Angela Brownridge's China Tour

Introduction

Hailed as a major star in classical music Angela Brownridge has been compared with such pianists as the legendary Solomon, Rachmaninov, Cherkasky, and Bolet. She began her life in an atmosphere of freedom and individualism virtually impossible to find today. Under the guidance of Maria Curcio,who had been a pupil of Schnabel for many years, she absorbed the ability to produce every nuance of the piano, and to present music flexibly and persuasively instead of concentrating on a single method of  technique or  continual  displays of  brilliance,  learning  to  deal  with  the  differing requirements of a varied range of composers which recalls Cortot in his prime. Indeed, by realising that many pianists of a bygone age played with far more individuality, magic, and inspiration than has become the fashion, she was able to develop her own unique personality. In an age which has become over-fascinated with mere technique, and which seeks the degree of 'perfection' offered by over-edited  CDs,  Angela's playing  restores  spontaneity, character, and  beauty of  sound  to  the  platform.

A child prodigy, equally talented in composition, extemporisation, and technically brilliant, Angela first performed in public at the age of seven, and a year later had several pieces published. By the age of ten  she  had given her first  concerto  performance,  and in  her  early teens was  appearing regularly as a recitalist and concerto performer throughout Great Britain and abroad. She later won a piano scholarship to Edinburgh University, and after graduating B. Mus. was awarded a further scholarship for a two-year  period of  study in Rome with  Guido Agosti. As the winner  of several competitions she was able to continue her studies with Maria Curcio in London, where she now lives. Since then Angela has appeared in all the major London concert halls, and has visited Eastern and
Western Europe, the USA, Canada, and the Far East, as well as performing extensively in the UK. She has been a soloist with many leading orchestras and  conductors, and Festival engagements include  Bath,  Edinburgh, Warwick,  Newport  Rhode  Island, Bratislava,  Brno, Hong Kong,  and Maastricht.

Her recorded repertoire is very varied, including some first ever collections of the complete piano music  of  Barber  and  Gershwin.  Her  recordings have received worldwide  critical  acclaim,  several being voted “Critics’ Choice” by Hi-Fi News. She has also appeared on BBC TV in programmes which have involved her in discussion about the music she has performed. She often gives lecture recitals and masterclasses, and maintains her love of improvisation which has led her on occasions into the
world of jazz. In 2004 Angela recorded the complete piano works of Kenneth Leighton who was her professor in harmony, counterpoint, and composition at Edinburgh University where she was on a piano scholarship. Leighton, who died in 1988 has been described as “the most important British composer of piano music of the twentieth century”. The three CD set is available on the Delphian

Concert Reviews
‘.....true genius. Her performances were passionate, rhapsodic and totally compelling. She is a marvellously exciting artist, and a wonderfully assertive pianist with a strong sense of musical structure’.
                                                                                  ——New York Times

‘....amazing technique and tonal splendour .... wonderful clarity and dramatic force .... electrifying authority of which passion and dedication were the keynotes. She is an artist of the highest calibre and this was playing of the highest order’.
                                                                     ——The GuardianConcert Reviews

‘....velvety keyboard touch with stunningly beautiful tone and extraordinary command of nuance. She gave one of the finest and most riveting performances I have ever heard’.
                                                                                  ——Daily Telegraph

‘She gave a performance that was as rich in imagination as it was in bravura. It combined all the necessary weight with kaleidoscopic colours. Her extraordinary range of colour varied from a velvet-soft sound that was little more than a murmur, to a full-bodied monumental fortissimo that never produced a harsh sound. It was some of the most remarkable and moving playing that will remain in this critic’s memory'
                                                                                     ——The Scotsman

Angela Brownridge China programmes

Programme 1

BEETHOVEN            Sonata in F minor Op. 57 "Appassionata" (24 mins)

DEBUSSY                Images Book 1:

Reflets dans l'eau. Hommage a Rameau Mouvement (14 mins)

CHOPIN                  Studies Op. 10 nos. 1, 3, 5 & 12 (12 mins)

Interval.

SCHUMANN             Carnaval Op. 9 (25 mins)

TCHAIKOVSKY         Meditation & Invitation to the Trepak from Suite Op. 72. (9 mins)

GERSHWIN              Three Preludes (6 mins)

Programme 2

MOZART                Sonata in A K. 310 (16 mins)A大调奏鸣曲 K.310

MENDELSSOHN        Variations sérieuses Op. 49 (22 mins)门德尔松 庄严变奏曲Op.49

SCRIABIN               Prelude & Nocturne for the left hand (7,5 mins)

Interval.

CHOPIN                 Fantasy in F minor Op. 49 (13 mins)

LISZT                   Spozalisio, Petrarch Sonnet nos. 47 & 104

                           Mephisto Walz no. 1. (19 mins)

Children’s programme:

DEBUSSY               from the Children's Corner Suite:  Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum & 

                           The Golliwog's Cakewalk (5,5 mins)

                           Preludes: La Cathedral Englutie & Minstrels (8 mins)

                           Jardins sous la Pluie from Estampes (3,5 mins)

SCHUMANN            Characters from Carnaval:  Florestan, Eusebius, Estrella, 

                           Chiarina, Chopin & Paganini (9 mins)

MOZART                Rondo alla Turca (3,5 mins)

CHOPIN                 Studies from Op. 10: Nos. 1, 3, 5, 9, & 12 (14 mins)

LISZT                   Mephisto Walz no. 1. (10 mins)