Paul Janes
(Grand Piano)

Paul Janes will be playing a Yamaha C7 Grand Piano especially hired from Shackleford Pianos for the concert. We are very grateful to them as they stepped in at short notice after our usual supplier ceased trading.

He has performed widely in the UK and internationally, with notable performances at major venues such as Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham Festival and the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. As an orchestral pianist he works regularly with the BBC Philharmonic and the Halle, and has often featured in demanding solo roles including Stravinsky’s ‘Petrouchka’. His playing can be heard on several BBC Philharmonic recordings.

Here is a PDF of the Poster for this Concert (click to VIEW or right click to SAVE). Please feel free to print and display the poster to help publicise this concert.

Programme (announced 16th December)

Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K. 332
(3 movements)
Ireland: The Island Spell (from Decorations)
Ireland: In a May Morning (from Sarnia: An Island Sequence)
Ireland: Amberley Wild Brooks (from Two Pieces for Piano)
Ireland: Green Ways – Three Lyric Pieces
(3 movements)

INTERVAL

Debussy: Children’s Corner Suite
(6 movements)
Poulenc: The Story of Babar [L’Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant]
(narrated in English by Joy Naylor)

Brief Report “on the night”

Paul Janes thoroughly entertained an audience of over 50 people with his mastery of the grand piano. At the end of the rehearsal he had commented to me that he thought he had “tamed the beast”. Well, the audience certainly agreed!

His first piece was a Mozart piano sonata which illustrated well his skill at adapting his playing to the mood of each movement. The finale was amazingly first, but clear and as well defined as the slower middle movement. The remainder of the first half was composed of 4 pieces by Ireland. Paul carefully explained the background to each with the first 3 having watery themes and the last (which had 3 movements) comparing different trees.

The second half consisted of 2 pieces, both involving the toys of childhood. First came Debussy’s “Children’s Corner Suite” (dedicated to his beloved daughter, Claude-Emma, who was about three when the work was finished) which illustrated well some of her toys. The last of the 6 pieces “Golliwogg’s Cakewalk”, was recognised by many of the audience and was  applauded enthusiastically.

His final piece “The Story of Barbar” included our own Joy Naylor as narrator, and she certainly acted the parts enthusiastically (see her “roar” below) as the piano illustrated her words with some very strange (but enjoyable) sounds. Thunderous applause was followed by Paul’s encore of Poulenc’s “Novelette No. 1” to yet more applause.

Press Report

The first of the Middlewich and District Concerts Society concerts for 2026 turned out to be quite a hit. It was a piano recital by Paul Janes, using a grand piano provided by Shackleford Pianos of Macclesfield. Not only was he a superb player, he was also an excellent communicator, providing the audience with informative backgrounds to the music.

He opened with Mozart’s Piano Sonata K332, ranging from serene to distinctly busy, with long runs in the last movement. There followed a diverse collection of pieces by John Ireland. The first three (The Island Spell, In a May Morning and Amberley Wild Brooks) reflected places he knew and had a watery theme. Greenways was a set of three pieces inspired by trees (The Cherry Tree, Cypress and Palm and May), the middle one being distinctly prickly!

Second half had a lighter tone. Debussy’s Children’s Corner was a set of six pieces written for his young daughter and featuring some of her toys. The best known was The Golliwoggs Cakewalk. The final piece was a performance of Babar the Little Elephant by Francis Poulenc. This was based on a children’s book by Jean de Brunhoff and had a lively narration by Joy Naylor, complemented by a whole range of interludes from the piano, from serene to robust. There was, of course, an encore – Novelette No.1, also by Poulenc. A great finale to a fascinating and hugely enjoyable concert.