Sunday Sounds: Friendship and Rivalries

Burgh House presents Sunday Sounds, our recital series showcasing emerging musicians.

Join pianist Michael G. Jennings for a lunchtime recital with a programme featuring Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and Scarlatti.

We often think of composers as separate, abstract entities that never interact with the world, let alone with one another; but, before becoming extraordinary musicians, these idealised figures were simply ordinary people. They went out and about, lived a normal life, with all its pleasures and struggles, and had friends and enemies.

This concert will bring into perspective how relationships between composers, who personally knew each other, reflect their similar and very different musical styles.

In an homage to London’s musical heritage, this recital renews the friendship and reciprocal esteem between Haydn and Mozart as well as recreating the musical duel between Handel and Scarlatti, which first took place in 1708 in the Roman palace of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni.

Programme

12 Variations on 'Ah, vous dirai-je maman' – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Andante con Variazioni in F Minor - Joseph Haydn

Suite No. 5 - George Frideric Handel

Sonatas K.513, K.1, K.162, K.208, and K.27 - Domenico Scarlatti

Michael G. Jennings

Having graduated in 2017 in Theoretical Philosophy cum Laude, with a thesis on the inconsistencies of musical formalism, Michael obtained another BA cum Laude in Piano Performance at the Como Conservatory of Music, under the guidance of M°. P.F. Forlenza, with whom he also completed his MA at the Conservatorio di Milano. He has taken part in various masterclasses with internationally renowned pianists such as, M° C. Sandu, M° P.L. Aimard, M° A. Romanowsky, M° B. Lupo and M° R. Cappello.

Michael has played numerous concerts in Italy and across Europe, both as a soloist as well as in chamber music formations, debuting at the Teatro Sociale in Como and at the Palazzina Liberty in Milano. In 2021 he recorded J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and in 2024 he released a concept album with works by Liszt, Brahms, Louriè and Bach/Busoni. He is set to release a Scarlatti album in 2025.

Michael was the curator of PianoLink’s 2018 summer concert season, an association with which he still collaborates as the Coordinator and Executive Director of the PianoLink Philharmonic Orchestra.

Doors open: 12.50pm

Please note: Burgh House is a small arts charity, and we rely on ticket sales to generate income and keep the House open for free. Therefore tickets for events at Burgh House are non-refundable.