Page 11 - BBC Music (January 2020)

The full score
The keys to a rounded performance
‘Reuse, repair, recycle’ they say. And nowhere
was this mantra better put into action than
at Edinburgh’s Leith Theatre recently, where
a ‘Pianodrome’ made out of upcycled pianos
was opened to the public. Every single part of
the 100-seat, playable amphitheatre (above)
was created out of old uprights, right down
THE MONTH IN NUMBERS
CHRIS SCOTT, ERIC RICHMOND, BRENT CALIS, LUCA GUADAGNINI ...Beethoven concertos in one day.
5
Pianist Howard Shelley (pictured
above) has revealed that he will be
marking his 70th birthday in March
with a quintet of performances at St
John’s Smith Square, London.
Prepared pianos:
the Pianodrome
in Edinburgh
to the screws and bolts needed to hold it all
together. Created by Tim Vincent-Smith
and Matt Wright, the Pianodrome was ‘in
resonancy’ at the theatre for a month during
November and December, and hosted a
number of concerts as well as impromptu
performances by members of the public.
100,000,000
…streams on Spotify. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma
is the first classical artist to reach the
milestone with a single track: the first
movement of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1.
3 agreed to stay artistic director of
…more years. Joshua Bell has
the Academy of St Martin in the
… years to stage an opera by a
Fields until at least 2023.
150
woman. With the premiere of Olga
Neuwirth’s Orlando, Vienna State
Opera has broken its run of only
programming male composers.
RisingStars
Three to look out for…
Mikhail Timoshenko
Bass-baritone
Born: Kameykino, Russia
Career highlight:
Winning the Wigmore
Hall/Independent Opera
International Song
Competition and being
able to enjoy Wigmore
Hall’s wonderful acoustic.
Musical hero: When I was 16 and before I’d
thought about becoming a musician, I heard
Dmitri Hvorostovsky singing Russian songs.
He was my inspiration to be a singer.
Dream concert: A recital at Wigmore Hall,
combining words and music in a way that
brings out the humour in the music. For
example, everyone thinks that Der Zwerg
is just a horrible story about a murderous
dwarf, but in fact it’s Schubert’s most
wonderful love song!
Lara Deutsch Flautist
Born: Ottawa, Canada
Career highlight:
Releasing my debut
album with my flute
and harp duo. I learnt
a great deal from the
process of getting grants,
planning the repertoire,
recording, editing and marketing.
Musical hero: Joan Milliken was the first
pianist I worked with when I was young.
She inspired me to pursue a career in music
through her generous support and the
unbridled joy she exudes in music-making.
Dream concert: A classical music concert
with the same audience energy and visual
theatrics of a rock or pop concert. I’m always
looking for ways to break down the ‘wall’
between stage and audience.
Emanuil Ivanov Pianist
Born: Pazardzhik,
Bulgaria
Career highlight:
playing, especially in my home country.
Winning the 62nd
Busoni Competition in
Bolzano. The best part
Musical hero: I’ve always been inspired
was realising how many
people had enjoyed my
by Debussy and Chopin, and by the piano
playing of Claudio Arrau, Artur Rubinstein,
Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter. I also
continue to marvel at the power and
profundity of Mahler’s symphonies.
Dream concert: Watching Bach improvising
a six-part fugue, Chopin enchanting
the listener with a nocturne or Mahler
conducting his Second Symphony.
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE 13