Saint Martin in the Fields_Murray Perahia_Athenaeum_15.09

...
Romanian Atheneum
Series "Chamber Music"
SAINT MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
Soloist and Conductor: MURRAY PERAHIA
..
Program:
J.C. Bach – Sinfonia Concertante in E flat Major 288/7
Mozart – Concerto no. 17 for piano and orchestra in G Major KV 453
J.S. Bach – Concerto no. 3 for piano and orchestra in D Major BWV 1054
Mozart – Symphony no. 38 in D Major KV 504 "Prague"
...

......From this concert I enjoyed Mozart's Concerto 17. This one was alive, full of emotions. Mr Perahia is a very good pianist. It was strange when he conducted and played at the same time. Not that I haven't seen this before. Not at all. Only that the orchestra seemed to have troubles deciding if looking to him or to the concert master. This concert didn't make me go again on the next day :(. And something else. Mr Perahia played the same pieces for both concerts. No encore even if the Athenaeum Hall was full and people kept applauding. Oh, and those people rushing from the hall as soon as the orchestra stopped... why?!? They were all going to the Palace Hall to attend the next concert (Philharmonia conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy) and this one was a little bit too long. But people, sometimes you have to take a decision. Here or there. Or at least stay in a place where you won't disturb the others when leaving. It's a shame that the orchestra had to watch how the audience was leaving.

...

......Born in New York, Murray Perahia started playing piano at the age of four, and later attended Mannes College where he majored in conducting and composition. His summers were spent in Marlboro, where he collaborated with such musicians as Rudolf Serkin, Pablo Casals, and the members of the Budapest String Quartet. He also studied at the time with Mieczyslaw Horszowski. In subsequent years, he developed a close friendship with Vladimir Horowitz whose perspective and personality were an abiding inspiration.
......In 1972 Mr. Perahia won the Leeds International Piano Competition. In 1973 he gave his first concert at the Aldeburgh Festival, where he worked closely with Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, accompanying the latter in many lieder recitals. Mr. Perahia was co-artistic director of the Festival from 1981 to 1989.
......Mr. Perahia is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, and he holds an honorary doctorate from Leeds University.
...

......The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was formed in 1958 as a small, conductorless chamber ensemble. Led by Neville Marriner and attracting some of the finest players in London, the orchestra at first concentrated on repertoire from the Baroque era, developing a style of performance that launched the 1960's Baroque revival. The Academy was so named after the various concert-giving societies or 'Academies' that had flourished in 18th century London and the famous church in which it gave its first concert on 13 November 1959.
......Only two years later it had secured its first recording contract, with the independent L'Oiseau-Lyre label. This was to be the beginning of a literally record-breaking discography that now boasts well over 500 entries, making the Academy the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world. The Academy is particularly well-known for its Mozart recordings with Sir Neville Marriner including the multi award winning soundtrack to the film 'Amadeus'. More recently the orchestra has won critical acclaim for its recordings of Bach with pianist Murray Perahia, concerti by Kurt Weill and Peteris Vasks with British violinist Anthony Marwood, Soprano Kate Royal's debut CD and, most recently a live recording of the Faure Requiem with The Sixteen. Thanks to this huge recorded catalogue and widespread radio coverage, the Academy's name has become familiar to audiences across the globe.
......Alongside its performances with Life President Sir Neville Marriner and Director Kenneth Sillito the Academy now collaborates with a number of guest directors including Murray Perahia, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Anthony Marwood, Julia Fischer and Julian Rachlin. The orchestra maintains a busy schedule of international touring alongside its concerts and outreach work in the UK and in the 2008/9 season will perform in Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Canada and the USA. Since 2002 the Academy has been the resident orchestra at the Mostly Mozart Festival at London's Barbican Centre.
......Unlike most major UK orchestras the Academy receives no direct government subsidy and relies solely on its commercial initiative and donations from trusts, foundations and individual donors for its continued success. (festivalenescu.ro)
...

Saint Martin in the Fields