Onwards and Upwards News: March 2014
Ji Liu: #1 Classical Music Bestseller
James Baillieu signs with Askonas Holt We are thrilled to announce that pianist James Baillieu has moved onto management with Askonas Holt. James recently performed a Mozart concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall and frequently records for BBC Radio 3.
Multiple Successes for Clarinetist and Composer Mark Simpson Upon his return from Banff in Canada, where he spent time composing, the Borletti-Buitoni Trust awarded Mark Simpson a Fellowship toward his work as an outstanding young composer and performer. His new work ‘Geysir’ was premiered earlier this month by Britten Sinfonia.
Michael Petrov to Perform Walton Cello Concerto in June On 22 June, cellist Michael Petrov takes centre stage to perform Walton’s Cello Concerto with the Barbican Young Orchestra, and Ed Gardner conducting. Michael will also compete for the Guildhall School’s Gold Medal in May.
Philip Higham, Bartosz Woroch, Heath Quartet travel to Washington D.C. — Heath Quartet Make Carnegie Hall Debut
On 27 January, Ji Liu released his first album through the Classic FM label and we are thrilled that his CD shot to #1 on both Amazon’s Classical Instrumental Bestseller list, as well as #1 on the UK’s Official Charts for Classical Music. The CD includes Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Chopin Nocturnes, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and music by Liszt, Schubert, Debussy, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky. Pick up your very own copy through Amazon.
The Heath Quartet, violinist Bartosz Woroch, and cellist Philip Higham have each been invited to perform recitals in the intimate setting of the Phillips Collection. Opened in 1921, the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. is ‘America’s First Museum of Modern Art’, and is home to works by Rothko, Renoir, Bonnard, and O’Keeffe, among other great artists. In addition to his recital, the Heath Quartet will also perform in New York City for their Carnegie Hall debut in the Weill Recital Hall.
Violinist Bartosz Woroch steps out of the practice room in London and into the rejuvenating waters off the coast of Malaysia. A real adventure-seeker, he learned to scuba dive there, and said one of his favourite experiences was looking up and listening to a downpour of rain from just beneath the water’s surface.
Listening In: Richard Uttley Pianist Richard Uttley recently performed at Music for Galway and while there, he was asked to answer some questions on a Proust Questionnaire, a list of questions that Marcel Proust developed in the late 19th century to provide insight into one’s personality. Rick took the challenge. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Having interesting things to do and the time to do them well. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Beethoven. He liked his coffee strong. On what occasion do you lie? Here's a riddle for you: I always lie… Which is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Thinking too much. That's the good and the bad of me. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Making a career for myself in the year or so after finishing studying. I had relatively little money and it's tough to break through as a classical musician in that situation. What is your greatest extravagance? Coffee machine at home. When and where were you happiest? In piano lessons, aged 12. Which talent would you most like to have? Photographic memory. Which living person do you most admire? Musically, András Schiff. Otherwise, Jo Brand. I don't think they appear on the same bill very often though, sadly. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be? A pet cat. You can get away with murder and still be adored. What is your most treasured possession? I'm not so into worldly possessions - think of me as a monk, with an iPad. What is the quality you most like in a man? Integrity and humour. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Integrity and humour. What is your motto? Better late in this life than early in the next. (Unless you're being reincarnated as a cat.)
Rolf is currently mentoring Richard Uttley as part of the RPS/YCAT Philip Langridge Mentoring scheme. In January they performed Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at the Galway Festival, and during 2014 they are also part of a New Music Biennial project commissioned by the RPS involving film and music, which will be featured live in Glasgow and London as part of the Commonwealth Games. Violinist Ben Baker reunited with Nigel Kennedy, whom he first met as a young child, saying, “It was the first time I had spoken to [Nigel] since I played to/with him (we played the first movement of Bach double together in his dressing room) when I was 7, and he recommended that I apply to the Menuhin School which was the spark that brought me over to the UK in the first place!” YCAT Somerset House, West Wing Strand London WC2R 1LA 020 7379 8477 / info@ycat.co.uk