RCM Keyboard Festival Programme 2025: Rituals & Dances

Page 1


RITUALS & DANCES

Step into a colourful world of flamboyance and festivity

Drop in on Sunday 2 March from 11am

Tickets available from the RCM Box Office or online

KEYBOARD FESTIVAL:

RITUALS AND DANCES

The RCM Keyboard Faculty invites you to step into a colourful world of flamboyance and festivity at this year’s Keyboard Festival, an extravaganza of music inspired by rituals and dances. We feature 60 students of a variety of nationalities, who will present works from around the world and through the ages, from the 16th century to the present day. We are thrilled that the whole day will also be livestreamed to our international audience online.

Dances and rituals of various forms have long been a source of rich inspiration for composers writing for keyboard instruments, and we are especially pleased today to be hosting the world premieres of two works by current RCM composers, written especially for the festival and in collaboration with the performers, alongside a wide range of familiar and lesser-known solo works, chamber music and song. The day culminates in an exciting relay-style performance, shared between 14 of our pianists, of Stravinsky’s own piano duet version of his iconic ballet, The Rite of Spring. There is something for all keyboard lovers here, and we look forward to showcasing the RCM’s magnificent Steinway concert grands, our harpsichord, and the Flentrop Orgelbouw organ.

Professor Vanessa Latarche

Chair of International Keyboard Studies and Head of Keyboard Associate Director for Partnerships in Asia

This event will be streamed live at www.rcm.ac.uk/live

The RCM Café will be open from 10.30am–6.30pm serving a range of sandwiches, snacks and beverages.

Rituals and Dances has been designed and curated by Richard Uttley and Dorian Leljak. Special thanks to the following people for their support in the organisation of the festival. Thank you everyone!

Chris Moulton Head of Keyboard Technical Services

Edmund Pickering Historical Performance Keyboard Technician

Alex Beattie Faculties Manager, International Partnerships Manager

Please turn off your mobile phone. Filming, recording and photography are not permitted without prior written permission.

The RCM films many events and by attending you consent to any photography or recording. See www.rcm.ac.uk/recordingpolicy for our Public Recording Policy.

Latecomers will not be allowed into the auditorium until a suitable break. In the interests of safety, sitting or standing on the steps or floors is strictly prohibited. Thank you for your co-operation. Programme details correct at time of going to print.

From 11am

Manuel de Falla (1876–1946)

Samuel Barber (1910–1981)

Ritual Fire Dance Maximilian Maisky

Souvenirs op 28 v Hesitation Tango

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) La Valse

Florence Price (1887–1953)

Anon, arr Herbert Hughes (1882–1937)

Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915)

William Denis Browne (1888–1915)

Yinghai Li (1927–2007)

Imogen Edwards

Steven Yeung

Dancing in the Canebrakes Sofio Khazaradze

I have a bonnet trimmed with blue

Waltz op 38

Ustinya Malinina mezzo soprano Kaishun Ypsilantis

Adrian Henke

To Gratiana Singing and Dancing Gyaan Bhuyan baritone Yiyao Li

Xiao and Drum at Sunset Lin Deng

From 12.15pm

Nikolai Medtner (1880–1951)

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)

Three Hymns in Praise of Toil op 49 no 3

Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante op 22

Mischa Carr

Yinglun Wong

Maurice Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin Yifan Ying

Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)

Tango Mariamna Sherling

Robert Schumann (1810–1856)

Imogen Holst (1907–1984)

Selection from Davidsbündlertanze op 6

Prelude and Dance

INTERVAL

From 2.15pm

Ryan Collis (b 2004)

Prose (world premiere by RCM composer)

Vardapet Komitas Six Dances for Piano no 1

Philip Glass (b 1937)

Nahre Sol (b 1991)

Sun Yi-Qiang (b 1945)

Etude no 6

Coucou Waltz and First Tango

Spring Dance

Héloïse Werner (b 1991) an inviting object

Billy Mayerl (1902–1959)

Zhao Zhang (b 1964)

Cheryl Frances Hoad (b 1980)

Manuel de Falla

Phil the Fluter’s Ball

Numa Ame

Lullaby (after Schubert)

Seite canciones populars espanolas iii Asturiana

Yiwei Deng

Huan Zhang

Xiangye Yuan

Phoebe Liu

Thomas Luke

Siyu Chen

Zhengyang Yao

Milton

Xuanxin Chen

Mingzhe Chen

Yihan Wang soprano Mingxian Li

Nico Varela
Joshua

Kenneth V Jones (1924–2020)

Igor Stravinsky

From 3.30pm

Joseph-NicolasPancrace Royer (1703–1755)

William Byrd (1543–1623)

JS Bach (1685–1750)

Piano Sonata iii Rondo Burlesca

Three Movements from Petrushka i Danse russe

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–1667)

La marche des Scythes

The Second Pavian and Galliarde from My Ladye Nevell’s Book

French Suite no 5 BWV816 Allemande Courante

Suite in D minor i Almand ii Corant iii Saraband iv Gigue

William Byrd Pavan and Galliard

Yannis Constantinidis (1903–1984)

Andrew Cowie (b 2000)

Jean Henri d’Anglebert (1629–1691)

Margot Pommellet (b 2001)

Eight Greek Island Dances Dances 1, 4, 5, 8

Prélude improvisé

Tombeau de Monsieur de Chambonnières

Irena Radić

Cycles of seven ‘Famadihana’ (world premiere by RCM composer)

Matthew McLachlan

Paul Mnatsakanov harpsichord

Mian Jin harpsichord

Veronica Man harpsichord

Markus Sadler harpsichord

Sofia Berdnik harpsichord

Evelina Antemisari

Andrew Cowie harpsichord

Zheou Wang

Giovanni Picchi (1571–1643)

Karen Tanaka (b 1961)

From 4.30pm

Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706)

Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937)

Karen Tanaka

François Couperin (1668–1733)

César Franck (1822–1890)

Prach Boondiskulchok (b 1985)

From the Balli d’Arpicordo (volume 2)

Pass’e mezzo

Saltarello del Pass’e mezzo

Techno Etudes: ii

Guy Bovet (b 1942)

Ciacona in F minor

Hungarian Rhapsody no 15 (The Rakoczy March)

Mazurkas op 50 nos 1 and 2

Techno Etudes: iii

Plein jeu; Récit de cornet; Récit de tierce en taille (Messe pour les couvents)

Choral no 2 in B minor Passacaglia & Chorale

Piano Trio no 1: Night Suite i Prelude ii Blues iii Lullaby

Hamburger Totentanz

Ceci Keiffer harpsichord

Vivianna Shmanova Pearson

Ruihan Bao-Smith organ

Marcell Vajda

Paul Mnatsakanov

Moyang Tian

Alexander Wilton organ

James Todd organ

Josh Shuyang Jia violin

Kesara Bunayamongkol cello

Isanan Chotirosniramit piano

Robert Carver-Escritt organ

Igor Stravinsky Rite of Spring (four hands)

Part 1: Adoration of the Earth

I Introduction Knox Oakey and Markus Sadler

II Augurs of Spring

III Ritual of Abduction

IV Spring Rounds

V Ritual of the Rival Tribes – Procession of the Sage

VI The Sage – Dance of the Earth

Part 2: The Sacrifice

I Introduction

II Mystic Circles of the Young Girls

III Glorification of the Chosen One

IV Evocation of the Ancestors –Ritual Action of the Ancestors

V Sacrificial Dance

Ho Ming So and Ruiqi Fang

Jack Wong and Steven Yeung

Sofia Berdnik and Alicja Kojder

Teodora Stanković and Claire Dowdell

Josh Milton and Nico Varela

Alexander Doronin and Jiaxin Min

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Share your thoughts on the performance – tag @RCMLondon on X and Instagram using #RCMKeyboardFest

Stay up to date and follow us on social media

@RCMLondon

royalcollegeofmusic

@RCMLondon

@RCMLondon

@rcmlondon.bsky.social

RCM MUSEUM

While you’re here, don’t miss the chance to visit the Royal College of Music’s spectacular Museum collections, home to the earliest stringed keyboard instrument and an array of other unique and inspiring musical artefacts.

RCM Museum is open 11am–6pm

www.rcm.ac.uk/events

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.