Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, September 8, 2022

From The Royal Gazette, September 29, 2022

From The Gazette

The London Gazette, September 9, 2022

Canberra Times front page, September 10, 2022

From The Royal Gazette, September 14, 2022

Royal piano news!

by Tony Magee

SEEING this photo today in Robert Macklin's article Morrison might have done republicans a big favour (Canberra City News (on-line edition), I wondered, what piano is that? My research reveals it's by the great French piano maker Sébastien Érard, but made in their London factory in 1856 for Queen Victoria. I've added another photo showing just the piano only. City News photo is from 1957.

See and hear this piano being played by British born pianist Stephen Hough in a short encore performance of Chopin's "Nocturne in E flat major" at the 2019 BBC Proms here. Hough became an Australian citizen in 2005.

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Princess Anne and Prince Charles in the Queen's Gallery, October 1957,

with the Erard piano, originally manufactured in 1856 for Queen Victoria. Photo: Collection Library and Archives Canada

The 1856 gold piano was ordered by Queen Victoria to be placed in the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace. Both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert played the piano and they had instruments installed in all their private residences.

The piano is constructed using gilded painted and varnished mahogany, satinwood and pine, with brass and gilt bronze mounts. Three incurving cabriole legs with intricate carvings support the case.

The instrument is decorated in an early eighteenth-century French style. It features comical depictions of monkeys and cherubs playing musical instruments. These paintings are by François Rochard a French miniature painter. He used polychrome colours to provide a visually powerful impression. Parts of the case are taken from an earlier instrument owned by Queen Victoria. She so liked the imagery that she wanted it transferred to her new piano.

The 1856 S&P Erard Grand Piano in the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace.  Photo: The Royal Collection

The 1856 Erard grand piano has the serial number 3985 and is inscribed ERARD P. ERARD fecit and F. ROCHARD PINXIT. It measures 244 cm in length. Modern day concert grands by say, Yamaha, Steinway, Bechstein, Petrof and most other manufacturers are usually 275 cm (9 feet) and are often just referred to as "9 footers".

One exception in modern day piano design is the Bösendorfer Imperial which measures 290 cm in length and has 97 keys instead of the usual 88. It is the largest modern concert grand currently produced in the world.

IN another piece of Royal piano news just in, one of only two ever constructed, original and enormous Challen grand pianos has just been restored as of September 2022.

The Challen Giant before it was restored – it then had a gloss white finish. Photo courtesy Andrew Giller

In 1934 the directors of Challen, a leading British piano manufacturer, decided they wanted to do something special to mark the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V. They hit upon the idea of building the world’s largest piano.

Challen actually built two of these pianos, both 356 cm (11ft 8in) long.

They were, of course, painted silver—as it was a silver jubilee. The first piano went on show that year at the British Industries Fair in London. It received much attention and was greatly praised.

After the Fair, the piano went on display around the UK and became known as the “Challen Giant”.

However, in 1959 the piano disappeared. There’s talk of it being left outside after a garden party in Manchester (UK) and it sinking into the ground (its weight was 1,270 kg). References to this are somewhat ambiguous, but it was never seen in public again.

The second piano (serial no. 56155) only surfaced when it was exhibited at the 1952 British Industries Fair—gone was the silver, it now had a mottled gold finish. This piano became the new “largest piano in the world”, a fact confirmed for several decades by the Guinness Book of Records.

Following years of neglect, the piano was “rescued” by piano restorer Andrew Giller in 2020. Giller and his team arranged for the piano to be transported to their workshop in Beccles (near Norfolk, UK) and immediately set about restoring this unique instrument.

Restoration was completed in September 2022, and the Challen Giant has now been returned to its former glory. The team went to great lengths to ensure traditional techniques and components were used in the process. The exterior of the casework is back to the original 1935 silver finish, whilst the frame is painted in the 1952 mottled gold colour.

The 11ft 8in (356cm) Challen grand piano — fully restored and finished in silver. Photo courtesy Andrew Giller

The project took 18 months, and around 1000 hours of labour to complete.

My thanks to David Crombie's World Piano News, Wikipedia, Canberra City News, Bösendorfer.com and Vimeo.com for information and photos in helping create this article.

Death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, from The Times, London, Friday September 9, 2022

“Sorry everyone, David has an obsession with tea bags.”

by Tony Magee

WITH the passing of Gillian Helfgott on August 16 this year, aged 90, memories came flooding back to me of the time Gillian brought her famous pianist husband David Helfgott to Canberra, to play a concert launching the Czech manufactured piano, Petrof.

Helfgott montage by artist Robert Pengilley. Measuring a massive 3.5m wide and 1.5m high, the work is hung on
level 2 of DW Music, 301 Canberra ave, Fyshwick and available for public viewing. Photo: Zach Bailey

The Petrof importers had approached Christopher Davis, managing director of Canberra’s DW Music, where I worked, to commence discussions on stocking that brand, which resulted in a successful agreement and we received our first stock – four uprights and four grands – in July, 2009.

In 1994, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the democracies of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Czech government poured the equivalent of $A24 million into refurbishing the Petrof factory.

The shipment we received in 2009 was a result of this new technology and manufacturing excellence.

One thing that sealed the deal for our shop, was the guarantee that the importers had secured Australian pianist David Helfgott as their official endorsee and brand ambassador and that a concert date would be arranged for him to perform in the store on their second-largest grand piano model, the “Monsoon”.

It was a free event, but as word spread, we quickly gave away all available 250 tickets.

The icing on the cake came when the Czech ambassador agreed to attend and make an address.

Three years earlier in 1996, Scott Hick’s Australian movie “Shine” was produced and released. It is a biographical, psychological drama based on the life of David Helfgott. Distributed and published by Andrew Pike and Ronin films here in Canberra, the film made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Met with critical acclaim world-wide, Geoffrey Rush received the Academy Award for best actor at the 69th Academy Awards, for his portrayal of the young adult Helfgott. Lynn Redgrave played his wife Gillian.

But the day finally came in 2009 when David and Gillian arrived at our shop in Canberra, about 4.30pm, three hours before the concert would commence.

David’s apparent eccentricities initially amounted to nothing more than asking “where is your kitchen”?

Gillian was busy discussing formalities with Chris and didn’t hear this exchange, so one of the junior staff showed him upstairs and left him to it – assuming he wanted a drink of water.

David arrived downstairs about 10 minutes later carrying 10 boxes of tea bags. He’d been through every cupboard and draw, found all he could, opened many packets, stuffing tea bags into his pockets and juggling the other unopened boxes.

“Oh, no!” exclaimed Gillian. “Sorry everyone, David has an obsession with tea bags.”

However, it wasn’t a problem. Gillian gently removed the boxes from his grip and she said to him and to all of us: “Now David, I’ll just put these safely over here behind the counter, plus you can’t have all these loose ones in your pockets. It makes great big bulges, which won’t look very nice during the concert will it?

David and Gillian Helfgott. Photo: Elise Amendola / AP

Gillian asked if we could take David somewhere quiet upstairs – not the kitchen – so we ushered him into the grand piano showroom and he sat down at various pianos and amused himself there, while Gillian and I went through the event order for the evening.

By 7pm, the house was filling up. 

The ambassador spoke first, about the history of Petrof piano manufacturing in his home country, founded in 1864 by Antonin Petrof. Still under family ownership the current CEO is great-great-granddaughter Susanna Petrofova.

Then it was time to welcome Gillian to the podium. She spoke about how she and David met, which was in the Perth wine bar Riccardo’s in 1983, co-owned by Dr Chris Reynolds. Reynolds offered David a job there playing on a battered old upright. He is credited as playing a significant part in David’s rehabilitation, having diagnosed him with early onset schizophrenia.

Dr Reynolds introduced him to his friend Gillian Murray. The two were married one year later in 1984.

Gillian said: “I wanted to try and continue Chris Reynolds’ work of rehabilitation. Seeing that this once great talent had disintegrated into a helpless individual with severe mental health issues, I wanted so much to get David playing professionally again and share my love for him and with him. It’s taken many years of patience, but we really have a strong bond and we really are deeply in love with each other.”

Gillian had taken on the triple role of wife, carer and manager. She mentioned that David’s favourite time to practice was beginning at about 2am, finishing at day break, so getting to sleep for her was hard, until the Petrof importers gifted them the giant “Monsoon” model grand piano, measuring 236 centimetres. After it was installed into their home in Bellingen, NSW, Gillian said that drifting off to sleep was no problem with the beautiful sounds of David playing their Petrof.

Gillian then introduced David to play, reminding him of what each piece was to be, after which he would then sit down and play it for the audience.

Commencing with “A Rustle of Spring” by Sinding, he arose delighted, shook everyone’s hands in the front two rows, before being gently ushered back to the piano by Gillian for his next piece, which she would always announce.

Mendelssohn’s “Rondo capriccioso Op. 14” is a crowd favourite and also a complex and difficult work to play. David played it with a fluid technique, his hands flittering over the keyboard in a relaxed manner with no forearm or wrist tension. Generally, this is highly desirable for any pianist of substance and quality, as there is no way of producing a singing tone from the instrument if you are stiff and jabbing.

Further works that followed included Chopin’s “Heroic Polonaise”, the Dame Myra Hess piano arrangement of Sebastian Bach’s “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring”, Beethoven’s “Pathétique” piano sonata, a few other piano miniatures and finishing with the “Prelude in C# minor” by Rachmaninoff.

In all, about an hour of music. The audience went crazy and he lapped up every moment.

Many critics around the world have unkindly dismissed David Helfgott as nothing more than an amusing circus act.

During a 1997 performance, critic Anthony Tommasini noted that Helfgott “stares into the hall and renders a non-stop commentary of grunts, groans and mutterings”.

At our 2009 concert at the shop, this was also evident, but I along with most of the audience quickly realised that this was just part of his mental state and it was not difficult to overlook and concentrate on his music.

The Petrof "Monsoon" 237cm grand piano. Photo courtesy petrofgallery. (click link)

Gillian is herself an unsung hero in many other areas of the musical arts scene.

Before ultimately dedicating her life to helping her husband, Helfgott was an astrologer and numerologist. She also wrote “The New York Times” best-selling autobiography, “Love You to Bits and Pieces: Life with David Helfgott”, which shared her life journey with the world.

An irrefutable lover of music, Helfgott continued to support the industry wherever she could in her hometown of Bellingen, including her promotion of the 80-strong Bellingen Youth Orchestra and the annual Camp Creative festival which eventually garnered some international success.

Gillian Helfgott played a vital role in relaunching her husband’s career, firstly in Perth, followed by appearances in Denmark, Germany, Austria, Turkey, the US, Asia and Australia.

As his career progressed and he became a household name, Gillian conducted all his press interviews herself.

“A vivacious, social and passionate woman, Gillian will be long remembered and treasured”, the family wrote.

First published in Canberra City News on-line edition, September 7, 2022.

CSO's successful "Australian Series" gaining popularity with a full house

Music / “Hearing the land”

CSO Chamber Ensemble with Djinama Yilaga Choir

At National Museum of Australia

September 1, 2022

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Composer and soprano Deborah Cheetham. Photo: Frank Farrugia

THE vibrancy of Australian landscapes have inspired countless musical compositions. We live on an ancient continent, ever shaped by powerful and extreme forces, a place of great biodiversity and beauty.

Inspired by the desert, Canberra composer Michael Sollis has created “Mirage”, composed in 2012. A work for just two players, Michael’s wife Kiri Sollis on flute and Veronica Bailey on vibraphone, the piece was a musical conversation with question and answer dialogue as well as intense discussion, interspersed with moments of reflection and thought. 

There were also dream-like sequences, closing with a flute solo over vibraphone chords, slowly dwindling into emptiness. Expertly played by both, the piece received a warm reception from the audience.

Composed in 2018, “Songs for Silent Earth” by Natalie Williams has attempted to confront us with the consequences of a disharmonious relationship with the natural world.

Featuring Edward Neeman at the piano, Doreen Cumming on violin and Patrick Suthers on cello, it was a work of melodic beauty starting with mellifluous interplay between violin and cello before intensifying into solo passages from all three players, mixing mystical and wondrous phrases, sometimes of an almost science-fiction quality, over florid, arpeggiated and delicate piano shadings.

First Nations artist Eric Avery composed “Mists 1” in 2021, as a reaction to a moving and personal perspective on place and learning.

A Ngiyampaa, Gumbangirr, Bandjalang and Yuin artist, he is also trained in classical violin and dance.

Scored for piano and violin with the addition of Ben Hoadley on bassoon, it was a short, lively piece, beautifully played the lyrical lines and enthusiasm.

“Solace” by Kirsten Milenko, looks at the earth’s amazing capacity to regenerate, even after extreme weather events and poses a musical question: do we perceive ourselves as guardians or owners of the natural world?

Composed in 2018, the piece began with a low piano rumble, joined by violin and cello, seemingly wandering through a landscape of wasteland and destruction. Later, the music captures the first gentle hints of regrowth and regeneration.

Playing in pianissimo throughout, the players evoked moments of despair, contrasted with gentle imagery and symbolism of hope. It could have meant many different things to many people.

In an addition to the program, Djinama Yilaga Choir, directed by renowned Walbunga/Ngarigo artist Cheryl Davison, sang an absolutely delightful set of four pieces. Numbering nine singers from children to adults, their harmonies were rich and beautifully in tune.

The finale to their set, “Marindamu”included the return of the full CSO chamber ensemble, plus Melanie Horsnell on guitar. Arranged by Canberra composer Sally Greenaway, the piece featured beautiful harmonies throughout. It was joyful and uplifting music with the choir and the classical musicians all integrating perfectly.

Composer Deborah Cheetham is a Yorta Yorta woman and also a noted soprano. In a world premiere, her piece “Emergency” (also deliberately enveloping the word “emerging”), is a reaction to the vastly different world in which we live, post-pandemic. Cheetham musically reflects on “the new normal” and what many are searching for - certainty. “Emergency” is intended to celebrate certainty, but at the same time capture the feelings and emotional distress and abandonment.

A new work commissioned by the NMA, this fitting finale to the evening featured the full CSO Chamber Ensemble. With a florid piano part, other instruments were featured in solo passages.  Sometimes evoking imagery of confusion, there was mostly a richness and vibrancy about the work,  creating a feeling of hope for the future.

The CSO’s “Australian Series” has captured the hearts of many music lovers and also a new kind of audience, resulting in this concert being totally sold out.

First published in Canberra City News on-line edition, September 2, 2022