London Proms, Bartok & Hammerklavier

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London Proms : Beethoven ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata (July 1972)
This was the first-ever performnace of the ‘Hammerklavier’ at the Proms.
Evening Standard, Christopher Grier, 31 July 19   - Beethoven ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata No 29, Op 106
... by the time he came to write the sonata, he was carving his vision in granite.  This was something of which its heroic champion, Roger Woodward, was very well aware…  With something of Brendel’s interpretative spontaneity, he called on reserves of sustained insight in the luminous adagio, and on a hugely impressive intellectual and physical stamina for the concluding fugue…

Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion (August 1977)
Morning Star, Jane Corbett, 26 August ...  Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion;  Stravinsky Concerto for Two Solo Pianos
Polished craftsmanship…  Bartok emerged clearly at the top of the list with is Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, demanding extreme virtuosity from the pianists, Noel Lea and Roger Woodward, and from Tristran Fry and James Holland with their aray of drums, xylophone and cymbals.  The polished craftsmanship and intelligence involved in every department of this work - in its form, content and success in performance - welded the players and the audience together…..



magical sounds came from every part of the instrument”    Sir Yehudi Menuhin