Yesterday I joined my friend and colleague, the pianist Alexander Ardakov, for a concert at the Recital Hall of the Regis School of Music, in Bognor Regis.
With Alexander at the piano and me at the easel, we presented Mussorgsky’s original piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition. The exquisite recital hall was full to the brim, and the lovely warm audience demanded two encores, music by Grieg and Glinka.
Here we are with a younger member of the audience, Elena, with her Russian princess picture, inspired by Glinka’s “The Lark”.
Afterwards, Sasha, who runs the school, and his wife, son and daughter-in-law invited me to a post concert reception, and I found myself swept away by the hospitality and kindness of these Russians. Hot on the heels of the news that Katie has now been published in Russian, it seemed very fitting to be raising our glasses to art, music and culture – these things have always been the cornerstones of my life, and to be celebrating with kindred spirits felt very special.
The Regis School of Music have regular recitals – if you are on the South Coast, this is a real hidden gem, well worth exploring. The events are friendly, affordable and relaxed, but very high quality. As for myself and Alexander, we hope to be back very soon!
And if you missed it, I will be painting to Ravel’s orchestral version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at Saffron Hall on October 18th! Info here: https://saffronhall.com/events/words-in-walden-festival-2/
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