|
Simon
was born in
Warwickshire and has studied the piano since the age of six.
When eleven, he won the
Foundation Scholarship to the Birmingham Conservatoire where
he studied with Lilian Niblette and Tom Bromley. He became a
full time student there at sixteen, having already played
concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
whilst still at school.
He then began studies in woodwind instruments and the viola, as well as
continuing with the piano under the Austrian pianist
Katharina Wolpe in London. He was the pianist of the Dussek
Ensemble, with four members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, for
three years and is also well known as a concerto player,
having over sixty concertos in his repertoire, and as a solo
recitalist for the BBC. In addition, he has been a member of Croydon Symphony Orchestra, Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra,
Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra and Scarborough Orchestra,
as a viola player.
He has been
recognised as one of the most gifted interpreters of the music
of Mozart and has played all 23 piano concertos. He has also
done much to publicise the works of the lesser known and
unjustly neglected composers such as Hummel, Moscheles, Dussek
and the Irish composer John Field, whose fourth piano concerto
he has played several times in public. He includes in his
recitals the seldom heard piano music of Dvorak.
A
prolific composer, he is a strong believer in tonality and
melody. His works are mostly chamber music and include
completion to all of Schubert's unfinished piano sonatas and
cadenzas to some of Mozart's piano concertos.
He has
performed all over Britain and abroad including a performance
of Saint Saens' 2nd piano concerto in the Palm Gardens in
Frankfurt in the open air and is also a Festival Adjudicator
of much experience.
He now lives in
Eastbourne, East Sussex, and performs regularly both as a
soloist and in chamber music as well as playing the viola in
Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra. He has recently recorded the
complete solo piano music of Dvorak.
Vicki England
Vicki
studied piano with William Fellows, Eric Parkin and Bernard
Roberts. Her professional career has embraced a wide range of
roles as soloist and accompanist as well as pianist for the
Guadanigni Piano Trio. Vicki has worked in diverse roles in
theatre and professional music as Producer and Director,
promoting UK national tours and concerts at the South Bank
Centre London and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as major
venues in Europe, America, India and the Far East.
Pastorale
Op.13
Written in 1973 for the
clarinetist David Rompani (a student of the composer), this
gentle three section piece is in C sharp minor with a middle
section in the tonic major. It has a certain lonely quality
about it and was written after a day out on the North Downs in
Surrey. It is essentially countryside music. The two harmonies
of C sharp minor and _ C major are often alternated and the
piece's atmosphere is that of rather remote dreaminess.
Nocturne in B minor Op.11
This
was written in 1973 for Moira Gray (nee Sands), a pianist
friend from the Royal Academy of Music with whom I frequently
played piano duets. The nocturne follows closely the feel of
those of Field and Chopin - a long melody over a rocking
accompaniment (with oddly dissonant notes thrown in!) and a
brighter middle section that rises to a climax (again
dissonant). After the repeat of the first section, the coda
has one or two harmonic surprises in store.
Variazioni Scherzandi Op.41
Written in 1986 for Pierre
Benke, one of the composer's closest musical friends, the
Variations came to be as a result of Pierre leaving a scrap of
theme on Simon's piano! Simon seized upon it and this work is
the result. The theme is of a Schubertian cut and the
variations that follow are quite regular in design - including
one in the relative minor, one in the tonic minor and a slow
variation. Possibly the most striking is the, slow one, just
before the finale. The coda makes one last reference to the
theme.
Berceuse
and Minuet for Piano Duet
These
were arranged in the late 1980s from a Suite for piano solo
(after Louisa Alcott's book "Little Women"). The Berceuse
originally represented Beth and the Minuet, Amy. The Minuet
was played at Yardley Grammar School, Birmingham in 1960 -
Simon had played it to Vicki as a solo - and she had suggested
that they turn it into a duet and had, subsequently, played
the first 8 bars of the melody to Simon! It is pleasant to
note that the two original artistes are once more united on
this recording, after 42 years!
Petite Chanson Op.44 for
Piano Duet
This
was written in 1992 as a birthday present for Averil Kovacs, a
friend who has always been dearly devoted to music, not to
mention like a sister to me! The gentle, smooth melody winds
its way along, occasionally side stepping the expected
cadences. The middle part gives more prominence to the "Secondo"
player - it is in F (a third below the home key) and,
following the repeat of the first part, the little Coda wavers
between chords of A and E Flat - a favourite altercation of
mine !
Rondo in E minor OpJ9
Written
in 1985 for the composer's friend and fellow composer, Martin
Eastick, the Rondo was a return compliment for a charming
Rondo in E flat Eastick had written just previously for Simon
- and just as difficult to play! On the opening page is
written "Homage to J.F." and, indeed, the middle section of
the Rondo could easily be a Field nocturne. The rest of the
work is based around the opening theme in various forms -
there is a certain amount of virtuoso writing and the coda
rounds off the work with brilliant demisemiquavers. There is
also the usual number of harmonic surprises during the course
of the work - but the virtuosity always leads somewhere and
the Rondo never "stands still".
Martin Eastick: Intermezzo
Martin
Eastick was born in Croydon and is a formidable pianist
himself as well as
a
composer. His opuses are
not numerous but he has certainly left some music to be
reckoned with, including a large and terrifyingly difficult
piano sonata and several works for clarinet and piano, written
for his wife, Sheila. The work recorded here, the Intermezzo,
in his own words "pays an unashamed tribute to Moszcowski",
particularly in the lovely and sparkling slightly faster
middle section. Martin now spends much of his time writing
sleeve notes for many famous musicians' CDs and he has played
in public at many recitals of piano duets (a sadly neglected
art form now returning to fashion) with Simon Ballard. Written
in 1984 for Simon Ballard, this charming Intermezzo is in
three sections, the outer ones being based on the pleasing
melody of the opening while the central part is more animated
and skittish. The Polish composer, Moszcowski, provided
inspiration not only for this work but also for several others
written round about the same time. Martin Eastick's piano
style is very similar, extremely grateful to play and
rewarding to practice, the music is always harmonious and
attractive.
Simon Ballard, 2003
|