AND
DID THE ANGELS SING?....
Our previous update to the 2010 News page promised much for
our Masterclass of Music Citerna this year and, indeed, much
was delivered to the appreciative audiences that attended
the events. We say ‘events’ because this year
not all the artistic activity was musical. A total of seven
concerts were performed, five by the maestri, of which two
were in collaboration with the voices of Fiori Musicali, an
English baroque choir, and two including those attending the
course. One of the two concerts involving Fiori Musicali,
together with Elvira and Alfia as soloists, helped to provide
the finale for a fascinating artistic event associated with
this year’s festival. This was a circular painting devised
by Ivanov and Chan, artists who live in the Orkney islands
off the northeast corner of Scotland and was one of a series
that they have already created but for the first time performed
in Italy. Thus music and painting co-existed for this year’s
season but more of this later.
The
inaugural concert, as usual well attended, provided an interesting
mix of two histories and two eras. Namely, those of Johann
Sebastian Bach and the Englishman William Byrd, Bach was brought
up in Germany as a strict protestant in a protestant society
while Byrd was a secret Roman Catholic in England at a time
when it was dangerous to declare a belief in Catholicism which
was being repressed by the state and by the majority of the
people. The conjunction of their music, however, provided
for a fascinating entrée to the 2010 Masterclass Festival.
Elvira opened with a glorious solo Bach Partita no. 3 in E
minor and was followed by Fiori Musicali with the first of
two Masses (in 5 parts) by Byrd. After the interval Alfia,
already renowned for her performances of all six Bach Cello
Suites both in concert and now recorded on CD manufactured
by MPO in France, numbers WCM/1 and 2, treated us to the No.
2 Suite in D minor. She was followed by Fiori Musicali with
Byrd’s Mass in 4 parts. Fiori Musicali is a well-known
British baroque choir and is directed by Penelope Rapson,
baroque musician herself. The audience much appreciated their
contribution to the Masterclass series.
Those
attending previous Masterclass Festivals have known and enjoyed
Povilas Stravinsky’s wonderful concert piano performances.
After three seasons with MfB, coming faithfully all the way
from Seattle, USA for the best part of a month each year we
all felt that we should rest him from the major demands that
we have put upon him. We thank him for all he has done over
these three years and wish him well. This year we were joined
by Sergey Bezrodny, son of Elvira’s teacher at the Conservatoire,
also trained in the Russian tradition at the Moscow Conservatoire
and greatly experienced in chamber music performance. Sergey
has been a long-time performer with the Virtuosi di Moscow
directed by Spivakov and as part of a project between Moscow
and Spain has been performing in Spain for some years. We
are delighted that he was pleased to be asked to work with
us and that his imminent return to Moscow may permit talented
music students from Russia to come to the Masterclass for
tuition. He drove from his home in Spain by way of Paris to
stay with us at Felcino Bianco and then spent three weeks
of hard work practising and playing with Elvira and Alfia
for the various concerts as well as with those attending the
course. Sergey accompanied Alfia at the first Masterclass
recital when she performed Franck’s Violin Sonata arranged
for Violoncello and Britten’s Sonata for violoncello
and pianoforte Op. 65, an outstanding opening to the second
concert of this year’s series. After the interval the
audience was thrilled by a masterly performance of Shostakovich’
Piano Trio No. 2. This is one of the most outstanding piano
trios of the 20th century, written in 1944 following the death
of his close friend Sollertinsky. The result was an elegiac
trio of exceptional beauty in memory of his friend, which
is thought at the same time to capture the sorrows of Russia’s
sacrifices in “The Great Patriotic War” i.e WWII.
And
so to our @new@ artistic event for 2010. This was a combination
performance involving a painting created by the artists Ivanov
and Chan together with the voices of Fiori Musicali and Alfia
and Elvira Bekova as instrumentalists. The event began with
the construction of a circular canvas which was then suspended
from the three standing walls of the old fortress built around
the first millennium in Citerna as a watchtower. The fortress
had survived the mediaeval wars for territory but was badly
damaged in an earthquake in 1917 and then again during the
retreat of the German army during 1944. The remains had been
restored by the Comune of Citerna and it was thus a wonderful
location in which to stage such an event. Our grateful thanks
go to the Mayor of Citerna and her professional staff at the
Comune without whom we could never have staged the event.
Ivanov and Chan, having been held up in Berlin on the way
here by airline failures, constructed The Circle – Citerna
and completed the painting in only three days instead of the
planned five – an heroic effort involving hard physical
effort, little or no sleep and battling with unexpected winds
around La Rocca which tended to lift the canvas like a kite
or sail. Among the richly deserved applause was that of the
children of Citerna who had never seen such a thing in their
Borgo as well as that of Ivanov and Chan’s new baby
daughter, only five months old, who spent most of her time
singing happily in a hammock suspended in the artistic site.
The concert followed the unveiling of the painting to the
public who were able to walk around the area and view it from
below and then the music followed with the performers standing
below the canvas as though crowned by the painting. The spectacle
was striking and will be the subject of a DVD available in
due course. Appropriately, given the history of La Rocca,
Fiori Musicali opened with ‘Battaglia’, a choral
call to arms by the Italian composer Gabrieli. This was followed
by Taverner’s ‘Svyati’ , a piece for voices
and solo violoncello. The piece is hugely reminiscent of classical
Russian Orthodox choral music. Alfia’s haunting solo
was superb. The finale came with the world premiere of James
Hesford’s new piece commissioned for this occasion and
entitled ‘Papay Holm Circle’. The piece celebrates
a previous Circle event performed on the uninhabited island
off Papa Westray in the Orkney islands and relates to the
visual and auditory effects of the wind (well known in Orkney)
on the sea. These effects are measured by the Beaufort scale
and the music wonderfully represented the rise and fall of
the wind and the sea. The choral part is written to be sung
in ‘Nynorn’, a reconstruction of the ancient Orkney
language that has not been spoken for some two hundred years
– certainly a challenge for our Baroque choir of 12
voices. The violin part, magnificently performed by Elvira
standing surrounded by the circle of voices and directly under
the Circle painting, represents the observer measuring and
charting the effects of wind on sea. The whole was a truly
remarkable and rewarding spectacle.
Elvira
and Sergey opened the second Masterclass concert brilliantly
with Grieg’s sonata for violin and pianoforte, Op. 13.
This was followed by the compelling and dramatic virtuoso
pieces by Szymanowski ‘Nocturne’ and ‘Tarantella’.
The latter is the name of a wild Sicilian dance – and
so it was. 2010 is the 80th anniversary of the birth of Igor
Bezrodny, one of the most distinguished violin teachers and
performers of the second half of the 20th century in Moscow,
also Elvira’s professor and Sergey’s father. Thus,
it was doubly moving to have this concert commemorated during
our Masterclass and especially when Elvira, Alfia and Sergey
went on to perform, quite outstandingly. Tchaikowsky’s
Piano Trio Op. 50 written as it was after the death of his
great friend and supporter Nicolai Rubinstein – “In
memory of a great artist”. This poignant and monumental
Trio was performed before a portrait of Igor Bezrodny garlanded
with roses on an antique italian violin music stand.. The
emotion was palpable.
There
were two concerts performed by those attending the course
together with the maestri. The first, by kind permission of
Mr. and Mrs. Bricchieri-Colombi at their home, Il Conventino
and the second at our own home, Felcino Bianco. We were delighted
that so many made the trip to our respective “mountain
retreats” Sergey provided generous piano support to
these inexperienced string players and they truly rose to
the occasions. Joseph Rosen who joins us regularly from New
York and who is an experienced clarinet player put in some
sterling performances with the maestri in a number of interesting
pieces, including Fruhling’s Clarinet trio, the quartet
for clarinet, violin, cello and piano written by Sowash and
an unusual and highly sophisticated trio for clarinet, violin
and violoncello by Gal. The refreshments provided after both
these concerts complimented the musical efforts of all the
performers.
For
our finale this year we decided to repeat the format that
had so entertained our audience last year, that of a Bohemian
café with food and drink provided for the audience
seated at tables. For our Café de Boheme Elvira had
chosen music from the early 20th century and this was interspersed
with readings of Italian poetry chosen for us by Vito Taverna,
our good friend and neighbour. These included Vincenzo Cardarelli,
Federico Garcia Lorca and Dino Campagna. Elvira, Alfia, Sergey
and Joseph (plus and minus a new head of hair) entertained
us all delightfully despite being squeezed by the weather
inside the communal palazzo instead of outside in the Chiostro.
Pieces performed were by Suk (Song of Love) Kreisler, Moszkowski
and Chaplin (Oh, that Cello), Busch (German Dances), Kreisler
and Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Joseph excelled, especially closing
with the delightful Ballade by Gershwin. The audience loved
it all!
Once
again, we thank our dear friends at the Comune whose generous
support, sponsorship and loyal hard work resulted in quite
the most ambitious Masterclass that MfB has undertaken in
Citerna, truly “Uno dei Borghi piu belli d’Italia”.
MfB is also truly grateful for the tremendous love and effort
put in by the maestri, the artists and those attending the
Masterclass of Music Citerna 2010 in providing the highest
standards of chamber music on what has become a regular festival
basis. Our thanks too, to the audiences who continue to support
us so loyally. Next year we expect to run the Masterclass
from 10 – 22 July. Watch this space.
Truly
in July 2010, the Angels sang in Citerna!!!
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