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A
Concert by Julia Karen Williams
and Yukie Wake
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It
is not often
that one gets
an opportunity
to hear such
delightful and
intriguing music,
and the enthusiasm
of the audience
demonstrated
how amply they
had been rewarded
for coming on
one of our rare
summer days.
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The
Blenheim Music Circle was recently
entertained by two young pianists,
Julia Karen Williams and Yukie Wake,
with a programme of piano duets.
Such a programme presents its own
difficulties, for If it is not to
become merely a matter of accuracy
and strict timing, what is called
for is a peculiar empathy which enables
the performers to feel, as it were,
the very heartbeats of their partners
and to anticipate the dynamics, touch,
phrasing and timing that breathe
life into a score. Then again there
is the problem of material. It is
clear that composers who were also
piano teachers would write pieces
which master and pupil could play
together on the same piano, especially
if the pupil were young and pretty.
Such pieces would vary in difficulty
and depth according to the skills
of the pianists involved.
The
four pieces chosen for this
concert covered a range of music
especially associated with Vienna
and Prague. It began with Beethoven,
his set of variations on a theme
of his friend and patron, Graf
von Waldstein - an early piece
with plenty of youthful fireworks
which the artists communicated
well. This was followed by Schubert’s
much-loved Fantasie in F minor
where the pianists successfully
conveyed the energy and delicacy,
the lyricism and drama that
this wonderful work demands.
After
the interval we had the Sonata
KV 19d by Mozart, a charming
exhibition-piece perhaps written
with his gifted sister, Nanerl,
in mind, but the highlight of
this half of the concert was
the set of five Slavonic Dances
by Dvorak. These pieces are
rhythmically and melodically
so high-spirited that it is
difficult to prevent oneself
from being swept away, at least
in imagination, and joining
in the dance, and certainly
the pianists excelled themselves,
thinking and playing as one
through the expressive variations
which this music demands.
It
is not often that one gets an
opportunity to hear such delightful
and intriguing music, and the
enthusiasm of the audience demonstrated
how amply they had been rewarded
for coming on one of our rare
summer days.
David
Shavreen
The
next concert of the 2002 Season
will be given at 3.30 p.m. on
Sunday, 22nd September In the
Chiswick Catholic Centre by
David Juritz and Friends. They
will present a programme of
music for all ages, including
children.
Forini
Trio Delight Full House in Chiswick
An
Afternoon of Delightful Music
from a Guitar and Voice Duo
More
details about Blenheim Concerts
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