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James Lisney’s …petits concerts take their title from the annual series of recitals given by Charles Alkan at the Erard Showroom in Paris during the 1870s.
The duo of Joy and James Lisney has performed in many of Europe’s finest halls, including the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, and London’s Southbank Centre. |
ProgrammeFryderyk Chopin
Introduction and Polonaise Brillante, Op.3 Polonaise in C sharp minor, Op.26 Nocturnes, Op.27 Four preludes from Op.28 arr. for Cello and Piano by Joy Lisney Sonata for Piano and Cello, Op.65 |
The Chopin was a revelation. This was clearly a true partnership between cello and piano – just as it was between father and daughter. James Lisney – no mean virtuoso – accompanied Joy with a vigour and discretion of the utmost sincerity. As a result, the long first movement was an impressive success, a moment derived from the discipline of Chopin’s eloquent intellect, especially clearly delineated, here. Moments of counterpoint, for example, had exemplary delicacy and clarity, allowing the subtlety of Chopin’s inspiration to shine forth
The Classical Source
Joy Lisney, a first-year student at Clare College, Cambridge, may have only just entered adulthood, yet she plays with the sort of poise and authority a seasoned performer twice her age would envy. From the opening measures of the Lutoslawski, she was commanding, her deep involvement in this music evident in the articulate and passionate sounds she wrought from her instrument. This is intense and profound music, an unsettling cello line set against clusters of sound in the piano, played with an empathy and closeness by father and daughter.
This was even more apparent in Chopin’s Cello Sonata Op.65, his last major work, dedicated to the cellist Auguste Franchomme. Rich, sweeping sonorities, a folksy and spirited scherzo, long-spun melodies, which harked back to the opening Nocturne, a swirling tarantella finale, here Joy demonstrated both her exceptional technique and deep understanding of this music. The piano part never dominated, but was an equal, sympathetic partner.
Bachtrack (2011)
Joy Lisney |
Joy Lisney website
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Joy Lisney is a multi-faceted musician, combining composition with a performing career as cellist and conductor.
As a cellist, Joy has performed in major concert halls including the Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall and Leipzig Gewandhaus, as well as three consecutive sold-out recitals at London’s Southbank Centre. Her programmes range from her own arrangement of the Bach Chaconne, to contemporary concertos and world premieres by composers including Mark Anthony Turnage, Cecilia Macdowall, Jan Vriend and Judith Weir. Alongside her solo engagements Joy performs regularly in a chamber music setting and has worked with artists including the Allegri, Dante and Endellion Quartets, Michael Whight, James Gilchrist and Dame Emma Kirkby. She has also played principal cello in orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. As a soloist she has worked with conductors including Howard Williams and Sir Stephen Cleobury as well as directing concerti from the cello. Joy has also explored a wide variety of repertoire as a conductor, from world premieres for string orchestra to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony and in 2019, gave the first London performance the Busoni Concerto for Piano, Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in twenty years. In 2022, she was one of five conductors selected to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra in Marin Alsop’s Women Conductors Masterclass at the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, she has regularly conducted her own compositions, which also include works written for artists such as the Mithras Trio, Barbican Quartet, Arditti Quartet and Ensemble Recherche. Joy completed her PhD in composition at Cambridge University in 2022, swiftly followed by her first piano trio, Petrichor, which was premiered at the Wigmore Hall live on BBC Radio 3. She also writes music for film and TV, including composing additional music for Rupert Gregson-Williams, collaborating with Breanna Box on a short film premiered on nowness.com and scoring animations for Jacquie Lawson E-Cards. |
James Lisney |
James Lisney website
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James Lisney enjoys a rich musical life, moving seamlessly from concerto and recital soloist to chamber musician, song accompanist and pianist director. Initiatives, such as his Schubertreise series at London's South Bank Centre, his extensive Beethoven Project or the recording company Woodhouse Editions, provide a platform for his wide-ranging musical sympathies.
James Lisney made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1986 and early representation by the Young Concert Artists Trust in London led to a career that has taken him to many prestigious venues and gained invitations to appear with major orchestras. Highlights have included residencies at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Carnegie Recital Hall in New York; and Beethoven and Schubert cycles at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Berlin Philharmonie. James Lisney's repertoire ranges from baroque masterpieces to music of the present day. In the past two decades, the music of Schubert and Beethoven have been a central pre-occupation, but he has also premiered several works by the Dutch composer Jan Vriend. His recordings (on Naxos, Bis, Somm, Olympia, Carlton and Attacca) have gained the highest recommendations. The present season will see recitals in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and the Prague Rudolfinum. |