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ALICIA’S GIFT:
THE CONCERT OF THE NOVEL |
Launching in autumn 2013!
Please see NEWS for tour dates |
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A concert based on Jessica Duchen's novel ALICIA'S GIFT, with piano music by Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Granados and others played by Viv McLean and narration from the author. |
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What does a family do to a talented child? What does the presence of a prodigy do to the family? And how on earth can she find the right teacher? The topics of Jessica Duchen’s novel Alicia’s Gift hold a perennial fascination for countless music-lovers.
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The Alicia’s Gift concert explores its heroine’s story with the help of some of the music in her life. Alicia’s passion for Chopin is reflected in selections including the Third Ballade and the stormy Etude Op.25 No.12. Her emotional growth is mirrored in the atmospheric worlds of Granados and Ravel. Her search for the perfect teacher-pupil relationship – easier said than done, and of more than current concern – carries her through a roller-coaster of Czerny, Debussy and Messiaen. And the often unseen hard work of a budding pianist is demonstrated when Viv shows the audience exactly what “Russian scales” are... The concert ends with a surprise for which the performers may require an extra chair at the piano. |
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HUNGARIAN DANCES: THE CONCERT OF THE NOVEL
The Hungarian Dances concert is a unique experience that unites author and passionate soloist in an enthralling mix of words and music. Jessica Duchen’s acclaimed novel mingles with the Hungarian and Gypsy-influenced violin music that inspired it. Jessica narrates the story of Mimi, a Gypsy girl who becomes a famous classical violinist, but at a terrible personal price, and there’s rich illustration through violin music by Dohnányi, Monti, Bartók, Ravel and more – including some stunning pieces in Gypsy style. |
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The Hungarian Dances concert is perfectly suited to intimate and atmospheric venues. Musicians involved have included violinists Philippe Graffin, Bradley Creswick and David Le Page and pianists Margaret Fingerhut, Anthony Hewitt and Viv McLean. |
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PRAISE FOR HUNGARIAN DANCES: THE NOVEL |
Hungarian Dances by Jessica Duchen is published by Hodder |
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‘A saga whose passion for music, Hungary and history sings out on every page.’ – The Independent |
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‘Give Hungarian Dances a whirl’ – South China Morning Post |
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SINS OF THE FATHERS: WAGNER, LISZT, COSIMA |
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The fascinating relationships between Franz Liszt, his daughter Cosima and Richard Wagner form the unusual triangle at the heart of this Words&Music script, originally commissioned for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music by its artistic director, pianist Piers Lane, and premiered there in Liszt’s bicentenary year, 2011. A revised version for three actors is premiered in 2013.
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"A complicated triangle of musical passions, love and betrayal lies at the heart of the show, which takes as its subject not only Liszt but also that other Romantic titan, Richard Wagner. We explore the story of Liszt, his daughter Cosima and her eventual marriage to Wagner. It’s an extraordinary tale of these two men connected by women, and connected by music" - /Limelight Magazine, Australia/ |
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A WALK THROUGH THE END OF TIME |
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A one-act play introducing Messiaen's 'Quartet for the End of Time'. A man and a woman, formerly married but long divorced, meet for the first time in many years to hear the Messiaen Quartet and, through exploring its extraordinary history and the emotional world within the music, seek to resolve their differences. This music was composed and premiered while the composer was imprisoned in a PoW camp in Silesia in the dead of winter in 1941. Issues of spiritual freedom, faith, conflict and love permeate the music and the play alike.
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The play is approximately 1 hr long and can be followed, after an interval, by a complete performance of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. A Walk through the End of Time was commissioned by the French violinist Philippe Graffin, artistic director of the Consonances Festival, St Nazaire, to open the 2007 festival. It was highly successful in its London premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond-upon-Thames, during the International Wimbledon Music Festival 2012, when the actors were Dame Harriet Walter and Henry Goodman. |
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"The play stands on its own and should be performed more often. At one hour long it is only slightly shorter than another two-hander currently winning four star reviews in the West End, but it is far deeper and far more compelling. Let us hope this ‘rehearsed reading’ is the prelude to something further." - /Mark Ronan Theatre Reviews (IWMF 2012)/
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...'The play itself shows much promise, weaving together elements of scientific and musical theory with history and fiction into a sinuously interesting piece of work.' - /There Ought To Be Clowns (IWMF 2012)/ |
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This beautiful love story explores the long relationship between the great mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot and the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, on whose story ‘The Song of Triumphant Love’ Ernest Chausson later based his Poème. Pauline’s history draws in a wide range of music by those who knew her, including Chopin, Brahms, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky and Fauré, as well as her own extraordinary songs. Building up a picture of the autobiographical elements that influenced Turgenev’s writing, the evening culminates with Chausson’s Poème itself. |
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Premiered at the Consonances Festival, St Nazaire, France, 21 September 2006 as Le chant de l’amour triumphant, with actress Marie-Christine Barrault and festival artists including Philippe Graffin (violin) and Ruth Peel (mezzo-soprano). Its premiere in English was at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, 2008. |
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A new version, for mezzo-soprano, violin and piano, with Jessica narrating, is available for performances from 2014 onwards. |
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Link to photos of the 2008 performance at the Consonances Festival, St Nazaire, France. |
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BELOVED CLARA |
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A collaboration with pianist Lucy Parham. The story of the intense three-way relationships between the composer Robert Schumann, his wife the great pianist Clara Schumann, and the much younger musical genius Johannes Brahms is brought to life in this programme of music and readings. Since its premiere at the Wigmore Hall in 2002, Beloved Clara has enjoyed huge success worldwide. Please contact Lucy Parham for further information.
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