Maria João Pires

Brian Dickie, Life as General Director of Chicago

February 18

LSO and Haitink

There was a remarkable concert at the Barbican last evening. Bernard Haitink delivers - this was Bruckner 9, preceded by his partnership with the delectable playing of Beethoven's Piano Concerto 2 by Maria João Pires. There is no point on banging on about Haitink. It was just such a thrill to see this man of total integrity in full flight at his great age with the infinitely responsive LSO. I was in the back row of the balcony in the Barbican. And that is where it sounds best! And it was something of a Glyndebourne reunion as well. Bernard was Music Director when I was General Director - and Peter Hall, who was the third man in our trio, was there last night too, as was my old friend, colleague, and successor at Glyndebourne, Anthony Whitworth-Jones. A great evening from every point of view.

My Classical Notes

September 27

Abbado and Pires

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 27 & 20 I read somewhere that Ludwig van Beethoven and his friend Czerny were walking in Vienna one day; they past a house or a concert hall where the sounds of one of Mozart’s great piano concerti were being played. Beethoven reportedly said: “Ah… Czerny, you and I will never compose something like this!” Well… that statement might well have been made about either of the concerti on this CD: they are: Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466 Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K595 The performance is by Maria Joao Pires (piano), with the Orchestra Mozart, Bologna, conducted by Claudio Abbado http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Jo%C3%A3o_Pires The terrific results of this recording were worth the long wait: after forty years of collaboration, Maria João Pires and Maestro Claudio Abbado recorded two of Mozart’s most beloved piano concertos for the very first time. Maria João Pires gives us some dark, sad, and dramatic sounds in the miraculous magic of the D minor Concerto No.20, K.466 with a simplicity that makes her Mozart supreme. She then she explores the majesty of Mozart’s last piano concerto, the serene Concerto No.27 K. 595 in B flat major, as only an artist of her gifts and profound experience can. The ‘Orchestra Mozart’ and Maestro Abbado support Pires with translucent sound and immaculate style: an exceptional encounter between two musical giants of our time. Here is Ms. Pires in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: And now 30 minutes of the other Mozart masterpiece: Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 27 B flat major K 595, with Joao Pires: Tags: Mozart, piano concerti, Abbado, Maria Joao Pires

My Classical Notes

September 18

Ravel’s riches

Bolero – The Best of Ravel This album of two CD’s is packed full of some of the most amazing and delightful of Maurice Ravel’s music. Many of you have heard admire Ravel’s “Bolero”; but there’s so much more to the French composer’s music. “La Valse” opens with faint sounds, as though hidden behind some clouds. Later this Waltz music develops and erupts as though it is heard in a major Viennese ballroom. In “Rhapsodie Espagnole” we get the theme of Spanish music; and one hears the influence of jazz in the Violin Sonata and in the Concerto for piano, left hand. There are other wonderful orchestral selections as well. Here is the list of selections: Ravel: Boléro Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Jeux d’eau Martha Argerich (piano) Alborada del gracioso (orchestral version) London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Ma Mère l’Oye: excerpts Martha Argerich, Mikhail Pletnev (pianos) Daphnis et Chloé – Suite No. 2 Boston Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Tzigane Augustin Dumay (violin), Maria Joao Pires (piano) Piano Concerto in G major: Adagio assai Martha Argerich (piano) London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Le Tombeau de Couperin: Toccata Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) La Valse Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa Gaspard de la nuit: Ondine Ivo Pogorelich (piano) Pavane pour une infante défunte Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini Rapsodie Espagnole Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Berceuse sur le nom de Fauré Augustin Dumay (violin), Maria Joao Pires (piano) Introduction & Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet Osian Ellis (harp) Melos Ensemble Violin Sonata in G major: 2. Blues Shlomo Mintz (violin), Yefim Bronfman (piano) Piano Concerto in D major (for the left hand) Claudio Abbado Here is “Alborada del Gracioso” by Maurice Ravel And now here’s Janine Jansen, violin, with Itamar Golan, piano in Ravel’s “Blues” Tags: Maurice Ravel, Bolero, La Valse, Alborada del Gracioso

Music Is The Key

September 19

Maria João Pires J.S.BACH Partita No. 1 - English Suite No. 3 - French Suite No. 2

Acclaimed as one of the greatest interpreters of Mozart, Portuguese pianist Maria-João Pires is an artist who combines exquisite stylistic refinement with a serious effort to plumb the intellectual complexities and spiritual depths of music. Refusing to conform to the traditional image of a concert virtuoso, Pires emphasizes the spiritual dimensions of music, always searching for hidden meanings which may elude the analytical performer. This remarkable reverence towards works of music, clearly manifested in her performances of Mozart, was made explicit by her remark that, as a performer, she acts as a channel for the composer's ideas. Interestingly, Pires views both the composer and the performer as conduits for a transcendent force. However, while approaching the work of music with immense awe, Pires is acutely aware of its formal structure, finding a certain transparency in the most intricate formal constructions. In her performances of Romantic masters, particularly Chopin and Schumann, Pires masterfully reconciles her passionate experience of the music with an admirable appreciation for the inner logic of the work she is interpreting. Reflecting her vast emotional range, her tone, as critics have observed, encompasses a dizzying variety of intensities, from an almost imperceptible lightness to an imposing monumentality, with a rich scale of intervening nuances. Another hallmark of her style is her uncanny ability to capture, and convey, the precise variety of inner movement which constitutes the being of a particular musical creation. Pires started playing at the age of three, giving her first public performance two years later. Pires performed Mozart concertos when she was seven and received Portugal's major prize for musicians at nine. She studied with Campos Coelho and Francine Benoit at the Lisbon Conservatory, graduating at 16. Post-graduate studies took her to Germany, where she studied with Rösl Schmidt, in Munich, and with Karl Engel, in Hanover. In 1970, she won the Beethoven Bicentennial Competition in Brussels. Pires made her London debut in 1986, and she first played in New York three years later. She has performed with the major European and American orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Often praised for her extraordinary renditions of Mozart's works, Pires has shown a remarkable affinity with several of the greatest composers, including Bach, Chopin, and Schubert. An enormously successful recording artist, Pires, who since 1989 records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon, released several critically acclaimed discs, including a Bach disc, recordings of Chopin's Nocturnes and Schubert's Impromptus, and a recording of two Mozart concertos with Claudio Abbado. Her recording of Mozart's complete sonatas received the 1990 Grand Prix du Disque. Since 1989, Pires has been an enthusiastic performer of chamber music, touring Europe and the Far East with violinist Augustin Dumay. Forming a trio with Dumay and cellist Jian Wang, Pires toured the Far East in 1998, playing Beethoven's Concerto for piano, violin, cello, and orchestra in several European centers in 1999. In 2000, Pires decided to take several months off in order to concentrate on a variety of educational projects in Portugal. Several collections of her performances, including Artist Portrait: Maria-João Pires, appeared in the early 2000s. (Zoran Minderovic) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) Partita No.1 in B flat major, BWV 825 1. 1. Praeludium [1:57] 2. 2. Allemande [2:37] 3. 3. Corrente [2:55] 4. 4. Sarabande [5:07] 5. 5. Menuet I [1:23] 6. 6. Menuet II [0:44] 7. Menuet I da capo [0:46] 8. 7. Giga [2:05] English Suite No.3 in G minor, BWV 808 9. 1. Prélude [3:20] 10. 2. Allemande [3:45] 11. 3. Courante [2:22] 12. 4. Sarabande [4:31] 13. 4b. Les agréments de la même Sarabande [5:01] 14. 5. Gavotte I [1:21] 15. 6. Gavotte II ou la Musette [0:43] 16. 6b Gavotte I da capo [0:46] 17. 7. Gigue [2:39] French Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813 18. 1. Allemande [3:39] 19. 2. Courante [1:57] 20. 3. Sarabande [4:01] 21. 4. Air [1:26] 22. 5. Menuet I-II [1:44] 23. 6. Gigue [2:55] Maria João Pires 1995 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg 1 CD DDD 447 8942 3 GH You can buy it on Amazon.com You can download here PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Classical Music online - News, events, bios, music & videos on the web.

Poetic Passivity

Des horizons plus vastes de la musique Française - Vol. 2

LSO and Haitink

Abbado and Pires

Ravel’s riches

Maria João Pires J.S.BACH Partita No. 1 - English Suite No. 3 - French Suite No. 2

Pires on the web...

Maria João Pires »

Piano Chopin Noctures Mozart Piano Sonatas Beethoven Moonlight Sonata

Since January 2009, Classissima has simplified access to classical music and enlarged its audience.
With innovative sections, Classissima assists newbies and classical music lovers in their web experience.

Classical Music online - News, events, bios, music & videos on the web.

Maria João Pires

Poetic Passivity

Des horizons plus vastes de la musique Française - Vol. 2

LSO and Haitink

Abbado and Pires

Ravel’s riches

Maria João Pires J.S.BACH Partita No. 1 - English Suite No. 3 - French Suite No. 2

Pires on the web...

Maria João Pires »

Piano Chopin Noctures Mozart Piano Sonatas Beethoven Moonlight Sonata

Since January 2009, Classissima has simplified access to classical music and enlarged its audience. With innovative sections, Classissima assists newbies and classical music lovers in their web experience.

Since January 2009, Classissima has simplified access to classical music and enlarged its audience.
With innovative sections, Classissima assists newbies and classical music lovers in their web experience.