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Acclaimed pianist Clare Hammond will help celebrate the life and works of the remarkable, yet little-known, French composer Hélène de Montgeroult when she performs at the Harrogate International Sunday Series later this month.
Hammond has been hailed as a “pianist of extraordinary gifts” (Gramophone) and “immense power” (The Times), and in 2016 she won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award in recognition of outstanding achievement.
In her wide-ranging Harrogate recital of Romantic music on March 24, Hammond will perform works by the likes of Ravel and Coleridge-Taylor alongside those by recently rediscovered composer Hélène de Montgeroult, fêted as “the missing link between Mozart and Chopin”.
Montgeroult, a contemporary of Mozart, was an aristocrat who got caught up in the French Revolution. Legend has it that after being brought to court she saved herself by sitting at a piano and making up some impressive variations on La Marseillaise. Following her death in 1836 she was all but forgotten until being rediscovered in the last few years.
Hammond said: “Montgeroult wrote in a style that was really ahead of its time. It sounds more Romantic even though she was composing decades before people like Schubert, Mendelssohn and Schumann.
“All great composers have a very specific style. You immediately recognise works by Ravel or Mozart, for instance, and Montgeroult’s music is also very distinctive. There’s nothing generic about her music. It’s very exciting. We are in the process of discovering a new voice and a significant composer, and that doesn’t happen very often.”
Speaking ahead of her visit to Harrogate, Hammond added: “I’ve played in Harrogate before but this is the first time for the Festival. I’ve read a lot about the Sunday Series concerts and I’m very glad to be a part of them. I have family in Harrogate so my auntie and uncle will be coming along – it’s always lovely to play for your family, so this will feel like I’m playing on home turf.”
For the past 30 years, the Harrogate International Sunday Series has delighted audiences by bringing world-class chamber and classical musicians to the heart of Yorkshire, and Clare’s performance is the latest in this year’s exciting programme of uplifting Sunday morning coffee concerts.
Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said: “We are delighted to welcome Clare Hammond back to Harrogate for her debut in our Sunday Series.
“Over the last three decades these popular Sunday Morning concerts have been providing a platform for some of the most gifted pianists of their generation and Clare is the latest in a long line of hugely talented musicians to grace our stage.
“Her Harrogate programme is really exciting and varied and the audience is in for a real treat!”
All of the Sunday Series concerts take place at the beautiful Old Swan Hotel, which provides an intimate setting to enjoy a morning coffee and exceptional music with friends.
Clare Hammond, The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, Sunday 24 March, 11am. Tickets are available to book online from the Harrogate International Festivals website Home - Harrogate International Festivals or via the Box Office on 01423 562303.
