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LETTERS Write to International Piano, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, email international.piano@markallengroup.com or tweet @IP_mag. Star letters will receive a free CD from Hyperion’s best-selling Romantic Piano Concertos series SPONSORED BY HYPERION RECORDS AURA OF MYSTIQUE I was struck by the common theme that emerged from last month’s two comment pieces: ‘Medical notes’, about pianists who go public with their health issues, and Charivari’s thoughts on whether it is a good idea for performers to air their grievances on social media. As I see it, these conundrums both result from artists having to live their lives constantly in the public eye – a requirement of the internet age, which brings the biggest financial rewards to those with the most fans and followers. In the past, artists enjoyed a much greater degree of privacy. Some, like the pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli or the conductor Calos Kleiber, made ION COLLECT POT TER TULLY Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) a virtue of their inaccessibility, developing an aura of mystique that found its way into their arti str y. While we cannot hope to go back in time, I sincerely hope for some kind of backlash that restores a more balanced relationship between the public and private lives of artists. I, for one, have no interest in seeing a pianist’s pictures of their breakfast on social media, but would rather have them transport me to another realm through their playing. Mary Donoghue, via email FORGOTTEN MASTERS I enjoyed the final instalment of Bryce Morrison’s series on National Styles (‘The art of understatement’, Issue 76, page 20), in which he focused on the distinctive qualities of British pianists. I’m surprised, however, that he failed to mention Barry Douglas and Peter Donohoe, two British pianists who won the Tchaikovsky Competition! Joseph Laredo, via email ERRATA Readers may have been startled by my description of Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata as having an ‘enchanting and tirelessly inventive toccata finale’ (‘Unreachable truth’, Issue 75, page 21). I was in fact referring to the Sonata in F major Op 54, which lies between the Waldstein and Appassionata Sonatas, those twin peaks of Beethoven’s middle period. A mischievous gremlin caused the error. Apologies for any confusion caused. Bryce Morrison The review of Miguel Baselga’s Albéniz recordings in Issue 75 (page 64) was written by Benjamin Ivry. Apologies to Benjamin for leaving out his byline, and thanks to our readers who spotted this error. For musicians, artists, dreamers and for you, who love beauty and make your life into a true work of art. UNIQUE PIANO AND CELLO BENCHES www.kaunus.com 6 November 2021 International Piano www.international-piano.com
page 7
NEWS NOTES Steinway launches Royal Albert Hall Edition Steinway & Sons has launched a limited-edition concert grand piano celebrating the 150th anniversary of London’s Royal Albert Hall. The new design was unveiled in September at an exclusive event featuring performances by two Steinway Artists – Aisa Ijiri and Igor Levit. Renowned saxophonist Jess Gillam led the presentation, which was attended by Steinway CEO Ron Losby. The Steinway Royal Albert Hall Edition marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between the piano manufacturer and the venue. A new Steinway Series opens at the RAH Elgar Room on 19 November with a recital by Elisabeth Brauss, featuring Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien as well as works by Mozart, Ravel and Brahms. This is only the third time in the Aisa Ijiri plays the Steinway Royal Albert Hall Edition company’s history that Steinway has partnered with a venue. Steinway will only produce eight RAH Edition pianos, seven of which will be Model Bs. They include the hi-tech ‘Spirio | r’ system, the world’s first playerpiano that enables pianists to record, edit and save their ISE PARAD ANDY performances in high-resolution format. The performances given by Ijiri and Levit at the launch event will be included in the library of each instrument for exclusive playback. A line drawing of the Royal Albert Hall is embossed on the outside of the piano lid and music stand, while the underside of the lid carries an image of the dome. Etchings of the venue’s iconic columns decorate the legs. Steinway has pledged £30,000 from the sale of all eight pianos to support the Albert Hall’s music development projects. Levit’s reading of Beethoven’s E minor Sonata Op 90 was the highlight of the launch. He showcased the instrument’s welldefined cantabile, while its clarity ensured every detail could be heard. Two encores were clearly designed to reveal the piano’s warmer qualities: Danny Boy in jazz piano legend Bill Evans’ take, and Fred Hersch’s Valentine. Here, the sound Levit gleaned was appropriately velvety, offering a glimpse of a different side to him that deserves more recognition. COLIN CLARKE steinway.com Kazakh pianist wins Leeds Competition The 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition has been won by 23-year-old Kazakh pianist Alim Beisembayev. He beat four other �nalists from Israel, Japan, Ukraine and the UK to win the 20th edition of the competition. for by the public, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for performance of a 20th/21st century work. Beisembayev will be awarded a £25,000 cash prize and the Waterman Gold Medal, as well as worldwide management with Askonas Holt, a recording contract with Warner Classics and a European tour organised by Steinway & Sons. Adam Gatehouse, artistic director of the Leeds Competition, said: ‘From the very �rst note I heard Alim play, he stood out for the extraordinary maturity, brilliance, musicality and versatility of his playing. He has continued to show those qualities throughout every round of the competition. I’m certain he is destined for a very distinguished career.’ In addition to First Prize, Beisembayev also won the Medici.tv Audience Prize, voted Second Prize and the Marion Thorpe Silver Medal was awarded to Kaito Kobayashi from Japan, followed by Ariel Lanyi from Israel who received the Third Prize and Roslyn Lyons Bronze Medal. nds from Leeds has er Medici.tv’s live-streaming of the �nal rounds from Leeds has received over 1.3 million views from more than 140 countries. Coverage from this year’s competition will be available until September 2024. es. Turn to page 58 of this issue to read Murray McLachlan’s full report about the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition. leedspiano.com leedspiano.com Brilliance and versatility: Alim Beisembayev il I.T V IC MED www.international-piano.com International Piano November 2021 7

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LETTERS

Write to International Piano, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, email international.piano@markallengroup.com or tweet @IP_mag. Star letters will receive a free CD from Hyperion’s best-selling Romantic Piano Concertos series

SPONSORED BY HYPERION RECORDS

AURA OF MYSTIQUE I was struck by the common theme that emerged from last month’s two comment pieces: ‘Medical notes’, about pianists who go public with their health issues, and Charivari’s thoughts on whether it is a good idea for performers to air their grievances on social media. As I see it, these conundrums both result from artists having to live their lives constantly in the public eye – a requirement of the internet age, which brings the biggest financial rewards to those with the most fans and followers.

In the past, artists enjoyed a much greater degree of privacy. Some, like the pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli or the conductor Calos Kleiber, made

ION

COLLECT

POT TER

TULLY

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

(1920-1995)

a virtue of their inaccessibility, developing an aura of mystique that found its way into their arti str y. While we cannot hope to go back in time, I sincerely hope for some kind of backlash that restores a more balanced relationship between the public and private lives of artists. I, for one, have no interest in seeing a pianist’s pictures of their breakfast on social media, but would rather have them transport me to another realm through their playing. Mary Donoghue, via email

FORGOTTEN MASTERS I enjoyed the final instalment of Bryce Morrison’s series on National Styles (‘The art of understatement’, Issue 76, page 20), in which he focused on the distinctive qualities of British pianists. I’m surprised, however, that he failed to mention Barry Douglas and Peter Donohoe, two

British pianists who won the Tchaikovsky Competition! Joseph Laredo, via email

ERRATA Readers may have been startled by my description of Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata as having an ‘enchanting and tirelessly inventive toccata finale’ (‘Unreachable truth’, Issue 75, page 21). I was in fact referring to the Sonata in F major Op 54, which lies between the Waldstein and Appassionata Sonatas, those twin peaks of Beethoven’s middle period. A mischievous gremlin caused the error. Apologies for any confusion caused. Bryce Morrison The review of Miguel Baselga’s Albéniz recordings in Issue 75 (page 64) was written by Benjamin Ivry. Apologies to Benjamin for leaving out his byline, and thanks to our readers who spotted this error.

For musicians, artists, dreamers and for you, who love beauty and make your life into a true work of art.

UNIQUE PIANO AND CELLO BENCHES

www.kaunus.com

6 November 2021 International Piano www.international-piano.com

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