SAM HAYWOOD - Outstanding quality.

by Henning Hoholt

It was in deed a pleasure to listen to the English born pianist Sam Haywood in St. Catherine Church, Vilnius, who brilliantly performed a large program, mostly based of some of Chopins most famous and celebrated piano pieces. Such as the Fantasy in F minor op 49, Ballade in F major Op 38, Barcarole, Nocturne in D flat major op 27, Scherzo op 31, Andatne Spianato op 21 and Grande Polonaise op 22.

FREDERIC CHOPIN. For a pianist it is allways a chance to take to perform a program with pieces of music, that many people know well from CD, radio, concerts. Because in their mind the audience has an idea of how this piece shall sound.

NO PROBLEM. For Sam Haywood, this was not any problem. His presentation and pefroming of the Chopin pieces was of outstanding quality. A great pleasure.

In addition to the Chopin program he introduced the audience to some pieces not so well known. The first one was Julius Isserlis Ballade inE flat minor no 2. An unknown piece which Sam Haywood has found in a box in the house of the late composer. An interesting brilliantly piece with many variations, clearly inspired by great romantic composers, such as Chopin, and therefre fitting excellently in to this evenings program, but too with impressionistic sounds, which the composer with luck could have build out more.

JOHAN NEPOMUK HUMMEL. sam Haywoodd to pesented a Lithuanian premiere of his newly arranged Hummel Variations a la Monferine Op. 54. Usually for cello and piano, but when Sam Haywood recebntly has played it ion concerts with a cellist, he had the fealing that this piece with a other arrangement could be perfect as a solo piano cariation pice.. But without the celo, missing one variation, which was impossible to play, as " he didnt have thre hands".  It was a splendid pianopiece and I do understand why Sam Haywood has desided to arrange it for piano solo.

JOHN FIELD. We too heard his Nocturne in C minor no 2, which was like a relaxing piece between the heavyer Chopin. As extra number Haywood played one of his owen compositions: Autumn in Warzaw, - a memory from a parc in Warzaw many years ago with fallng leaves.

Sam Haywood is ne of the most brilliant Chopin pianists I have ever heard. It is difficult to do it better. This can be the "Solo piano concerto of the year" in Vilnius.