| Friday 4 February, 13:00 St John’s Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA LIVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT ‘Notes from a Small Island’ is a series of lunchtime concerts in which pianist Mark Bebbington showcases major works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries by British composers; in this programme JOHN MCCABE, ROBERT MATTHEW-WALKER (premiere) and ROBERT SIMPSON |
| Friday 4 February, 13:00 St John’s Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HA LIVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT Notes From a Small Island (III) John McCabe: Tenebrae Robert Matthew-Walker: The Fields are White Already, Op.153 (A contemplation for solo piano in memoriam John McCabe) Premiere Robert Simpson: Variations and Finale on a theme of Haydn Mark Bebbington, piano To book: https://www.sjss.org.uk/events/mark-bebbington Tickets £15, (Students £7.50) Dazzling English piano solos of the last 75 years In the third and final concert of the series, Mark Bebbington champions John McCabe (1939-2015), whose most ambitious and comprehensive piano work Tenebrae (1992/3) is set alongside the premiere of Robert Matthew-Walker’s contemplation for solo piano in memoriam John McCabe – The Fields are White Already. Finally, an unsung hero of British music, Robert Simpson, is represented in his contrasting and life-affirming ‘Variations and Finale on a Theme of Haydn’ (1948); a dazzling display of keyboard mastery and compositional integrity. Written as a single movement, John McCabe’s towering Tenebrae – using the word in the sense of “darkness” , according to the composer – is an enduring and gripping exploration of mortality. Its inspirations are many, including the loss of three much-loved and admired musical friends – Sir Charles Groves and the composers William Mathias and Stephen Oliver – and the opening of Hermann Broch’s novel The Death of Virgil. Musical impulses include Chopin and Beethoven as well as the composer’s long-standing fascination with the world of Liszt’s two late pieces entitled La lugubre Gondole (The funeral Gondola). According to Mark Bebbington, “John’s ‘Tenebrae’ is a pianistic and emotional ‘tour de force’, exploring timeless themes of loss (and hope…) in a fearless and cohesive musical drama.” Robert Simpson’s 1948 Variations and Finale on a Theme of Haydn are more than just an interesting fore-runner of the mighty String Quartet No 9 (32 Variations and Fugue on a theme of Haydn), which the composer wrote in 1982. The Haydn Variations follow a strict palindromic structure (beloved of Simpson) within each variation, culminating in an epic double fugue that explores every facet of polyphonic and textural ingenuity. “I was thrilled to learn this work for the Simpson centenary last year, said Mark Bebbington, “and am delighted to perform this dazzling display of intellectual and pianistic imagination at St. John’s.” Linking these works is Robert Matthew-Walker’s meditation, The Fields are White Already, written last year for today’s soloist and recently recorded by him for the SOMM label (July release). The work is a meditation in memory of composer John McCabe, and “one of Matthew-Walker’s most beguiling works, with a wonderfully imaginative use of keyboard texture and colour”, says Bebbington. The title comes from Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, which itself refers to Christ’s statement that ‘the fields are white already for harvest’ – the final gathering of a life’s work. “It seemed an appropriate phrase in contemplating the profound contribution to music that John McCabe made during his lifetime – as composer, pianist, writer and educator” said Matthew-Walker. Written in one movement, the piece is a series of continuous ‘reflections’ in various forms, textures and tempos on phrases loyal to, yet always organically developing from, the original idea. The three works make for a thought-provoking recital exploring themes of loss, mortality and, ultimately, hope for the future. Surely a recital for our time. Commitment to British music Mark Bebbington’s commitment to British music is well-known and his recordings for the SOMM label are numerous and varied, including major works by Bax, Carwithen, Ireland, Vaughan Williams, Mathias, Alwyn and Bridge, which have earned him consecutive sets of 5***** in BBC Music Magazine, two Gramophone Magazine ‘Editor’s Choice’, and an International Record Review ‘Outstanding’ accolade, prompting International Piano Magazine to write: “Bebbington’s revivals of British piano music are second to none; he could well be dubbed the concert pianists’ Richard Hickox. Bebbington has almost single-handedly demonstrated that 20th-century British piano scores have an exciting role to play in the concert hall and recording studio”. Poulenc shortlisted for Gramophone Magazine Concerto Award, 2021 More recently, a major new recording collaboration with conductor Jan Latham-Koenig, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for Resonus – part of a planned series – has produced a programme of works for piano by Francis Poulenc featuring the Piano Concerto and the rarely-recorded piano version of the Concert champêtre, so often performed by the composer himself. Joined by oboist John Roberts and bassoonist Jonathan Davies, Bebbington has also recorded the Trio for Piano, Oboe & Bassoon, and the Sonata for Oboe & Piano; this recording was shortlisted for the Gramophone Magazine Concerto Awards 2021. A second album containing Aubade, Le Bal Masque, Flute Sonata and the Sextet has also been released to critical acclaim. RVW150 – Forthcoming Gala Concert Tuesday 3 May 2022, 7:30pm Barbican Hall, London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Hilary Davan Wetton Mark Bebbington performs two major piano works by Ralph Vaughan Williams in his 150th anniversary year; his Fantasia on the ‘Old 104th’ Psalm Tune, and Piano Concerto (1931), as part of a programme with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to include the composer’s Symphony No.1 ‘A Sea Symphony’ with the City of London Choir and soloists, Sophie Bevan and Roderick Williams, conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton. https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2022/event/city-of-london-choirrpo-vaughan-williams-150th-anniversary |
Mark Bebbington performs McCabe, Simpson & Matthew-Walker premiere at SJSS, 4 February 1300.
