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<< -- 8 -- Bill Newman TOTAL DEDICATION AND ACCORD
BN: I dislike most of the Radio 3 and BBC4 announcer-interviewers, but have always liked Donald McLeod, and Penny Gore who is very clear in her speech, intelligent and pleasingly informative. But she prefers to diversify.
IB: We like her because she plays lots of our recordings.
BN: When did you stop broadcasting?
IB: Our last producer was Susan Devenald, the wife of one of my pupils. This was some time back. Programmes were devoted to Romantic Sonatas.
HD: We had to make them interesting to listeners. Works by Ignaz Moscheles, Ferdinand Ries, Carl Czerny and Johann Hummel. They make interesting contrasts, and this is always worth a try. Probably Moscheles was as modern in his day as Birtwistle is to audiences today. And we found that the BBC were not playing our records, and we thought that there was one producer who didn't like our work. There are 21 CDs, eight of which represent our complete Schubert duos. Only about four CDs have been played by them, and to be fair, one of our Moszkowski discs was broadcast recently. Someone there is evidently against us.
IB: Many pianists have recorded the Beethoven Sonatas (studio and live), but it is usually the same selected artists' recordings that are broadcast. Bernard Roberts' complete set -- recommended on the Saturday review programme at the time of release -- is hardly ever played.
HD: We managed to persuade them to review our complete Schubert duets in 1997, and the reviewer said: 'There is one other recording by a married couple, so we won't bother about that.' This was simply dreadful.
BN: Do you envisage an improved situation, say in the next years, when a resurgence of more accurate musical opinions might result in you both returning to the fold?
HD: To tell you the truth, it doesn't bother us any more. We don't even think about it. What does worry me, is that my son will get all the money. Last year we earned eight pounds in royalties!
IB: We had two sons -- one was killed when he was twelve. That was one of the reasons we recorded; realizing just how short life can be. We have three grandchildren by Guy.
BN: Is the musical dynasty going to continue?
HD: Well, who knows. Isabel's father was a barber. Mine was a tailor's cutter. We don't come from a dynasty like the Bachs!
BN: If you had the choice of making further recordings, what would you choose?
HD: One of our recent releases was The Golden Age of the Piano Duets, and this we envisaged as the start of a series to feature various composers from the early 19th century. There is a lot still to do. It would be nice to earn some money!
BN: I would love you to have the services of London's Simon Bolivar Hall, or perhaps the Steinway Hall.
HD: As you know, before you actually have sight of the recorded CD, you have to have spent 5000 pounds upwards, hiring the hall, paying for recording, printing and publishing costs, then the promotion and marketing ... We can never envisage anything like this again. Somebody thinks there are possibilities of selling our CDs on the internet, but so far we haven't heard anything further.
Copyright © 20 January 2005
Bill Newman, Edgware UK
Forthcoming Concerts St Saviour's Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire UK. Sunday 30 January 2005, 6pm. The International Piano Duo present a concert to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary. With String Orchestra led by Jennifer Wigram and conducted by James Ross.
Programme: Elgar: Serenade in E minor; Czerny, ed Guy Dagul: Concerto for Piano Duet and String Orchestra; Schubert: Grand Duo - 1st and 4th movements; Guy Dagul: Grand Fantasia for Piano Duet and String Orchestra.
Ticket holders are invited to wine and snacks after the concert in the Church Hall. CDs available on sale. All proceeds donated to The Mayor's Fund for the Future. Admission by programme £12.50 including refreshments. Advance bookings at the door. The Maltings Arts Theatre, The Maltings, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 3HL, UK.
Fourteenth series of Wednesday Lunchtime Recitals at 1pm.
9 February 2005. Schubert: Andantino Varié; Mendelssohn: Songs without Words; Bowen: Suite No 1; Prokofiev: Visions fugitives; Czerny: Allegro; Arnold: English Dances.
9 March 2005: Schubert: Variations in Ab; Mendelssohn: Songs without Words; Martin: Ring around the Moon; Prokofiev: Visions fugitives; Barber: Souvenirs; Benjamin: Jamaican Rumba.
Admission: 3 pounds. Refreshments available. The Isabel Beyer and Harvey Dagul complete list of CDs. Available from Four Hands Music, 15 Birchmead Close, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 6BS, UK
FHMD 891: Schubert: 3 Marches héroïques, Deutscher with 2 trios, Fantasie in G minor, Grand Sonata in Bb, 4 Polonaises
FHMD 892: Schubert: Fantasia No 2 in C minor; Rondo in D; 2 Ländler; Variations on a French Air; Allegro moderato in C; Andante in A minor; Overture in F
FHMD 893: Schubert: Grand Duo; Variations in Ab; Grand March in Eb
FHMD 894: Schubert: 3 Military Marches; Divertissement à la Hongroise; 6 Grand Marches and Trios
FHMD 895: Schubert: 6 Polonaises; Divertissement on French Themes
FHMD 896: Schubert: Variations on a Theme from Marie by Hérold; 6 Grand Marches; Duo in A minor (Lebensstürme); Rondo in A
FHMD 897: Schubert: Characteristic Marches 1 and 2; Grand Funeral March on the Death of Alexander I; Grand Heroic March on the Accesion of Nicholas I; Children's March; Fantasie in F minor; Fugue in E minor
FHMD 898: Schubert: Introduction and Variations on an Original Theme; Overture In the Italian Style in C; 16 German Dances and 2 Ecossaises; Overture In the Italian Style in D; Fantasie in G
FHMD 881: Czerny: Brilliant Variations on an Air from Bellini's I Capuletti ed i Montecchi; Studies Nos 38 and 27; Brilliant Variations on the Tyrolean Theme from Auber's La Fiancée; Studies 12 and 4; Divertissement militaire; Grand Sonate Brillante in C minor (2, 4 and 6 hands)
FHMD 9921: Czerny: Brilliant Variations on an Air from Bellini's I Capuletti ed I Montecchi; Brilliant Rondo; Brilliant Variations on a Theme from Bellini's Norma; Brilliant Polonaise; Brilliant Variations on the Tyrolean Theme from Auber's La Fiancée; Divertissement militaire
FHMD9671: Moszkowski: From Foreign Parts; Dvorák: Legends
FHMD9672: Moszkowski: Album Espagnol; Juon: Tanzrhythmen Op 14; Brahms: Souvenir de la Russie; Moszkowski: Kaleidoskop
FHMD9673: Moszkowski: Polnische Volkstánze; Juon: Tanzrhythmen Op 24; Grieg: Norwegian Dances; Moszkowski: Walzer
FHMD 9674: Moszkowski: Spanish Dances; Schmitt: Travel Diary; Juon: Tanzrhythmen Op 41; Moszkowski: German Rounds
FHMD 9675: Moszkowski: New Spanish Dances; Brahms: Waltzes; Schmitt: Feuillets de voyage; Moszkowski: 4 Pieces
FHMD 9111: Mozart: Sonatas in F K497 and C KV521; Andante and Variations in G
FHMD 8045: Four Hands Favourites Vol I: Casella, Godard, Schmitt, Chaminade, Berners, Moszkowski, Dvorák, Grieg, Brahms, Weber, Aggházy, Stevens, Schmitt, Ladmirault, Schubert, Czerny, Chabrier
FHMD 8046: Four Hands Favourites Vol II: Schumann, Roger-Ducasse, Granados, Beethoven, Schmitt, Diabelli, Weber, Schubert, Jensen, Rachmaninov, Reger, Dvorák, Ladmirault, d'Indy, Moszkowski, Juon, Gilbert, Branson, Williams, Lambert
FHMD9110: Debussy: Petite Suite; Alkan: 3 Marches; Koechlin: Suite; Ladmirault: Fantasie sur deux 'Ronds' camoëlais, Trio cornouaillais, Finale sur deux Thèmes vannetais; Ravel: La Valse
FHMD 9212: Bizet and Jongen: Jeux d'Enfants; Schumann: Zwölf Vierhändige Clavier-Stücke für Kleine und Grosse Kinder; Ladmirault: Dan Lullaby
FHMD 9920: Golden Age of Piano Duet, Vol I: Beethoven, Weber, Schubert, Hummel, Czerny |
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