David Hammond: Yorkshire Airs and A Cuckoo In Spring
YORK Late Music presents pianist David Hammond’s Yorkshire Airs and A Cuckoo In Spring concert at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today at 1pm.
Hammond continues his exploration of composers with a Yorkshire connection in an afternoon programme of Richard Stoker’s Zodiac Variations; Frederick Delius’s On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring; William Baines’s Goodnight To Flamboro’; Sadie Harrison’s tribute to Baines, 3 Portraits Of William Baines from Shadows; Catherine Holbrook’s Flamborough Sea Cave; Samuel Mather’s Yorkshire Airs and the premiere of new works by Hammond and Elin Alaw.
Pianist Jakob Fichert leads off tomorrow’s brace of York Late Music concerts with his 1pm programme curated by composer and University of York alumnus Tom Armstrong in a tapestry of variations: four discreet panels threading together variation works from the 19th to the 21st centuries.
Jakob Fichert:Concert and talk
James Else’s A Stolen Moment will be followed by Franz Liszt’s Au Bord d’une Source; Variation Tapestry I: a solo piano collage curated by Tom Armstrong; Panel 1, Aaron Copland, Variations/Tom Armstrong, Dance Maze: Variations, and Panel 2, Georg Von Albrecht, Piano Sonata in C Minor (2nd movement Adagio)/Ronald Stevenson, Passacaglia on DSCH (Tempo di Valse and Lento Lamentoso).
Panel 3 comprises Robert Schumann’s Etudes, in the form of free variations on a theme of Beethoven, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major (2nd movement Allegretto), transcribed by Franz Liszt.
The concluding Panel 4 features Bela Bartók’s Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs ( 3 and 8) and Kenneth Leighton’s Nine Variations (2 and 4).
Ian Pace: The Beethoven Project continues with Symphony No. 6 (transcribed by Franz Liszt)
At 7.30pm tomorrow, pianist Ian Pace continues The Beethoven Project’s exploration of Beethoven’s nine symphonies (transcribed by Franz Liszt) with his iconic Pastoral Symphony No.6, complemented by Michael Finnissy’s English Country Tunes (movements 1-3) and Beethoven’s Six Goethe-Lieder (transcribed by Franz Liszt).
Three new musical tributes by York Late Music administrator Steve Crowther will be premiered too: Rock With Stock, A Study In Glass and Louis’ Angry Blues. Jakob Fichert gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm with a complimentary glass of wine or juice.
Tickets are on sale at latemusic.org or on the door.
Kiki Dee & Carmelo Ruggeri: Heading to All Saints Church, Pocklington on The Long Ride Home tour
FOUR nights of Greg Davies and tenth visit of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers are the headline acts in Charles Hutchinson’s bill for cultural satisfaction.
Acoustic duo of the week: Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri, All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight, 7.30pm
JOIN Bradford-born singer Kiki Dee and guitarist Carmelo Luggeri for an acoustic journey through their songs and stories, taking in songs from 2022 album The Long Ride Home, Kate Bush and Frank Sinatra covers and hits from Kiki’s 55 years and more in the music business, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Star, I Got The Music In Me, Loving & Free and Amoureuse. Box office: kikiandcarmelo.com.
Brighouse & Rastrick Band: A blast of brass on Sunday afternoon at Pocklington Arts Centre
Brass concert of the week: Brighouse & Rastrick Band, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 2pm
FOREVER associated with 1977 number two hit and “unofficial encore” The Floral Dance, West Yorkshire’s Brighouse & Rastrick Band presents a concert suitable for casual listener and connoisseur alike.
The majority of premier band championships have been held by ‘Briggus’, most recently becoming the 2022 British Open and Brass in Concert champions. ‘Briggus’ are noted too for collaborations outside the brass band tradition, from the late Terry Wogan to Kate Rusby, classical actor Simon Callow to The Unthanks at York Minster in 2012. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Tom Holland: Hailing Caesars at Grand Opera House, York
History lesson of the week: Tom Holland, The Lives Of The Caesars, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
THE Rest Is History podcaster and storyteller Tom Holland journeys back to the Roman empire to “get up close and personal” with Caesar, Augustus, Caligula and Nero as he spotlights the lives of the first 12 Roman emperors in conversation with Martha Kearney.
In this supreme arena, emperors had no choice but to fight, to thrill, to dazzle, as highlighted in Holland’s new Penguin Classics translation of Suetonius’s Lives Of The Twelve Caesars. Expect revelations of the emperors’ shortfalls, sex scandals, tastes, foibles and eccentricities. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Vivienne Carlyle’s Mrs Johnstone and Sean Jones’s Mickey in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Jack Merriman
Musical of the week: Blood Brothers, Grand Opera House, York, April 1 to 5, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
WILLY Russell’s Liverpool musical makes its tenth visit to the Grand Opera House, and despite Sean Jones’s appearance in the 2022 tour being billed as his “last ever” after 23 years on and off as Mrs Johnstone’s son Mickey, here he is once more, still “running around as a seven-year-old in a baggy green jumper and short trousers” at 54.
Scottish actress Vivienne Carlyle, who played Mrs Lyons on her previous Blood Brothers visit to York, takes the role of Mrs J in Russell’s moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on the opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Curiouser and curiouser: Pick Me Up Theatre in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
Play of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 1 to 5,7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday
ANDREW Isherwood directs York company Pick Me Up Theatre in Simon Stephens’s stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s story of Christopher Boone (Jonathan Wells), a 15-year-old boy with an extraordinary brain Exceptionally gifted at Maths, he finds everyday life and interaction with other people very confusing.
Christopher has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, hates being touched and deeply distrusts strangers, but everything changes when he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbour’s dog, propelling him on a journey of self-discovery that upturns his world. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Greg Davies: Milking it in his Full Fat Legend stand-up show
Comedy gigs of the week: Greg Davies: Full Fat Legend, York Barbican, April 2 to 5,
TOWERING comedian Greg Davies plays York Barbican for a full-fat four nights on his Full Fat Legend Tour, his first on British soil for seven years.
The 6ft 8 inch star of Taskmaster, The Inbetweeners, The Cleaner, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Man Down and Cuckoo is undertaking his biggest stand-up tour to date. He last played York Barbican on November 1 and 2 2017 on his You Magnificent Beast tour, his first travels for four years. Tickets update: Sold out; for returns only, go to yorkbarbican.co.uk. Davies’s Hull Connexin Live shows on June 3 and 4 and at Leeds First Direct Arena on June 20 are sold out too.
Daniel Wilmot’s Count Dracula in Baron Productions’ Dracula at St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York
High stakes of the week: Baron Productions in Dracula, St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York, April 3 to 5, 7.30pm
FOUNDER and director Daniel Wilmot makes it Count when starring as the mysterious Dracula in York company Baron Productions’ account of Bram Stoker’s Gothic masterpiece in one of York’s most atmospheric churches.
When Jonathan Harker (Jack McAdam) embarks on a business trip to Count Dracula’s Transylvanian castle, little does he know the terror that awaits him. Guided by the wise Professor Van Helsing (Lee Gemmell), a courageous group must gamble their lives, even their very souls, to stop Dracula’s evil plans to enslave the world. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/baron-productions.
Pianist Ian Pace
Classical concert of the week: York Late Music presents The Beethoven Project: Ian Pace, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, April 5, 7.30pm
IN the second of The Beethoven Project concerts for York Late Music, pianist Ian Pace continues his exploration of Beethoven’s nine symphonies (transcribed by Franz Liszt) with his iconic Pastoral Symphony No. 6.
The programme also includes Michael Finnissy’s English Country Tunes (1-3), Beethoven’s Six Goethe-Lieder (transcribed by Liszt) and a new work of three musical tributes by Steve Crowther, Rock With Stock, A Study In Glass and Louis’ Angry Blues. Box office: latemusic.org/product/ian-pace-concert-tickets/ or on the door.
The poster for the new additions to Lightning Seeds’ Tomorrow’s Here Today 35 Years Greatest Hits Tour
Gig announcement of the week: Lightning Seeds, Tomorrow’s Here Today 35 Years Greatest Hits Tour, York Barbican, October 9, doors 7pm
LIVERPOOL singer, songwriter and producer Ian Broudie is extending Lightning Seeds’ 35th anniversary tour with 11 more dates this autumn. Here come Pure, The Life Of Riley, Change, Lucky You, Sense, All I Want, Sugar Coated Iceberg, You Showed Me, Emily Smiles, Three Lions and many more from his 20-track Tomorrow’s Here Today: 35 Years Of Lightning Seeds compilation album. This summer, Lightning Seeds will support York band Shed Seven at Millennium Square, Leeds, on July 11. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Our Star Theatre Company’s tour poster for Hannay Stands Fast
In Focus: Our Star Theatre Company in Hannay Stands Fast, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York
OUR Star Theatre Company cut a dash at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on Thursday and Friday in Hannay Stands Fast, the sequel to The 39 Steps.
Adapted by David Edgar from John Buchan’s novel, this rip-roaring comedy finds dashing hero Richard Hannay back in the fray on a mission to thwart a new and deadly threat to his beloved England.
Engaged on this top-secret case by MI5, Hannay makes his way down to Cornwall to infiltrate a secretive organisation and learn their dastardly plans. Can he save the day to keep the nation safe for another day? Cue derring-do, utter chaos and laughs aplenty in a show replete with a train, motorbike, ambulance, car, police vehicle, even a horse.
“Like for our production of The 39 Steps, Hannay Stands Fast is taken on by four actors playing dozens of characters – 53 to be precise! – set in various locations created through quick and innovative uses of trunks, crates, suitcases, ladders, you name it!” says director Ben Mowbray, who founded the Ledbury, Herefordshire company in 2016.
Our Star Theatre Company are visiting York on the debut UK tour of the British professional premiere of Hannay Stands Fast with a cast of George Cooper as Hannay and Angharad Mortimer in her company debut as Mary Lambington (and others), joined by the multi-role-playing Daniel Davies and Mowbray as First and Second Clown.
Our Star Theatre Company in Hannay Stands Fast, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 3 and 4, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
IN the second of The Beethoven Project concerts for York Late Music, pianist Ian Pace continues his exploration of Beethoven’s nine symphonies (transcribed by Franz Liszt) with his iconic Pastoral Symphony No. 6 on April 5.
The 7.30pm programme at York Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, also includes Michael Finnissy’s English Country Tunes (1-3), Beethoven’s Six Goethe-Lieder (transcribed by Franz Liszt) and a new work of three musical tributes by Steve Crowther, Rock With Stock, A Study In Glass and Louis’ Angry Blues.
In 2024, Pace and York Late Music administrator and composer Crowther devised The Beethoven Project series of piano recitals based on the Beethoven symphonies transcribed by Liszt.
“The inaugural concert took place on November 4 2024 as part of the York Late Music concert series,” recalls Steve. “The programme included a dazzling performance of my Piano Sonata No.4 and Michael Finnissy’s transcriptions of songs by George Gershwin and Jerome Kern. But what transformed the concert into an event was Ian’s stunning performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The audience was enthralled by the energy and brilliance of the performance.
“CharlesHutchPress music critic Martin Dreyer said: ‘Liszt’s version of Beethoven’s Fifth is masterly, seemingly leaving nothing out and taxing the pianist to the very limit. But Pace was equal to his every demand’.”
Tomorrow, the second Beethoven Project concert will focus on the beloved and highly esteemed Symphony No. 6, known as the Pastoral Symphony. “Franz Liszt transcribed all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies for solo piano,” says Steve. “Published in 1865 and dedicated to Hans von Bülow, these transcriptions stand as an extraordinary feat of both virtuosity and musical insight.
“They are regarded as some of the most monumental and challenging works in the piano repertoire, not only for their technical demands but also for Liszt’s remarkable ability to faithfully capture the essence of Beethoven’s orchestral writing on a single instrument.
“However, Liszt didn’t transcribe the symphonies solely to showcase his impressive skills. At a time when orchestral performances weren’t widely accessible, these piano versions enabled people to experience Beethoven’s symphonies in intimate settings such as salons and homes. Provided the pianist possesses the necessary technical proficiency.”
In an interview in 1988, the great pianist Vladimir Horowitz said: “I deeply regret never having played Liszt’s arrangements of the Beethoven symphonies in public – these are the greatest works for the piano – tremendous works – every note of the symphonies is in the Liszt works.”
Steve continues: “Liszt would not only provide the pianist with a list of the orchestral instruments to imitate but also include pedal marks and fingerings to enhance the pianist’s clarity.
“Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony stands out as his most Romantic symphony. The composer draws inspiration from non-musical sources, using vivid images and descriptions to create a unique and captivating musical narrative.
“Beethoven subtitled it ‘Recollections of Country Life’, and it’s full of nature-inspired imagery — flowing brooks, birdsong, thunderstorms and joyful gatherings.”
I. Allegro ma non troppo – Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the countryside
II. Andante molto mosso – Scene by the brook
III. Allegro – Merry gathering of country folk
IV. Allegro – Thunderstorm
V. Allegretto – Shepherd’s Song; cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm
“Remarkably, Liszt meticulously preserved all of that in the piano transcription,” highlights Steve:
**Textures** – He faithfully replicates Beethoven’s orchestral textures using layers of arpeggios, tremolos and precise voicing.
**Bird Calls** – In the second movement, Liszt retains the flute, oboe and clarinet imitations of nightingale, quail, and cuckoo, employing delicate articulation and clear spacing.
**Storm Scene** – The fourth movement transforms into a dramatic tour-de-force for the pianist, featuring thundering left-hand tremolos, chromatic runs, and intricate rhythmic complexity.
**Pedalling and Voicing** – Liszt frequently employs meticulously marked pedal suggestions to help evoke the orchestral sonorities and blend harmonies in a manner reminiscent of strings or winds.
York Late Music presents The Beethoven Project: Ian Pace, York Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, April 5, 7.30pm. Jakob Fichert will give a pre-concert talk with a complimentary glass of wine or juice at 6.45pm. Box office: latemusic.org/product/ian-pace-concert-tickets/ or on the door.
THE Late Music concert series, aka Living Music, Live, has made a habit of inviting pianist Ian Pace over the years. It is easy to see why. He is a monarch of the keyboard, not least in repertory of the last two centuries.
He brought his full powers to bear on a programme that began and ended with Liszt transcriptions of Beethoven, with Gershwin and Kern transcriptions by Michael Finnissy and Steve Crowther’s Fourth Piano Sonata in between.
This was the opening concert in what is planned to be an annual series, The Beethoven Project, curated by Crowther and focused around all of Liszt’s transcriptions of Beethoven’s symphonies.
Liszt was an indefatigable transcriber of works by others, especially where they could be incorporated into his own virtuoso recitals. They also provided him with a more or less regular income.
His version of Beethoven’s Fifth is masterly, seemingly leaving nothing out and taxing the pianist to the very limit. But Pace was equal to his every demand. No-one could claim that this was a note-perfect account – how could it be? – but it was dazzling nonetheless.
He started with the three opening quavers so rapid that they were almost indistinguishable. The whole first movement, complete with repeat of the exposition, was adrenalin-fuelled, with the left hand in constant motion.
The Andante was richly voiced, with strong accents. All the statements of its rondo theme were insistent, although some of the diversions were taken more gently. Some of the humour of the third movement – effectively a scherzo and trio – was lost to heavy treatment, so that Beethoven’s subtle instrumentation in the fugato became too distant a memory.
But one could only gasp in admiration at the orchestral tone that Pace generated in the finale, with his left hand again moving at frightening speed. The work as a whole inevitably emerged more percussively than the original. But Liszt’s achievement was never in doubt.
Pace had opened with Liszt’s version of the first song-cycle in history, Beethoven’s An die Ferne Geliebte (To The Distant Beloved), six songs given without a break. Pace took great pains to highlight the vocal melodies, while opting for measured tempos larded with considerable rubato, probably more than a singer would countenance.
As the cycle progressed Pace made his upper register twinkle several times, not least with the trilling of birds in the unheard text.
Michael Finnissy’s ‘transcriptions’ from songs by Gershwin and Kern were much less literal than the Liszt and much more like arrangements, preferring to conjure atmosphere and doodle over harmonies.
In Love Is Here To Stay (from the 1938 film The Goldwyn Follies), the tune was held back until near the end, although in Embraceable You (from Girl Crazy) it was the jazz element that took control. Best of all was his version of Kern’s Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man (from Show Boat) where the melody was disguised but always detectable. Pace had them well organised.
So also in Steve Crowther’s Fourth Sonata, which sounded not unconnected with the Gershwin that preceded it, although sparer harmonically. Pace sustained excellent momentum and a staccato touch through the rapid opening movement, which was awash with syncopation and sounded like a rondo.
The slow movement was more ruminative, although tastily decorated with roulades. Decorations during the finale tended to occur in the right hand while the left carried the main theme. But both hands flitted lightly around the keyboard – and I swear I could hear traces of Kern here; perhaps they were just left over in my aural memory. But the work was never less than intriguing and often much more.
Pace had once again proved a mighty champion of the new and the little-known.
