This week our Young Artists Mica Jane (singer-songwriter) and Ariel Lanyi (piano) performed for #MiddayMusic. You can watch their videos below. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch Ibex Brass (brass dectet) perform next Monday and Oliver Wass (harp) perform next Wednesday, both at midday.  Details of their repertoire can be found in the details section on YouTube.  All of our #MiddayMusic videos can be watched on our exclusive playlist.

Mica Jane: Reflections from Lockdown

Lockdown has been an opportunity to reflect on what we’re grateful for, who we miss most and what we might change about our lives. Singer-songwriter, Mica Bernard, has been busy documenting just that by creating songs that are more like diary entries.

Mica says, “The songs I have chosen to perform are the result of a family experiment. I asked all my family members to write poems about their experiences during lockdown and the things they have reflected upon. I wanted to write new songs with a combined perspective as lockdown has been a nightmare for living in your own head”.

“The first song in this video is inspired by two poems written by my aunt, one reflecting on the way we treat Mother Earth and the undeniable sense that the planet seems to be able to breathe for the first time in a long time. The other is about her experiences of being a mother. I decided it would be a really interesting concept to compare the two, how we treat both and the roles they play in our lives.

The second song is inspired by a poem written by my uncle and expresses fear and uncertainty around the current situation (especially as he is expecting his first child) as well as the light at what seems a very long tunnel. This is summed up perfectly by the world petrichor, which is the smell of the earth after the rain.”

Ariel Lanyi: Exploring his Passions

Preparing for the next concert has been in a constant theme in pianist Ariel Lanyi’s life – even during lockdown. “I’ve spent the last few months knuckling down and learning new repertoire for up-coming concerts,” says Ariel. His first post-lockdown concert will be with the Sampson Orchestra of Cambridge with conductor Darrell Davison, where he will perform Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. A fascinating piece composed by Ravel for Austrian pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his arm during World War 1.

Away from the piano, Ariel’s other great passion is writing, which he exploits in a weekly blog: Music for 2 Keywords hosted on his website: www.ariellanyi.com. The posts explore a recording of a piece previously worked on or publicly performed, some of which can be viewed on YouTube @arielpiano

For the Musicians’ Company’s #MiddayMusic series Ariel has chosen Andante Favori, WoO 57 for its remarkable lyricism, benevolence and elegance. “The Andante was originally intended to be the second movement of Beethoven’s Waldstein sonata. After a friend remarked that the sonata was too long, Beethoven, following a period of reflection, replaced the Andante Favori with the shorter slow movement, making the Andante Favori a standalone work,” says Ariel.