Last week, Ms Bolt, Mr Foster and Mr Kang took a group of 14 pianists to have a day out in London, experiencing all things piano related.
As their first port of call, they attended a lunchtime recital in the Wigmore Hall, one of the most prestigious concert venues in the world. The recital was given by pianist, Louis Lortie, who performed works by Schubert and Rachmaninov. The passion, expression and freedom that Louis Lortie brought to the stage of the Wigmore Hall was something to remember and we hope it inspired our pianists to bring that into their own playing.
Following this, they enjoyed an afternoon backstage tour of the Royal Opera House, learning about the history of the building. The tour guide explained how the building had twice been destroyed by fire, once in 1908 and again in 1957. The orchestra was rehearsing in the pit when they entered the iconic hall, and they were allowed to sit and listen to them for a while. As part of the tour, they also saw the costume department, as well as one of the rehearsal rooms where some of the dancers were trying out their routines.
A quote told by the tour guide, that is said by dancers at the Royal Opera House, resounded with us all as musicians: “If you don’t practise or dance for one day, the body can tell. If you don’t practise for two days, the teacher can tell. If you don’t practise for three days, the audience can tell!”
Back on the road and a visit to Coach House Pianos showroom in Chelsea. They were shown pianos along with a chance to play some of them, and also given a talk by a piano historian, Gary Branch, who knows everything there is to know about the history of the piano. He brought along his square piano (which is a rectangle!) dating back to 1779. They learned about how the piano has developed over the centuries, and the pupils were even given the chance to perform on a Bosendorfer piano, the same model as the one we had seen being used by Louis Lortie in the Wigmore Hall, the model there also belonged to Coach House Pianos.
After a pizza supper in the nearby vicinity and a quick walk back to Coach House Pianos, a selected group of pupils gave a recital to an invited audience of parents and Old Oakhamian pianists. It was lovely to have them supporting the current pupils, many of them recalling their stories of performing whilst at Oakham.
