RVIPW Launch Concert – Wednesday 15th May 2024, 7.30pm

With an extraordinary career spanning over four decades, Martin Roscoe is unarguably one of the UK’s best loved pianists. Renowned for his versatility at the keyboard, Martin is equally at home in concerto, recital and chamber performances. His enduring popularity and the respect in which he is universally held are built on a deeply thoughtful musicianship and his easy rapport with audiences and fellow musicians alike.

Published in 1828, the year Schubert died, and written between 1823 and 1828, the Six Moments Musicaux (literally “musical moments”) are amongst Schubert’s best-loved works for piano and are as accessible to the competent amateur pianist as they are to the concert artist. These fleeting pieces were written to satisfy the Viennese public’s growing appetite for Albumblätter – literally “album leaves” – short pieces which could be played and enjoyed at home. It is quite likely that Schubert played them himself at informal musical gatherings with his friends. They may be brief but they are rich in character and display Schubert’s many moods, the paradox of Schubert’s life and indeed of all human existence and the wonder of being alive – from happiness and hope to profound introspection and poignancy, intimacy and tenderness, terror, rage and desolation.

Debussy’s Estampes (“prints” or “engravings”) offer three examples of Debussy’s pictorial rhetoric and promise to take us on a journey from the Far East to the centre of Spain, then arriving home at in France. The work is thought to reflect Debussy’s memories of the Javanese gamelan, heard at the Paris Exhibition in 1900. We end the first half of the evening with L’isle joyeuse where we’ll hear music inspired by water in Debussy’s musings on reflections and the waves lapping the shore of his joyous isle.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is our second half of the evening where we’ll be treated to a vivid representation in music of ten paintings by Mussorgsky’s good friend Viktor Hartmann. The exhibition in question was organised after the artist’s untimely death. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but music can paint a thousand pictures. A hut on hen’s legs, an angry gnome, and a ceremonial city bell: Pictures at an Exhibition is a musical kaleidoscope overflowing with fantastic colours.

PROGRAMME:

Schubert: 6 Moments Musicaux D.694

Debussy: Estampes, L. 100

Debussy: L’isle joyeuse

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Peter Donohoe CBE & Martin Roscoe – Wednesday 12th July 2023, 7.30pm

It is a delight to open the 2023 Ribble Valley International Piano Week with return of Peter Donohoe, joined by Martin Roscoe in a nowadays rare evening of music for two pianos. The duo will begin their programme with Mozart’s Sonata in D major, K. 448 which is an example of Mozart at his most galant. Within the framework of its finely crafted classical structure is music of pure joy – graceful, songful, elegant, and virtuosic. Not surprisingly, he made a masterwork his first (and only) time working in the form!

Saint-Saëns’ output of solo piano music spanned almost 70 years, mainly salon pieces such as waltzes and caprices; he never wrote a piano sonata. His Variations on a Theme of Beethoven uses the minuet from the Piano Sonata in E flat Op.31, known as the ‘Hunt’. It was first performed at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique, which Saint-Saëns had helped to found in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, with the aim of promoting contemporary French music.

Debussy wrote only two of his own works for two pianos: Lindaraja is considered a warm-up to his masterpiece in this form, En blanc et noir (In black and white). Debussy commented on the work that the movements “derive their color and feeling merely from the sonority of the piano,” insisting the work was not a comment on the first World War, but since virtually all of his correspondence from this period indicates a near obsession with the subject, it’s hard to image the music is just about the piano. We hear distant bugle calls, quiet military drum rhythms, long spaces of silence, quotes from the Lutheran chorale Ein feste Burg (A mighty fortress) before the final movement delves into the rich possibilities of the piano with a black-and-white purity of musical expression.

Along with the famous Piano Concert No.2, Op.18, Rachmaninoff’s Suite No.2 for two pianos marked the return recovery of the composer’s musical activities following a three year silence caused by the public failure of his Symphony No.1. Whether the story of Rachmaninoff’s romance of his psychiatrist’s daughter is true or not, there is plenty of passion and tenderness to be found in the Suite, not least as the third movement that is titled ‘Romance’. One of the most popular works in piano duo repertoire, it is a truly exhilarating piece of music that will undoubtedly leave with you blown away.

Pre-concert talk with Peter Donohoe and Martin Roscoe at 6.30pm

PROGRAMME
Mozart: Sonata in D major for 2 pianos, K. 448

Saint-Saëns: Variations on a theme of Beethoven, Op.35

Debussy: En blanc et noir

Rachmaninov: Suite No.2 for Two Pianos, Op. 17

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Concessions

Registered Disabled and companions or those in full time eduction only

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

Victor Lim – Thursday 13th July 2023, 12 noon

A RVIPW committee member and Head of Keyboard at Rossall School, South Korean pianist Victor Lim performs a programme of some of the most popular music in classical music.

Haydn’s joyful Piano Sonata in C Hob.XVI/50 is perhaps one of the greatest examples of humour in music. From the very first bar to the last, the Sonata constantly plays around with expectations and surprises that can only bring smiles to its listener.

Grieg’s From Holberg’s Time, more widely known as Holberg Suite, was written in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754), a Dano-Norwegian playwright best known for his comedies. In homage of the playwright, Grieg takes Baroque dances from Holberg’s era and infuses rich harmonies, poetic melodies as well as humour. Contrary to general belief, the Suite was originally written for the piano but one year later the composer arranged it in its now more famous version of string orchestra.

Following Grieg’s celebration of Holberg, Victor will celebrate Rachmaninoff’s 150th anniversary of birth with the colossus Piano Sonata No.2. Started in Italy and finished in Russia, the Sonata No.2 is not only a technical tour-de force but contains the most magical fantasies, lush harmonies, and exquisite melodies.

PROGRAMME:

Haydn: Sonata in C Hob.XVI/50

Grieg: Holberg Suite Op.40

Rachmaninov: Sonata No.2 in B flat minor, Op.36

Masterclasses: 2 – 3pm
Following the lunchtime recital, Victor Lim is inviting up to three pianists for a masterclass with him. Pianists of any age and level are welcome to apply. Minimum donation of £20 is recommended for the participants. If interested, please email info.rvipw@gmail.com to reserve your place.

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Concessions

Registered Disabled and companions or those in full time eduction only

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

Tyler Hay – Thursday 13th July 2023, 7.30pm

It’s a joy to be able to welcome Tyler back to RVIPW for a third time with a programme filled with imagery. Beethoven’s hugely popular ‘Moonlight’ Sonata will begin the evening, followed by a selection of Mendelssohn’s most beloved piano works, the Songs without Words. These miniatures, which Mendelssohn composed throughout his life, contain some of his most beautifully crafted and heartfelt writing, serving as a very personal musical diary in which the composer expressed very precisely musical ideas that had, he alleged, no verbal equivalent. It was left to later publishers to suggest titles for the pieces, a procedure that Mendelssohn himself did not like.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is a vivid representation in music of ten paintings by Mussorgsky’s good friend Viktor Hartmann. – the exhibition in question was organised after the artist’s untimely death. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but music can paint a thousand pictures. A hut on hen’s legs, an angry gnome, and a ceremonial city bell: Pictures at an Exhibition is a musical kaleidoscope overflowing with fantastic colours.

Pre-concert talk with Tyler Hay and Victor Lim at 6.30pm

PROGRAMME

Beethoven Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight”

Mendelssohn A selection of 10 Songs Without Words

Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition

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Concessions

Registered Disabled and companions or those in full time eduction only

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

Rose McLachlan, Friday 14th July 2023, 12 noon

Winner of the RNCM Chopin Prize, Kirklees Young Musician Award and Christopher Duke International Piano Competition, Rose McLachlan is one of the most exciting talents in the UK. Rose brings to RVIPW three virtuosic masterpieces of the 20th century, starting with with the first book of Albéniz’s Iberia which took inspirations from music and places from the composer’s native country of Spain. Rose will then take us to the Black Sea in the Atlantic, which inspired Scriabin to write his Piano Sonata No.2. Scriabin described the first movement of the Sonata as ‘the cam of a night by the seashore in the South’ an the second as ‘the stormy agitation of the vast expanse of ocean’.

Ravel dedicated each movement from ‘Le Tombeau de Couperin’ to close friends who had been killed in World War I. As its title suggests, the work alludes back to the music of the French composer Couperin as well as different dances from the Baroque period. Once cannot help but to feel the feeling nostalgia throughout the work, amidst its virtuosic energy and complexity, with Ravel dedicating the music to great French people of the past.

PROGRAMME

Albéniz Iberia, Book 1
Scriabin Sonata No. 2 in G sharp minor, “Sonata-Fantaisie”
Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin

Masterclasses: 2 – 3pm
Following the lunchtime recital, Rose McLachlan is inviting up to three pianists for a masterclass with her. Pianists of any age and level are welcome to apply. Minimum donation of £20 is recommended for the participants. If interested, please email info.rvipw@gmail.com to reserve your place.

Buy Standard Price Tickets

Concessions

Registered Disabled and companions or those in full time eduction only

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

Martin Roscoe – Friday 14th July 2023, 7.30pm

Come and hear the Artistic Director of Ribble Valley International Piano Week, Martin Roscoe, for an evening of pianist masterpieces. Beethoven’s substantial 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, whose eight-measure theme based on a descending chromatic bass sets off a whirlwind of uninterrupted variations, begin proceedings, followed by Mendelssohn’s Prelude No.2 in D major,marked Allegretto,coupled with a fugue, marked Tranquillo e sempre legato, the one a foil to the other. The first half the of the evening will draw to a close with Franck’s stunning masterpiece for solo piano, the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue.

Delayed from the planned performance in our 2022 Festival, the second half of the programme is Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations, a gigantic set of 30 variations on the opening ‘Aria’. Whilst it is widely believed that Bach composed the Goldberg Variations to help Count Goldberg with his insomnia, this 1-hour long masterpiece is filled with exciting virtuosity, complex polyphony, alongside moments of transcendental beauty and darkness.

Pre-concert talk with Martin Roscoe and Victor Lim at 6.30pm

PROGRAMME
Beethoven 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80
Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue in D major, Op.35/2
Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
Bach Goldberg Variations

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Concessions

Registered Disabled and companions or those in full time eduction only

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

William Bracken – Saturday 15th July 2023, 12 noon

Will’s recital opens with Bach’s monumental Toccata in C minor featuring one of his longest fugues. The work is an epic journey through textures and emotions.

PROGRAMME

J. S. Bach Toccata in C minor, BWV 91
Beethoven Sonata in B flat, Op. 106, “Hammerklavier”

Masterclasses: 2 – 3pm
Following the lunchtime recital, William Bracken is inviting up to three pianists for a masterclass with him. Pianists of any age and level are welcome to apply. Minimum donation of £20 is recommended for the participants. If interested, please email info.rvipw@gmail.com to reserve your place.

Buy Standard Price Tickets

Concessions

Registered Disabled and companions or those in full time eduction only

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

Paul Lewis CBE, Saturday 15th July 2023, 7.30pm

“One of the great Schubertians of our time” Gramophone Magazine

Indulge in the dream combination of world-renowned Paul Lewis playing some of the most passionate and romantic works for piano ever written.

The multi-award winning pianist has regularly devoted himself to in-depth explorations of a particular composer’s output, with notable successes surveying aspects of the creativity of Beethoven, Brahms and Haydn. In 2022, 20 years after his last Schubert series, Paul Lewis released his new CD of Schubert Piano Sonatas, including Sonata D. 664 with which he opens this programme.

The ‘little’ A major D664 is probably one of Schuberts best-known sonatas with a genial and song-like nature. The haunting Sonata No.14 is one of his pivotal sonatas, written around the time he got his syphilis diagnosis where, in the wake of that death sentence, everything became bleak. Our evening draws to a close with the imperious Sonata no. 17, composed on a journey away from Vienna where Schubert drew inspiration from the spectacular scenery of craggy peaks, green valleys, and mountain lakes.

Pre-concert talk with Marianne Bailey about her work as a concert technician at 6.30pm

PROGRAMME

Schubert Piano Sonata No. 13 in A Major, D.664
Schubert Piano Sonata No. 14 in A minor, D.784
Schubert Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Major, D.850

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Concessions

Registered Disabled and companions or those in full time eduction only

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

RVIPW Launch Concert – Wednesday 15th March 2023, 7.30pm

Schubert’s “Drei Klavierstücke”, composed the year he died, epitomises his unique sound world and musical personality with daring and unusual harmonies, beautiful songful melodies, and episodes of profound poignancy or intimacy. Martin recorded all of Beethoven’s Sonatas to great critical acclaim between 2010 and 2018, and the first half of this recital will conclude with Beethoven’s popular favourite “Moonlight” Sonata.

The second half of the evening begins with Brahms’ “Vier Klavierstücke” written late in life, similarly to Schubert’s, with an overarching melancholic character, created by writing that is fraught with a sense of mortality. The programme concludes with works inspired by literature. Liszt’s “Vallee d’Obermann”, modelled on Étienne Pivert de Senancour’s novel where a man looks inside himself constantly, wanting to overcome hopelessness in order to find a purpose whilst “Ballade No. 2” is inspired by Gottfried August Bürger’s Gothic horror ballad.

PROGRAMME:

Schubert: Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946

Beethoven: Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op.27, No. 2 (Moonlight)

Brahms: Vier Klavierstücke, Op. 119

Liszt: Vallée d’Obermann

Liszt: Ballade No.2 in B minor, S. 171

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Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

RVIPW Launch Concert – Wednesday 18th May 2022, 7.30pm

Martin Roscoe recorded all of Beethoven’s Sonatas to great critical acclaim between 2010 and 2018, and it seems only fitting that he revisits two of those sonatas planned for performances in 2020, the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. The ‘Pathétique’ Sonata, was an instant success and remains a firm favourite within the repertoire today. Sonata No. 31 was delayed due to ill health but the drama of the fugue is felt to not “simply symbolize or represent the return to life, but persuade us physically of the process”.

Brahms’ penultimate work for solo piano, Op. 118, was dedicated to Clara Schumann who attested that they contained “a wealth of sentiment in the smallest of dimensions”. Liszt’s Sonetto del Petrarca, ‘I find no peace’, paints the protagonist’s confused state of mind whilst Ballade No. 2 is inspired byGottfried August Bürger’s Gothic horror ballad. The evening will draw to a close with the magnificent depiction of struggle and triumph in Liszt’s interpretation of the legend of St. Francis of Paola.

Martin will also expand on our summer concerts and events – join us and him to hear firsthand his artistic choices of performers and programmes for RVIPW 2022 – and for a relaxing and sunny spring concert.

Programme

Beethoven Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op.13 “Pathétique”

Beethoven Sonata No. 31 in A flat, Op.110

Brahms Three Intermezzos from 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118

Intermezzo in A minor Op.118, No. 1

Intermezzo in A major Op.118, No. 2

Intermezzo in E flat minor Op.118, No. 6

Liszt Ballade No. 2 in B minor, S.171

Liszt Petrarch Sonnet No. 123

Liszt Legend No. 2: St. Francis of Paola Walking On The Waves

Tickets: £13 or £5 for registered disabled or those in full time eduction

Roscoe Piano Trio – Wednesday 13th July 2022, 7.30pm

Martin Roscoe – Piano

Fenella Humphreys – Violin

Jessica Burroughs – Cello

The Roscoe Piano Trio was originally formed for a performance celebrating the life of Peter Cropper, a much loved artist who is sadly missed at our festival. Martin Roscoe is unarguably one of the UK’s best loved pianists, renowned for his versatility at the keyboard and equally at home in concerto, recital and chamber performances. He is joined by Fenella Humphreys, winner of BBC Music Magazine’s 2018 Instrumental award, and Jessica Burroughs, principal cellist with Opera North.

The evening begins with one of thee Haydn Trios dedicated to Rebecca Shroeter, his pupil and close friend. The lightness and brilliance of Mendelssohn’s writing is always uplifting, even when he’s writing in a minor key, and will be sure to take us into our interval on a high. The evening concludes with Beethoven’s popular classic, the “Archduke” Trio, named after his pupil and main patron.

Programme

HAYDN Piano Trio in A, Hob. XV/18

MENDELSSOHN Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66

BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in B flat, Op. 97 “Archduke”

Giulia Contaldo – Thursday 14th July 2022, 12 noon

Giulia Contaldo came to international attention when she stepped in for Eliso Virsaladze to play Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic at the Bridgewater Hall in February this year. Currently an International Artist Diploma student at the Royal Northern College of Music, Giulia will open her imaginative recital with Schumann’s Sonata No. 1 in F# minor, Op. 11 which he published anonymously as “Pianoforte Sonata, dedicated to Clara by Florestan and Eusebius”.

Following the calm of Respighi’s ‘Notturno’, Giulia will perform Debussy’s ‘Estampes’ (“prints” or “engravings”), which offer three examples of Debussy’s pictorial rhetoric and promise to take us on a journey from the Far East to the centre of Spain, then arriving home at in France. The final scene from Wagner’s ‘Tristan and Isolde’, Isolde’s Liebestod (“love-death”) scene, brings the recital to an end. Isolde, standing over Tristan’s dead body, sings of her love and slips into death in a tragic ending that has few equals in opera.

Programme

SCHUMANN Sonata No. 1 in F# minor, Op. 11

RESPIGHI Notturno

DEBUSSY Estampes, L. 100

WAGNER arr. LISZT “Liebestod,” from “Tristan and Isolde”

Martin Roscoe – Thursday 14th July 2022, 7.30pm

RVIPW’s Artistic Director Martin Roscoe’s extensive discography includes his highly acclaimed recordings of Szymanowski’s piano music. The first half of his recital this year will feature two pieces by the Polish composer alongside works by four other Eastern European composers, many of which are inspired by folk melodies and rhythms.

Martin will continue the theme of dance in the second half with Bach’s monumental ‘Goldberg Variations’, a gigantic set of 30 variations on the opening ‘Aria’. Whilst it is widely believed that Bach composed the ‘Goldberg Variations’ to help Count Goldberg with his insomnia, this 1-hour long masterpiece is filled with exciting virtuosity, complex polyphony, alongside moments of transcendental beauty and darkness.

Programme

CHOPIN Étude in C sharp minor, Op. 25/7

CHOPIN Mazurkas No. 2 & 3, Op. 59

SZYMANOWSKI Étude in B Flat minor, Op. 4/3

SZYMANOWSKI 2 Mazurkas, Op. 62

JANÁČEK A selection from “On An Overgrown Path”

BARTOK 6 Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from “Mikrokosmos”, Vol. 6

DOHANANYI Rhapsody in C, Op. 11/3

J. S. BACH Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Karnsiri Prim Laothamatas – Friday 15th July 2022, 12 noon

Pianist Karnsiri Laothamatas is a winner of various awards, including the 2nd prize at the Birmingham International Piano Competition, the 3rd prize at the ASEAN International Concerto Competition and a laureate of the 2018 Shean Piano competition. A native of Chiang Rai, Karnsiri studied piano from the age of 5, and is currently in the Artist Diploma programme at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the tutelage of Martin Roscoe and Ronan O’Hora.

Karnsiri will play Haydn’s “Sonata in A flat” which has been described as the work that saw him bursting out of the ‘modest classical mould’. Central to the programme are two contrasting Nocturnes by Chopin whose unmistakable influence can be heard in the progamme’s concluding works by Scriabin. “Prelude” and “Nocturne for the Left Hand” were written during a time of injury and sing a simple plaintive song of great beauty and harmonic richness whilst “Sonata-Fantasy” will transport us to the calm and storm the composer witnessed on the Baltic coast.

Programme

HAYDN Sonata in A flat, Hob. XVI/46

CHOPIN Nocturne Nos. 1 & 2, Op. 62

CHOPIN Barcarolle Op. 60

SCRIABIN Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand Alone Op. 9

SCRIABIN Sonata No. 2 in G sharp minor, Op. 19 “Sonata-Fantasy”

Steven Osborne – Friday 15th July 2022, 7.30pm

One of the most sought-after pianists in the country, Steven Osborne will make a return visit to RVIPW with a unique opportunity to hear the complete ‘Études’ by Claude Debussy including the rarely performed ‘Étude retrouvée’. Debussy himself admitted the fiendish technical difficulty of these studies; however, these are certainly not studies to merely showcase the mechanical virtuosity of its performer but, also, their palette of colours and imagination. There is plenty of humour (listen out for the opening reference to Czerny), charm and fantasy too.

Steven will then play another one of the greatest masterpieces in classical music. Schubert’s final Piano Sonata, composed only months before the composer’s death, expresses all kinds of possible human emotions that are perhaps indescribable with words. At the very least, we will be taken on a truly emotional journey that is full of heavenly fantasy, heart-wrenching tragedy and glittering positivity.

Programme

DEBUSSY Études 1 – 6, L. 136

DEBUSSY Étude retrouvée

DEBUSSY Études 7-12, L. 136

SCHUBERT Sonata No. 21 in B flat, D. 960

Victor Braojos – Saturday 16th July 2022, 12 noon

Love and Death

It is shocking to see how such antagonistic concepts come along together so often in our lives. The loss of our loved ones is always a moment of mournfulness, but sometimes it can also become a moment of relief and acceptance after a fulfilling life.

In today’s programme, we are going to make a journey which will keep us on the edge of this thin border between mournfulness and vitality… first through the shaded lights of Brahms’ Three Intermezzi Op. 177, followed by the self-reflective “The Maiden and the Nightingale” and the dramatic “The love and the death” by Granados… and closing with the final apotheosis of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 111.

Programme

BRAHMS 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117

GRANADOS 2 pieces from “Goyescas”, Op. 11

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111

Alim Beisenbayev – Saturday 16th July 2022, 7.30pm

24-year-old Alim Beisembayev astounded the world last year with his performances at the Leeds International Piano Competition, taking home not only the First Prize but also the Medici.tv Audience Prize and the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize for contemporary performance.

Alim will close this year’s RVIPW with a highly virtuosic and poetic programme which begins with Haydn’s lyrical ‘Variations in F minor’. This will be followed by Chopin’s “Piano Sonata No.2”, perhaps one of the composer’s most dramatic and passionate works, closing with 7 of Liszt’s visionary “12 Études d’Exécution Transcendante”.

Programme

HAYDN Variations in F minor, Hob. XVII/6

CHOPIN Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35

LISZT Seven pieces from “12 Études d’Exécution Transcendante”, S. 139

Martin Roscoe Livestream Recital

Online Concert: Martin Roscoe (piano)
Sunday 23rd May 2021, 6pm from St Mary’s, Our Lady Of Furness, Barrow-In Furness.

Join us here – http://camsecure.co/httpswebcam/owenbayliss/owenbayliss5.html

BEETHOVEN
Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27/2 “Moonlight”
BRAHMS
Intermezzo in E, Op. 116/4
BRAHMS
Intermezzo in E flat minor, Op. 118/6
BRAHMS
Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79/2
LISZT
Three pieces from Années de Pèlerinage – Suisse: Chapelle de Guillaume Tell: Au Lac de Wallenstadt: Cloches de Geneve

The livestream is FREE to watch, but any donations would be very welcome! www.rvipw.org.uk/donate/

Technical Tips
The live stream will start automatically – there is no need to click anything other than the volume button in the bottom right hand corner (next to the word ‘Live’, it appears when you hover your mouse over it).

You may experience interrupted or slow streaming on older iPads/iPhones; we are working to resolve this, but in the meantime if you still encounter problems, try watching on a desktop or laptop.

We regret that we don’t have the facility to record the performance for upload online; this is a one-time opportunity to hear the concert performance on the day – Truly LIVE!

Please note: the webcam is permanently on, in order that the Parish can continue worship throughout the pandemic.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries.

Special Thanks:

Tyneside Piano Company
Ulverston International Music Festival
Anthony Hewitt, Artistic Director, UIMF
Father Emmanuel Gribben
Marianne Bailey – Piano Technician
Alan Vial – Owen Bayliss (Live-streaming)

July 2020 events postponed

RVIPW April 2020 Newsletter
Hello all,
I do hope you and your loved ones are keeping well and coping with lockdown quarantine restrictions. If any of you would like to talk about RVIPW business or have exciting ideas for future projects, or even more generally please feel free to email us at info@rvipw.org.uk .
We have been carefully monitoring the situation and Government Guidelines surrounding the Covid-19 crisis and with enormous regret we have come to what was in the end the inevitable conclusion that all our events scheduled between 15th– 18th July 2020 will have to be postponed.
I know how disappointed you will be to hear this news – the timing of the lockdown came so soon after we mailed out the leaflets of our programme of events that we have thousands of these now redundant leaflets left over – but at least you will see just what a fantastic line-up we had put together for the summer. Of course, by far the worst affected by this news are the performers themselves who have all seen every booking – and therefore their entire income – vanish from their diaries from 23rd March for the foreseeable future and it has been really hard to make the decision to add to this very long and depressing list on their account.
The good news is that we have been working really hard behind the scenes to ensure that (all being well in terms of lockdown restrictions by then), ALL the artists are available to play for us and will be rebooked immediately. This is a POSTPONEMENT – not a cancellation! So you can expect to hear Steven Osborne, Lauren Zhang, and Martin plus the Scott Brothers and one of our two lunchtime performers during the 2021 festival – please put the dates in your diaries now – it will happen between 14th – 17th July 2021. The actual dates for each performer will be announced nearer the time – the hall is booked, the piano is coming – everything is in place.
The obvious exception to the above list is Tasmin Little, who as I’m sure you know will be retiring in December 2020. The thought that we had lost this event was the most disappointing of all, and we are determined to do everything possible to invite her back before she leaves the concert platform for ever.
We have some very important news for you and another date for your diaries. After much hard work and deliberation we are delighted to announce we are doing everything possible to hold a one day RVIPW celebration, on Friday 23rd October 2020! We are arranging for one of our July lunchtime performers to play on the same day, and we are aiming to hold other events too – maybe a discussion forum in the afternoon, with a pre-concert talk before Tasmin and Martin play for us together in the evening for what will be the very last time at RVIPW. So it will be a full day of events – full timetable to be announced soon – and we do hope you will put this date in your diary straight away! Tickets for this very special once-in-a-lifetime occasion will not go on sale until AUGUST 2020 at the earliest. We will be making announcements via newsletters and on our website and social media outlets.
VIDEOS
In case you haven’t had the opportunity to see them yet, we are delighted that Martin has been sending us videos of himself playing his own piano from his home in Cumbria during this quarantine lockdown period! You can watch these on our website here.
He is sending us one a week – as things stand there are currently four to watch – Schumann’s Traumerei, Bach’s Aria from the Goldberg Variations, Debussy’s La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin and Schubert impromptu in A flat. Next week will be Brahms Impromptu in A major from op118 will be the 5th – keep watching! Martin is also promising to send us an exclusive video which will only be available to our Friends and Supporters. News of this to come – but do make sure your subscriptions are up to date in order not to miss this one.
There are also two other videos there both of which were filmed in the Theatre at Westholme school, our much-missed venue. We have an interview between Yamaha and Peter Donohoe and Martin Roscoe, and finally the Scott Brothers Duo filmed their rehearsal of Saint-Saens “The Swan” when they came and played The Carnival of the Animals for us in 2018, complete with Tom’s bewitching animations.
We hope you enjoy watching these videos, reminiscing of happy occasions spent with us there in the past and looking forward with anticipation and excitement at the wonderful events to come in the future in this welcoming space, on October 23rd 2020 and 14th – 17th July 2021. We can’t wait to see you all there then.
Any tickets already purchased will be transferrable from July 2020 to the relevant dates when they are rescheduled – or if you prefer to have a refund please contact Roger Darling and he will arrange for this to happen. Contact details are on the booking form.
Warmest wishes to you all on behalf of the RVIPW committee,
Marianne Bailey

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MARTIN ROSCOE’S MAY 7^TH LAUNCH CONCERT CANCELLED

A message from our Chairperson, Marianne Bailey.

We are sure that, like us, you have been watching the unfolding crisis surrounding Covid-19 closely. The Government advice we are now faced with has led us to the inevitable conclusion that we must take the unprecedented step to cancel our RVIPW launch concert – Martin Roscoe’s solo recital on May 7^th 2020.

As Chair this has been the toughest decision I have had to make and I am grateful to the RVIPW committee of volunteers who all care as passionately as I do about our festival for their support in making this decision. In the end, it was unanimous.

Whilst this is incredibly disappointing for us all – and financially it will be a struggle to try and recoup costs we have incurred so far – we will be monitoring the situation as it unfolds over the coming months and we very much hope to be able to go ahead with the summer festival from 15^th to 18^th July. Of course we will keep you informed.

In the meantime we will endeavor to provide some RVIPW online content to keep you in touch with us. Watch out for further newsletters in which we will direct you to anything we manage to produce – and there will be regular updates on our Facebook and Twitter accounts – plus on our own website www.rvipw.org.uk . So we won’t be disappearing completely and would welcome your input whenever you feel you want to get in touch with ideas, comments or suggestions for things we might do online, please email us at info@rvipw.org.uk or get involved in the social media posts.

Anyone who has bought tickets for the launch concert already – our thanks for doing so – you are fully entitled to a refund. If you would like to have your money back please email us.

Although this is a difficult time for us, it is far more difficult for all the musicians who have watched their diaries empty at a terrifying rate over the last week or so, leaving them with no income whatsoever. Please, we implore you, when the concert halls open again do your utmost to support them – buy tickets, go to concerts and in the meantime buy their CD’s. That old saying goes “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” – perhaps the current enforced concert embargo might make us appreciate all the more just how vitally important live music is for our culture and society.

Keep well. This crisis will pass. We are here for your questions and comments and we are hopeful that we will see you in the summer.

PIANO WEEK – 15-18 JULY 2020

Please note that with great sadness, we have taken the difficult but unavoidable decision to postpone ALL events scheduled between 15th – 18th July 2020. The majority will be rescheduled to take place between 14th – 17th July 2021, and – hopefully – October 23rd 2020 when we have invited Tasmin Little and Martin Roscoe to play for us. Details to be announced. This postponement is due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing guidelines which will make gatherings for events like ours impossible in the short term. We are incredibly grateful to all those who have sent so many lovely messages of support and some truly generous donations in recent days. This demonstrates to us just how valued and cherished RVIPW is to so many of you and we are working hard to be able to continue. However our resources have been hugely depleted by this year’s cancellation – so we are giving you the opportunity to donate to us if you would like to below. We are a non-profit making charity so all offers of help are most gratefully received. Thank you and we hope to be able to see you on October 23rd for a celebration of being able to savour the experience of live music together with you, the RVIPW community once again.

Bach French Suite No.3 in B minor
Beethoven Sonata in E minor Op.90
Mozart Sonata in C minor K.457
Interval
Liszt Benediction De Dieu Dans La Solitude
Dohnanyi Suite in the olden style Op.24

RVIPW LAUNCH CONCERT Martin Roscoe piano recital

Thursday May 9^th 2019, 7.30pm at The Croston Theatre, Westholme School, Meins Rd, Blackburn BB2 6QU.

Martin opens this evening’s concert with Bach’s 3rd French Suite – composed for Bach’s young wife Anna Magdelena in 1721 as instructional pieces. Compact and accessible, charming and elegant, these short pieces impart the very essence of manners and good taste. At the opposite end of tonight’s concert, it will be fascinating to hear Dohnanyi’s acutely melodic Suite in the Old Style. Though written almost 200 years later the Suite retains a very similar format to Bach’s much earlier work. A comparison of the Sarabandes in particular will be intriguing – both are renowned for their emotional intensity and grave beauty.

Sandwiched between the Suites we will be treated to pieces by 3 great masters of keyboard composition.

Beethoven’s piano sonata in E minor Op 90 consists of just 2 movements, the first “full of passionate and lonely energy” and the 2^nd an exquisitely beautiful and gentle sonata-rondo. This piece hasn’t been played as part of RVIPW for many years – a welcome addition to tonight’s programme.

Mozart’s sonata in C minor is one of only 2 sonatas written in a minor key – this choice of key could imply that this piece was perhaps a very personal work and is undeniably one of his most important piano sonatas, “surpassing all the others by reason of fire and passion”.

Liszt’s Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude, as the title suggests, is a meditation of transcendent beauty. Rarely performed – expect spine-tingling exaltation rather than Lisztian fireworks. Perfect for a spring evening!

Your tickets will be available for collection at the Box Office before the concert. Please bring your PayPal acknowledgement email to enable us to ensure you get the correct tickets.

SCARLATTI Sonata in D, K.119

SCARLATTI Sonata in A, K.113

MOZART Sonata in A minor K.310

CHOPIN Sonata No.3 in B minor Op.58

Serene Koh

Thursday 11th July, 12 noon

Singaporean pianist Serene Koh opens our 2019 festival with the first in our lunchtime emerging artist series. Serene has won top prizes at competitions such as the Singapore National Piano Competition and is currently a scholarship recipient of The Leverhulme Trust and a Yamaha Artist. Showcasing works by three keyboard virtuosos of their day, Serene’s performance begins with two light and cheerful Scarlatti sonatas. The centre work is Mozart’s dark, tumultuous and unrelenting Sonata in A minor that precedes Chopin’s Sonata No. 3, famed as a true masterpiece that represents the culmination of a lifetime of piano playing.

HAYDN Sonata in G major Hob. XVI/40

SCHUBERT Sonata in C minor D958

SCHUMANN ‘Abegg’ Variations Op.1

HANS GÁL Three Sketches Op.7 (1910)

BRAHMS 4 Klavierstücke Op.119

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantasie Op.61

Leon McCawley

Thursday 11thJuly, 7.30pm

Leon McCawley has been praised for the purity of his lyrical and heartfelt playing and boasts an impressive discography that has established him as a pianist of great integrity and variety, bringing freshness and vitality to classical, romantic and 20th century repertoire. In tonight’s programme, Leon McCawley contrasts and interweaves early and late works of great keyboard composers with a plethora of repertoire for every palette. The evening also includes the first piano work of the Viennese emigré composer Hans Gál (1890-1987) whose complete piano music McCawley has championed and recorded.

6.30pm Pre-concert Talk – FREE

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No.28 in A major, Op.101

BRAHMS Variations on a theme of Paganini, Op.35 (Books 1 & 2)

CHOPIN Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise, Op.22

Lauren Zhang

Friday 12th July, 12 noon

In 2018, Lauren Zhang won the BBC Young Musician Competition and later that year made her BBC Proms debut. Tipped as one to watch, her performances across wide ranging repertoire are gaining wide spread critical acclaim for her musical intelligence alongside exceptional technical mastery. Lauren opens with Beethoven’s introspective Piano Sonata in A, described by the composer himself as ‘a series of impressions and reveries’, before launching us into Brahms’ virtuosic variations based on Paganini’s famous Caprice No. 24. After journeying through Chopin’s nocturne-lullaby character of the Andante Spianato our second lunchtime recital concludes with a display of heroic bravado, brilliance and brightness, that of Chopin’s Grand Polonaise.

MOZART Sonata in A, K. 331 ‘Alla Turka’ from new Henle Edition

KANNO A Particle of Water for piano and Myochin Hibashi Chopsticks

CHOPIN Waltz No.1, Op.18

CHOPIN Ballade No.1 in G minor

DEBUSSY Pour le Piano

DEBUSSY Suite Bergamasque

DEBUSSY La plus que lente

SATIE Gnossiennes: No.1 Lent

SATIE Le Piccadilly

SATIE Je te veux

Noriko Ogawa

Friday 12th July, 7.30pm

We are delighted that a firm RVIPW favourite, Noriko Ogawa, is returning to our 2019 festival. Having achieved considerable renown throughout the world since her success at the Leeds International Piano Competition, Noriko’s “ravishingly poetic playing” (Telegraph) sets her apart from her contemporaries. A fine Debussy specialist, Noriko’s programme includes staples from that unmistakable romantic sound world. In complete contrast, the work by Kanno, which Noriko commissioned, incorporates Japanese sounds. Myochin Hibashi Chopsticks are very special art pieces that are made with the highest quality steel used for Japanese Samurai Swords. Hung as wind-chimes, we can expect a unique experience of the blended sound of the piano and the myochin.

6.30pm Pre-concert Talk – FREE

DEBUSSY Six preludes from Book 1: Voiles; Les collines d’Anacapri; Des pas sur la neige; Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest; La fille aux cheveux de lin; Minstrels

LISZT Three pieces from Années de Pèlerinage Book 3 Troisième année: Aux cyprès de la Villa d’Este I: Thrénodie; Aux cyprès de la Villa d’Este II: Thrénodie; Les jeux d’eaux a la Villa d’Este.

KALKBRENNER Variations Brillantes sur une Mazurka de Chopin, Op. 121

Tyler Hay

Saturday 13th July, 12 noon

Tyler Hay studied at the Purcell School for Young Musicians and the Royal Northern College of Music where he won the esteemed Gold Medal competition and played in the prize winner’s concert at Wigmore Hall in the Spring of 2017. Most recently, Tyler won first prize in the keyboard section of the Royal Overseas League Competition in February 2016 and also went on to win first prize in the Liszt Society Competition in November. Tyler will play six preludes from Debussy’s evocative first book of preludes, three pieces from Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage Book 3 that will transport us along the route of his pilgrimage before closing with Kalkbrenner’s show-stopping Variations Brillantes sur une Mazurka de Chopin.

CHABRIER Marche Joyeuse

GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue

BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

BIZET L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2

RAVEL Bolero

Conductor: Richard Howarth

Soloist: Martin Roscoe

Blackburn Symphony Orchestra with soloist Martin Roscoe

Saturday 13th July 2019,7.30 pm

All aboard for the French / American experience? We begin our journey in France with Chabrier’s uplifting Marche Joyeuse; it’s sure to get your foot tapping. American next and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, its trademark clarinet glissando opening will instantly transport you to New York and its soaring skyline. Soak up the sultry atmosphere of downtown Manhattan with Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Famous tunes include Cha Cha (Maria), Somewhere and Mambo. The last leg of the musical journey takes us back to France and to the music of Bizet and Ravel with the famous Bolero wending its way to take us to the end of our travels.

Short works for the piano by

J.S. Bach,

Mozart,

Beethoven,

Debussy,

Scott Joplin and

Nina Simone plus more

Holly Cullen-Davies presents ‘Why everyone should learn the piano’

Sunday 14th July, 12 noon

We love the piano so much at Ribble Valley International Piano Week that we wanted to find a way to give young people a chance to hear just what it can do in a concert designed for them.

Holly Cullen-Davies from the The Kids’ Concert Company will play a selection of short works for the piano, from classical music to jazz, by some of the most famous composers who ever lived. From Nina Simone to Mozart, Scott Joplin to Bach, it’s a celebration of all things PIANO for the whole family.

There will be a quiz and numerous chances to join in with singing, improvising at the piano, drawing and even dancing!

Our age recommendation for this concert is 6+

Tickets: £13 adults, children go FREE

Kids’ Concert Company founder Holly Cullen-Davies is well known for her work as pianist, music leader, presenter and entrepreneur. Her concerts are always lively, colourful, interactive and accessible to everyone. Holly believes that exposing children to the best music ever written is the most important way to inspire them. This music can be classical, jazz, folk, pop or film music but if children haven’t heard it they won’t know what they could be aiming for. What better start to the summer holidays could there be than this amazing introduction to the wonderful world of piano music, which will stay with the lucky children who experience it for the rest of their lives.

MOZART Violin Sonata in G, K.301

ELGAR Violin Sonata in E min, Op.82

CLARA SCHUMANN Three Romances for Violin, Op.22

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending

MIKLÓS RÓZSA Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song Op.4

CLOSING GALA CONCERT Jennifer Pike and Martin Roscoe

Sunday 14th July, 7.30pm

The festival’s closing concert brings a magnificent musical partnership back to the Ribble Valley. Renowned for her “dazzling interpretative flair and exemplary technique” (Classic FM), violinist Jennifer Pike first gained international attention in 2002 when, aged 12, she became the youngest-ever winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year. Performing and recording regularly with esteemed pianist and festival director, Martin Roscoe, their concert will include a nod to the bicentenary of Clara Schumann with the luscious and poignant Romances and a national favourite in the form of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.

6.30pm Pre-concert Talk – FREE