There are some places where there is magic.
13 September 2008, Finchcocks, Kent. A wonderful mansion house with a beautiful garden. The sunshine playing with shadows among the flowers, vegetables and trees, overlooking vast spaces. And in the middle of all this, a house with old harpsichords, fortepianos, virginals, clavichords, spinets and other little gems. A concert in the evening was very well attended, and the sound of the clavichord, that I was playing (built by Arnold Dolmetsch in the USA in 1909) grasped the attention of the listeners in this house surrounded by silence.
11 September 2008, Handel House, Mayfair, London. This building was once home for G.F. Handel, who used to rehearse his singers here. In the same room today there is a harpsichord (built by Bruce Kennedy) and often this becomes a cosy concert venue. It is always pleasure to play here, as the atmosphere is very intimate and the audience full of attention.
I had my "Bach Showcase" on 11th September. It was a challenge that I imposed on myself, to play the French Ouverture, Italian Concerto and the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue one after another. A demanding programme, at the same time very rewarding. Performing some of the best music ever composed and sharing it with the audience, this is what can be called the joy of playing concerts.
I had my "Bach Showcase" on 11th September. It was a challenge that I imposed on myself, to play the French Ouverture, Italian Concerto and the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue one after another. A demanding programme, at the same time very rewarding. Performing some of the best music ever composed and sharing it with the audience, this is what can be called the joy of playing concerts.
And how could I not mention that the same building was briefly a home for Jimi Hendrix...
24 August 2008, Lutheran Church, Gizycko (Poland). An evening shared with friends. A concert with two people so dear to me, Krzysztof Urbaniak and Olga Maracewicz. A concert that turns to being the pure joy of creating something good together. Enjoying the time spent together during rehearsals, then on stage, and finally after the concert. More than that, playing a concert so close to my hometown, in this beautiful part of the country, in a little town surrounded by lakes and woods... It was a lovely evening.
16 August 2008, St Cecilia Hall, Edinburgh. An oval room full of people coming to listen to a recital on two amazing instruments. Both original harpsichords, one built in 1620, an Italian instrument, the other one made in 1755 by Kirckman, an English maker. And those two are just a fraction from more than 40 origianal keyboard instruments housed in this world-famous collection, with the Taskin being probably the most often copied harpsichord in the world... Very inspiring.
And then the Holyroodhouse Palace with the ruins of the ancient Abbey, full of commemorative tomb stones, a moving, yet silent witness of people's faith and hope.
