Extra recital afternoon will be icing on cake

WINTER Recitals Wallingford, organised by Henley pianist Anita D’Attellis, will include four Saturday evening recitals and a Sunday afternoon event, all taking place at St Mary-le-More Church.

Now in its eighth season, the series of concerts starts tomorrow (Saturday) at 7pm, with “Transcribed Masterworks: Bach, Brahms and Franck”, where Anita will be joined by saxophonist Huw Wiggin.

“I said to Huw, ‘Oh, I’m really keen to do the César Franck sonata’, which is a piece which was originally composed for violin although cellists have also nicked it and they play it too,” says Anita.

“He can adapt it so it’s feasible on a saxophone and that’s just a great work. Then we’re going to the Brahms sonata. He originally composed that for clarinet but also viola players play it.

“Huw is also going to play some unaccompanied Bach which would originally be the Bach Cello Suite and he’s playing that on a tenor saxophone, which is a much deeper one, and I think that’s going to sound gorgeous.

“He did say very excitedly to me recently that he’s getting a new tenor saxophone. So I’m sure that’s going to be wonderful with the Brahms and the Franck and I’ll play another transcription as well, some other Bach, which is transcribed to piano.”

The second concert, “Piano Quartets”, takes place on Saturday, January 17 at 7pm. “I’ve got three lovely string players coming and they’ve all played in Winter Recitals before.

“So on the violin there’s Peter Davis. Giles Wade has played a couple of times before but as a violinist and he’s very keen to play his viola.

“Then Leandro Silvera has also come a couple of times before. He’s my colleague at Eton, he’s head of strings so he’s a very busy man but I’m delighted that he’s able to come.

“The Beethoven and Mozart are fairly well-known pieces for that combination of piano quartet and the amazing Mahler piano quartet movement was one of his student compositions. I think he was 16 years old when he composed it. It’s just an amazing work, when you listen to it, you don’t imagine it’s written by a 16-year-old, it sounds much more mature and it’s beautiful.”

On Saturday, January 24 at 7pm, Anita will be playing “Fantasia”. “It’s fantasies through the ages. I’m starting with Bach, with the chromatic Prelude and Fugue in D minor and then there are fantasies by Haydn and Mozart and Beethoven.

“I was quite intrigued by the Beethoven, I only came across it in recent months. There are also some fantasies by Chopin and Scriabin.”

On Sunday, February 1, “Cello and Cake” will take place at 3pm. “I wanted to include this rather wonderful cellist called Eleanor Biles.

“I had played for her a few months ago when she took her LRSM diploma and for that you have to provide a 50-minute programme and she played the Shostakovich sonata. I thought, ‘Gosh, I’ve got to include that’.

“So I asked whether she was keen to take part and I didn’t want to give her the full-blown evening concert, she’s still
17 years old, but I thought an afternoon concert would actually work out really well. So we’re including the Shostakovich with some other pieces. She’s also playing some Bach, some Schumann, crowd-pleasers like Fauré’s Après un reve and an interesting unaccompanied work by Casado.”

The recital will be followed by tea and cake, says Anita. “I have been told that the churchgoers at St Mary’s are absolutely amazing at making good cake!”

On Saturday, February 7 at 7pm, for “Flute and Harp”, Anita will be accompanying Holly Melia on flute and Bethan Semmens on harp.

“This will be lovely. I met Holly and Bethan back in June and I played with them in a concert in Dorchester Abbey. They were playing a flute and harp concerto by Mozart which is quite well known, I was playing the orchestral reduction.

“We got on so well and they’re absolutely great players.

“The flute and harp concerto by Mozart will be included and then we’re doing some Debussy, Fauré and even some Piazzolla, that’s going to be a really lovely programme.”

The recitals will be raising funds for St Mary’s Eco Heating Appeal and Sue Ryder Oxfordshire palliative care hub.

l Winter Recitals Wallingford take place on Saturdays, January 10, 17 and 24 and February 7 (7pm), and Sunday, February 1 (3pm). Tickets for the evening recitals cost £20 adults, £5 under-19s (season ticket £59). Tickets for the afternoon recital cost £10 adults, £5 under-19s (not included in the season ticket). For more information, visit anitapiano.com/wrw26