JAMES RHODES The Man making Beethoven Sexy
20-Sep-2011AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE - PRESENTED BY MELBOURNE FESTIVAL, ANDREW KAY, LIZA MCLEAN AND GLYNIS HENDERSON PRODUCTIONS AND DENIS BLAIS
Described as the ‘Nigel Kennedy’ of the piano, James Rhodes isn’t your average classical musician, the accolades about him speak for themselves, "an innovative and imaginative musician of real talent" wrote Gramophone Magazine and "Rhode’s talent burns brightly" wrote The Daily Telegraph.
36 year old Rhodes was born into a middle-class Jewish family in St John’s Wood, North London. At age 7 he borrowed the CD of Beethoven’s
Emperor Concerto from his father’s collection and the rest as they say is history. James makes it his mission to seek out new audiences for classical music through his choice of venues and performance style.
In 2009 he was the first ever classical soloist to perform at the Roundhouse in Camden UK and then he has performed in non-traditional classical music houses such as the 100 Club, Proud Galleries and the Tabernacle, Notting Hill. Rhodes has also played at Blenheim Palace and the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hall. He is the first classical pianist to be signed to the predominantly rock-music label Warner Bros. Records. His first album with Warner, Bullets and Lullabies, was released in the UK in December 2010 and went straight to No 1 on iTunes classical download chart.
2010 saw James Rhodes being featured in the BBC documentary Chopin: The Women Behind the Music which will soon screen on SBS, he currently presenting and performing his own television series James Rhodes: Piano Man on Sky Arts 2.
"His sound cannot be mistaken for that of any other pianist, alive or dead. It is confrontational, brittle and intermittently seductive."
Norman Lebrecht"The joy of James Rhodes is the way he reaches out to young, unconverted audiences by throwing them into classical music’s deep end – Beethoven, Bach – with performances of such natural ease and brilliance that no one can resist."
Geoff Brown, The Times."James Rhodes is not your typical classical pianist. Yet his passionate playing and rock-star aura could be just what the music needs."
The Times LondonVenue:
Melbourne Recital Centre, Elisabeth Murdoch HallDates:
Wed 19 Oct and Thu 20 Oct, 8pmDuration: 1hr 45min including interval
Tickets: Priced from $25 - $89.90
Bookings: Melbourne Recital Centre (03) 9699 3333 / melbournerecital.com.au
Ticketmaster 1300 723 038 / melbournefestival.com.au
Comment