Success for Savitri in Inaugural Concerto Competition

February 10th, 2012

Nineteen year old violinist Savitri Grier is the winner of the first Concerto Competition organised by Oxford Philomusica and Oxfordshire County Council Music Service.  The final took place last Saturday at the Sheldonian Theatre in front of an audience which included the The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, The Mayor of Banbury, The Mayor of Bicester, The Mayor of Carterton, the Chairman of Oxfordshire County Council and officials from the County Music Service and County and City Councils plus members of the public, who managed to reach the event despite the heavy snowfall that afternoon.  Each of the three candidates playing a complete concerto of their choice with Oxford Philomusica conducted by John Traill.

Savitri beat off strong competition from Emanuel Bach (2nd prize winner) and Osman Tack (3rd prize) to secure a cash award of £1000 plus an invitation to play a concerto with Oxford Philomusica in their next Sheldonian Series.  Both runners up received £300 plus £250 worth of Oxford Philomusica concert tickets, and all three were presented with their prizes by Mr David Shirley, who had generously supported the competition by contributing to the prizes.

The panel of distinguished judges – Marios Papadopoulos, the director of Oxford Philomusica and an acclaimed international pianist; Tony Mealings, the Head of Oxfordshire County Music Service; the violinist and BBC Young Musician of the Year winner, Jennifer Pike; conductor John Traill; and flautist, teacher and conductor Caroline Hobbs-Smith – were generous in their praise of all three finalists, but unanimous in awarding the first prize to Savitri.

Marios Papadopoulos commented ‘Savitri Grier played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major which, in many ways, was a brave choice as it’s such a well known piece and all the judges would have heard great soloists play it, but we loved her performance.  It was quite superb, and I have no hesitation in inviting Savitri to play with the Oxford Philomusica in our next series’.

Savitri Grier (19) took up her first violin aged 4, and then attended the Junior Royal Academy of Music for 10 years. She has already performed at Wembley Arena and the Barbican, and will make her Royal Albert Hall debut in May.  She is currently reading Music at Christ Church.

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Oxford Philomusica on BBC Radio 4

December 29th, 2011

BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on Thursday 29 December 2011 was guest-edited by Oxford Philomusica’s Vice President Sir Victor Blank and featured an item about the orchestra in the context of ‘Altruism in the arts’.

BBC Radio Four stated “Today’s guest editor Sir Victor Blank also believes in philanthropy and is a strong supporter of the Oxford Philomusica orchestra, long independent of regular government funding, and sees it as a model to follow.” Music Director Marios Papadopoulos and Concert Master Natalia Lomeiko explained why the orchestra relies on sponsors and donors to survive, and Oxford Philomusica supporters Sir Anthony and Lady Kenny and Sue Ashtiany described how they feel that more can be done by individuals to support the Arts in the UK. Their comments were complemented by excerpts from Oxford Philomusica’s recent performance of Handel’s Messiah with New College Choir.

Listen to the full discussion here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9669000/9669052.stm

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OXFORD TIMES REVIEW: Andràs Schiff at the Sheldonian Theatre

December 16th, 2011

Legendary Hungarian musician Andràs Schiff did some impressive multi-tasking on Saturday night, giving regular conductor Marios Papadopoulos a night off as he took on the mantles of both piano soloist and conductor. In the opening piece, Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D, he combined both functions, and there was a noticeable rapport between him and the orchestra in an exhilarating realisation of this sunniest of concertos. Right from the bright, cheery orchestral introduction, this was a positive and upbeat performance. Schiff‘s solo lines were imbued with authority and technical agility, and he raised gentle chuckles from the audience with his chirpy interpretation of the playful first movement. But there were some contrastingly meditative moments in the sublime Adagio, too, before the energy and zest returned for the dance-like and ultimately dazzling finale.

That same energy spilled over into the Symphony No.104, the ‘London’, combined with a strong sense of purpose. This time Schiff was entirely in conductor mode, his minimalist style of directing appearing deceptively laid-back but in reality drawing a fine range of moods and dynamics from the players in a work that is by turns spirited, bold, lyrical and contemplative, before resolving into a boisterous Allegro spiritoso.

And so to the highlight of the evening — Haydn’s glorious Nelson Mass. This was a thrilling, exuberant performance, in which every number was a pure joy to hear. Among the soloists, soprano Susanna Hurrell was particularly impressive, negotiating the tricky solo line in the Kyrie with ease, and delivering an exquisite Et incarnatus est. But there were strong contributions, too, from mezzo Catherine King and tenor Nicholas Mulroy, and a powerful Qui tollis from Mark Stone. But the real stars, for me, were the choirs of Christ Church Cathedral and Worcester College, particularly the youngsters from Christ Church Cathedral School, who sang angelically and with exceptional poise and maturity.

- Nicola Lisle

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OXFORD TIMES REVIEW: Oxford Philomusica and Hélène Grimaud

November 25th, 2011

Pianist Hélène Grimaud (pictured) is one of those high-powered musicians who commands attention the minute she appears. There’s no messing about with minute adjustments to piano stools — she just sits down and zips into action. You get the feeling that her whole approach to music making is powerfully self-controlled.

The Schumann piano concerto suits her well. First performed by Schumann’s wife Clara, Grimaud’s performance strongly implied that the concerto was written primarily to showcase Clara’s very considerable technical skills. Grimaud adopted a bright, fiery tone, and very much led from the front — wisely conductor Marios Papadopoulos kept a sharp eye on Grimaud’s hands as he conducted the accompanying Oxford Philomusica orchestra, for it always seemed possible that her energetic technical assurance, and risk-taking approach might lead her to suddenly speed up even further. In contrast, the middle movement was more relaxed, and there was a nice lilt to the finale. This was a bravura performance, albeit not one that displayed much warmth.

The Philomusica began the concert with Rossini’s overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers. Papadopoulos kept the tempo up and the sound light-footed, no mean achievement with a much larger orchestra than normally used for Rossini in an opera house nowadays. There were some sparkling touches from the woodwind soloists.

Meanwhile the Philomusica’s strings got their chance to shine in the concert’s final work, Brahms’s Symphony No 1. Not everyone agrees with me I know, but I was again impressed by the unified string sound the Philomusica now delivers: tight, impassioned playing is vital in Brahms, and the composer was well served here. Also memorable were the second movement violin and horn duet (given a definitely romantic feel), and the solemn trombone chorale in the finale, here all the better for being taken quite slowly. Papadopoulos conducted with a strong sense of the work’s musical architecture, and brought the performance to a really exhilarating conclusion.

- Giles Woodforde

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a piano!

November 22nd, 2011

Currently the Oxford Philomusica office is in the middle of having a makeover; new computers, a new board room with a nice new large wide-screen TV (purely for work purposes), clever James Bond-esque gadgets to bring the whole office into the 21st Century. Whilst working in the office we are regularly treated to the joy of hearing Marios’ piano playing wafting up from his room below, so imagine our surprise when, one rainy Monday morning we entered the office and were treated to the noise of the piano coming from above our heads.

Over the weekend Marios watched in amazement (and presumably with a sense of impending doom) as his beloved Steinway grand piano was hoisted roughly 26ft into the air and slowly manoeuvred into the top room of the three story building. Now as we work away we are merrily accompanied by much clearer renditions of Beethoven, Bach, Chopin and other glorious works from Marios’ melodic fingers.

- Michael

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FUNomusica Concert: The World at your Feet

November 1st, 2011

Despite being a percussionist who has a massive interest in world percussion and world music, there are currently very few occasions where I turn up to a venue at 9:30 in the morning to be presented with 3 congas, a couple of marching drums and a large Brazilian bass drum. However, the morning of Sunday 23rd October was to be a memorable exception. Oxford Philomusica’s 6th FUNomusica concert, The World at Your Feet, was quickly shaping up to be yet another fantastic event as Alasdair Malloy and the staff of Oxford Phil began unpacking and setting up the various treats and activities that were in store for the children.

Armed with passports, head-dresses, painted faces and hand-made streamers made during the pre-concert activity session, the children were well equipped to face the giant battle-dressed Scotsman that stood before them, who was armed with a full orchestra ready to take them on a journey around the world. Postcards had been sent home informing parents of their child’s recent decision to travel the globe, different cultures’ clothing styles had been identified, and everyone had learnt to say hello in several languages. Time to head off.

Alasdair took his captive audience on a journey around the world with a mixture of traditional and original music, filled with laughter and dancing. No man, woman, child or even Grandparent was able to escape the hypnotic gyration of Alasdair’s legs as he persuaded the various members of the audience to join him in a series of traditional dances, whizzing us off to country after country. The concert ended in typical FUNomusica fashion with a huge conga line around the hall, and after the famous Can-Can dance as an encore it was finally time to catch the last raft home. We look forward to seeing you all again on the 22nd of April where we shall kick off the bright colours of our exploration outfits and don space suits as Alasdair takes us beyond the realms of this planet and on to an Intergalactic Adventure.

- Michael

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STAFF UPDATE: Michael Ford

October 19th, 2011

Good morning, afternoon, evening, day or night. My name is Michael and I have just joined the Oxford Philomusica staff as an Intern for the next few months to help in the library and around the office. Whilst here I’ll be doing a lot of computer programming, posting and preparing music for the concerts, so hopefully I’ll be able to get a look into every area. I have been working here for nearly two months now and have already learnt so much and had some great experiences, most notably the performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio. I look forward to meeting you all at the concerts.

I have just graduated from Huddersfield University having studied composition and music technology and have now taken this job in order to gain experience in the running of an orchestra, before hopefully moving onto a PhD back at Huddersfield (fingers crossed). My main ambitions are to become a film composer, working in classical, popular and world music. I’m hoping to do a PhD in the use (and inaccuracies) of asian music in western films and would ultimately like to be able to write music for any film scenario from whatever part of the world.

As a performer I play piano, guitar and bass guitar and the drums, and am an orchestral percussionist who works in world percussion. My loves include large cups of tea in big blue mugs depicting Tigger, the ultimate culinary combination of bacon and cheese, the genius of Ludvig van Beethoven, the creativity of Trent Reznor, the complexity of Igor Stravinsky and the brilliance of Depeche Mode. My fears include Heights, Dogs and Jazz and I have constant nightmares of standing at the top of a tall tower looking down at a dog with sunglasses and a saxophone. My drink of choice is a gentle scotch and I am a big fan of the 19th century.

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STAFF UPDATE: Sam Weatherstone

October 17th, 2011

As one of the Administration Assistants here at Oxford Philomusica, I am finding this a hugely enjoyable first job. Not only do I have to ensure that all the other departments within OP are supported through assistance with any admin task they may have, but I also have an exciting research element to my job. Drawing up budgets, researching and co-ordinating with some artists and even offering suggestions of what programmes may be sellable all gives an edge to this job. I enjoy it thoroughly!

Having just graduated from the University of York last summer, I have relocated to London where I am pursuing a career in the arts, with the ultimate aim of being a performer. I regularly sing at the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields as a choral scholar and at the moment I deputise at a number of sacred institutions such as Queens College, Oxford and St Paul’s, Knightsbridge. As well as an active performer I have set up a Limited Company with the aim of putting on, initially, early music concerts featuring young graduates out of university coupled with seasoned performers to give an exciting and professional sound. The first concert is at St Georges Hanover Square in May and the second in the same month in the Holywell Music Room, Oxford (notice the shameful plug!).

I very much look forward to using my experiences and skills I have developed here in any future career I choose.

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Royal Visit – Princess Alexandra

October 11th, 2011

On 18 September Oxford Philomusica were honoured to welcome HRH Princess Alexandra to the Sheldonian Theatre as guest of honour at a performance of Haydn’s Creation with New College Choir, conducted by Edward Higginbottom.

The Princess has many musical interests and is Patron of, among other organisations, English National Opera, the London Philharmonic Choir and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

The Princess was formally welcomed by Lady North, Deputy Lieutenant for Oxfordshire, the University Registrar Ewan McKendrick, and by Oxford Philomusica Trustees Professor Michael Earl and Sir Ronald Grierson, whose 90th birthday we took the opportunity to celebrate. An array of eminent guests had the chance to meet the Princess at a post-concert reception in the nearby Divinity School, next to the Bodleian library, the oldest surviving purpose-built building for university use. The concert was conceived as part of the Oxford University Alumni weekend, and we were pleased that so many old friends returning to Oxford took the opportunity to attend as part of the audience.

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Sustain

September 13th, 2011

It was a fantastic week at this year’s Philomusica Piano Festival. A week that I particularly look forward to every year, as it gives me the chance to acquaint myself with the young talent emerging from our conservatoires and from amongst the most gifted around the world. There were certainly no let downs: the standard of participating students was extremely high.

Despite the flair and innate musicality shown by all of them, there is one aspect of music-making that often disappoints me and one that our conservatoires need to address urgently; that is the inability of pianists, or other instrumentalists for that matter, toplay a real legato and to sustain. I often hear teachers or conductors demand, sometimes obsessively, that the music flows. Slow tempi are often regarded as preventing the flow of the music. How wrong! Instead of encouraging our musicians to “move along”, we should be encouraging them to learn to sustain and maintain the flow of the musical line by truly connecting one note to the other.

My philosophy is a simple one: it doesn’t matter how slow a piece is played so long as the musical line is sustained; conversely, it doesn’t matter how fast a work is being played, so long as the musical lines breathe. If one note does not connect to another, in real legato, it doesn’t matter how far you push the tempo, it willstill sound slow and disjointed. If notes are sustained and relate to each other, it doesn’t matter how slow you play, the musical line will still have a flow about it and move along. Of course, there comes a time when theline is stretched too far and loses its “elasticity”. A great artist will listen carefully to how far a note can be sustained, particularly on the piano, before releasing it to introduce the next.

A real Adagio in Beethoven, for instance, cannot be hurried. We must create that wonderful sense of timelessness wheneverything stands still. To try to instil a sense of movement by hurrying along would be to rob the musical line of its inner strength and ability to stir the emotions to the full. Listen to the great German orchestras under legendaryconductors such as Karajan and Barenboim play Lenore No. 3 and listen how the opening is beautifully sustained at the slowest of tempi, creating enormouspower while producing the most majestic of phrases. More thoughts on interpretation from me to follow.

- Marios Papadopoulos

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