Aylesbury Lunchtime Music presents

Helen Vidovich & Olga Stezhko

Print version
17 October 2024

Starts: 12:45pm, Doors: 12:15pm

Duration: 1 hour (approx.)

St Mary the Virgin, Aylesbury

£7 adults on the door (<18s & carers free)

  • Helen Vidovich flute
  • Olga Stezhko piano

Programme

Originally scheduled to come as the wonderful Marsyas Trio, due to an international tour in South America, Helen and Olga will today perform as a duo.

They will perform the 1st movement of the Roussel piece and the 3rd movement of the Bach Toccata

  • 1714-1788

    Hamburger Sonata in G Major W133 (CPE Bach)
    i Allegretto, ii Rondo presto

    CPE Bach was a German Classical period composer and musician, the fifth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was an influential composer working at a time of transition between his father’s Baroque style and the Classical style that followed it. He was the principal representative of the empfindsamer Stil or ‘sensitive style’. The qualities of his keyboard music are forerunners of the expressiveness of Romantic music, in deliberate contrast to the statuesque forms of Baroque music.

  • 1858-1948

    Fantasie for flute and piano (Hüe)

    French classical composer Georges Hüe (1858-1948) studied under the guidance of Charles Gounod and César Franck, excelling in composition. In 1879, he achieved notable recognition by winning the prestigious Prix de Rome with his captivating cantata, Médée. This accolade marked the beginning of Hüe’s promising career in the world of classical music.

    Hüe showcased his talent for composing for the flute, with pieces such as the Fantaisie for flute and orchestra. Originally written in 1913 for flute and piano, this enchanting composition was later orchestrated in 1923. This piece was written for Adolphe Hennebains, legendary professor of the Paris Conservatory.

  • 1869-1937

    Joueurs de Flûte Op.27 (Roussel)
    i Pan, ii Tityre, iii Krishna, iv Mr de la Péjaudie

    Joueurs De Flute Op.27, was composed in 1924 for the flautist Louis Fleury. Each movement is based on the 4 mythical flute players, Pan, Tityre, Krishna and Monsieur de la Péjaudie.

    ‘Pan’ is named after the half-goat, half-man god of nature in Greek mythology, who is often depicted playing the flute, and after whom the panflute is named. The piece employs the Dorian mode (with flattened thirds and sevenths) that was used in ancient Greece.

  • 1862-1918

    Estampes, L. 100 (Debussy)
    i Pagodes (Pagodas), ii La soirée dans Grenade (Evening in Granada), iii Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the Rain)

    Estampes (Prints), L. 100, is a composition for solo piano by Claude Debussy. It was finished in 1903.

    This suite with 3 movements is one of a number of piano works by Debussy which are often described as impressionistic, a term borrowed from painting. This style of composition had been pioneered by Ravel in Jeux d’eau written in 1901, and was soon adopted by Debussy (for example in the earlier numbers of Images), but Debussy did not himself identify as an impressionist.

  • 1893-1918

    Nocturne for flute and piano (Boulanger, L)

    Lili Boulanger wrote the Nocturne aged eighteen, in 1911, originally scored for violin and piano. It shows, in its clean lines, lightish texture and the almost ironically sudden dismissal of its pseudo-romantic climax, a move back in tone towards the music of earlier French composers, while the little quotation at the end from Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune surely looks forward to a future in which Wagner would no longer hold the reins of power. (Roger Nichols)

  • 1685-1750

    Toccata in E minor BWV 914 (Bach)
    i [no tempo indication], ii Un Poco Allegro, iii Adagio, iv Fuga: Allegro

    The Toccata in E minor, BWV914, is a well-constructed and appealing work. Adagio is the third of four movements. The cadenza-like adagio is written over a descending bass line and is marked ‘Praeludium’ in one copy made by a Bach student, which leads us to think that it was perhaps an independent composition before being recycled as part of the toccata.

  • 1899-1963

    Sonata for Flute and Piano, FP 164 (Poulenc)
    i Allegro malinconico, ii Cantilena: Assez lent, iii Presto giocoso

    The Sonate pour flûte et piano, FP 164, by Francis Poulenc, is a three-movement work for flute and piano, written in 1957.

    The sonata was commissioned by the American Library of Congress and is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, an American patron of chamber music. Poulenc preferred composing for woodwinds above strings. He premiered the piece with the flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal in June 1957 at the Strasbourg Music Festival. The work was an immediate success, and was quickly taken up in the US, Britain and elsewhere and has been recorded many times. Critics have noted Poulenc’s characteristic “trademark bittersweet grace, wit, irony and sentiment” in the piece.

    The flute sonata became one of Poulenc’s best-known works and is a prominent feature in 20th-century flute repertoire. It has a claim to be the most played of any work for flute and piano.

Performers

  • Helen Vidovich

    Flute

    As an orchestral player Helen Vidovich has performed at venues including the Sydney Opera House and Royal Albert Hall in London. Recent career highlights include work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

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  • Olga Stezhko

    Piano

    Olga Stezhko is an award-winning concert pianist and critically acclaimed recording artist, renowned for her striking and idiosyncratic programmes that explore intriguing connections between music, science and history spanning the last four centuries. She is particularly distinguished in her interpretations of Scriabin and Debussy.

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Key information for concert goers

When

Every Thursday at 12:45pm (except August & over Christmas). Performances last around 60 minutes. Please enter quietly as there is a noon service in the Lady Chapel.

How much?

Entry is £7 per adult (card or cash), under 18s and carers are free. The price includes a programme. Donations are welcomed to subsidise the larger ensembles.

Where?

Performances are at St Mary’s Church in the heart of Aylesbury Old Town. See directions for further details.

Do I need to book?

No, just turn up. Doors open at 12:15 pm. Make sure you arrive in good time to get a seat.

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