It was a superb concert, a sort of 50th Anniversary gig, as she first performed at Wigmore in 1971. It was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and on Wigmore Live, can be streamed from Wigmore and BBC Sounds (if you have access).
She was also presented with the Wigmore Medal from the Duke of Kent. Her speech was mostly about the Mozart sonatas, which I listened to this afternoon. She explained she recorded them because at the time everyone was doing Schubert and it was a toss-up (literally) between Schubert and Mozart, Mozart won, even though - as she said - the early ones aren’t very good. So she played them at Wigmore and recorded them, and then Amadeus came out and Mozart was all the rage and she was in demand.
In those days I remember going to hear her play the Mozart concertos with Jeffrey Tate and the English Chamber Orchestra at St Johns Smith Square and the Festival Hall. Then, the main competition in London was Brendel and Perahia, similar repertoire, although Perahia also played the Romantics. Her more recent Schubert recordings are a tour de force, but to hear all the Impromptus was great. I favour the first set for their almost unremitting gloom.
I didn’t realise they put so many up on YouTube. The piano trio also from 1827 was a great performance, I enjoyed it tremendously. Isserlis is the best and Mishka Rushdie Momen is rapidly making a name for herself.
A small club in New Jersey. Packed to the back of the rectangular venue. About 6 months before he died and was in frail health – had the be literally carried in by two of his bandmates. My friends and I were close to the stage, maybe 15’ or so and as a result they were very, very loud. To the point that it was difficult to hear him sing. All in all, however, a very memorable evening the one and only time I ever saw him play.
Brandi Carlile at Forest Hills Stadium (Queens, NYC) last night. Great show. Everybody, including Brandi and the crowd, was delighted to be able to have concerts like this again.
That’s an interesting take, if not a little spooky. Looks like nice weather as well. Looks like a full house.
We have a new production of Rigoletto opening the Autumn season at Covent Garden on 13 September (with Lisette Oropesa, who brought the house down as Lucia when she was last here). When I booked it looked like we are back to full seating, which is good news.
