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Welcome to our annual keyboard festival. This year we celebrate one of the most inspirational musical figures of the 20th century, French composer Olivier Messiaen.

The centrepiece of the festival is an all-day gala of music reflecting time, place and the musical world of birds. Performed by students from the Royal College of Music’s internationally acclaimed Keyboard Faculty, the day will feature Messiaen’s Catalogue d’oiseaux alongside other keyboard music. Other events include several concerts and a masterclass with one of the foremost interpreters of Messian’s music, pianist Michel Béroff.

I very much look forward to seeing you at the following events. You can also watch Oiseaux exotiques streamed live on Sunday 8 March at www.rcm.ac.uk/live.

Professor Vanessa LatarcheHead of Keyboard, RCM, London

Messiaen’s Muses Keyboard Festival is supported by John Ward.

Piano Masterclass with Michael Béroff 2.00pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert HallBelle Shenkman International Masterclass

Oiseaux exotiques 12.00pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

Chants de terre et de ciel 1.05pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

Visions de l’Amen 1.05pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

FridAy 6 MArCh

MOndAy 9 MArCh

SundAy 8 MArCh

TueSdAy 10 MArCh

Messiaen’s Muses keyboard festival is supported by John Ward

Couleurs et mystères 6.00pm | West Parry Room

Free but tickets required

Free no tickets required

Free but tickets required

Free but tickets required

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Friday 6 March, 2.00pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert HallPiano Masterclass with Michel Béroff

imma Setiadi pianoMessiaen Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus: no 4 Regard de la Vierge no 8 Regard des hauteurs

Selim Mazari pianoMessiaen La bouscarle from Catalogue d’oiseaux

Muqiao Zhou pianoMessiaen Préludes: nos 2, 5 and 8

Michel Béroff

The French pianist and conductor Michel Béroff was trained at the Nancy Conservatory, winning the First Prize (1962) and Prize of Excellence (1963). He completed his studies at the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) with Yvonne Loriod, where he immediately stood out as one of the best pianists, winning the First Prize in 1966. In 1967 he made his Paris recital debut and won First Prize at the first Olivier Messiaen International Piano Competition. He has since been considered one of the most outstanding interpreters of Messiaen’s music.

Béroff has played under the direction of such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Christoph von Dohnányi, Antal Doráti, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Gielen, Eliahu Inbal, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Georg Solti, Michael Tilson Thomas, and many others.

As a recitalist and a chamber musician, Béroff has been very active playing with Pierre Amoyal, Martha Argerich, Jean-Philippe Collard, Augustin Dumay, Lynn Harrell and Barbara Hendricks, amongst others.

An exclusive EMI artist for over 20 years, Michel Béroff has published more than 50 recordings; among them, the complete works for piano and orchestra of Liszt, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, conducted by Ozawa and Masur. He has also recorded works by Bartók, Brahms, Debussy, Messiaen and Schumann.

Belle Shenkman International Masterclass

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12.00pm

Oiseaux exotiques

‘For me the only real music has always existed in the sounds of nature... The harmony of wind in trees, the rhythm of waves on the sea, the timbre of the raindrops, of breaking branches, of stones stuck together, the different cries of animals are the true music as far as I am concerned.’

Olivier Messiaen

In his Catalogue d’oiseaux Messiaen not only depicts birdsong but places the many species of birds in the context of their natural habitat, exploring themes such as the time of day, landscape and often a specific geographical setting.

Today we will enjoy a feast of nature in music as eight of the works from Catalogue d’oiseaux are performed, each one followed by a group of pieces which share a common theme with the Messiaen piece just heard. At the end of each group we hear one or more bird pieces from a wide range of composers.

MOrningIn Le loriot (golden oriole) a dawn chorus gathers momentum as a multitude of birds welcome the day. The piece takes us from dawn to the bright sun of midday and we follow it with other, widely contrasting musical depictions of dawn and morning.

Messiaen Le loriot from ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’ Christine ChengGrieg Morning Mood from ‘Peer Gynt Suite’ Jia ying Chan & rachel TangDebussy De l’aube à midi sur la mer from ‘La mer’ yaoying Wang & Channarong JantararatRavel Alborada del gracioso from ‘Miroirs’ Sisi ChenElgar (arr Bothwell Thompson) Chanson de matin op 15 no 2 Chi-hoi CheungRavel (arr Vyacheslav Gryaznov) Lever du jour from Lynette yeo & ‘Daphnis et Chloé Suite no 2’ Bertram WeeGriffes The White Peacock from ‘Roman Sketches op 7’ Xiyuan SunCouperin Le gazoüillement from ‘6th Ordre’ Anhad Arora† Rameau Le rappel des oiseaux edyta Lajdorf

Sunday 8 March, 12.00pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

†indicates RCM Junior Department musician3

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12.55pmLAndSCAPe

The startlingly vivid impression of jagged cliffs which opens Le merle bleu (blue rock thrush) provides the inspiration for a collection of pieces suggesting different landscapes.

Messiaen Le merle bleu from ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’ Annabelle Park Ravel La vallée des cloches from ‘Miroirs’ Simon CarreyLiszt Paysage from ‘Etudes d’exécution transcendante’ grigoris ioannouGraham Lynch Admiring Yoro Waterfall yan Lam LaiDebussy Des pas sur la neige from ‘Préludes Book 1’ Tomoka Kan† Gareth Farr The Horizon from ‘Owhiro Bay’ Conor Murphy† Glinka/Balakirev The Lark Andrew yiangou

2.10pm SPAin

Le traquet stapazin (black-eared wheatear) is set in the Catalan area of southern France, very close to the Spanish border. Both its setting and its depiction of the hot sun inspire a group of pieces which look south and explore the intense flavours of Spanish piano music.

Messiaen Le traquet stapazin from ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’ Phoebe ngDe Falla Danza del molinero from ‘The Three-Cornered Hat’ Armin CoralicMompou Cançon i danses no 6 david SerranoAlbéniz El Puerto from ‘Iberia’ Kenny SalazarDebussy La puerta del vino from ‘Préludes Book 2’ Miguel MateusGranados The Maiden and the Nightingale from ‘Goyescas’ Theresa yu

INTERVAL

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2.50pm CALM nighT

L’alouette lulu (woodlark) is set during a still night represented by a recurring motif – a calm progression of chords folding into B flat major. Then we hear other composers’ portrayals of a similarly peaceful or benign night time.

Messiaen L’alouette lulu from ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’ Chen Zhang Debussy (arr A Caplet) Les parfums de la nuit from Vera Fonte & ‘Images pour orchestre’ Jose Francisco Quintas VilarLyapunov Rêverie du soir yukina MuraseLiszt Harmonies du soir from ‘Etudes ilya Kondratev d’exécution transcendante’ Thelonius Monk/Oscar Peterson Round Midnight Tolga Atalay ÜnFauré Nocturne no 3 in A flat major op 33 no 3 irena radicRavel Oiseaux tristes from ‘Miroirs’ Aleksandar djermanovic

3.45pm WATer

After a strikingly violent opening, La bouscarle (bush warbler) goes on to contain river motifs and passages of hypnotic beauty which portray reflections in the water. We continue with Debussy’s famous depiction of the same phenomenon and explore how water has long been a gateway to the imagination for piano composers.

Messiaen La bouscarle from ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’ Selim MazariDebussy Reflets dans l’eau from ‘Images Book 1’ Sarah Park Griffes The Lake at Evening from ‘Three Tone-Pictures’ Loh Shao WeiLiszt Au bord d’une source from nurry Lee ‘Années de pèlerinage – Première année: Suisse’ Ravel Jeux d’eau ning hui SeeRavel Ondine from ‘Gaspard de la nuit’ Pavel Markov Grieg Brooklet op 62 no 4 from ‘Lyric Pieces’ Vincent Ling† Schumann Vogel als Prophet from ‘Waldscenen’ Maria inês Costa

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4.35pm PLACe

La buse variable (buzzard) is set in a particular location: ‘Le Dauphine, la Matheysine. A big landscape covered by the fields of Petichet, at the end of Lake Laffrey, at the foot of the bald mountain of the Grand Serre.’ We take this as our cue to perform a short but colourful collection of pieces which are also set in specific places around the world.

Messiaen La buse variable from Juan Pablo hinojosa Ferrera ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’ Liszt Au lac de Wallenstadt from Luka Okrostsvaridze ‘Années de pèlerinage – Première année: Suisse’ Grainger Zanzibar Boat Song yan Lam Lai, Jane Lau & nigel ClaytonAlbéniz Triana from ‘Iberia’ Lara MeldaBenjamin Jamaican Rumba Lucy Wang & daniel JordanGrieg Little Bird op 43 no 4 from ‘Lyric Pieces’ Berniya hamie†

Couperin from ‘Troisiéme livre de pieces de clavecin, 14th Ordre’:Le rossignol-en-amour (The nightingale in love) & Jane Lau Double du rossignol La linote-éfarouchée (The startled linnet) Sarah KimLes fauvétes plaintives (The plaintive warblers) Lisa hilditch

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5.20pm The SeA

Le traquet rieur (black wheatear) opens with an explosive theme which represents ‘joy of the blue sea’. Throughout the work it is used in dialogue with the birds of coastal habitat soaring above. The sea has always been a great source of inspiration for composers, as this collection of pieces demonstrates.

Messiaen Le traquet rieur from Catalogue d’oiseaux Sohyun Park Debussy (arr A Caplet) Jeux de vagues from ‘La mer’ Muqiao Zhou & Weihao FuDebussy L’Isle joyeuse Paula BelzuneguiRachmaninov Etude-tableau in C minor op 39 no 1 Sean JacksonRachmaninov Etude-tableau in A minor op 39 no 2 Ma regina MontesclarosScriabin Sonata no 2 op 19 ‘Sonate-fantasie’ Lucy WangTchaikovsky Song of the Lark op 39 no 2 Ziying Zhang† Daquin Le CouCou Kheng hoe LowMarco Scorsolini Carolina Wren (world premiere) Jia Chan

6.20pm ThreATening nighT

Le courlis cendré (curlew) explores a more threatening and disturbing aspect of night, and a dramatic progression of chords towards the end depicts ‘the night and the fog spreading little by little’. We close the day with a group of pieces which mirror these ideas in very different ways.

Messiaen Le courlis cendré from ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’ Vanesa SantanachRavel Scarbo from ‘Gaspard de la nuit’ Anna FedorovaDebussy Brouillards from ‘Préludes Book 2’ dominic doutneySchumann In der Nacht from ‘Fantaisiestücke op 12’ Chihang LongJanáček The Barn Owl has not Flown Away! from Simone Alessandro Tavoni ‘On an Overgrown Path’

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Where Messiaen had his Oiseaux exotiques, other French composers had their equivalent in the natural world. In this programme, RCM Postgraduate Accompanists are joined by singers from the Vocal Faculty for a selection of Messiaen’s sensuous and beautiful songs, interspersed with witty and characterful portraits of birds, beasts and insects by Poulenc and Ravel.

Messiaen Trois Mélodies: Pourquoi? Le sourire La fiancée perdue

Lauren Libaw sopranoLucie Troger piano

Poulenc Le bestiaire (ou Cortège d’Orphée): Le dromadaire Le chèvre du Thibet La sauterelle Le dauphin L’écrevisse La carpe

Sophie dicks mezzo sopranoAaron Lott piano

Messiaen Chants de terre et de ciel: no 1 Bail avec Mi no 3 Danse du bébé-pilule

Gemma Summerfield sopranoClaire harris piano

Ravel Histoires naturelles Le paon* Le grillon* Le cygne** Le martin-pêcheur** La pintade**

Kieran rayner baritone duncan Appleby piano*Marc Perna Sanfeliu piano**

Monday 9 March, 1.05pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert HallChants de terre et de ciel

Messiaen Harawi no 2 Bonjour toi, colombe verte no 4 Doundou Tchil no 10 Amour, oiseau d’étoile

Maria Ostroukhova mezzo soprano hamish Brown piano

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Monday 9 March, 6.00pm | West Parry RoomCouleurs et mystères

Messiaen the organist/composer spent his entire working life playing the organ, every Sunday, in the church of La Trinité in Paris. In this concert, RCM organists recreate the exotic colours and profound spirituality of some his best known, and loved, organ music.

Joie et clarté des corps glorieux georgina Sherriff from ‘Les corps glorieux’ From ‘La Nativité du Seigneur’: no 1 La Vierge et L’Enfant Jack Stone no 2 Les bergers Alexander Fishburn no 6 Les anges Christopher Strange no 5 Les enfants de Dieu domenico gioffrè no 7 Jésus accepte la souffrance domenico gioffrè no 10 Dieu parmi nous Tak Man ChowFrom ‘Messe de la Pentecôte’: Martyn noble no 4 Communion (Les oiseaux et les sources) no 5 Sortie (Le vent et L’Esprit) Le banquet céleste nicholas Mannoukas Transports de joie from ‘L’Ascension’ Laurence Long

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Tuesday 10 March, 1.05pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert HallVisions de l’Amen

Samson Tsoy pianoPavel Kolesnikov piano

Messiaen Visions de l’Amen for two pianos: Amen de la Création Amen des étoiles, de la planète à l’anneau Amen de l’agonie de Jésus Amen du désir Amen des anges, des saints, du chant des oiseaux Amen du jugement Amen de la consommation

This is the first work of Messiaen’s to be directly inspired by the pianism of Yvonne Loriod; she had joined his harmony class at the Paris Conservatoire in 1941. Together they premiered Visions de l’Amen in 1943.

As with Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus (1944), there is an almost overwhelming sense of spirituality and drama in this monumental work. The ‘Amen’ of the title has relevance in four ways; it is the creative act, the acceptance of the divine will, the desire to be at one with God and it is symbolic of the statement, ‘that which will be’. In his book, Messiaen, Robert Sherlaw Johnson has noted that these four aspects embody ‘the power and finality of the divine action on the cosmos’.

Samson Tsoy & Pavel KolesnikovIn 2014, Samson Tsoy and Pavel Kolesnikov were chosen by City Music Foundation and BBC New Generation Artists respectively to join their schemes for young performing artists.

Significant appearances include the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Salle Gaveau and the Louvre, and the Verbier, Santander, Spoleto, Ottawa ChamberFest, Banff Summer, Plush Music, Casalmaggiore, Mstislav Rostropovich and Rodion Shchedrin Jubilee Festivals. Recent orchestral appearances include Russia’s National Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Tsoy and Kolesnikov met in 2007 at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. They both currently study at the Royal College of Music with Norma Fisher and Professor Vanessa Latarche thanks to the generous support of Mr Christopher D Budden, the RCM and ABRSM Scholarship Foundations and Hattori Foundation.

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In the interests of safety, sitting or standing on the steps, gangways or floors in any part of the auditorium is strictly prohibited. Please turn off your mobile phone to avoid any disturbance to the performance. All private sound and video recordings are prohibited. Photography before and during performances is not permitted. You may take photographs only during applause. Latecomers will not be allowed into the auditorium until there is a suitable break in the performance. Smoking is not permitted in any part of the building. Your co-operation is appreciated.

royal College of Music, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BSwww.rcm.ac.uk | tel: +44 (0)20 7591 4300 | email: info@rcm.ac.uk

ThAnKSSpecial thanks must be given to the following people for their support in the

organisation of the festival.

Thank you everyone!

ian Jones, Deputy Head of Keyboarddavid graham, Professor in Charge of Organ

Simon Lepper, Piano Accompaniment Co-ordinatorAndrew Zolinsky, Contemporary Piano Specialism Co-ordinator

roger Vignoles, Prince Consort Professor of Piano AccompanimentValeria Farruggia, Faculties Administrator and Masterclass Co-ordinator

Chris Moulton, Head of Keyboard Technical Servicesand the piano workshop team

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