Pianist will play on “home ground”

Twenty-one-year-old Julius Drake will be making his first local appearance when as a member of the Mühlfeld Trio he will give a performance in “Music at Ward Freman” at Buntingford this weekend.

The evening’s entertainment, which includes the enchanting “The story of Babar the little elephant” by Francis Poulenc, was suggested by Julius to raise money for the Friends of Throcking Church.

In fact the historic Parish Church is adjacent to his home, where he has lived since he was four years old. Julius started to learn the piano when he was seven and was awarded his Associate of the Royal College of Music when he was only seventeen.

County Award

In the autumn of 1976 he won a major County Award from the Herts County Council and became a full-time student at the College where he is presently continuing his studies under Bernard Roberts and Roger Vignoles.

It is two years since the trio was formed with clarinettist Victoria Soanes and celloist Nicholas Roberts, all attending the same College.

The trio takes its names from the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld whose playing inspired Brahms to write his masterpieces for the clarinet.

During the last couple of years Julius has given a number of concerts in London and the Home Counties, both as a soloist and in chamber music ensembles.

Kuwait

Last December he was called upon at very short notice to fly to Kuwait to be the pianist and musical director of a group of Europeans who were performing the operetta “Orpheus and the Underworld”.

The Mühlfeld Trio is due later this month to give the premiere of “Trio for clarinet, cello and piano” recently written for them by leading British composer, Elisabeth Lutyens. The work will be performed at the Rosslyn Hill Chapel in Hampstead.