![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Low-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_UWA-Recital_2018-10-14-34.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
Following on from their very successful concert last year, Deanna Blacher and Neville Cohn again combined their remarkable talents in an entertaining October recital entitled Fiddling with Castanets<\/strong>.\u00a0 The programme consisted of piano works by the famous Spanish composers Enrique Granados and Isaac Alb\u00e9niz, including popular pieces such as Andaluza<\/em> (Granados), \u00a0Asturias<\/em> and Cadiz <\/em>(Alb\u00e9niz), as well as some that are not as well known.<\/p>\n It would have been well worth attending the concert just to hear Neville Cohn draw such stylish and absorbing sounds from the Callaway Auditorium\u2019s Steinway.\u00a0 But his playing was greatly enhanced by Deanna Blacher\u2019s skillful use of the castanets, complementing not only the rhythmic impetus but also the melodic contours of this very appealing Spanish music.\u00a0 Theirs was a coordinated understanding, obviously honed over many years of practice and performance together, and for which no praise could be too great.<\/p>\n Blacher also contributed informative comments about castanets and the various pairs she chose to use \u2013 including a \u201cfat\u201d pair sent to her from a maker in Seville, which helped to project the strong sound required to match Cohn\u2019s robust playing in Sardana<\/em> by Granados.<\/p>\n On a lighter note, Cohn kept the audience entertained with delightful anecdotes about the two composers who had completely different experiences on trans-Atlantic sea voyages.\u00a0 Granados drowned when his ship was torpedoed in the English Channel in 1916, while he was returning from the successful premiere of his opera Goyescas<\/em> in New York \u2013 allegedly taken under by the weight of the gold bars which he received as payment, and which were strapped in a belt around his waist.\u00a0 On the other hand, the child prodigy Alb\u00e9niz stowed away at the age of twelve and paid his way by playing the piano each evening in the first-class saloon of an ocean liner – and then in a New York bar, astonishing patrons by tickling the ivories with his back to the keyboard. \u00a0\u00a0At one stage, Blacher played with her hands behind her back \u2013 but not surprisingly, Cohn did not!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fiddling with Castanets: Deanna Blacher (castanets)\/ Neville Cohn (piano) Callaway Auditorium reviewed by John Meyer Following on from their very successful concert last year, Deanna Blacher and Neville Cohn again combined their remarkable talents in an entertaining October<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[212,18,210,211,16,209],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance","tag-callaway-auditorium","tag-chon","tag-deanna-blacher","tag-fiddling-with-castanets","tag-neville-cohn","tag-royal-schools-music-club"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-2V","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":317,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/the-royal-schools-music-club\/","url_meta":{"origin":181,"position":0},"title":"The Royal Schools Music Club","author":"reviewer","date":"March 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Esencia de Espa\u00f1a Saturday 13th of March 2021 at the Frank Callaway Auditorium, \u00a0Conservatorium of Music, UWA. Reviewed by Jo Donnellan * Photo: Maree Laffan It was the club\u2019s first presentation for 2021. Health precautions in respect of Covid 19 notwithstanding, the mood was festive, in anticipation of a rare\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Esencia de Espa\u00f1a","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/High-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_Deanna-Neville_UWA_2021-03-13-6-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/High-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_Deanna-Neville_UWA_2021-03-13-6-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/High-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_Deanna-Neville_UWA_2021-03-13-6-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/High-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_Deanna-Neville_UWA_2021-03-13-6-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/High-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_Deanna-Neville_UWA_2021-03-13-6-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/High-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_Deanna-Neville_UWA_2021-03-13-6-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/frederic-chopin-poet-of-the-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":181,"position":1},"title":"Frederic Chopin: Poet of the Piano","author":"reviewer","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Anna Sleptsova (piano)\/Louise McKay (cello) WAAPA classical piano students WAAPA Music Auditorium reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 For many, if not most, concertgoers, Chopin is thought of exclusively in relation to\u00a0 works for piano, whether solo or as concertos. But the great Polish composer also wrote a number of chamber\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":181,"position":2},"title":"W.A. Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall review by Neville Cohn \u00a0 I was surprised to read in the printed program that the WASO\u2019s performance at the weekend of Beethoven\u2019s Choral Fantasy was the first time it has been played since 1972. Perhaps one of the reasons for this near-half century absence from its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"WA Symphony Orchestra","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/west-australian-symphony-orchestra-1-1-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":69,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/grigory-sokolov-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":181,"position":3},"title":"Grigory Sokolov (piano)","author":"reviewer","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Schubert, Beethoven, Rameau DG 479 5426 reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 During the years when I taught music criticism, I would, early on in the course, ask how many of the students had listened to Beethoven\u2019s Hammerklavier piano sonata, either \u2018live\u2019 or\u00a0 recorded. Not a single student had done so.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sokolov","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/028947954262-Cvr-300x270.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":63,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/beethoven-piano-sonatas-andor-foldes-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":181,"position":4},"title":"Beethoven – Piano Sonatas Andor Foldes (piano)","author":"reviewer","date":"May 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Andor Foldes (piano) Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op 13 (Pathetique); opus 28 (Pastorale); opus 31 No 2 (Tempest); opus 53 (Waldstein); opus 57 (Appassionata);opus 81a (Les Adieux); opus 101; opus 109 DGG Eloquence 482 5854 (2CDs) TPP: 79\u201926\u201d & 74\u201909\u201d reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Beethoven\u2019s Les Adieux sonata is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BEETHOVEN_Sonatas_Foldes_master","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/4825854_BEETHOVEN_Sonatas_Foldes_master-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":67,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/bartok-piano-works\/","url_meta":{"origin":181,"position":5},"title":"Bartok: Piano Works","author":"reviewer","date":"May 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Andor Foldes (piano) Eloquence DGG 480 7100 (4CDs) TPT: 212\u2019 06\u201d reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 In the 1950s, South Africa was very far from the main highways of the international concert circuit. So, when Andor Foldes arrived to give concerts in Johannesburg and Cape Town, it was a visit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bartok CD","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Bartok-Foldes-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}