Music on Thursdays
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Thursday 27th November 2025
12.30 lunchtime
Venue: Leatherhead Methodist Church KT22 8AY
Parking: Swan Centre multi storey KT22 7RH
~ Final Concert of the 2025 Season ~
Luca Pieruccioni
piano
Programme
The Two Hungarians: Bartók and Kodály
Béla Viktor János Bartók (1881-1945)
Elegy No 1 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41, Grave (1908-9)
Elegy No 2 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41
Molto adagio, sempre rubato (quasi improvvisando) (1908-9)
Allegro Barbaro BB 63, Sz 49 Tempo giusto 76-84 (1911)
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Seven Pieces for Piano Op 11 (1918)
1 Lento
2 Székely/Transylvanian folk song, a lament, Rubato, parlando
3 Il pleure dans mon cœur comme il pleut sur la ville: (Verlaine) Allegretto malinconico
4 Epitaph Rubato
5 Tranquillo
6 Székely/Transylvanian folk-song, Poco rubato
7 Rubato
Béla Bartók
Suite, Op 14, BB 70, Sz 62
Allegretto
Scherzo
Allegro molto
Sostenuto
The Two Hungarians: Bartók and Kodály
Béla Viktor János Bartók (1881-1945)
Elegy No 1 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41, Grave (1908-9)
Elegy No 2 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41
Molto adagio, sempre rubato (quasi improvvisando) (1908-9)
Allegro Barbaro BB 63, Sz 49 Tempo giusto 76-84 (1911)
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Seven Pieces for Piano Op 11 (1918)
1 Lento
2 Székely/Transylvanian folk song, a lament, Rubato, parlando
3 Il pleure dans mon cœur comme il pleut sur la ville: (Verlaine) Allegretto malinconico
4 Epitaph Rubato
5 Tranquillo
6 Székely/Transylvanian folk-song, Poco rubato
7 Rubato
Béla Bartók
Suite, Op 14, BB 70, Sz 62
Allegretto
Scherzo
Allegro molto
Sostenuto
...The Suite op 14 has no folk tunes. It is based entirely on original themes of my own invention. When this work was composed I had in mind the refining of piano technique, the changing of piano technique, into a more transparent style. A style more of bone and muscle opposing the heavy chordal style of the late, latter romantic period, that is, unessential ornaments like broken chords and other figures are omitted and it is more a simpler style.
— Béla Bartók, radio interview with David Levita, July 2, 1944
Concert duration approx: 45+ minutes
Please donate to help fund these concerts at: cafdonate.cafonline.org/14455
Béla Bartók
(Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary (now Romania) 1881 - New York 1945)
A composer, virtuoso pianist, and pioneering ethnomusicologist, Béla Bartók devoted much of his life to the study of the folk music of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Together with his friend and colleague Zoltán Kodály, he tirelessly travelled through the Hungarian, Romanian, and Slovakian countryside, collecting thousands of peasant melodies in the field. This passion for folklore became his signature style.
Unlike other composers, who simply cited popular themes, Bartók deeply assimilated them, transforming them into a unique and modern musical language. In his works, the influence of peasant music is evident in the percussive rhythms and innovative harmonies, creating a fascinating bridge between the age-old tradition and the bold experimentation of the 20th century. Despite his premature death in New York in 1945, his vast catalogue of works continues to influence and fascinate listeners around the world.
A Tribute to a 20th-Century Genius
On the eightieth anniversary of his passing, Maestro Luca Pieruccioni wishes to pay tribute to Béla Bartók. This concert is not merely a performance, but an exploration of his extraordinary artistic personality and creative imagination. Through some of his most significant works, drawn from his vast instrumental output, the audience will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in his sonic universe.
The piano concert will also include a "taste" of the music of Zoltán Kodály, a fundamental figure who not only shared with Bartók a passion for folkloric research, but also a deep friendship and a complementary artistic vision. The concert is an opportunity to listen to the key stylistic characteristics of Bartók and Kodály, revealing through music the secrets and insights that made their art so innovative and timeless.
A composer, virtuoso pianist, and pioneering ethnomusicologist, Béla Bartók devoted much of his life to the study of the folk music of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Together with his friend and colleague Zoltán Kodály, he tirelessly travelled through the Hungarian, Romanian, and Slovakian countryside, collecting thousands of peasant melodies in the field. This passion for folklore became his signature style.
Unlike other composers, who simply cited popular themes, Bartók deeply assimilated them, transforming them into a unique and modern musical language. In his works, the influence of peasant music is evident in the percussive rhythms and innovative harmonies, creating a fascinating bridge between the age-old tradition and the bold experimentation of the 20th century. Despite his premature death in New York in 1945, his vast catalogue of works continues to influence and fascinate listeners around the world.
A Tribute to a 20th-Century Genius
On the eightieth anniversary of his passing, Maestro Luca Pieruccioni wishes to pay tribute to Béla Bartók. This concert is not merely a performance, but an exploration of his extraordinary artistic personality and creative imagination. Through some of his most significant works, drawn from his vast instrumental output, the audience will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in his sonic universe.
The piano concert will also include a "taste" of the music of Zoltán Kodály, a fundamental figure who not only shared with Bartók a passion for folkloric research, but also a deep friendship and a complementary artistic vision. The concert is an opportunity to listen to the key stylistic characteristics of Bartók and Kodály, revealing through music the secrets and insights that made their art so innovative and timeless.
Luca Pierucciona
Luca Pieruccioni graduated in piano with top marks at the Conservatory of Music “Giacomo Puccini” in La Spezia under the guidance of Maestro Franco Parenti. He studied conducting attending courses held in Florence by Maestro Piero Bellugi, with whom he worked on conducting technique and aspects of interpretation relating to the baroque, classical and romantic repertoire. He attended a course in High Orchestral Training organized by the Banchetto Musicale in Lucca. He attended advanced training courses held by Isacco Rinaldi (student of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli), Robert McDonald (teacher at the Juilliard School,New York), Hector Moreno, Bruno Canino. He has won prizes in National and International Piano Competitions, the Piano Competition “Città di Genova”, the International Competition “Città di Tortona” (AL), the London International Music Competition Grand Prize Virtuoso, Iscart International Competition Lugano (Switzerland).
He performs as a soloist and chamber musician, playing in various formations from duo to quintet, piano four hands and eight hands on two pianos. From 2004 to 2011 he was part of the Miari Ensemble, a group with which he performed music (well-known and less well-known) mainly for an unusual ensemble - two pianos and eight hands. He has held concerts and recitals in Italy and abroad including: Società dei Concerti di La Spezia, Teatro il “Tempietto”, Genoa, the Cathedral Museum, Lucca, Associazione Musicale Lucchese, Società Filarmonica Pisana, Busto Arsizio (VA), for the Società del Quartetto, Teatro Guglielmi, Massa, Cortona (AR), for the Friends of Music “Associazione Amici dell'Opera” of Pistoia, Rome at Villa Torlonia, Teatro Marcello, Sala Baldini and Indonesian Embassy, at the “Terre di Maremma” Music Festival, the Pescara Music Festival, the Corsanico International Classical Music Festival, the Ciani International Concert Festival. Milan, the Palazzo della Provincia, Lucca, for Amnesty International, the Rosignano Solvay Theater, Livorno, Guido d'Arezzo Foundation, University of Udine, Pietrasanta in te Concerto International Music Festival playing with the famous violinist Michael Guttman, La Fenice Theatre, Venice, Consulate General of Hungary, Italian Cultural Institute of Bucharest, Grenzach-Wyhlen (Germany) - in the Haus der Begegnung.
On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven he was invited to play by the “Dante Alighieri Society of Berlin, Kiel and Lübeck. He conceived and promoted Dante in Music - the Dante universe meets Franz Liszt, a project that led him to hold piano recitals, with the Patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture, promoted by Radio Cambridge and Radio Romania International, the recording was also broadcast by the television station LepidaTV and Radio Vaticana.
He worked as a collaborating pianist at the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca for the staging of various Operas conducted by Alberto Zedda and other important conductors. He has held conferences and concert lessons at Italian Musical Associations analysing symphonic and piano music with particular attention to the aspect of stylistic and formal analysis and musical interpretation regarding compositions by: Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt. He is vice-president and artistic director of the Diafonia Pietrasanta Musical Association. Winner of the competition for qualifications and exams, he is a piano teacher at the “A Passaglia” Music High School, Lucca.
He performs as a soloist and chamber musician, playing in various formations from duo to quintet, piano four hands and eight hands on two pianos. From 2004 to 2011 he was part of the Miari Ensemble, a group with which he performed music (well-known and less well-known) mainly for an unusual ensemble - two pianos and eight hands. He has held concerts and recitals in Italy and abroad including: Società dei Concerti di La Spezia, Teatro il “Tempietto”, Genoa, the Cathedral Museum, Lucca, Associazione Musicale Lucchese, Società Filarmonica Pisana, Busto Arsizio (VA), for the Società del Quartetto, Teatro Guglielmi, Massa, Cortona (AR), for the Friends of Music “Associazione Amici dell'Opera” of Pistoia, Rome at Villa Torlonia, Teatro Marcello, Sala Baldini and Indonesian Embassy, at the “Terre di Maremma” Music Festival, the Pescara Music Festival, the Corsanico International Classical Music Festival, the Ciani International Concert Festival. Milan, the Palazzo della Provincia, Lucca, for Amnesty International, the Rosignano Solvay Theater, Livorno, Guido d'Arezzo Foundation, University of Udine, Pietrasanta in te Concerto International Music Festival playing with the famous violinist Michael Guttman, La Fenice Theatre, Venice, Consulate General of Hungary, Italian Cultural Institute of Bucharest, Grenzach-Wyhlen (Germany) - in the Haus der Begegnung.
On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven he was invited to play by the “Dante Alighieri Society of Berlin, Kiel and Lübeck. He conceived and promoted Dante in Music - the Dante universe meets Franz Liszt, a project that led him to hold piano recitals, with the Patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture, promoted by Radio Cambridge and Radio Romania International, the recording was also broadcast by the television station LepidaTV and Radio Vaticana.
He worked as a collaborating pianist at the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca for the staging of various Operas conducted by Alberto Zedda and other important conductors. He has held conferences and concert lessons at Italian Musical Associations analysing symphonic and piano music with particular attention to the aspect of stylistic and formal analysis and musical interpretation regarding compositions by: Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt. He is vice-president and artistic director of the Diafonia Pietrasanta Musical Association. Winner of the competition for qualifications and exams, he is a piano teacher at the “A Passaglia” Music High School, Lucca.
Recordings of the works in today's concert
Béla Viktor János Bartók (1881-1845)
Elegy No 1 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41, Grave (1908-9)11)
Elegy No 2 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41
Molto adagio, sempre rubato (quasi improvvisando) (1908-9)
This concert celebrates the composer Bartók in the 80th year since his death.
The two elegies are performed here by the Chinese pianist Zhenni Li-Cohen. Let's watch the musical score roll by.
Elegy No 1 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41, Grave (1908-9)11)
Elegy No 2 for Piano, Op 8b, Sz 41
Molto adagio, sempre rubato (quasi improvvisando) (1908-9)
This concert celebrates the composer Bartók in the 80th year since his death.
The two elegies are performed here by the Chinese pianist Zhenni Li-Cohen. Let's watch the musical score roll by.
Béla Bartók
Allegro Barbaro BB 63, Sz 49 Tempo giusto 76-84 (1911)
If your Hungarian is up to the task, there is a Hungarian TV programme on YouTube in which two experts try to match Bartok's playing on a film - for which the soundtrack is absent. Watching how he hits the notes they work out how he probably played this Allegro. Our Hungarian failed. Instead . . .
Who better to listen to than the composer himself playing his own music. This is Bartók recorded in Budapest in 1929.
That is followed by a later, poorer quality, recording for Radio Hilversum in 1935. Purists might like to compare the two recordings and decide which they prefer. This is perhaps a similar exercise to that we enjoyed during Basil Alter's recent lecture-recital, but as difficult for many of us as when the optician asks "is it better this way, or this way".
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Seven Pieces for Piano Op 11 (1918)
1 Lento
2 Székely/Transylvanian folk song, a lament, Rubato, parlando
3 Il pleure dans mon cœur comme il pleut sur la ville: (Verlaine) Allegretto malinconico
4 Epitaph Rubato
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
5 Tranquillo
6 Székely/Transylvanian folk-song, Poco rubato
7 Rubato
Here, Rollin Wilber's performance is split across two videos. First we hear Pieces 1 to 4, and on the second video, Nºs 5 to 7.
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Béla Bartók
Suite, Op 14, BB 70, Sz 62
Allegretto • Scherzo • Allegro molto • Sostenuto
Péter Tóth, piano, performs Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Suite, Op. 14 in November 2019, for Noontime Concerts San Francisco in Historic Old St Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco.
Previous concert
20 November 2025 - musical talents from St John's School, Leatherhead - click here
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