R&R Ravel & Rachmaninov brochure 2015

Tuesday 31 March - Friday 24 April A series of concerts & events for the piano at The Bridgewater Hall

Š Ben Blackall

Ravel and Rachmaninov - R & R! Aside their common initial, here were two very different characters.

Ravel was short, Rachmaninov exceptionally tall. One was French, the other Russian. Ravel was a shy bourgeois, Rachmaninov an aristocrat who loved fast cars. Yet they shared much in common, not least the turbulent times in which they lived, marked by war and revolution. Both were deeply influenced by Chopin and Liszt. Both kept track of changing fashions in music, including jazz and neo-classicism. They never met, but their lives and music were strangely intertwined. To lead this exploration, Associate Artist Noriko Ogawa returns with a series of fascinating concerts, delving into some of the most beautiful and difficult music ever written for the piano. She is aided by the formidably talented Peter Donohoe, whose stunning performance of all Rachmaninov’s Preludes at the Hall in 2003 still lingers in the memory.

Part of the International Concert Series 14|15 Box Office: 0161 907 9000 www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk

Tuesday 31 March 5.00pm Barbirolli Room An Introduction to Ravel & Rachmaninov Murray McLachlan piano & lecturer A lecture-recital introducing the series, which includes performances of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau and Préludes from Rachmaninov’s First Book, Op.23.

£7 (incl £2 fee*)

Tuesday 31 March 7.30pm

Peter Donohoe piano Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Scriabin Sonata No.7 ‘White Mass’ Ravel Miroirs Rachmaninov 13 Preludes Op.32 The opening programme explores music from the turn of the 20th century, when the piano was being stretched to its limits. Scriabin’s White Mass Sonata, composed to exorcise the darkness of its predecessor, the Black Mass Sonata, is filled by overwhelming wild energy. Ravel’s Miroirs are richly inventive, even subversive, character pieces, while Rachmaninov’s Second Book of Preludes, from 1910, completes the set begun in 1901 and show his Classical and Romantic traits in equal measure.

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)

Preview at 6.30pm in the Auditorium: Peter Donohoe discusses his recital programme with Peter Davison

£27 | £20 | £14 (incl £2 fee*)

Friday 17 April 2.00-3.00pm Barbirolli Room

Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 April

Fairy Tales & Magical Stories

10.00am-4.00pm Barbirolli Room Workshop

Noriko Ogawa piano Debussy Préludes: Puck’s Dance, The fairies are exquisite dancers, What the west wind saw; Ondine Ravel Ondine; Pavane for Sleeping Beauty from Mother Goose Suite; Noble and Sentimental Waltz No.1 New work on a fairy-tale theme by a composer from the RNCM Rachmaninov Study Op.39 No.6 (Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf) An informal and fun piano concert for 8-11 year olds, with music by Ravel, Rachmaninov and Debussy on a storytelling theme. Ticket buyers may also book a follow-up workshop to create their own magical music (see below for details).

3.00-5.00pm Barbirolli Room

Making Magic Out of Music Family Workshop Explore how music tells stories, as you work with family members to explore character, journeys and atmosphere using instruments and voice.

(Limited places available. May be purchased only by ticketholders for Fairy Tales & Magical Stories at 2.00pm)

Concert ticket £7 Family ticket £24 (5 people incl 1+ child) Concert & Workshop ticket £9.50 Family ticket £34.50 (5 people incl 1+ child) Please note family tickets are not available online All ticket prices include £2 booking fee*

Music Out of Crisis

Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin uses music to memorialise friends lost in the First World War, while Rachmaninov was a refugee after the Russian Revolution. Participants will be invited to explore how music continues to express grief and hope in contemporary crises. Work with international artists from Musicians without Borders, and alongside exiled communities in Manchester to share and create music out of crisis. A two-day artist led workshop for participants aged 17+ will result in new pieces, shared experiences and fresh musical perspectives. All musical abilities are welcome, and participants may bring their own instruments.

Lunch is included on both days, and the project will end with a short performance.

£32 Two-day artist-led workshop including lunch and refreshments (No booking fee) £38 Attend the workshop sessions and buy lunch for a future friend; help to cater for a refugee or asylum-seeker taking part in the project (No booking fee) Subsidised places available: please contact learning@bridgewater-hall.co.uk for details

Sunday 19 April 3.30pm Circle Foyer Performance Free unticketed event

Sunday 19 April 7.30pm

Noriko Ogawa piano Ravel Pavane pour une enfante defunte; Le Tombeau de Couperin Rachmaninov Vocalise Stephen Hough, Alan Mills, Peter Fribbins, James Francis Brown, Cecilia McDowall & Takashi Yoshimatsu Le Tombeau de Rachmaninov (world premiere) Rachmaninov Études Tableaux Op.39-1, 5, 6, 9

Noriko Ogawa

Sunday 19 April 5.00pm Barbirolli Room Neo-classicism in Ravel & Rachmaninov Clare Hammond piano A lecture-recital by pianist Clare Hammond, including performances of music by Couperin, Rachmaninov’s Variations on a Corelli theme and Ravel’s Sonatine.

£7 (incl £2 fee*)

R & R become totally intertwined in a recital which has, as its centrepiece, a specially commissioned work modelled on Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin. Six living composers have each contributed a movement to a new suite called Le Tombeau de Rachmaninov.

The movements parallel those found in the Ravel, reflecting also the neoclassical and elegiac aspects of the original work. The result is a topical reflection on the price of war and enforced exile. Noriko Ogawa also plays Rachmaninov’s popular Vocalise and Ravel’s serene Pavane, completing the programme with a selection of Rachmaninov’s rarely heard, but fiercely virtuosic Studies.

Preview at 6.30pm in the Auditorium: Some of the composers of Le Tombeau de Rachmaninov talk about their new work which commemorates the lost world of Rachmaninov

£27 | £20 | £14 (incl £2 fee*)

Noriko Ogawa is also leading a masterclass featuring French music at the RNCM Tuesday 21 April 7.30pm More details at www.rncm.ac.uk or 0161 907 5200

Noriko Ogawa

Wednesday 22 April 11.00am Barbirolli Room Jamie’s Concert Noriko Ogawa piano A concert for the parents and carers of children with autism and other learning disabilities. Noriko Ogawa created Jamie’s Concerts after lodging with Janice Mather and her son Jamie, who has severe autism. It became clear to Noriko that when Janice was calm Jamie was calmer too; and the seeds of Jamie’s Concerts were planted.

Carers are invited to stay and talk with others after the concert, with refreshments provided. Please book via Box Office, if you require further info please email learning@bridgewater-hall.co.uk.

‘I wanted to offer a brief respite for hardworking people devoted to their children. It is my hope that these concerts offer a little calm, a chance to regroup then go forward with renewed spirit and strength.’ Noriko Ogawa

£7 (incl £2 fee*)

Peter Donohoe

Thursday 23 April 1.10pm

Peter Donohoe piano Noriko Ogawa piano Ravel Sites Auriculaires Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances Ravel La Valse Our two featured artists combine in this piano duo recital which includes Ravel’s rarely heard Sites Auriculaires – with its Spanish rhythms and bell-like sonorities. Rachmaninov’s brilliant late orchestral score, his Symphonic Dances, reveals itself anew in its two-piano version, while Ravel’s La Valse dances with increasingly volcanic energies to its own destruction.

Presented by Manchester Mid-day Concerts Society in co-promotion with The Bridgewater Hall

£11.50 | £9.50 concessions | £7 students (incl £2 fee*) Sponsored by an anonymous donor

Friday 24 April 7.30pm

BBC Philharmonic Andrew Gourlay conductor Noriko Ogawa piano Martin Roscoe piano Kathryn Stott piano Peter Donohoe piano Ravel Piano Concerto in G (Ogawa); Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Roscoe) Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.4 (Stott); Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini (Donohoe) Join the ‘grand finale’ party with the BBC Philharmonic and four fabulous pianists playing sparkling virtuoso works. Ravel’s two concertos contrast the wit and mercurial invention of the G major with the sombre, brooding intensity of the Concerto for the Left Hand. Kathryn Stott plays Rachmaninov’s rarely heard Fourth Concerto which, like the Ravel pieces, shows jazz and neo-classical influences. Finally, Rachmaninov’s richly inventive variations on Paganini’s famous theme, which received its British premiere in Manchester performed by the composer in 1935, contains one of the most memorable of all melodies and ends with an enigmatic flourish.

Kathryn Stott

Martin Roscoe

Preview at 6.30pm: Noriko Ogawa & Peter Donohoe in conversation about Ravel & Rachmaninov Post-concert Divertimento: 1930s jazz

£40 | £33 | £27 | £22 | £14 (incl £2 fee*)

Andrew Gourlay

Booking Info Box Office opening hours** Monday to Saturday 10.00am – 6.00pm (8.00pm on concert nights) Sunday (concert nights only) 12.00 noon – 8.00pm. Closed on non-concert Sundays. ** As at February 2015. Mastercard, Visa, Maestro and Delta all welcome. * A booking fee of £2 per ticket applies to telephone and online transactions. Tickets bought in person at the Box Office using a debit card or credit card are subject to a 2% booking fee. No fee applies to tickets bought in person and paid for by cash or cheque, or to free ticketed events.

Box Office: 0161 907 9000

www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk

Getting to the Hall The Hall is in the centre of Manchester, easily accessible by public transport and by road.

The nearest car parks are Park Avenue, NCP Manchester Central, NCP Great Northern or NCP Oxford Street. You can book Park Avenue parking when you buy your concert tickets.

The Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3WS

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PARK AVENUE

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