Don’t play Beethoven: Exploring the piano legacy of Beethoven with Dr Maria Razumovskaya – Upper Intermediate – Advanced
In this anniversary year marking 200 years since his death, this course engages with piano works that have come about as a response to Beethoven’s legacy.
Beethoven changed the musical landscape in a way that no other composer could have done before him. The Romantic era nourished itself on the myth that Beethoven’s genius towered above all others, and the Romantics staked their values in the enigmatic claim that Beethoven’s spirit would be reborn in a worthy successor.
Nevertheless, nineteenth century composers still found – and continue to find – themselves setting down their paths under the shadow of Beethoven’s reputation and stature. Performers too have grappled with this legacy by questioning themselves whether they can be being considered worthy enough to play the weight of Beethoven’s music: from the celestial radiance and intimate profundity of the late works that arose from his deafness, the heroic voice of freedom, to the wit, virtuosity and innovative craft.
This course encourages the exploration of lesser-known figures such as:
- Dorothea von Ertmann, one of Beethoven’s most impactful students
- Louise Farrenc, a champion of Beethoven’s late piano sonatas
- Marie Jaël, the first pianist to perform all Beethoven’s sonatas in Paris
- Emilie Mayer, who earned the nickname of the ‘Female Beethoven’
- or the more-known Fanny Hensel (nee Mendelssohn), Clara Schumann, and Ethel Smyth.
Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Hans von Bülow, Anton Rubinstein, Alexander Siloti, Sergei Taneyev, Leos Janáček, Edward Elgar, Dmitri Shostakovich are inconceivable without reference to Beethoven. And even those who had a difficult relationship with Beethoven – such as Franz Schubert, Fryderyk Chopin, and Claude Debussy – still had to grapple with his titanic legacy.
By the end of the course participant will have a deeper appreciation of the reasons why the legend behind Beethoven gave rise to so much awe-inspiring creativity, and tested the resolve and imagination of so many generations of pianists. Participants will come away with new repertoire ideas, and develop efficient approaches to technique and practice to unlock the story-telling and character of those works. The guided listening and informative discussions will leave participants with renewed curiosity cultural awareness of the legacy of one of music history’s greatest figures.
We are very excited to welcome international concert pianist, Steinway artist, Professor of Academic Studies at Guildhall of Music and Drama and lecturer at the City Literary Institute Dr Maria Razumovskaya to lead this course.
Her exquisite touch… authoritative grandeur, a kaleidoscope of ever changing emotions… intense power [is] set against a sublime poetic vision ~ The Classical Reviewer
After Beethoven: Aspiring to be an Heir and Successor
This session looks at the building of Beethoven into a legend, and what fanned the flames of the race to be accepted as his successor. Musical examples and excerpts of composers, as well as a glimpse into the lives of pianists trying to make their careers as performers, will be explored in the context of their lives and times.Workshop 2:
After Beethoven: Wrestling with Gods
This session looks at the other end of the spectrum, at the pianists and composers whose creativity was sparked by the desire to become the anti-Beethoven. This is still an important part of Beethoven’s legacy, albeit in reverse. What did that mean in actual pianist terms? Does their inner world and struggle with being born after Beethoven open new directions, or place them on the direct path back towards him?
Afternoons are spent exploring and enjoying each other’s repertoire, applying new gained knowledge, and confidence, in performance classes – as well as some private practice!
In between the workshop and performance class sessions, there will be time for private practice on one of our beautiful grand pianos. During these sessions, Maria will give one-to-one lessons on our new Steinway to provide individual pointers and tips.
Guests will also:
- Have the chance to play in and observe two performance masterclasses.
- Will receive a one-to-one lesson with Maria.
- Enjoy access to play on our 9 grand pianos anytime between 7am and 8pm. (There are enough pianos to go round that everyone can play a piano at any given time.)
- Experience a private accompanied talk for course participants in the main hall of the family home, performed by Maria.
- Join and socialise with a group 8 fellow piano enthusiasts during lunch and dinner.
- Dine in style with lunches and three course dinners prepared by our fabulous chef.
- Experience the Finchcocks bubble, hailed as a “paradise for pianists” by BBC Music Magazine and stay in a grade 1 listed country manor.
Staggeringly passionate playing. ~ Gramophone
Maria Razumovskaya has been described as a ‘virtuoso story-teller of the piano’ (Le Courrier). She performs at many major international festivals and venues including the Cheltenham Festival, Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Cadogan Hall, Holywell Room, SJE Arts Piano International Series, Lavaux Classique, Zurich Stadt Kultur, Piano City Milan, Paris Musée d’Orsay, Yogyakarta Philharmonia, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, and the Rachmaninov Hall and Skryabin Museum in Moscow.
Razumovskaya’s live performances have been recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and featured as highlights in their ‘Performing Miracles’ series, RTS, Espace 2, Radio Orfeo, and ABC Radio.
Razumovskaya’s debut-disc recorded by Tony Faulkner on the Malachite label was shortlisted for the Liszt Disque Grand Prix, and subsequent recordings for the label have been singled out by international publications such as Pizzicato magazine, and critically praised for the performance’s ‘extraordinary mastery’ [American Record Guide] and ‘staggering passion and lyricism’ [Gramophone]. Further recordings including the works of Busoni, Liszt, CPE Bach and Rachmaninov; Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky.
Chamber music partners include Faina Lushtak, Ilan Schneider, Wolfram Christ, the Alban Berg Quartet, principals of the Berlin Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonia, Basel Philharmonic, National Opera Orchestra of Paris, and soloists of the Mariinsky Opera, Bolshoi Opera, and Metropolitan Opera. As a faculty and guest artist at international summer schools she has played recitals alongside artists including Nikolai Lugansky, Marc Andre Hamelin, and Piotr Andrezewski; and premiered works by composers including Philippe Hersant.
Passionate about encouraging audiences to share in her curiosity for the stories behind the music and its makers, Razumovskaya’s writings include a monograph on the legendary pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus (Boydell & Brewer). This was awarded CHOICE Outstanding Title, and ranked ‘world leading in originality, significance and rigour’ by REF. She has also written book chapters (Indiana University Press, Palgrave Macmillan), articles for academic journal, and the wider press including BBC Music, International Piano, Pianist and several other publications.
Maria Razumovskaya received her pianistic training in the class of Rustem Hayroudinoff at the Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating with Distinction and several prizes. She furthered her studies with Professor Dmitri Alexeev as an Arts and Humanities Research Council doctoral scholar at the Royal College of Music.
She is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Director of Performance at the Music Faculty of Oxford University, a lecturer at the City Literary Institute, guest faculty at several international music academies and festivals, and an external examiner for several institutions.
Maria Razumovskaya is a Steinway Artist.
Her playing is marked by a beguiling warmth of sound, and when called for can draw upon intense drama and exciting pianistic strength, but the absorbing feature of her interpretations is that they always search for the expression of substance beneath the surface.~ Artistic Director, Mr de Vries
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