We are really excited to welcome back Fumi Otsuki to our tea-time concert programme this coming Sunday, 2nd February at 3.30pm. Fumi joins us from London and will be accompanied by Natalie Bleicher. Fumi's programme is varied and includes his own compositions. Please join us to welcome Fumi and Natalie, and enjoy an hour of beautiful music in a striking building. A warm welcome awaits you. Free entrance with retiring collection; your donations will help us to maintain our historic Handel organ. Thank you.
Programme
Edvard Grieg: 2nd movement from Violin Sonata No.2 Op.13
Wilhelm Stenhammar: 2nd movement from Violin Sonata Op.19
(Music by Grieg from Norway and Stenhammar from Sweden have magical atmospheres in common).
Fumi Otsuki: Violin Sonatina No.1
(1st movement: The 1st theme is based on a hymn, “Amazing Grace” while the 2nd theme is based on an English folksong, “Lady Maisry”.
2nd movement: The theme is the variation of “Amazing Grace”, and a twelve tone row at the same time.
It is a piano solo in the 2nd movement.)
Claude Debussy: La plus que lent L.121
Gabriel Faure: Berceuse Op.16
Sergie Rachmaninoff: Vocalise Op.34-14
Edward Elgar: Chanson de Nuit Op.15-1
Gabriel Faure: Apres un reve Op.7-1
Arvo Part: Spiegel im Spiegel
Biographies
Fumi Otsuki was born in Sendai, Japan, and studied the violin with Gerhard Bosse and Masaypshi Kumai there, and Shizuko Ishii in Tokyo.
He then moved to the UK to study violin with Jill Thoday, piano with Antonietta Notariello, composition with Nigel Clarke at the Royal Academy of Music, and violin with Kun Hu and piano with Raymond Banning at the Trinity College of Music in London.
Further to this he attended masterclasses in Dartington and Couchevel with Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Tomotada Soh and Kun Hu, and had private violin lessons with Tomotada Soh, Sigrun Edvaldsdottir, Andrew Jacobs-Gajic, Kun Hu and Winifred Roberts.
Fumi has given many concerts at cathedrals and churches, including the Cathedrals of Southwark in London, Guildford, Portsmouth, Leicester and Newport, Cheltenham Town Hall, Stansted House, Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon, All Saints in High Wycombe, St. John’s in Chester, St. Stephen’s in Bristol, St Mary’s in Portchester and Holy Trinity in Gosport.
Natalie Bleicher is a classical pianist and composter living in Hertfordshire. She has a particular passion for contemporary music and performs new works regularly. She studied music at New College, Oxford, and composition at King’s College London.
Natalie’s solo CD, Dream Rotation, features premiere recordings by British composers, Sally Beamish, Paul Burnell, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Rob Keeley, Joanna Lee and Dave Smith. In 2018 she was selected to perform in a BBC Radio 3 lunchtime concert for International Women’s Day. In 2019, she performed with Lontano ensemble in a CD of works by Jennifer Fowler and the world premiere of Odaline de la Martinez’ opera, Imoinda.
Natalie is the regular accompanist for West Hampstead Community Choir, and Lemon Tuesdays choir in Chorleywood. She plays for weekly Mini Mozart baby classes in St Albans, and regularly accompanies grade and diploma exams. She teaches piano to children and adults.
Natalie’s compositions for piano, electronic keyboard and harp have featured on Trinity Guildhall syllabuses. In 2022, she was selected for the ABRSM Composers mentoring scheme to further develop her work writing music for education, and her composition, London Wall Bass, is in the syllabus for ABRSM Grade 4 Double Bass.