Warning: the following post could be offensive to the fans of Donizetti and Gounod… Professor Kenneth Hamilton of Cardiff University is here in Singapore to play his annual concert. This year’s offering is a whole recital of piano fantasies from various composers. Plink, Plonk, Plunk catches up with him to…
An edited version of this article appeared in the Straits Times on 21 April 2014 with the heading ‘Powerful Performance Back to Bach’. Back to BachKenneth Hamilton, pianoEsplanade Recital Studio/Sunday Natalie Ng Because he played a programme full of lesser-known composer Alkan’s works at his recital last year, Scottish virtuoso…
It’s slightly over two weeks to the Romantic Masterpieces! Plink, Plonk, Plunk catches up with virtuoso pianist and professor Kenneth Hamilton in an exclusive email interview ahead of his recital on the 7th of April in Singapore. Charles Valentin Alkan(1813 – 1888) This year we celebrate the bicentenary of Alkan, a contemporary…
.. was what my new piano teacher said, when I told him that the most modern piano music that I’ve played was Poulenc’s. Oops.. I finally had my first piano lesson yesterday, after playing “unsupervised” twice at Performance Class. The feeling of performing on the piano (and not having to…
November brings with her many changes. The warmth of the sunshine has faded, leaving behind the rain. Sunny skies turn to grey. All around the drip drip drips of the rain falling outside envelops our house in gloom. And it’s not just the weather, it’s something else. Something’s changed, and…
Franz Liszt’s Liebestraum no. 3 found its way into my repertoire late last month, and it has been a more turbulent journey than ever. Liszt attached a poem by Ferdinand Freiligrath to it: O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst!O lieb, so lang du lieben magst!Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde…