Adam Heron

Performers

Notes on the performers

Acclaimed by The Sunday Times for the verve and spirit of his performances, Adam Heron is swiftly earning a reputation as one of the most innovative pianists of his generation. Winner of the 2020 Harriet Cohen Bach Prize, Adam rose to prominence following his television debut in 2018 as a BBC Young Musician piano finalist. Through his unique artistry, coupled with an innate public appeal and flair for communication, he has become a leading ambassador for classical music across the UK and abroad.

Born in Hong Kong, Adam commands a demanding schedule of international engagements, featuring
performances at distinguished venues such as the Southbank Centre and Royal Albert Hall in London, the International Center for Arts in Cairo, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Mumbai. He has performed alongside eminent musicians such as double-bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, soprano Francesca Chiejina, and cellist Laura van der Heijden, as well as with high-ranking conductors including David Curtis, Jonathon Heyward, and Pete Harrison.

A laureate of the Stefano Marizza International Piano Competition in Italy and the International Piano
Competition HRH Princess Lalla Meryem in Morocco, Adam studied with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Generously supported by Irish Heritage, The Keyboard Charitable Trust, and The Talent Unlimited Foundation, he is currently pursuing postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr Peter McMurray

Programme

Programme notes

Joseph Bologne

Sonata in C Major

1. Adagio
2. Allegro
3. Andantino

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 – 1799) was a French violinist, conductor, composer and soldier. Moreover he demonstrated excellence as a fencer, an athlete and an accomplished dancer. Bologne was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in European music. He composed an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies and an assortment of stage works, notably opéra comique.

Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe, his father, Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a wealthy, white plantation owner, while his mother was one of the Creole people Georges kept enslaved. At the age of seven, he was taken to France where he began his formal education. As a young man he won a fencing contest leading to his appointment as a “gendarme de la garde du roi” by king Louis XVI. Having received music and musical composition lessons, he joined the orchestra Le Concert des Amateurs; culminating in his appointment as its conductor in 1773.

Source: Wikipedia

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)

Overture in the French Style, BWV 831

1. Overture
2. Courante
3. Gavotte I & II
4. Passepied I & II
5. Sarabande
6. Bourrée I & II
7. Gigue
8. Echo

The Overture in the French style, BWV 831, original title Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art, also known as the French Overture and published as the second half of the Clavier-Übung II in 1735 (paired with the Italian Concerto), is a suite in B minor for a two-manual harpsichord written by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The style of this work is similar to that of composers like Jean-Baptiste Lully and François Couperin, but it also bears similarities with German composers like Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer and Georg Philipp Telemann. Such suites with an introducing overture were normally composed for orchestral settings, but rarely for solo instruments.

Source: Wikipedia

Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)

Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22

1. Andante spianato
2. Grande polonaise brillante

Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op. 22, was composed by Frédéric Chopin between 1830 and 1834. The Grande polonaise brillante in E-flat, set for piano and orchestra, was written first, in 1830–31. In 1834, Chopin wrote an Andante spianato in G, for piano solo, which he added to the start of the piece, and joined the two parts with a fanfare-like sequence. The combined work (both orchestrated version and solo piano version) was published in 1836, and was dedicated to Madame d’Este.

The Grande polonaise brillante is a work for piano and orchestra, although the piano part is often played on its own. The Andante spianato (spianato means “even” or “smooth”) for solo piano was composed as an introduction to the polonaise after Chopin received a long-awaited invitation to perform in one of Habeneck’s Conservatoire Concerts in Paris. This was the only time Chopin ever used the term spianato as a description for any of his works.

Chopin’s first work, written at age seven, had been a polonaise. Chopin also used the polonaise form in his earlier work the Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3. The Grande polonaise brillante of 1830–31 was to be the last such he would compose for several years. It preoccupied Chopin in his final months at Warsaw. It was finished at Vienna in 1831.

Source: Wikipedia