Libor Novacek

My second-to-last lunchtime concert at LSE is a performance by a Czech pianist Libor Novacek.

Mozart: Rondo in D, K485

For the first time ever in my life, I enjoy Mozart. Libor Novacek juxtapose various expressions within this piece of music, sometimes even at the same time by playing the piano in one way by one hand and in the other way by the other hand. Libor reveals his sutble, but generous and embracing touch on keys. I would get bored if somebody else plays this piece, as the music itself, as usual for Mozart, is rather simply structured. But with Libor's hands, it sounds totally different.

Mozart: Rondo in A minor, K511

The same comments as above. I have heard some of the melodies in this piece.

Janacek: In the Mists (1912)

An intersting and sleepy piece. Towards the end, I nearly fall asleep, not because I get bored. It is because I'm pleased with Libor's play.

Brahms: Sonata No.2 in F sharp minor Op.2

A theatric, Christian Lacroix-ish piece. Again I easily imagine myself being bored if someone else plays this piece. But Libor plays it in a pleasant way. Towards the end, my mind is truly refreshed.

------

Another thing that deserves a mention: the Steinway piano, recently bought by LSE, sounds superb. Part of the reason I enjoyed Matan Porat two weeks ago, I now notice, is also owing to this piano.

MUSIC@LSE Lunchtime Concert Series: Matan Porat

Now I have time to attend LSE's lunchtime concert series. This week's guest is Matan Porat, a pianist.

Bach: Partita No.1 in Bb Major

Boring. I keep thinking something else. Porat's staccato style of playing the piano doesn't sound fit for this piece of music.

Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze Op.6

Porak shows incredible subtlety during the quite part of this piece. The same motif repeats towards the end, and the way he moves on from there to the last part of extravaganza with a sensitive coda firmly grips my attention.

Bartok: "Out of Door" Suite (1926)

This is an amazing piece of contemporary music. It must have influenced progressive rock musicians in the 1970s. The piece begins with unusually intensive use of bass keys, which is a nice logical progression from the end of the previous piece played.

Porak again shows his incredible subtlety in the quiet part of the piece, but his more aggresive side gets along very well with Bartok, too. I learn that this pianist is amazing with this sort of music in which dynamism and stasis create a stark contrast.

Takacs Quartet

This is a very hilarious article written by the first violinist of the Takacs Quartet on how the Quartet copes with a member change, does rehearsing, travels by air, and prepares for a concert.

BBC Prom: The Rite of Spring in 2006

This will become an annual event in London for me: listen live to The Rite of Spring at the Prom (see 7 September 2005).

This year Stravinsky's masterpiece (in my opinion) is performed by Budapest Festival Orchestra with Ivan Fischer as conductor. Honestly I wondered if they could live up to my expectation from this piece of music. But I worried too much. I only need to repeat what I wrote last year:

Stravinsky is a genious composer. The contrast of quietness and loudness, one instrument after another claiming its presence in waves, and very progressive patterns of rhythms continuously coming in an unexpected way.

I've come to think that I probably shouldn't listen to The Rite of Spring (see notes at the Prom website) unless I'm in front of the orchestra, which allows me to enjoy the music in a three-dimensional way. That is probably the best way of appreciating "Stravinsky's immortal hymn to spring". (Still, you can listen to the performance online. Skip the first 5 minutes. The BBC Radio online production teams are so lazy that different programmes are often attached in the first few minutes.)

The composition is often introduced as a piece of classical music that teenagers who like pop music can appreciate. I doubt it. It's totally different from pop music. There's no clear-cut melody, and it's the rhythm that is at the centre stage throughout the tune - very different from pop songs. And the rhythm is extremely irregular - very different from house music. And a lot of contrast in the sound volume - very different from maintream rock music. Unless you like progressive rock or perhaps drum & bass, or unless you simply like "sound", you probably won't find it interesting.

Incidentally, I liked the second movement of Bartok's piano concerto no.3, performed by pianist Garrick Ohlsson with the orchestra before The Rite of Spring on the night. It's probably unusual to like the second movement - which is often the most boring part of the whole composition. But this one, a very subtle "alternation of the piano's hymn and the strings' answering phrases", sneaked deep into my mind. Again, it wouldn't have been like that if I had listened to it on the radio etc.

Tips for enjoying BBC Proms right in front of the orchestra by paying 5 pounds on the day:
1. Make sure you have 5 quid in cash - they don't accept cards for day Arena tickets.
2. The entrance is Door 11. There may be a queue from the Door. Do not confuse it with Door 10, which is the entrance for the Gallery (high up in the Royal Albert Hall), or the Box Office which only sells seat tickets.
3. Once you enter, find Arena A or Arena F entrance. That takes you to right in front of the stage. Even if you come rather late, there is some space to stand within 10 meters from the stage. If you enter through Arena B to E entrances, you will find it difficult to get to the front as people are sitting down on the floor all over the Arena.

POSTSCRIPT on 20th August 2006: I found a review article by Tom Service appearing in The Guardian, 18th August 2006. It seems I was very lucky: Tom Service found that Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra "revealed new dimensions" of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

BBC Prom: The Rite of Spring

Following Vinayak's recommendation, I experience the BBC Prom for the first time in my three-year London life. If you're uninitiated, this is a rare opportunity to catch the world's leading classical music performers just in front of you by paying just 4 quid (about 7.5 US dollars) on the day of the performance (see here for more detail about the Proms).

I like the idea of paying for a concert on the day of the performance. Concerts, either classical or popular, shouldn't be so big an event. If you want to listen to live music on the day of a performance, you should be able to do so.

And the reason I feel like going to the Prom is Stravinsky's The Rite Of Spring conducted by Zubin Mehta. This was the first piece of symphonic music that I found interesting. That was when I was a high school kid. I really didn't get what's called classical music at that time. It was either boring, sleepy, or hard to understand how to appreciate. But when I watched a broadcast of this highly-elaborate-but-never-boring piece of music, played by an orchestra (I forgot which orchestra it was) with conductor Mehta, on a satellite television in Japan, it blew my mind. What the hell is this music?

I still remember that moment. Almost 10 years on, here in London, I have an opportunity to listen LIVE to this tune conducted by the same guy who impressed me as a high school boy. After queuing for about 45 minutes to buy a 4-quid day ticket, I enter the Arena of the Royal Albert Hall. The stage is just 10m ahead from where I am. People are standing to watch and listen, just like an indie rock band's gig. This is what I like about UK. Classical music in Japan is always associated with "high society". This kind of event is almost impossible there. (Speaking of Japan, I see quite a few Japanese (and Chinese/Korean) people, mostly girls, at the concert hall, which is very rare for my usual kind of music events.)

The first tune, Haydn's Symphony no.103, is not too bad. I like the third and fourth movements. The second one, Berg's Wozzeck, is terrible, just boring.

During the interval, a man next to me starts talking about The Rite of Spring to his girlfriend, explaining how extraordinary it was at the time of its production (the early 20th century). Overhearing it, my expectation surges. For the first time in years, my heartbeat quickens because of an anticipation of the coming live music performance.

And it does live up to my expectation. Stravinsky is a genious composer. The contrast of quietness and loudness, one instrument after another claiming its presence in waves, and very progressive patterns of rhythms continuously coming in an unexpected way. I realise the reason I like this music is not so different from why I love drum & bass. But I admit it's more than drum & bass. With a panoramic sound of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in front, I can't think of any other form of musical experience that's more luxurious than this.

As I'm a layman when it comes to classical music, I can't tell how much Zubin Mehta contributes to this wonderful experience. But I guess his interpretation of The Rite of Spring is quite close to my taste. My late grandfather, a big classical music fan, didn't like Zubin Mehta. So when I told him about my crush on The Rite of Spring, he lent me a CD of this tune conducted by someone else, and I didn't like it as much.

I feel I'm lucky to live in London today.

Kiyo's lunchtime concert

St. Bride's Church, (Fleet Street, London, EC4)

My concert pianist friend Kiyo, with a soprano performer Natalie, held a lunchtime concert at St. Bride's Church. As seen in the above picture, the interior of the church is beautiful. Among the pieces they performed, I liked Schubert's 'Libesbotschaft' and 'Fruhlingstraum'.

After the performance, we, along with Kiyo's friends, had lunch at a pub next door. I hate having lunch at English pubs because, you know... But Club Mangia at The Punch Tavern (99 Fleet Street) is a revelation. Their lunchtime buffet (7.5 pounds, and you can eat as much as you like) is extremely excellent. See its Time Out review.