The pianist on Saturday 11th September, 2010 will be Ricard Rovirosa
PROGRAMME
BEETHOVEN – 32 Variations in c minor WoO 80
LISZT – Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este
MOMPOU – “Cançó i Dansa” (Song and Dance) N. 5 in E
(interval)
BEETHOVEN – Bagatelles n. 3-4, Op. 126
SCHUMANN – Sonata n. 2 in G minor Op. 22
(interval)
GRANADOS – El amor y la muerte (Goyescas, book II)
FALLA – Fantasía baetica
Ricard Rovirosa began his musical career at the age of five with his father, Miquel Rovirosa, and Merce Salietti. At ten he was accepted at the “Escolania de Montserrat” (a specialist music school in Catalonia), where he studied with Vicenç Prunés and a year later, he was a prize-winner in the “13th City of Berga Competition” (Spain). In 2000, he won a place at the Barcelona Music School, where he studied with Lluisa Reñaga and a prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in Belgium, Albert Attenelle. Since then, he has been a prize winner in the “1st and 2nd PEMAC piano competition” (Caja Madrid, Barcelona), “5th Youth Chamber Music Competition of Barcelona”, “19th City of Manresa Chamber Competition”, “17th and 20th City of Berga Piano Competition” and “1st City of Murcia National Piano Competition”.
He has been coached by Bryce Morrison, Pola Baytelman, Claudio Martínez, Miguel Angel O. Chavaldas, Francisco Jaime Pantin, Alexander Kandelaki, Nino Kereselidze, Harold Gray, Ronan O’Hora, Martin Roscoe, Caroline Palmer, Peter Bithell and Paul Roberts.
He has played in festivals such as the Limelight Artists Festival, “Ruta del Cister” (Spain), the Autumn Festival in the Pau Casals Hall (Spain), “Impressions of Spain” (London), the Anglo-Spanish Society Classical Concert (London), Lunchtime Concert at Chichester Cathedral, “Festival Mas i Mas” (Barcelona), “Festival de Jimena” (Spain), “New talented artists, Youth & Classical” (Barcelona), “Veladas Musicales” (Spain) and “New Repertoire s. XXI” (SGAE, Spain). He has also played at “La Pedrera” (Gaudi’s masterpiece in Barcelona), St. Wilfrid’s Hall, Brompton Oratory, London, Axa’s Hall (Spain), Terrassa Hall (Spain), Netherhall Auditorium, London, Teatro Juan Bravo (Spain), “Ateneu Barcelonès” (Spain), Casa Elizalde (Spain), Monastery of Montserrat (Spain) and the Royal Monastery of Poblet (Spain). In 2007 he was on tour as a soloist in Murcia (Spain) where he played among other halls in the prestigious “Teatro Romea”. He has broadcast on TV3, CR and BTV among others.
In 2006, he won a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and was awarded an audition prize. He has also been awarded a scholarship from the Spanish Ministerio de Cultura. Recently, he won the Ibercaja Bank Award and the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund Postgraduate Performance Award. He is currently studying for a Master in Musical Performance degree with Professor Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
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The pianist on the 5th June, 2010 was Akiko Murakami
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Akiko Murakami opened her recital with Partita No. 2 in C minor by Bach. Within five seconds it was obvious that we were in for a great performance – and we were not disappointed. This was Bach playing of the highest order. All six movements were wonderfully characterized and her mastery of Bach’s counterpoint was absolutely stunning.
Her second piece was Chopin’s Etude Op. 25 No. 5. With its quirky dissonant outer sections and lyrical middle section this pieces is full of technical difficulties and Akiko played with complete mastery. The warm summer evening enabled the audience to enjoy a fine supper with wines in the garden. Akiko resumed her recital with Jeux d’eau by Ravel, his impressionistic masterpiece with its cascades of notes, fabulous harmonies and gorgeous tunes. The quality of sound Akiko produced on the Pleyel grand was absolutely wonderful.
From France, Akiko, who was born in Hiroshima, took us to Japan for Takemitsu’s Litany 1 in Memory of Michael Viner and then to Germany for Brahm’s Ballade No. 4, Op. 10. Both works finely executed. This was followed by Liszt’s Les cloches de Genève from Années de Pèlerinage année 1: Suisse in a performance full of passion, poetry and drama.
The final work in her varied programme was the 2nd Sonata of Rachmanonov, in B flat minor, Op. 36. Akiko gave an impassioned virtuoso performance full of pianistic fireworks, bringing her recital to an exciting conclusion with well deserved rapturous applause from the audience.