the expressive musical pause, so particularly important to the sense, drama and continuity of this well-known and brilliant suite. All together an exceptional recital, by an exceptional musician.

There will always be more musical events in this town than I have space to write up in this fortnightly, and it is a privilege to be able to see so much exceptional talent in a relatively small space. The eclecticism of its musical output echoes the eclecticism of the local residents, and I for one can be thankful that I live here.

VK: I first heard of you as the instigator of the St. Leonards Concerts music series. What gave you the idea, and why? How long has it existed?

MB: My first concert in St Leonards was right after gatherings were again legal following Covid, June 2021. I remember walking out in front of an audience of 80 people, and what an amazing feeling it was to be stepping on stage again! Almost everyone I’d made friends with over my first lockdown year in St Leonards was there, and for most of the audience it was the first show they’d been to in over a year. My friend, incredible musician Laura van der Heijden and I played a real blinder of a piece, the Kodaly Duo, a rhapsodic, Hungarian odyssey for violin and cello. To be able to programme the music myself and invite friends and colleagues down to this beautiful place felt like something to build on.

VK: How is St Leonards Concerts funded?

MB: The series has had a small amount of sponsorship, but it’s mostly funded by ticket sales, including paying the musicians. I haven’t been able to pay myself much so far, but that should change as I hope to attract bigger audiences and find further sponsorship. I’m getting great feedback about the events and, as well as attracting new audience, there’s a loyal following growing – so I feel long-term positive.

VK: Do you have administrative staff?

MB: Not yet! It’s still early days, but I’m working on building a local team of people who will help me manage the events. I do have a bit of help, some from friends and some I’ve paid for, but at this stage the administration is still a mostly a one-man-band. Running around setting up venues/ recordings/ticket lists/door staff etc while trying to do a dress rehearsal can be pretty hectic! I’m having to learn new levels of multi-tasking!

VK: How do you decide on content, performance and performers?

MB: This is the fun part! Often I’ve brought programmes that I’m playing elsewhere for a repeat performance. Two of my three bands have visited, as well as other people I work with regularly in other settings. But as things develop, I’m enjoying the chance to explore tailor-made performances. I play a lot of classical music and I want to create the sort of listening environment where audience members feel like they can have an intimate experience, really led on a journey and captivated by a dynamic performance.

I think context is often a barrier to an engaging experience, along with some of the more artificial concert conventions, so I’m trying to make things inclusive and relaxed. For example, with the bigger concerts, I always arrange the chairs in a wide crescent around the performers. It’s a simple change, but it makes a huge difference. As to the music, I have a long list of amazing people and programmes I want to perform as part of the series… watch this space!

VK: Are you national as well as local?

MB: I’m constantly on the road. I play across the UK and Europe. In February and March I’m playing concerts in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway as well as closer to home in the UK. Setting up St Leonards Concerts is partly about being able to play closer to home.

VK: How do you find rehearsal space?

MB: As the Fritz Brothers we rehearsed in my living room! For the recital I did with pianist Ljubica Stojanovic, for example, a local couple kindly made their lovely piano in their front room available. We mix and match.

VK: What’s your opinion of the current local classical music scene?

MB: It’s buzzing! It’s exciting that there is so much going on, and there are loads of great players around and audiences up for going to shows.

VK: Does St. Leonards Concerts do outreach work?

MB: Not yet, but it’s definitely on my radar as something to do in the future. What I would like to do is to bring more younger people and those without classical music or much live music experience to St Leonards Concerts. Sponsorship will also enable me to set up ticket schemes that will subsidise tickets for those who are struggling financially – and I’ve already made contact with a few local organisations, The Refugee Buddy Project for example, and a local school. Access and education are both on my mind as the series grows. I’ll also be looking for partner organisations.

VK: From your website and seeing the Fritz Brothers on only their third outing, it’s clear you are an exceptional musician, intensely versatile and cross-genre. Who do you think influenced you and who do you admire the most?

MB: I grew up in a musical family. My father is a cellist and was a big name on the British classical scene as I was growing up. He’s been a huge influence, but I’ve also looked for inspiration among non-classical musicians. There’s an amazing Romanian Gypsy fiddler from the 1930s whose music and playing I love: Georges Boulanger. The style is quite different from conventional classical violin playing, but actually, there’s loads of overlap. Also my teacher Ivry Gitlis, who died just a couple of years ago aged 96. His maverick lineage includes some of the great musicians of the 20th century, so I’m lucky to have learned from a true legend.

VK: Tell me about your musical education?

MB: I did my A levels at a musical vocational school, set up in the 60s by the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin. I was precocious, always had an individual style. I won some prizes and scholarships, but real virtuosity has come more gradually to me than some. I’m still fascinated by the violin and how to play it. I don’t think that will ever leave me and will help me always develop. My mother is German. When I was growing up in England, this was still something to be ashamed of because of the WW2 associations and xenophobia from other kids at primary school. Now I’m proud to have dual citizenship with Germany and to be part of Europe. It also helps a lot with touring, post-Brexit, not needing a visa.

VK: I marvelled at The Fritz Brothers. Do you front other ensembles yourself, as well as doing studio work? Do you also play in the orchestra here?

MB: I played with the Hastings Philharmonic last year as soloist for Tchaikovsky’s epic violin concerto. I do regular studio work in London, film scores. I played solo on a big one recently but I’m actually not allowed to say the name of the film!! My regular groups are all chamber music, where leading roles interchange. I like to let rip, have my moment to shine, but I also love the interaction in chamber music.

VK: Is jazz your first love? The arrangements for that band were mostly yours, I think? Are all the arrangements and solo breaks written in, or are you as accomplished an improviser as you are an arranger?

MB: We arrange everything ourselves in Fritz Brothers. Improvisation is very much a part of what the band does. I’m picking up from jazz playing I did as a teenager and learning it afresh – daunting when you have the likes of the mighty Ewan Bleach as your band mate… but I’m loving the process! To me, jazz violin only really makes sense in an old style of playing – sweet and lyrical – and this is what we try to capture in Fritz Brothers. What Fritz Brothers does is mix the music of Rachmaninov and Chopin and other great classical tunes with this old jazz style, particularly Gypsy-jazz and old Swing.

VK: What are your French influences? Do you play jazz on viola as well as violin? How do you find the comparison?

MB: I loved jazz as a kid for sure. But I never listened to jazz fiddlers and, dare I say it, I’m not such a Grappelli fan. I feel like he plays too many notes, too noodly. His bandmate Django [Reinhardt] inspires me much more with his cheeky, rhythmically-concise style. And of course the great horn players like Lester Young, Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane were high on my listening list. South African Jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim was another big figure growing up. I’m not inclined to play jazz on viola – you really need the extra brilliance of a fiddle for that style, and for the higher registers. The viola will get lost in that context.

VK: Do you have an outlet for your own compositions?

MB: Yes I do – my group, Lodestar Trio, plays some of my music, and I occasionally direct ensembles where I play my own material as part of a wider programme. I also have a duo called Sonnen, with electronic musician Vahakn Matossian, where all the material is our own.

VK: All your musical associates have some level of virtuosity. How did you meet The Fritz Brothers, for instance? And are you all from eminent musical families?

MB: Bass player Misha Mullov-Abbado certainly comes from an illustrious lineage of top classical musicians. I’ve known clarinet and sax player Ewan Bleach for years – actually we played in a rowdy Ska band at festivals through our 20s. I met Frank since moving to St Leonards, and John I know through Ewan as they work a lot together. What makes them brilliant is that they are all skilled improvisers as well as great in written repertoire. I met Frank in a St Leonards garden, jamming in the summer sun! They are some of the best players I know in any field, and part of the aim of the St Leonards Concerts is to bring the kind of performances you would hear at top stages in London or Europe to the doorstep of concert-goers in St Leonards.

VK: Are the other Fritz Brothers involved in St. Leonards Concerts?

MB: I do the programming for St Leonards Concerts, and each concert is so far a stand-alone performance of a band or particular programme. But within each project there is a collaborative input amongst the musicians.

VK: How old are you, If it’s not a rude question?

MB: I just turned 42. Fresh-faced I’m told! Must be the winter sea swimming…

St Leonards Concerts Diary

Next Concert: Sunday 26th March, 5pm, Christ Church, Silchester Street, St. Leonards.

Haydn’s 7 Last Words of the Cross – a truly sublime piece for string quartet performed as part of the Easter calendar with special guests.

• You can make bookings via the St Leonards Concerts website and find details of other concerts to be confirmed.

They claim to be the first fully professional orchestra in Hastings since the 1930s when the Hastings Municipal Orchestra was based at the White Rock Theatre, itself a national centre for classical music and favourite recording studio for the Decca Records. This year the HPO have at least one concert a month at either the White Rock Theatre or Christ Church in St Leonards.

Perhaps slightly more on the radar is the biennial Hastings Piano Concerto Competition. Next month sees a special Prizewinners’ Gala Concert at the White Rock with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Shunta Morimoto and Mariamna Sherling return having thrilled the capacity audience with their performances in the final of the 16th Hastings International last year. 

The Competition evolved from the of Hastings Music Festival in the 1930s. It has become internationally-renowned for young concert pianists. Of last year’s 360 applicants from global auditions, more than 40 came to compete in Hastings. Their prize: the opportunity to perform with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on the two-night final, and a first prize of £15,000. Plans are already in hand for the 2024 Competition.

As part of the Piano Concerto Competition the indefatigable Sarah Kovitz provides space at her ‘stately’ home, Fairlight Hall for regular recitals. As she says: “I think we are blessed with choice for a regional location where 50 per cent of our potential audience is the sea!  The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the iconic London orchestras, has taken Hastings to its heart and comes now as a regular visitor to a town that for 40 years was a classical music desert.”

Opera is also very much part of the Hastings’ scene. Barefoot Opera strive to make it accessible, and elsewhere on this page we carry a piece from their director Jenny Miller on her philosophy. But Barefoot do not have a monopoly: there’s also Opera South East, based in Hastings, and one of the few companies in the region that regularly performs opera with full chorus and orchestra. 

They attract established singers and musicians as well as young professional performers at the start of their career. At their heart is a chorus of enthusiastic and friendly amateur singers under professional music and artistic direction. 

Other events are also much in evidence, including the upcoming Hastings Musical Festival with its greater emphasis on young people. The Young Instrumentalist of the year competition is in mid March.

Also in this special section, Victoria Kingham reviews a recent concert by the Fritz Brothers and the multi-talented violinist Max Baillie – who is also the inspiration behind the regular St Leonard’s Concerts, an eclectic mix of classical Jazz and electronic genres. 

So then, no shortage of ‘serious’ music available locally; and if you can get tickets, don’t miss the Gala Concert at the White Rock, when last year’s competition winners will play Beethoven’s dramatic and complex 4th concerto and Rachmaninov’s heartrending Variations on a Theme By Paganini. This promises to be an unmissable evening.

My vision originated from my interest in theatre and dance, as well as singing. My mother was trained as a modern dancer and, Isadora Duncan style, I danced to records of Beethoven and Schubert and acted enthusiastically in all my school plays. Aged seventeen, I arrived in England from France to study at The Guildhall to find (at that time) an extremely narrow curriculum. I went to the Director of Music – remember it was The Guildhall School of Music and Drama – and asked if I could join some drama classes. His response was “Why do you want to do drama? You are a singer!” 

Of course their syllabus has since changed considerably and there is much more depth of study, but the attitude of ‘musician first’ still prevails in the world of opera. The real beginning of what I now refer to as ‘Barefoot principles’ or the ‘Barefoot ethos’ took root around fifteen years ago as a result of conversations with Polly Graham, at that time a young student I was mentoring (now Director of Longborough Festival Opera) and who was acting as my assistant. 

I was running a summer course called The Complete Singer, and enthusiastic student singers had agreed with me that they would rather do a whole opera than just the more usual small opera scenes. Polly came along to help with a production of L’Incoronazione di Poppea. She and I formed a close relationship and discussed what we both felt opera needed. Our vision was to create an ensemble style of working in which the whole group shared storytelling with their whole bodies. It would have the attributes and elements of physical theatre, and here we were inspired by Jacques Lecoq. There is no ‘star’ system, and everyone works together. 

As a result, in my vision, there would be a group of people who would train along the same lines as companies that have come out of Lecoq like Complicité (complicite.org/company) and Gecko (geckotheatre.com), or like a contemporary dance ensemble, with a common way of working and a shared creative language with which they approach the piece, whatever it may be. 

This is a very important vision for me and one that I have, as yet, not completely managed to realise (it’s a costly vision! This dream requires a subsidised company!) However, I have partially achieved this ambition because people do come back and do more than one show. Singers are beginning to talk about ‘Barefoot work’.  I have created a training company where these principles are implemented, and artists take the approach on into other situations. These artists include Polly Graham, Lysanne von Overbeek who is now a freelance director, Laurence Panter (a pianist, composer, and teacher), Chiara Vinci (opera singer, ballet dancer, mixed media dance and theatre performer), Oscar Castellino (baritone), and many more.

To my knowledge, none of the opera companies that do have the kind of resources necessary to achieve my ultimate vision have developed the concept of training as an ensemble. When I was young, appearing in a variety of productions, I often felt lonely. Everyone comes in from their different worlds. There is an element of competition, an edginess about ‘so-and-so is getting on better with the conductor’ or ‘will the conductor be giving so-and-so more work and not me’, etc. etc. 

You have this very difficult thing to do, very high profile, very exposing, but you are being pushed around and have no agency. I attempt to do things differently. In La Cenerentola, for example, I feel that Michael Spenceley and I, together with our enthusiastic and talented cast, have managed to create a truly unified atmosphere. This very much relies on how rehearsals are conducted. The leaders’ core goal needs to be to create a unified ensemble, as well as putting on a great show. 

Contact details atbarefootopera.com/contact or barefootfriends40@gmail.com to get further involved as a Friend of the opera company.

Maestro violinist, Max Baillie, and world class pianist Ljubica Stojanovic played together for the first time at St Leonards’ Christ Church last month.  Difficult to believe they’d not done so many times before.  They make a great partnership, making the difficult De Falla, Debussy, Janacek, and César Franck look easy and entrancing.  

The audience was in a novel setting: sitting around the piano and players, so that the concert had a salon intimacy.  We started with De Falla’s Folk Songs.  Max and Ljubica explained that these were taken from The Three-Cornered Hat (1919).  Each of the three songs was indeed ‘tuneful and lilting’. De Falla had immersed himself in Spanish folk music on his return from a seven-year stay in Paris. He held that music is all about feeling, and the songs are Spanish to the core.  Listening to the whole of The Three-Cornered Hat with its explosive opening of castanets and the orchestra clapping in time is exhilarating, and like nothing else in music – check out Barcelona Symphony Orchestra’s 2002 Proms on You Tube.

RIGHT CREDIT: Rod Webb

Janacek had a late flowering as a composer: he’d become avant-garde, a non-conformist with a new musical language – literally based on speech patterns.  In 1917 Janacek, then 63, met and fell madly in love with Kamila Strosslova, who was 26 and married with two boys. It was unrequited, and Kamila became his muse. Kamila features in three of his operas, inspired the great Sinfonietta, the startlingly revealing String Quintet No. 2, and the Violin Sonata. It’s typical of his late style: short motifs, swift changes of tempo, and intense emotional expression.  Max called it “a tour de force, modernist, powerful, eery, radical”.  The Violin Sonata is in marked contrast to Janacek’s early Suite for String Orchestra (1877), written when only 23, with its beautiful melodies and Moravian Folk tunes.

Debussy’s Violin Sonata (1917), described by Max as ‘like a magical creature, ever fluid and capricious, organic and sensual’ is not attempted often.  It’s challenging but was superbly played by our virtuosos.  The Violin Sonata is difficult to warm to: unlike Clair de Lune or La Mer (completed by the bohemian Debussy in the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne, with his new mistress, another married woman).

The Concert ended on a triumphant note with César Franck’s melodious Violin Sonata (1886).  It’s said Franck brought a new seriousness to French Music that would later resonate with Debussy and Delibes.  The sonata was played with great energy and facility: violin and piano in perfect dialogue.  Max and Ljubica are wonderful together – versatile and engaging.  As at any Max Baillie concert you’re invariably challenged, enlightened, amused, and uplifted. And always leave delighted. 

On a seemingly ordinary Sunday afternoon approximately 60 people assembled, almost en passant, in the small art gallery of The Stables Theatre at Hastings to listen to an as yet unknown pianist give a solo recital.  

This audience was privileged to hear three of the most difficult pieces in any musician’s – or composer’s – repertoire, played with the most extraordinary power and assurance by a 21-year-old of astounding ability.  It was a performance which would not have been out of place in the Albert Hall.  

Daisuke Yoshida

Beethoven’s Sonata 13 in E-flat was written at the same time as the Moonlight Sonata – number 14 – but is obviously lesser known.  It is full of surprises. It moves constantly from simplicity to complexity, from stateliness to bawdiness, from serenity to unbridled passion, all in the space of fifteen minutes.  

One of the special features of Yoshida’s performance was his hyperawareness of these changes, and his ability to transfer some of their drama via minuscule delicate pauses; dynamics, sudden changes in tempo, unexpected harmonies and bounciness in the bass clef, winding of the melody between the bass and treble, return of the original melody – and the final cadenza.  I was on the edge of my seat.  

In the second piece, Chopin’s ‘Sonata 2 in B-flat minor, op. 35’, we heard the swoops and soars of sustained harmonies, the majesty of the first movement, and the graceful romance of the scherzo leading in once again to drama, and then back to a final melodic fade. 

The third movement of this sonata is the funeral march. Yoshida made it sound like the first time we had heard it and somehow emphasised the transition between it, the romantic middle section, and the concluding return.  Yoshida’s exemplary rendering shaped the music into a thing of three dimensions, an almost tactile shape.  

La Nuit by Daisuke Yoshida
CREDIT: Digital Collage Ba Kode

Moving to the twentieth century, Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit is based on three much earlier poems by Bertrand.  Yoshida told us that it was supposed to be one of the most difficult pieces to play, but he would do his best. With this laughably modest introduction he gave a faultless and heartrending performance of this most complex set of – impressions? ‘A Gaspard de la Nuit’ – treasurer of the night – is someone in charge of the dark, the mysterious, the morose.  Ravel said he wanted to portray with notes what a poet expresses with words. The first movement, ‘Ondine’, is the nymph Undine seducing her observer to her underwater kingdom, and we hear the water ebbing and flowing, sliding and shimmering. The second movement, ‘Le Gibet’, represents a view of the desert where the lone corpse of a hanged man stands in the setting sun, and a bell tolls all the way through. It is stately, slow, with emphasis on the space, the quiet, the inevitability.  ‘Scarbo’, the third movement, is the uneven flight of a goblin in a nightmare.  It is enormously fast, enormously brilliant, enormously difficult, and finishes with a rapid cadenza of suitably fiendish complexity.  The fingers of Yoshida verged on the magical. 

This is one of the first recitals in Britain by a virtuoso pianist about whom we are sure to hear more.  He is still studying at Birmingham Conservatoire, and says he started to take the piano ‘seriously’ when he was about 16.  An instrument, he said, he found a little difficult to control. A rare artist indeed. Thank you, Daisuke.

The International Composers Festival – the only event of its kind in the world – will be returning between May 20 and 22, bigger and better than ever. For the first time, all the concerts will be taking place in the same major venue – the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.   

And there have been more entries than ever, at the last festival in 2018, 800 comp-ositions were submitted for consideration. This year that number has risen to 365,000 from 860 composers from all over the world, from countries as diverse as Kazakhstan, Venezuela and Lebanon. Sixty have been selected for performance.

Orchestra rehearsal 
CREDIT: Peter Mould

The idea behind the festival, which was founded by Hastings resident and award-winning British-Argentinian composer Polo Piatti, was to showcase tuneful and accessible music being written today by living composers that will appeal to all.

There will be four concerts over the three busy days. On the opening night, Friday May 20, ‘Ovation’ will feature mainly new concert music performed by the vibrant 80-strong International Festival Orchestra under Principal Conductor John Andrews and associate conductor Jack Wong. 

The evening will feature the premiere of Polo Piatti’s Old World Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, performed by virtuoso cellist Tim Posner (with his proud mother, the former Principal Cellist of the London Mozart Players, playing in the orchestra) and a per-formance of Anne by one of the UK’s best-known composers, Debbie Wiseman OBE, from her beautiful album Kings and Queens. 

On the Saturday morning, May 21, there will be a chamber music concert, ‘Small is Beautiful’, performed by international and local soloists, with the Hastings Sinfonia Wind Quintet and the Festival’s very own ICF Piano Quartet. Composers from France and the US will be travelling to Bexhill to perform their own compositions.

Saturday evening brings a barnstorming concert of film, TV and games music. Pieces from major films such as Slum Dog Millionaire, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. And there will be gentler music from TV programmes such as The Great British Bake Off, and new music being written for as-yet unseen productions.

Principal conductor John Andrews
CREDIT: Peter Mould

Sunday afternoon features a family concert called ‘Songs and Dances from Around the World’, with specially commissioned symphonic dances reflecting music from different regions of the world, some of them choreographed and performed by the Eastbourne Academy of Dancing.

There will be international collaborations such as an emotive piece by US-based Mexican composer Jose Elizandro, choreographed and performed by St Leonards-based Japanese Butoh dancer Yumino Seki. There is also a premiere of the ‘Hastings Lifeboat March’, composed by the highly successful local composer Paul Lewis. This is an imaginative musical tribute to the bravery of Hastings lifeboat crews.

Hastings also contributes in the form of local favourites the shanty singers from Rock-A-Nore Sound and Sambalanco, the samba drumming band, both playing with a symphony orchestra for the first time.

The concert will close with a performance of festival patron Nigel Hess’s extraordinary The Way of Light, featuring young star Eleanor Grant, actor John Watts and St Richard’s Catholic College Choir. 

The joy of the festival is that composers come from around the globe to hear their music being performed. And they really want to know what people think about the sounds. So they are there, in the audience, and they want to talk to as many people as they can. It’s a unique, informal and engaging atmosphere. It is also likely to be great fun!

• Tickets are available from the De La Warr Pavilion box office.

The audience at the Holy Child were treated to something special – indeed quite exceptional – an electrifying and moving performance of the Goldberg Variations by a brilliant Trio. The piece really blooms in this format. At the end, the audience rose as one and gave them a spontaneous standing ovation and three curtain calls. 

Many will be familiar with the Goldberg Variations played on the piano at a fast pace by the remarkable Glenn Gould (1955) and later at a slower pace (1981). These have not greatly appealed to me. It’s a revelation to find that three string instruments place the piece on a new plane. They completely transform and enhance it. Legend has it that J. S. Bach composed the Variations for J. G. Goldberg, a young harpsichordist (and ex-pupil) who was hired by Count Keyserling, the Russian Ambassador. Keyserling was often ill and had trouble getting to sleep. Bach composed the Variations so that Goldberg could play his master to sleep. The fine melody and ingenious exercises apparently did the trick. And Bach was well paid for the commission. Alas, this is probably not true.

Max Baillie writes: “This truly cosmic piece of music is a set of variations on the theme of a beautiful aria, after which the journey begins… in turns intimate, epic, playful, soulful, vivacious and virtuosic, the Goldberg Variations is an incredible exploration of melody and musical dialogue, a true megalith in music”. In the first fifteen minutes, the Trio engagingly explained and demonstrated what the Variations were about: a simple aria which was repeated twice – at the beginning and at the end. 

The 30 Variations vary greatly, but there was much repetition and a more complex Canon which Hélène said is more fun to play with. One Variation has a French theme, Laura explained, which could be described as “a little pompous”, the German Variation was “more formal and stately”, and the Italian has “special flare – as if showing off”. There is also a folk song theme in Variation 7, where, Helene explained, it is very difficult to keep track of the two voices. In short, the whole piece is full of complexity. Max explained that Bach always had a jovial side – a “coming down to earth” which provoked laughter – as well as composing for God. Variation 25 is the heart of the piece and goes down a tormented, ponderous, and repetitive line. I feel this might be shortened without loss, so bringing on the sublime ending.

The Trio were playing Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s iconic transcription of the Goldberg Variations (1985, revised 2009). It’s become the benchmark for transcriptions. Sitkovetsky escaped the Soviet Union in 1977 and busked in New York playing Bach on his violin to help pay his way while at the Juilliard. His watchwords for a great performance are: mastery, intensity, energy and style (Ted Talk, 2017). All in evidence here. There was also a remarkable cohesion – and clear joy in the playing. Each player took the lead and then alternated with the others. The Variations are most challenging with full bows and their plucking. All accomplished with superb verve and grace. At the return of the aria there’s a wonderful redemptive resolution. And I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise and goosebumps.

This was the second sparkling Classical Concert at the Holy Child. We look forward to their return in September. And thank you to all concerned.

Full Line-Up

Week One: White Rock Theatre

Wednesday 26th February 2020 – An Evening with Guy Chambers.
Thursday 27th February 2020 – Reuben James and Band plus Glastonbury Emerging Artist Marie White Support.
Friday 28th February 2020 – Rufus Wainwright and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Saturday 29th February 2020 – BBC Young Musician of The Year Martin James Bartlett and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Classical Gala Concert).
Sunday 1st March – Patricia Hodge and Alex Jennings Actors with Lucy Parham. 

Week Two: St Mary in the Castle Arts Centre

Wednesday 4th March 2020 – Mark Kermode, Dodge Brothers and Silent Movie Band and Film.
Thursday 5th March 2020 – Claire Martin Jazz with Liane Carroll, Alex Garnett and The Swedish Trio.
Friday 6th March 2020 – An Evening with Oscar winning film composer and songwriter Rachel Portman.
Saturday 7th March 2020 – The Puppini Sisters with The Pasadena Roof Orchestra.

Full programme

The Inaugural Hastings International Piano Festival will host an exciting array of music concerts, featuring some of the most celebrated artists including headliner Rufus Wainwright, one of the world’s most revered singer-songwriters, composers and performers of his generation. Rufus will be joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday 28^th February at The White Rock Theatre on Hastings’ iconic sea front, for a spectacular evening of songs from his eclectic discography.

The festival opens on Wednesday 26^th February with a concert by one of the UK’s most successful songwriters of all time – Guy Chambers, whose 50 year career has seen Guy write and produce for some of the world’s most popular artists including Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Mark Ronson and Rufus Wainwright to name but a few. Performing songs at the piano including tracks taken from his new album Go Gently Into the Light.

The festival continues on Thursday 27^th February with Reuben James, one of the UK’s most exciting young singer-songwriters and performers best known for his on-going collaborations with Sam Smith. Reuben co-wrote the title track from Sam Smith’s most recent album The Thrill Of It All, as well as the song Him. The festival is delighted that he is bringing his 10 piece band, which explores the boundaries between jazz and pop. Opening for Reuben will be Hastings’ very own Marie White, who recently won the prestigious Glastonbury Emerging Artist Award and has just returned from supporting Keane on their UK tour.

The festival welcomes Claire Martin OBE, the Queen of British Jazz, on Thursday 5^th March at St Mary in The Castle with a stellar line-up of Claire’s music friends, including some of the jazz world’s great artists including Liane Carroll, Alex Garnett and The Swedish Trio.

Oscar-winning composer and songwriter Rachel Portman OBE will perform and be interviewed about her extensive career during this unique production on Friday 6^th March at St Mary in the Castle, specially created for Hastings International Piano Festival. Rachel has written over 100 scores for television and film and is the first woman to win an Academy Award for film music (for the score in Emma) and she went on to be nominated twice more for Cider House Rules and Chocolat, which also earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Rachel’s performance will include special collaborations with local pianists giving them a rare opportunity to perform with a globally renowned artist.

Hastings International Piano Festival Classical Gala Concert with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra takes place at The White Rock Theatre on Saturday 29^th March with a spectacular programme of piano concertos performed by an array of artists including the illustrious pianist and BBC Young Musician of The Year Martin James Bartlett. Martin will be joined by the winner of the 2019 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition Fumiya Koido and Prizewinner Sylvia Jiang.

Two of our most respected British actors Patricia Hodge and Alex Jennings join pianist Lucy Parham on Sunday 1^st March at The White Rock Theatre for Nocturne: The Romantic Life of Frédéric Chopin – an evening of words and music scripted and adapted from letters and diaries chronicling the romantic life of one of the greatest and most popular composers for solo piano.

Silent Movie Night Beggars of Life with live accompaniment from The Dodge Brothers featuring Mark Kermode and Neil Brand takes place at St Mary in the Castle on Wednesday 4^th March. Revered Film critic Kermode joins his band mates and acclaimed pianist Brand for this film extravaganza.

Closing the 2020 festival The Puppini Sisters, the Queens of Close Harmony Swing and The Pasadena Roof Orchestra take to the stage at St Mary In The Castle on Saturday 7th March. Delighting the festival audience with their trailblazing re-workings of pop and classical songs, the performance will have the audience dancing in the aisles.

Managing Director & Curator of The Hastings Piano Festival – Ian Roberts says “We are delighted that so many world-renowned artists are coming to Hastings to perform, some of whom have never visited our creative town. We are happy that we will attract new and bigger audiences from around the UK and Europe who are keen to support the great music educational opportunities that this festival will provide for young people, and we are committed to providing at least 10% of our festival tickets for free to young people”.

Tickets for both The White Rock Theatre and St Mary in The Castle go on sale today (Wednesday 20^th November) and are available from The White Rock Theatre Box office or visit whiterocktheatre.org.uk/Online/tickets-hastings-piano-festival-hastings-2020 

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The story of the intense relationships between Robert Schumann, his wife Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms has always fascinated music lovers. This programme of music and readings brings their history to life. It chronicles the sometimes troubled marriage of Clara and Robert, the arrival in their household of the dynamic, 21-year-old Brahms, Robert’s decline into mental illness and the deepening relationship between Clara and Brahms, the exact nature of which has never been established. Music by all three is performed by the award-winning pianist Lucy Parham, interspersed with extracts from their letters and diaries, which are read by two celebrated actors Lesley Sharp and Sir Simon Russell Beale.

Acknowledged as one of Britain’s finest pianists, Lucy Parham applies her sensitivity and imagination not only to concertos and recitals, but also to portraits in words and music of such composers as Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy and Rachmaninoff.

Sir Simon Russell Beale CBE is an English actor, author and music historian, who has been described by The Independent as “the greatest stage actor of his generation.”

He was first noticed in comic roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he forged collaborations with Sam Mendes with whom he has continued to collaborate. Since 1995 he has been a regular player at the National Theatre. Beale is an associate of the National Theatre and the Almeida Theatre in London, and an associate artist at the RSC.

Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include Clocking Off, Bob & Rose and Afterlife. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1997 film The Full Monty.

Ian Roberts, HIPCC Managing Director says: “I am delighted that such esteemed actors and artists such as Lesley Sharp, Sir Simon Russell-Beale and Lucy Parham are supporting Hastings International Piano Festival and Concerto Competition by agreeing to perform for us in Hastings. Their production on 10th November at St Mary in the Castle will raise much needed funds for our inspirational programme of educational outreach, which will give opportunities for music making to young people in Hastings and the surrounding area, who otherwise may never have the chance to participate in these life affirming workshops”

For tickets £25 – £80 (VIP tickets available) please visit hipcc.co.uk or book in person at Hastings Tourist Information Centre.

Hastings International Piano Concerto 2019 took place from Thursday 21st February – Saturday 2nd March. The Competition returns in 2021. The Hastings International Piano Festival will take place in Feb/March 2020.

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www.hastingsinternationalpiano.org

CHRIS CORMACK REPORTS: 

Hastings has a wealth of classical music talent, making 2018 a year splendidly rich in events that should enthuse us all.

Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition (HIPCC) attracts the best young pianists from all over the world. In the early stages (from 22 February) audiences can enjoy world class performances for £4. It reaches its climax in the first weekend in March when the White Rock Theatre is guaranteed full for two evenings, so book early!

HIPCC spawns a yearlong series of high quality piano events, now to include the Oxford Lieder Festival (OLF) recitals at Fairlight Hall in mid-March. OLF Artistic Director and pianist, Sholto Kynoch, introduce exceptional
new young singers.

There are two notable recitals around Valentine’s Day from the Hastings Philharmonic stable; Marcio DaSilva and Sophie Pullen perform in a St Mary in the Castle (SMIC) fundraiser Valentine’s special following the jazz breakfast format. This format proved very successful at Kino-Teatr, St Leonards as Coffee Concerts on Sunday mornings and expect more to come including Jane Gordon of Hastings Early Music Festival fame.

Recitals by Anton Lyakhovsky, Oliver Poole and a high calibre surprise performer come up in mid-April in the hugely successful Phoenix Piano Series. The Phoenix piano at Opus Theatre has to be seen (and heard!) to be believed; it was designed by a local English retired aero-engineer and won a prestigious innovation first prize in Germany. The Opus Theatre is an exciting new development, a prime new venue facilitated by Polo Piatti, founder of The Hastings Sinfonia which offers several concerts each year including  ‘Great Film Music’ in mid-May.

Hastings Philharmonic also has some brilliant orchestral music coming up:  its Mozart/O’Meara concert in mid-March offers accessible newly-composed music inspired by the classic greats. In April, Richard Lester, praised locally for his Peasmarsh Festival in late June, plays Elgar’s beloved cello concerto with the Hastings Philharmonic. Another local orchestra, The Sussex Concert Orchestra, has its flagship concert in St Leonards in late March;
this concert is notable for its use of a talented young violinist, who came to light at the Hastings International Musical Festival (February/March).

Sussex Concert Orchestra under Kenneth Roberts is renowned for its support of Opera South East productions, who present Eugene Onegin in April at the White Rock. Hastings is awash with great opera with Jenny Miller of Barefoot Opera and Marcio DaSilva of Hastings Philharmonic. This February sees a new kid on the block, Pop-up Opera and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel at SMIC, with Chiara Vinci as Gretel.

Hastings Philharmonic Choir celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2018. Apart from two chamber choir concerts, Monteverdi in February and a selection of German composers in June, the main Choir’s pièce de résistance will be the Verdi Requiem concert in early May which it performs at the White Rock with the professional Kosovo Philharmonic Choir.

All in all, a comprehensive list of quality classical music events that Hastings could not have boasted of even five years ago.

For more detailed information on all of these, see Facebook 

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Sophie Shaw talks to Jane Gordon as she launches Hastings Early Music Festival

‘We’re talking about historically informed performances,’ says Gordon, who is talking me through the Early Music Festival, launching in Hastings in November. ‘It doesn’t mean very old obscure music, though we enjoy putting that on, too – it can mean Mozart or even twentieth-century composers. The important thing is to perform the music in context and produce the kinds of sounds that we imagine would have been heard at the time the music was written.’ Using instruments from the right time period is key so, alongside more familiar violins and soprano soloists, audiences can expect harpsicords and baroque lutes. (‘A baroque flute?’ I ask, mishearing. ‘That, too,’ she replies.)

A critically acclaimed violinist who has performed as guest leader in a range of orchestras and ensembles internationally, Gordon explains that the first violinist is the orchestra leader. ‘It’s a particularly important role when there isn’t a conductor, which was typical in the baroque period.’ She is also part of the piano trio (made up of a piano, violin and cello), opening the festival with a showcase of some of the best music written for such an ensemble.

Through her work, she’s travelled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and America and has met a number of world-class musicians along the way. ‘The people I’m inviting to perform at this festival are all established artists of international calibre, but many also have a Sussex connection. We make a point of creating a more personal connection between artists and the audience: there will be talking from the stage to put the music into context, particularly in our open rehearsals and artist in conversation events, and the players will happily chat to audiences in the bar after the show.

‘Being a performer is really fun, and there’s something about performing that gives you a real sense of connection to the various places you perform in. Many of us musicians get to a certain point in our careers though, having done a lot of touring, when we want to develop something of our own. I’ve always wanted to set up a festival.’

I ask Gordon where her favourite place to perform is. ‘Sydney opera house was great,’ she responds, ‘but Vienna is certainly one of my favourite cities as it’s so historic. I can walk the streets where Beethoven walked, and everyone loves classical music – the old and young come out together.’

Does she think that’s not so true in the UK?, I ask. ‘Everything’s so centralized around the capital,’ she says. ‘That’s why I wanted to start this in Hastings – to help with the flow of world-class music being performed outside of London.’

And where better! We look forward to seeing the shows.

 Early Music Festival at Opus Theatre and Kino-Teatre, 24–26 November 2017. For more information and tickets, see www.hemf.co.uk. Early bird discount available for 24–25 November.

A special concert intriguingly called ‘A Little Jazzed Up’ is going to be staged at the Hastings Centre on The Ridge on Saturday February 4 at 7.30pm in aid of the Friends of Conquest Hospital £1 million appeal for a new MRI Scanner.

It will feature well known local jazz pianist and singer Mike Hatchard, who gained a lot of attention last year for his epic cycle ride from Land’s End to John O”Groats towing an electric piano, on which he played innumerable concerts along the way, all in aid of Children In Need.

Mike, who is often to be heard playing the baby grand in the foyer of the hospital – he’s been known to play for five hours straight – will be supported by virtuoso bass guitarist Chris Barrett and Hugh Alexander on drums.

They say their aim – reflecting the title – is to play some well known classical pieces by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Grieg, Ravel, Debussy and Schubert, but with an added jazz element. A bit like Jacques Loussier’s treatment of Bach in the ‘60s and ‘70s but across a wider range and with a distinctive feel.

It’s quite a challenge. Mike, who is also a composer and was trained as a classical pianist, says he is playing the piano ten hours a day to try to work it all out. You’ll have to buy tickets to see if it will be all right on the night.

The Friends of the Conquest are launching the appeal because the hospital’s current scanner is 13 years old and cannot meet demand or do everything that a state-of-the art machine can do.This means many patients have to endure the inconvenience and expense of travelling elsewhere, often to London, to get the scans they need.

The appeal also marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of the hospital, which is now the acute site for trauma, orthopaedics, surgery and paediatrics for 400,000 people in the area. That’s why the appeal is called Conquest25 MRI Scanner Appeal.

It needs your support.

• Tickets costs just £10 and are available from either the Hastings Centre (01424 753322) on The Ridge – just opposite the hospital – or from the `Friends of the Conquest shop in the foyer of the hospital.

A new fully professional orchestra in Hastings? The idea might seem insane in this time of austerity ,but that would be to ignore the enthusiasm and expertise which Marcio da Silva has brought us over the last few years. Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra will be the first professional orchestra resident in Hastings for over half a century and his belief in the viability of the project was very evident when we met up just before Christmas.

‘It’s the next step for the choir’, he said. ‘Over the last few years, since I was invited to become Music Director for Hastings Philharmonic Choir, we have been working hard to improve the quality of the choir and the professionalism of the music-making. I felt drawn to Hastings as it has so many people involved in the arts, particularly music. Our first full season will have ten concerts ranging from chamber music to full orchestral and choral evenings . I’m pleased that we have been  offered the residency at St Mary in  the Castle

which will give us a permanent base and we can look to ensuring the right conditions are regularly available so that we don’t have to move staging every-time we hold an event.’

Hastings Philharmonic was launched last November with a concert in the White Rock Theatre, home of Hastings Municipal Orchestra before the Second World War, and so it seemed fitting to launch the new venture where the original had been so successful. Marcio da Silva is certainly not averse to taking risks and the opening concert included a new work by Philip O’Meara and Beethoven’s Choral Symphony. The evening easily demonstrated the quality of the musicians he has gathered to form the basis of the ensemble. Many come from outside of Hastings but Marcio is keen to involve professional players who live closer to the town. In particular, the number of strings will need to increase as large romantic works are contemplated.

‘I don’t want to chase musicians.I’d be happy to have players who live close to us but I want to ensure they are of the same professional standard as the rest of the players. We need to ensure we are providing high quality playing all the time. We need to ensure people know that they will get the best when they attend any of our published events. Happily those involved so far have a real sense of the adventure we are undertaking and are really committed. As part of our publicity we did a flash-mob performance of part of the Beethoven, and are looking for similar ways to promote ourselves in Hastings.’

Some events will be streamed to attract a wider audience, and there will be a new interactive website to keep supporters in regular touch with Marcio’s plans as they evolve. Alongside the choir and orchestra, Marcio runs Opera Academies which have been the basis of many of his staged performances. Here he works with young professional singers and brings them  a wider international audience.

Born in Brazil, Marcio da Silva studied singing and graduated from the Conservatoire de Toulouse nd received his Bachelor of Music Degree in orchestral conducting from the Musikhochschule Freiburg, followed by a master’s degree in conducting from the Royal College of Music.

As well as a London Symphony Orchestra masterclass with Sir Colin Davis he has conducted in Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Kosovo and Brazil. As a music director Marcio has conducted and directed over 20 productions of operas ranging from less often performed works like Lully’s Armide to very popular works like Carmen, Magic Flute and La Boheme. He is also a composer, with works including choral a capella pieces, art songs and a Te Deum for soloists, chorus and orchestra. He also sings extensively in chamber music and opera.

A truly international musician who could easily work full-time anywhere in the world, he has chosen to focus on the South-East of England, intending to make Hastings a hub for a new and exciting approach to musical life.

‘Our first season, which started last November, is i very wide-ranging. We opened with the Beethoven, but also with the new choral piece by Philip as I wanted to ensure we are supporting new music and new music-making.

As a total change, and following the traditional Christmas Concert, we had a Bossa Nova evening at The Tabernacle on 13 January. At the end of the month we have an evening of Bach, Handel and Monteverdi at St Clements. So much variety within such a short time! In March we have a chamber recital, followed in April by Mozart’s Requiem in St Mary in the Castle. The really big challenge of the season comes in May when we will perform Brahms’ Second Symphony, followed by a fully staged Don Giovanni at the start of June. But that’s not the end – there is a French chamber music recital and the Durufle Requiem in July before we break for a short summer break before the 2017-18 season begins.’

We finished our coffee and. I left Marcio before he headed off for another rehearsal. If professionalism and enthusiasm are any indicators, Hastings is in for a renaissance and the ghosts of the municipal orchestra will be smiling.