Pianist Clare Hammond visits School of Music
3 October 2017
Pianist Clare Hammond recently visited the School of Music to record a performance of Stravinsky’s ‘Petroushka Suite’ in our Concert Hall.
Clare was the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist of the Year 2016 and appeared in the 2015 movie The Lady in the Van, playing a young Mary Shepherd, the character depicted by Maggie Smith.
Of her visit, Clare said: “Stravinsky’s ‘Petroushka Suite’ is one of the most fiendish and exhausting pieces in the piano repertoire and one that I fell in love with when I was asked to play it for the Presteigne Festival in 2016. I have given many performances of the Suite over the past year and was keen to get my version ‘on tape’.
“When I thought about suitable venues, my mind immediately turned to the University as the Steinway piano in the Concert Hall is just exceptional. I have given five recitals in the Hall now, and recorded a disk of Kenneth Hesketh’s music there in the summer of 2016.
“Every time I visit I am struck by the precision and beauty of the piano’s tone, and by how easy it is to achieve effects that are often impossible on less impressive instruments.
“The staff at the University are always so welcome and it is a pleasure to work there. I hope very much to return in future!”
