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Outstanding violinist, Valtie
Nunn, gave a
most exciting recital in St Wilfrid's Church on Saturday, the inaugural
concert for the new season of Haywards Heath Music Society. Born in
Africa but educated at Ardingly College, she has recently graduated
with first class honours from Trinity College of Music. Her standard of
performance was set from the start with Saint-Georges' Sonata No 2, a
work making similar demands to those of contemporary ones by Mozart,
which were met by just the required level of lyrical simplicity and
vigorous attack. These same attributes distinguished her rendition of a
vastly different second piece, Franck's Sonata. There was great fire
and brilliance here, contrasting with wonderful pathos and stillness in
the third movement.
After the interval it was illuminating to hear Valtie bring out the distinctive voice of Janacek in his Sonata. The aggressive outbursts (which she likened to Tourettes!) stood in stark contrast to the more mellifluous moments but the vibrancy of tone was fully maintained and, as always, the overall grasp of the whole work showed a mastery belying her youth. After these two big sonatas, we were treated to two delightful arrangements of Chopin Nocturnes, one by Valtie Nunn herself, and Kreisler's Caprice Viennois. The concert rounded off with great panache in de Falla's La Vide Breve. The highly accomplished accompanist was another young Trinity graduate, Sam Liu. My only reservation was that the balance might have been enhanced if the piano lid had been lowered. However, this well attended and most enthusiastically received concert has certainly set an extremely high standard for the season. Robert Hammersley
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The Haywards Heath Music Society presented a very successful piano recital, given by Rachel Fryer at St Wilfred's Church on Saturday 28th November.
In spite of appalling weather, a large audience came to enjoy a fine evening of piano playing. Rachel started with a crisp and lively account of a sonata by Domenico Scarlatti. The main work which followed was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. The pianist was able to bring out the expressive and romantic colour of the first movement, as well as the power and storm of the final movement, played at a challenging speed. Two Chopin pieces - D flat nocturne and Fantasie -Impromptu - ended the first half. The Nocturne in particular was played most beautifully, showing the wide range of dynamics and sensitive touch of the soloist.
The second half of the recital comprised well known and much loved pieces, including two by Grieg, Sinding's Rustle of Spring, three Gershwin preludes, and ending with Debussy's Golliwogs Cake-walk, Clair de Lune, and finally L'isle Joyeuse, a worthy climax to the recital and enthusiastically applauded. Indeed those people unable to brave the elements missed a real treat!
Fiona Fawssett
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Haywards Heath Music Society presented an outstanding concert of solo guitar music at Haywards Heath Methodist Church on the evening of Saturday, 20th February 2010. Sadly, the event attracted an audience of only about forty-five people, but the decision to host the recital at a location that was likely to be more supportive of a comparatively quiet instrument than the usual Music Society venue of St Wilfrid's Church proved to be a wise one.
Sponsored by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Andrew Booth played works spanning more than four centuries and encompassing a wide range of styles. Forming a strictly chronological sequence, these consisted of the Six Pavanes by Luis de Milán, originally for the vihuela, a somewhat diminutive precursor of the guitar; the Suite No 3 in G Minor for solo lute, BWV995, by Johann Sebastian Bach (a transcription of the Suite No 5 in C Minor for solo cello, BWV1011); Malagueña, from España, and Torre Bermeja, from the Piezas Caracteristicas, by Isaac Albéniz, both originally for the piano; the five pieces making up the Collectici Intim by Vicente Asencio; two jazz standards, I Love Paris and Take the 'A' Train, in surprisingly subtle and complex arrangements by Roland Dyens and, finally, the Brazilian-inspired Jongo by Paulo Bellinati. The engaging young artist introduced his programme with intelligence and good humour and performed it with complete technical assurance and a refreshing freedom from the extraneous noises that frequently marred performances by leading exponents from an earlier age. But, more than that, he imbued each work with a depth of character that effortlessly transported the audience to an ever changing succession of other worlds.
Andrew Booth is currently being promoted as one of the most exciting guitarists in the United Kingdom. Well, here was a concert that amply demonstrated this is no idle boast.
Paul A. Moore
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Jaroslaw Nadrzycki, playing a Stradivarius violin, and Tadashi Imai, piano, opened their programme with the Brahms' sonata No. 2. Together they quickly captivated the audience with their talent, technique, empathy and musicality, expressively drawing out the passion and innocence of the music. This was followed by their romantic playing of Wieniawski's "Legend", written for his girl friend in order to demonstrate to her parents their love, dreams and longings in courtship. Next was the sonata by Tartini known as "The Devil's Trill", which provided a sparkling demonstration of expert violin technique and virtuosity, admirably supported by Imai. The cadenza was performed brilliantly with such confidence it had all the appearance of effortlessness.
Three well known pieces by Kreisler, which opened the second half of the evening, beautifully conveyed an atmosphere of wooing the ladies of old Vienna. In Prokofiev's second sonata, this evocation of the happier and more hopeful time being experienced by the composer was brought to life in energetic performances by the duo. The great optimism of the Presto movement contrasted with the calm lyricism of the Andante, and was followed by the triumphant progress towards a dramatic finale.
The audience, which had been held spellbound throughout the evening, showed their great appreciation of the talents of these two internationally acclaimed musicians, who are winners of several major International Music competitions and have performed in major venues around the world. The audience was rewarded by an encore of Debussy's "Bon Soir." We hope it will not be too long before we can hear them perform again.
Gwynneth and Derek Paine
Katherine Jenkinson  Alison
Farr
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The current season of concerts at Haywards
Heath Music Society was brought to a triumphant conclusion on Saturday
when the internationally-renowned cello and piano duo Katherine
Jenkinson and Alison Farr presented a dazzling display of virtuoso
playing.
Playing on the Segelman Stradivari cello of 1692 Katherine gave an
elegant and stylish account of Vivaldi’s Sonata in B flat major,
followed by the dramatic and lyrical D major sonata by Beethoven, in
which the perfect empathy and ensemble of the duo was displayed.
After the interval we heard two sets of variations by Martinu. Both the Slovak Folk Song and the Rossini sets are immensely attractive pieces of music which were played with great authority by both performers, who showed complete mastery of the formidable technical demands made by the music. One of the highlights of the evening was the well-known Grieg cello sonata. Katherine told the audience this was the most emotional work she has ever played. This exhilarating work was played with passion and verve, the ravishing tone of the cello and the consummate artistry of the performers being evident throughout. At the conclusion of the concert the haunting strains of the cello soared over the rippling piano accompaniment in the encore The Song of the Black Swan by Villa-Lobos, and the highly appreciative audience acclaimed an evening of superlative playing by both artists. Christine Colbourne
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