Moon Chun Memorial College:“An Audience with Andrew Bernardi & Stradivarius Piano Trio”
     
 
A capacity audience hugely enjoyed the interleaved introductions prefacing each performance, ranging from iconic Beethoven: Piano Trio Opus 11 No 2 First Movement, to modern and ethereal Messiaen: “Praise to the Immortality of Jesus” from Quartet for the End of Time, and Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel. Another masterpiece, Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D Minor Slow Movement, preceded the rhythmically contagious finale, Astor Piazzolla: No 4 Autumn Tango from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Thus the British Piano Trio provided an overview of wide-ranging musical composition and history very concisely.
We were privileged to hear Andrew’s Stradivarius violin from 1696, with a fine bow by Voirin formerly owned by the late Lord (Yehudi) Menuhin), and Jonathan’s ‘cello made by Edmond Ayrton in 1769. Pianist Belinda Jones equally impressed with her fine musicianship and sensitivity and delicacy of touch, and especially when she described MCMC’s Boston Steinway Grand Piano as a very fine piano indeed.
Students, Faculty and guests from Hong Kong and Macao enjoyed continuing conversation with the artists over a delicious lunch, kindly and generously provided by Eileen Stow of Lord Stow’s Bakery. We were fortunate to have Melody Wong, Associate Concert Master and David Rouault, Principal Trumpet, Macao Orchestra, join us for the event. And Andrew kindly allowed some of our string players to play his Stradivarius Violin. |
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