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Bristol Evening
Post
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Pianist makes masterful debut
Julia Hartmann (piano):
Bristol Cathedral
With the piano placed in the choir, there was a more intimate feeling given to
this lunchtime recital presented by Julia Hartmann on her first visit to
Bristol.
A popular programme started appropriately enough with October from Tchaikovsky’s
The Seasons, a gentle piece charmingly played. Brahms’ arrangement of a Bach
chaconne is a test for any pianist as it is for left hand only. The intricate
music wasn’t a problem for Julia who gave a brilliant rendition in which she
showed amazing stamina.
The two Rachmaninov preludes were both in the minor key. The G sharp is both
quiet and intense whilst the famous C sharp is full of ferocious chords which
gave Julia no problems at all. Chopin’s Nocturne in C Sharp minor was played
with graceful abandon by the pianist before tackling the mighty Scherzo No 1.
Ms Hartmann certainly made a great impression.
9/10
John Packwood
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Blenheim Music Circle 14th July 2002
A Concert by Julia Hartmann (née Williams) and Yukie Wake
It is not often that one gets an opportunity to hear such delightful and
intriguing music, and the enthusiasm of the audience demonstrated how amply they
had been rewarded for coming on one of our rare summer days.
The Blenheim Music Circle was recently entertained by two young pianists, Julia
Karen Williams and Yukie Wake, with a programme of piano duets. Such a programme
presents its own difficulties, for if it is not to become merely a matter of
accuracy and strict timing, what is called for is a peculiar empathy which
enables the performers to feel, as it were, the very heartbeats of their
partners and to anticipate the dynamics, touch, phrasing and timing that breathe
life into a score. Then again there is the problem of material. It is clear that
composers who were also piano teachers would write pieces which master and pupil
could play together on the same piano, especially if the pupil were young and
pretty. Such pieces would vary in difficulty and depth according to the skills
of the pianists involved.
The four pieces chosen for this concert covered a range of music especially
associated with Vienna and Prague. It began with Beethoven, his set of
variations on a theme of his friend and patron, Graf von Waldstein - an early
piece with plenty of youthful fireworks which the artists communicated well.
This was followed by Schubert’s much-loved Fantasie in F minor where the
pianists successfully conveyed the energy and delicacy, the lyricism and drama
that this wonderful work demands.
After the interval we had the Sonata KV 19d by Mozart, a charming
exhibition-piece perhaps written with his gifted sister, Nannerl, in mind, but
the highlight of this half of the concert was the set of five Slavonic Dances by
Dvorak. These pieces are rhythmically and melodically so high-spirited that it
is difficult to prevent oneself from being swept away, at least in imagination,
and joining in the dance, and certainly the pianists excelled themselves,
thinking and playing as one through the expressive variations which this music
demands.
It is not often that one gets an opportunity to hear such delightful and
intriguing music, and the enthusiasm of the audience demonstrated how amply they
had been rewarded for coming on one of our rare summer days.
David Shavreen
http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=community&link=blenheimconcerts/revjul14.htm
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