The editing of my latest recording is now finished. It features some recent piano compositions, including Children’s Kaleidoscope, a short cycle in four pieces that was written for my daughter Cosima’s 4th birthday. I’d be most delighted if you could spare a couple of minutes to listen to some excerpts, such as this one: Being First, a little invention for piano, with its two voices chasing after each other. — Also, the typesetting of my complaisant woodwind quintet named Symphonic Scene is finally completed. The score is available here.
New Medtner Newsletter
I have started a Medtner newsletter. The idea is to send information and updates on events, publications, recent recordings, and other developments related to Nikolai Medtner—to be issued from time to time, presumably 2–3 numbers per year. Let me know if you want to subscribe. I will also be grateful if you provided me with information to include in the following issues!
St Petersburg Medtner Competition
The First International Nikolai Karlovich Medtner Competition will be held at the end of November 2016 in St Petersburg, organised by Nota Bene Association. The competition is open for pianists, vocalists and musicological research and review in English or Russian language. Applications are accepted until 15 October. The submission guidelines can be found here; they didn’t announce them in translation for whatever reason, but I was told that contributions in English are welcome.
Update November 2016: The competition’s musicological research and review section was cancelled due to an insufficient number of contributions. This fact was communicated only upon request.
Eckardstein and Gurdal Piano Recital
Life is so full of contrasts. Only two days after appearing as a jury member in the OneBeat SampleSlam at Kantine am Berghain, gladly evaluating some amazing productions of electronic music, I was lucky enough to witness another outstanding Medtner experience today. Severin von Eckardstein and Michèle Gurdal were playing his 3rd Piano Concerto at Piano Salon Christophori, leaving me completely stunned. Apart from enjoying one of the very rare occasions to hear this piece performed live, it has been an overwhelming encounter with intelligent, emotional, and simply breathtaking musicianship. Besides, eavesdropping on what people chat after listening to what they consider to be just another late-Romantic virtuoso concerto makes me feel even more grateful to belong to a curious species—a company of some assorted, enlightened, and inaugurated bastards acquainted with Nikolai Karlovich Medtner‘s music. Thank you for an unforgettable evening!
Digitalisation Symposium in Detmold
Feels good to be back in Detmold again. Taking part in a symposium on digitalisation routines in teaching, performance, and research at music universities. Glad to be here, and looking forward to meeting some old Detmoldian acquaintances tomorrow!