Piano Workshop
12-14 May 2000
Philip Fowke
Ability  , 
& 
The weekend is suitable for all abilities: it
must be emphasised that complete performances are neither expected nor desired. The point
of the workshops is to discuss ways of approaching any particular difficulty, musical,
technical or psychological. It might be that only a few bars are presented. That is
perfectly all right. The emphasis will be on ways of learning, preparing and actual
practice. Particular attention will be paid to the following:
- Fingering in isolation.
- Fingering in movement.
- Fingering from memory.
- Fingering for pedalling.
- Fingering for sound.
- Pedalling with regard to the co-ordination
between hands, feet, head & ears.
Philip Fowke is one of
Britain's most distinguished pianists. He frequently appears with leading orchestras in
the UK and has recently performed in the USA, Scandinavia, South America, Germany, Italy
and New Zealand. Conductors with whom he has worked include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Tadaaki
Otaka, Sir Simon Rattle, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Yuri Temirkanov and Klaus Tennstedt.
Philip Fowke is known for his performances of
British repertoire as well as the standard works of the concert platform. The concertos of
Arnell, Britten, Bliss, Ireland, Leighton, Rawsthorne and Tippett as well as those of
Grieg, Tchaikowsky, Rachmaninoff and Schumann, testify to a broad range of repertoire. He
is also known for his performances of the concertos of Dohnanyi, Gershwin, Lambert,
Poulenc, Richard Strauss and Weber to name but a few. A similar range of repertoire exists
in his recital and chamber music work.
His recordings include concertos by
Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Tchaikowsky and Finzi as well as the Chopin Waltzes and Sonatas for
EMI. ÒVirtuoso Piano TranscriptionsÓ has been released by CRD as has his recording of
the Bliss Piano Concerto by Unicorn in celebration of the composer's centenary. Other
recordings include the Delius Piano Concerto and a recital of music by Bliss on Chandos,
Alan Hoddinott's 1st Piano Concerto for Lyrita and a CD featuring music written for piano
and orchestra from classic film scores for Naxos.
Philip Fowke gives regular masterclasses
worldwide and is often invited to adjudicate on panels for international competitions. A
noted contributor to discussion programmes about music and musicians for the BBC, his most
recent series of programmes was The Story of Queen's Hall. He has been invited to be
Vice-Chairman of EPTA and is currently Head of Keyboard Department at Trinity College of
Music in London, where he has recently been awarded a Senior Fellowship of Keyboard. |