Catherine McKay — piano

Catherine is a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician and song accompanist, in between teaching and adjudicating commitments.

Suddenly this New Zealander has seemingly become a full- blooded concert pianist overnight, able to pour bravura cascades of Byronic passion quite effortlessly into Chopin's Ballade No. 4. Same with her virtuosic Liszt … and for exacting technical difficulty, Ravel's Alborado del Grazioso scooped the pool. Christchurch Star

International New Zealand artist represents Catherine McKay.
www.inza.co.nz/CM.shtml
email: jamie@inza.co.nz

Reviews — Catherine McKay

Exciting playing by great pianist

...Her performance delivered entirely from memory, was impressive indeed...

Anyone who can tackle Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso and then follow it with a liberal helping of Liszt can pretty much tackle anything. Both require large canvases, Ravel writing orchestrally, using the entire range of the keyboard to create intricate textures and Liszt demanding all-out power. The rhythmic energy was particularly exciting in the Ravel and I felt the real Hispanic spirit was captured in the interpretation.

Liszt's St Francis Walking on the Waters requires strong hands and a very physical approach. Its a curiously programmatic work, with plenty of turbulent rumblings representing the rolling waves, and McKay gave full vent to all these but did not let it stray into cliche.

As an entree, Haydn's Sonata in E flat of 1771 was played simply and with a spirit of humour sometimes lacking in performances of Haydn's work. The crisp ornamentation was well integrated into the melodic line and the entire performance had about it a poise and lightness that was charming. The slow movement was phrased very elegantly and the whole was — correctly — devoid of sentiment and was all the better for that.

McKay's account of Chopin's Ballade Op 52 displayed control in the beautifully wrought opening and passion in outbursts later on. It was a worthy contrast to the cool Haydn preceding it and the delicious Ravel following it. ... Patrick Shepherd, Christchurch Press, New Zealand

Pianist Catherine McKay at the Arts Centre

Catherine McKay playing Suddenly this New Zealander has seemingly become a full-blooded concert pianist overnight able to pour bravura cascades of Bryonic passion quite effortlessly into Chopin's Ballade No 4.

Same with her virtuosic Liszt, which had St Francis floating serenely across the waters of very turbulent waves of Lisztian virtuosity.

For exacting technical difficulty, Ravel's Alborado del Grazioso scooped the pool. ...Her Spanish colouring made this clowning work all the more humorous.

I loved her bold unpredictability and light and shade in her clear account of Haydn's Sonata in E Flat. This opening item was her best for me.

What discernment you need to make your Haydn sound totally different to Mozart. ...Ian Dando, Christchurch Star, New Zealand

In defiance of the piano purists

McKay played Haydn, Chopin and Liszt. In some ways I liked the Haydn Sonata in E flat (Hob, XVI.49) best. She has not allowed herself to be misled by the pressure of some purists who deplore the use of modern pianos for 18th-century music, and she was comfortable in a performance that found much warmth and a nicely detached sensibility, relishing the delectable cross-hands treatment of the first movement and the gentle romanticism n the slow movement.

She played Chopin's Fourth Ballade with plenty of expressiveness and bravura and the same qualities were present in Liszt's St Francis of Paule Walking on the Waters, though it did not capture the other-worldly sense of the miracle Liszt was describing. Lindis taylor, Dominion Post, Wellington, New Zealand

Pianist provides sense of drama

Hawkes Bay Regional Orchestra, directed by David Taylor

Catherine McKay is a fine pianist and this was shown in her performance of the Piano Concerto No 2 in F minor by Chopin. Throughout, she showed excellent technical accomplishment combined with a sense of drama in the climaxes achieved, and sensitivity and refinement of tone in the shaping of the beautiful melodic content of the slow movement.

Her playing was always marked by exemplary clarity of detail and, particularly in the Finale, by the strong projection of the rhythmic impetus of the music ….Peter Williams, Hawkes Bay Today

Performance experience, Catherine McKay

Concerto Soloist with Orchestra

Solo Recitalist

Chamber Musician & Collaborative Pianist

Montreal 2003/4

Banff 2002 Winter Concert Series

Pianist Turnovsky Trio 1998–2001, in residence at University of Waikato's Academy of Performing Arts, with violinist Sam Konise and cellist Ashley Brown.

Prior to 2002:

Teacher — Catherine McKay

Catherine McKay as adjudicator

Biography — Catherine McKay, pianist

Catherine McKayMost recently Catherine has been based in Canada. Initially at the Banff Centre of the Arts for a 3-month Artist Residency and then continuing with Canadian pianist and pedagogue Marc Durand completing the Diplôme d'Études Supérieures Specialisées at the Université de Montréal in 2003–4, in Piano and French. She focused on solo piano here, but also had the opportunity to perform Chausson’s beautiful Concerto for violin, piano and string quartet, a contemporary Canadian work for two pianos, percussion and marimba amongst other repertoire.

Prior to this she was pianist of the Turnovsky Trio for 4 years, and together they competed at the ARD International Chamber Music Competition in Munich, performed at NZ Embassies in Europe, recorded a CD of Russian Romantic Piano Trios on the Morrison Trust label and concertised throughout NZ, in parts of England and the US. During this period they collaborated with other musicians to perform much of the quartet and quintet chamber repertoire.

In NZ, principal training was with Jan Beck while she was a student at Napier Girls’ High School, Terence Dennis (BMus 1st Class) and Diedre Irons (MMus with Distinction). She was the recipient of many awards and prizes at national level competitions, during this period — twice performing as concerto soloist with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and with Da Capo Chamber Orchestra. Following the award of a full scholarship from the Associated Board she continued studies at the Royal College of Music in London. While here she played at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, St James Piccadilly, Southbank Centre, Australia House, Royal Overseas House and was prizewinner in the Kendall Taylor Beethoven Piano Competition.

Recent performances through New Zealand

Recent performances in 2004-05 include solo recitals in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson Winter Arts Festival, Hawkes Bay, Tokoroa, Whitianga and Christchurch; as concerto soloist for Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto with Michael Houstoun conducting in Auckland, and Chopin’s F minor Piano Concerto with the Hawkes Bay Regional Orchestra and as accompanist to Dame Malvina Major at the Napier Municipal Theatre.

She now lives in Wellington and coaches for “CHAMPS” (Chamber Music Programme run at Massey University), is accompanist at Victoria University's School of Music and teaches French in between performing.

 

Catherine McKay

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