Maurizio Pollini review – glimpses of greatness amid the gloom

by Andrew Clements

Royal Festival Hall, London

Schumann’s Fantasy lacked the usual magisterial control, but Chopin fared better and Schoenberg’s Six Little Pieces were the perfect tribute to Boulez.

Maurizio Pollini at the Royal Festival Hal, London. Photograph: Venla Shalin/Redferns

When Maurizio Pollini first established himself internationally as one of the great pianists of the age, Schumann’s C major Fantasy was a signature work, and the recording he made of the piece in 1973 remains one of his greatest achievements on disc. He has returned to the work intermittently over the last 40 years, and played it several times since in London, though without ever quite recapturing the earlier clarity, rigour and intensity.

The Fantasy was the most substantial item in this programme of Schumann and Chopin, but again Pollini’s performance seemed only an approximation of what it once was. The formal strength is still there, and also the wonderfully unsentimental treatment of the lyrical interludes, but any sense of magisterial control in the first movement and steady accumulation of intensity in the finale were missing. The closing pages of the central march were rather approximate, just as the opening cascades of Schumann’s Op 8 Allegro were not as crisp as they might have been, but then that awkward work’s rather flashy brand of bravura has never seemed a perfect fit with Pollini’s approach.

The Chopin group generally fared better, though everything remained rather subfusc. The Polonaise-Fantaisie Op 61 was stripped of its ceremonial overtones, and became restrained and inward-looking, while the C sharp minor Scherzo seemed to go through the motions in a safety-first sort of way. 

Best of all were the two sharply contrasted Nocturnes of the Op 55 set, the first all F-minor introspection, the second flowing E-flat major expansiveness, while the work that Pollini had added at the beginning of the programme in memory of Pierre Boulez - Schoenberg’s Six Little Pieces Op 19, had been the perfect tribute, each miniature chiselled with immense care.

First published at The Guardian, March 4, 2016

Article: Aussie antiques lover sets up shop in Belper

Friday March 4, 2016

by Dan Hayes

An Australian antiques lover has set up shop in Belper and is hoping his new business venture hits the ground running. 

Charles Collins, 56, of Derby, came to this county with his first wife in 1989 and found work in radio journalism.

However, after a long stint working at Radio Derby as a sports producer came to an end in 2014, he decided to go it alone in a field he had long been passionate about. 

He said: “I found it difficult to find work after the BBC and spent about a year volunteering at food banks and things like that. 

“I was in my mid-50s and had heart and back problems but I just thought, ‘I would employ me’, so I employed myself."

Charles managed to secure the lease on a unit at The Gatehouse at De Bradelei House on Chapel Street and decided to keep the tea room that came with it. 

“I’ve had to do some courses in hygiene and Diane who runs it has been fantastic, but I’ve begun to get some compliments about the quality of my cappuccinos and lattes, which is nice.” 

The shop is a veritable treasure trove of beautiful and interesting objects, from a Pye phonograph to fearsome military memorabilia and everything in between.

There are stunning African masks which have been picked out by Charles’ current wife, who originally hails from South Africa, and exquisite hand-painted porcelain by art-deco artist Clarice Cliff that was once, astonishingly, sold in Woolworths. 

Twelve dealers in total will show their wares at the shop eventually, with the priciest items arranged in glass vitrines which seemingly add to their desirability. 

There are even a few reminders of Charles’ native Australia dotted around in the form of the maps which adorn the walls and a wonderful Australia-shaped coffee table. 

Val and Charles, wedding day 1988

Charles’ love of antiques came from his first wife, the Prisoner Cell Block H actress, Val Lehman.

“I used to find it really boring but she got me into it and eventually I developed and interest in porcelain and maps,” he explained. “We then set up an antiques centre but as she wasn’t a businesswoman it didn’t succeed. I do remember thinking, however, ‘I could do that’.”

Charles next step will be to open the upstairs of the shop in readiness for Monday’s official opening when TV antiques expert, Charles Hanson, and pop legend Dave Berry will be coming along to cut the ribbon. 

Breaking news and ‘Neighbours’:

After returning to Australia with his first wife in 1996, Charles again found work in journalism. 

One of the most amazing tales he has to tell was his experience of breaking the news of a coup in Fiji.

“I pretended to be a senior Fijian official in order to get through to the head of their army,” he said. 

“When I got through to him I admitted I wasn’t who I said I was, but the only thing he was interested in was in getting a message to the rugby team that they should continue their tour of Australia!” 

Charles, now a committed Christian, says he couldn’t do the same now. 

On top of that Charles also had a couple of small parts in Prisoner himself, courtesy of his then wife who played Bea Smith - Top Dog to the long-running soap’s aficionados - and even had one line in Neighbours. 

“I suppose you could say I have had an interesting life story,” says Charles.

First published in Belper News, March 4, 2016