CityLife

Piano 2009 promises a feast of keyboard sounds

Barry Douglas

THE Piano 2009 festival at the Bridgewater Hall is the second under the artistic directorship of Barry Douglas - and he, along with our three resident Manchester orchestras, will play a significant part in it.

Whereas last time (2006) the whole thing was built around performances of all Mozart’s piano concertos, this time there is no such obvious theme. Douglas says:

“This festival is a true celebration of the diversity of music and musicians. I wanted to explore composers who wrote just a few important piano concertos, but still added great value to the genre and inspired others through their creativity.”

What he’s done is to begin (on Thursday, February 26) with the two Brahms concertos – played by himself in a single programme (a huge task for anyone – I’ve only seen it done once before, and then the soloist was nearly out for the count by the end).

Contrasting concertos

On Friday, February 27, Joanna McGregor plays a Mozart (no. 9) as well as James MacMillan’s second; on Saturday, February 28, Richard Goode gives a recital of Bach and Schumann.

On Sunday, March 1, Nelson Goerner and Wayne Marshall join forces to play not just the two Ravel concertos (the Left-Hand and the G major) but also the Gershwin in F (often linked to the Ravel in stylistic terms) plus his Rhapsody In Blue.

“Brahms and Ravel both wrotejust two contrasting concertos,” he says, “and it will be fascinating to hear their complete output for piano and orchestra in one evening each.

“Ravel and Gershwin influenced each other deeply, and we can hear this in Gershwin’s only venture in the concerto form, but the influence can also be heard in his improvisatory Rhapsody In Blue. 

Wealth of styles

“These diverse composers all show great mastery of the instrument and the concerto form. In addition, the artistry of Richard Goode and the excellence of Joanna MacGregor will help us to savour the wealth of musical styles and genres offered by the piano.”

I asked him about the sheer stamina and strength needed to tackle the two Brahms concertos in one session.

“The trick with playing the two Brahms concertos in one concert is not only the energy needed – it is the creativity you have to harness,” he says. “But this is the same in a piano recital, and so there is no major difference. 

“If you do four sonatas in a concert, you still have to be very resourceful and daring and entertaining … dare I say it!”

Manchester has always held a very important place in Barry’s heart – not just because he has many friends here and has known many teachers at the Royal Northern College of Music, and has played many concerts here with the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras. 

World class

It was here he made it through to the finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, as an 18-year-old, unknown Northern Irishman.

“Taking part in the BBC competition did introduce me for the first time to this great city,” he says, “and now I have the privilege to be artistic director of a wonderful festival in a world class concert hall.”

Joanna McGregor’s performance with Manchester Camerata is particularly intriguing. She is director as well as soloist, and begins with Britten’s Young Apollo, as well as giving some arrangements of Piazzolla tangos before the MacMillan.

“I worked with Piazolla’s band in South America some years ago,” she says, “and these are arrangements I made for the National Youth Orchestra originally.”

Mad scene

The MacMillan concerto was played by her at its London premiere two years ago and then on a tour. “I’ve played it just about all over the world,” she claims. 

The piece uses Scottish folk tunes – although she says there’s also a quotation from Bellini in the slow movement, to make it clear that there’s a ‘mad scene’ going on – so that in some ways it’s almost like a ceilidh.

“And it gets more and more out of control,” she adds. “I have to get up and play the snare drum at one point, as well as the piano. It ends with a huge cadenza and an enormous crash. And it always seems to go down well with audiences.”