Emma Abbate

& Julian Perkins

piano duo

Thursday 16th January 2025

7.30pm Morpeth Methodist Church

Programme (on occasion, the artists may make minor changes to the published programme)

Mozart Sonata for piano four hands in D major K.381

Schubert Eight variations on a French song in E minor D. 624

Ravel Ma Mère l'Oye suite: Pavane de la Belle au Bois dormant, Petit Oucet, Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes, Les entretiens de la Belle et la Bête, Le jardin féerique 

INTERVAL

Berkeley Theme & variations Op. 73

MacDowell Three poems Op. 20

Iain Farrington Chit Chat: Pep talk, Clean blues, Breezy banter

Pianists Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins are seasoned entertainers of music society audiences.  When not performing with the duo, Emma is an accompanist and chamber musician as well as a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  Julian follows a busy musical life as a soloist, conductor and chamber musician.  He is also Artistic Director of Portland Baroque Orchestra in Oregon, USA.  Emma and Julian enjoy exploring the work of contemporary composers to introduce them to new audiences.

Emma and Julian's programme for Morpeth starts in a classical mood with Mozart, Schubert and Ravel's lovely five movement Mother Goose suite.  In the second half, as keen explorers of contemporary repertoire, the duo will introduce us to twentieth century English composer Lennox Berkeley, followed by 19th century American composer Edward MacDowell and concluding with Iain Farrington's Chit Chat suite - intended to evoke lively conversations.

'...these exceptional performers, whose complementarity and integration were ideal.'  Pinner Music Festival

More about Emma & Julian:

Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins have given duet recitals at venues including the Royal Opera House, St George’s Bristol, St John’s Smith Square, Hatchlands Park, the Russell Collection and for the Mozart Society of America. Praised for their ‘‘impressive sensitivity’’ by Early Music Reviews and for telling ‘‘a totally convincing story with every piece’’ by The Arts Desk, their recordings have received five-star reviews in BBC Music Magazine and Het Nieuwsblad. Their varied discography includes Mozart’s complete sonatas for keyboard duet on period instruments, Weber’s complete piano duets on an original Viennese fortepiano, as well as Tournament for Twenty Fingers featuring works by British composers from the twentieth century. Their latest disc is Summer Dreams which brings together the complete works for piano duet by three major American composers: Edward MacDowell, Amy Beach and Samuel Barber.

Italian pianist Emma Abbate enjoys a demanding career as a piano accompanist and chamber musician. Described as "an amazingly talented pianist" by the leading Italian magazine Musica, she has performed in duo recitals for international festivals and concert societies throughout Europe and at UK venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre and the Aldeburgh Festival. She also regularly broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and has recently presented an episode of Inside Music.

Emma is making a series of acclaimed recordings devoted to 20th century Italian vocal chamber music, the latest of which is the world-première Franco Alfano: Songs with the leading Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi. Previously, Emma has released Sera d'inverno: Songs by Ildebrando Pizzetti with mezzo-soprano Hanna Hipp, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Shakespeare Sonnets with bass-baritone Ashley Riches. A keen advocate of contemporary music, Emma has also released two discs devoted to works by Stephen Dodgson that include his piano quintets with the Tippett Quartet.

Based in London, Emma is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a staff coach at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Julian Perkins is Artistic Director of the Portland Baroque Orchestra in Oregon, USA. Based in the UK, he is also Artistic Director of Cambridge Handel Opera and Sounds Baroque. He performs regularly at the Salzburg Festival, has directed groups ranging from the Academy of Ancient Music to the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, and featured as soloist in concertos with groups such as the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Florilegium.

Julian has appeared as solo harpsichordist / fortepianist at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Welsh National Opera, among others. He features regularly on the BBC Early Music Show and In Tune, and has performed as a soloist at London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center and Sydney Opera House. Shortlisted for the 2021 Gramophone Award for his recording of Eccles’ Semele, Julian's playing and conducting has been praised for its ‘‘demonic intensity’’ (BBC Music Magazine – Recording of the Month) and ‘‘fluid and natural pacing’’ (Gramophone – Editor's Choice), conducting ‘‘as if every bar means the world to him’’ (Opera Disc of the Month). In August 2023, his latest solo clavichord disc, Handel's Attick, was Instrumental Choice in BBC Music Magazine.