JOSEF MYSLIVECEK(1737-1781)

Re-discovered keyboard concertos

Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in B flat major (late 1770s, 10’)

2 ob, 2 hn, strings

Keyboard Concerto No. 2 in D major (late 1770s, 15’)

2 ob, 2 hn, strings

Works for solo keyboard

Six Easy Divertimenti for Keyboard(1777, 16’)

Six Easy Lessons for the Harpsichord(1780, 36’)

Listen at www.clarehammond.com/myslivecek

“They are sonatas which are bound to please everyone, and very effective when played with proper precision.”

(Mozart, in a letter to his father, 1777)

Known by many simply as ‘Il Boemo’ (‘The Bohemian’), Myslivecek lived a life so scandalous that, at times, he shocked even Mozart himself. He enjoyed great success on the international stage and was a mentor to Mozart. The only composer of whom Mozart wrote with affection and respect, his influence is apparent in Mozart’s operas, violin concertos, symphonies and keyboard music from this period.

Myslivecek contracted syphilis later in life and lost his nose during a botched operation. After deceiving Leopold Mozart in a business transaction, Myslivecek and the Mozart family became estranged and Myslivecek died disfigured and in poverty. His music fell out of fashion and has only been revived in the West since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Pianist Clare Hammond has created editions of both his concertos and recorded these for BIS with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan, alongside his complete works for solo keyboard.

SOLO RECITAL PROGRAMMES

Listen at www.clarehammond.com/myslivecek

CZECH MUSIC

MYSLIVECEKSonata No. 3 in A major (6’30)

DUSSEKSonata in A major, Op. 43 (14’)

DVORAK3 Mazurkas, Nos. 3, 4 and 7 (9’)

MARTINULoutky (Puppets), H. 92 (10’)

i. Pierrot’s Serenade,ii. The Sentimental Puppet’s Waltz,

iii. Columbine, iv. Puppet Ball

INTERVAL

MYSLIVECEKSix Easy Divertimenti for

Keyboard (16’)

JANACEK In The Mists (17’)

SMETANACzech Dances, Book 2, Nos. 1, 2 and 4 (11’)i. Furiant, ii. The Little Hen

iii. The Bear

THE CLASSICAL STYLE

MYSLIVECEKSonata No. 5 in F major (4’)

MOZART*Sonata No. 9 in D major, K. 311 (15’)

BEETHOVENSonata No. 3 in C major,

Op. 2 No. 3 (25’)

INTERVAL

MYSLIVECEKSonata No. 6 in D major (7’)

SCHUBERTImpromptus, D. 899 (30’)

*Mozart’s K. 311 was composed shortly after visiting Myslivecek in Munich in autumn 1777, and uses ideas borrowed from Myslivecek’s solo keyboard music.

Listen at www.clarehammond.com/myslivecek

CLARE HAMMOND

Acclaimed as a pianist of “amazing power and panache” (The Telegraph), Clare Hammond is recognised for the virtuosity and authority of her performances and has developed a “reputation for brilliantly imaginative concert programmes” (BBC Music Magazine). In 2016, she won the Royal Philharmonic Society's 'Young Artist Award' in recognition of outstanding achievement while in 2020 she gives her debut recitals for the International Piano Series at the Southbank Centre and the Aldeburgh Festival.

In recent seasons, Clare has performed with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Vasily Petrenko), Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra (Jacek Kaspszyk), BBC Symphony Orchestra (Michael Seal), and the Philharmonia (Jamie Phillips). In 2019, she gave the world premiere of Uncoiling The River by Kenneth Hesketh with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (Martyn Brabbins) and released the Complete Keyboard Works of Myslivecek with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (Nicholas McGegan) for BIS Records. Clare has forthcoming engagements with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Dalia Stasevska), Britten Sinfonia (Ryan Wigglesworth), Sinfonia Varsovia (Jacek Kaspszyk) and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Christoph Altstaedt).

Clare’s discs for BIS have been widely praised with The Times commending her “deliciously unfussy poise and elegance” in Myslivecek. Etude received unanimous critical acclaim for its “unfaltering bravura and conviction” (Gramophone) while the BBC Music Magazine stated that “this array of wizardry is not for the faint hearted”. Her discography includes world premiere recordings of over twenty works.

Clare completed a BA at Cambridge University, where she obtained a double first in music, and undertook postgraduate study with Ronan O’Hora at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

PRESS REVIEWS

“an exhilarating reading from Hammond” BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

“brilliantly despatched by Hammond”THE TELEGRAPH

“flawless transparency and technique”KLASSIK HEUTE

“magnificently interpreted by Clare Hammond”LE DISQUAIRE

“a winning combination of technical subtlety and expressive spontaneity”GRAMOPHONE

“this superb British pianist is easily up to the challenge”FANFARE (USA)

“the young British rising star Clare Hammond was a dazzling athlete”GUARDIAN

“definition of bravura over brainstorming”CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE

“exceptional finesse of articulation, eloquent vitality and force of conviction”DIAPASON