In preparation for my upcoming diploma exam, I will be performing in a few piano recitals in Bath to road test my program to audiences. This is a vital component of any exam preparation, as you really find out what works under pressure, and what doesn’t! Sections of music that you may think you know inside out in the comfort of your rehearsal studio, may suddenly become more tricky. Technically demanding passages (for which there are a few on this program) require a degree of stamina, and a practise recital gives you the chance to see how well you are pacing yourself over the program.

Most importantly, you get the chance to see how well you can sustain the levels of concentration required to execute piece after piece. That in itself is not just a technical exercise, but an emotional one too, where you need to be in that mental space to shape something musically interesting and personal. It is no good simply playing the right notes at the right time, that is the job of a computer!

My program is a musically diverse program spanning some 300 years of writing for the piano, and earlier keyboard instruments. This is also a chance to convey some of the musical developments that have been made over the centuries, from Bach’s highly ordered fugal exercises, to Schoenberg’s atonal soundscapes. And don’t worry if you are clueless who those composers are; I will be there as your guide to introduce each piece and give some background to its composition. There will be something new for everyone, so come along!

The Program

Chopin: 2 études from Op. 10, No.1 in C major and No.3 in E major

JS Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C sharp major, BWV 872

Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 no.5

Schoenberg: Drei Klavierstucke, Op.11

Chopin: Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 27 no.2

Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2

The Venues

Thursday 5 May @ Manvers Street Baptist Church, 12:30pm

Wednesday 15 June @ St Swithin’s Church, 7:30pm

More dates to be added.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch via my contact page.