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PIANO WEEK participant showcase at Steinway & Sons
4th April 2019 | 6:00 pm
Tokyo | JP
Since the inception of the festival six years ago, excellence, friendliness, a passion for music and imagination have shaped the DNA of PIANO WEEK. Opening doors to pianists of any age and ability and offering them world-class tuition from concert pianists and leading educators in their field resulted in a steadily growing community of inspirational musicians, music lovers and piano enthusiasts from around the world. Our showcase at Steinway & Sons in Tokyo offers a rare opportunity for those audience…
Find out more »Yuki Negishi in Recital
5th April 2019 | 7:00 pm
Tokyo | JP
Japanese concert pianist Yuki Negishi presents a passionate programme that begins with the G Major Sonata D894; completed in October 1826 it was the last of Schubert’s sonatas published during the composer’s lifetime. Hailed by Robert Schumann as the ‘most perfect in form and conception’ amongst all of Schubert’s works in this genre, it is sometimes called the ‘Fantasie’, a title which originates from its very first edition of 1827 by Tobias Haslinger. This is followed by Chopin's Sonata in…
Find out more »Samantha Ward & Maciej Raginia: Works For Four Hands
15th July 2019 | 7:00 pm
Foligno | IT
In an eclectic programme of repertoire for four hands, festival directors Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia combine famous works by Fauré and Debussy with new piano transcriptions of some of the most iconic compositions by the Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla. Opening with a suite of six short pieces, which Fauré wrote for Hélène Bardac (the title Dolly), Samantha and Maciej take the listeners on the journey through the composer’s whimsical titles behind which lies a vivid…
Find out more »Yuki Negishi in Recital
16th July 2019 | 7:00 pm
Foligno | IT
Opening the recital with Chopin’s Fantasie in F minor, Japanese concert pianist Yuki Negishi presents an inspiring programme of solo piano works spanning two centuries. Not long after the gently swaying Berceuse and its unravelling set of filigree variations come to an end, the listeners are treated to one of Chopin’s greatest compositional achievements: Ballade in A flat Major. An exuberant work, claimed to have been inspired by Adam Mickiewicz’s poem Świtezianka precedes Chopin’s Scherzo No. 3. Written in Valldemossa,…
Find out more »Samantha Ward, Maciej Raginia, Yuki Negishi & Niel du Preez play Percy Grainger
17th July 2019 | 7:00 pm
Foligno | IT
The festival directors Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia join forces with Japanese pianist Yuki Negishi and South African pianist Niel du Preez in a rare programme celebrating works for two pianos and six hands by Australian composer Percy Grainger. The evening opens with his fiery English Dance (1924), echoing Rachmaninoff’s virtuosic writing with its rich textures and emotionally charged compositional style. This is followed by Green Bushes (1921) for two pianos, an arrangement of an English and a Scottish folk…
Find out more »Niel du Preez in Recital
19th July 2019 | 7:00 pm
Foligno | IT
South African pianist Niel du Preez opens his programme with Scarlatti‘s serene Sonata K208. The composer’s very personal style is instantly recognisable by the use of short themes, dissonant and ambiguous harmonies and an impassioned lyricism. Soler’s D-flat Major Sonata possesses a delightfully uninhibited playfulness and an unabashed exuberance. This is followed by the English Sonata of Joseph Haydn, the first movement (Allegro) of which is one of the most impressive monothematic sonata-form movements. The second movement (Adagio) is one…
Find out more »Grace Yeo in Recital
22nd July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
The acclaimed Korean concert pianist Grace Yeo begins her all-Schumann recital with the famous Arabesque, which written in a simple rondo form perfectly showcases the composers lyricism and reflective beauty. The opening theme repeats itself three times with contrasting episodes interspersed in between, before ending with a typically Schumann-esque epilogue. Two works by Clara Schumann follow next, her fiery Deuxième Scherzo demonstrating great bravura and virtuosity and a much more serene Romance. The performance reaches its emotional high point in…
Find out more »Mark Nixon, Madalina Rusu & Grace Yeo: Solo & Four Hands
23rd July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
South African pianist Mark Nixon joins forces with fellow faculty members Madalina Rusu and Grace Yeo in a programme of works by Bach, Mozart and Ravel. The two contrasting duet transcriptions of movements from Bach’s cantatas open tonight’s recital. The first one is funeral music; a deeply spiritual piece and the second is the soprano aria from the cantata Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, which is often heard at weddings. Mozart’s genial Sonata KV521 follows, displaying the composer’s…
Find out more »Samantha Ward & Maciej Raginia: Works For Four Hands
24th July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
In an eclectic programme of repertoire for four hands, festival directors Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia combine famous works by Fauré and Debussy with new piano transcriptions of some of the most iconic compositions by the Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla. Opening with a suite of six short pieces, which Fauré wrote for Hélène Bardac (the title Dolly), Samantha and Maciej take the listeners on the journey through the composer’s whimsical titles behind which lies a vivid…
Find out more »Shelley Levy & Samantha Ward: Chamber Music
25th July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
The festival director Samantha Ward joins forces with clarinettist Shelley Levy for tonight's recital, opening with the Duo in E flat Major for clarinet and piano by Burgmüller. The work is formed of three contrasting sections, all of which are beautifully lyrical as well as passionate in parts, ending with a dramatic flourish in both instruments, bringing the piece to a brilliant finale. Schumann's Drei Fantasiestücke Op. 73 follow on next in the programme, demonstrating the composer's immense poetry and…
Find out more »Samantha Ward, Maciej Raginia, Madalina Rusu & Grace Yeo play Percy Grainger
26th July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
The festival directors Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia join forces with Romanian pianist Madalina Rusu and South Korean pianist Grace Yeo in a rare programme celebrating works for two pianos and six hands by Australian composer Percy Grainger. The evening opens with his fiery English Dance (1924), echoing Rachmaninoff’s virtuosic writing with its rich textures and emotionally charged compositional style. This is followed by Green Bushes (1921) for two pianos, an arrangement of an English and a Scottish folk song…
Find out more »Madalina Rusu in Recital
27th July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
Internationally acclaimed Romanian pianist Madalina Rusu presents a romantic programme, opening with a composition by one of her compatriots, George Enescu. A lyrical and intimate rendition of Romanian folk music, Pavane, introduces the intoxicating sound of the Nai (Romanian pan flute) mixed with a clear French influence. Followed by the charming and tender Schumann’s Arabesque, Madalina offers the audience one of Liszt's most loved and passionate piano works Sonetto 104 based on Petrarca's sonnet in which the poet declares his…
Find out more »Madalina Rusu in Recital
28th July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
Romanian concert pianist Madalina Rusu opens the second week of the festival with Schubert's Four Impromptus D899. The theme of the first piece is presented straight away as a solo plaintive voice in a march like rhythm. The second work of the cycle is one of Schubert's most famous works, combining virtuosity and drama, from the lyrical and floating opening theme to a contrasting Hungarian Gypsy Dance. The fourth and final Impromptu forms a wonderful conclusion of the set, starting…
Find out more »Annabelle Lawson in Recital
29th July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
Fresh from the recording studio, Annabelle presents works from her latest CD, written by renowned composer Gordon Crosse. Ron’s Toyes inspired by the Suffolk-based toymaker Ron Fuller, is a set of miniatures which sparkles with wit, vivacity and childlike joy. This is juxtaposed with the next piece in the programme, Mozart’s variations on the melody now famously known as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which takes the listener through a series of contrasting miniatures. Both works capture the essence of childhood…
Find out more »Samantha Ward & Maciej Raginia: Works For Four Hands
30th July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
In an eclectic programme of repertoire for four hands, festival directors Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia combine famous works by Fauré and Debussy with new piano transcriptions of some of the most iconic compositions by the Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla. Opening with a suite of six short pieces, which Fauré wrote for Hélène Bardac (the title Dolly), Samantha and Maciej take the listeners on the journey through the composer’s whimsical titles behind which lies a vivid…
Find out more »Yuki Negishi in Recital
31st July 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
Japanese concert pianist Yuki Negishi presents a passionate programme that begins with Haydn’s Variations in F minor. This is followed by Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor, a work considered by many as one of the greatest sonatas in the entire piano literature. Written in 1839 while Chopin was living in George Sand’s manor house in Nohant, the work epitomises his bel canto style of piano writing, using complex harmony and a true display of brilliant pianistic virtuosity. The third…
Find out more »Mark Nixon & Yuki Negishi: Solo & Four Hands
1st August 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
South African pianist Mark Nixon joins forces with Japanese pianist Yuki Negishi in a programme of works by Bach, Mozart and Ravel. The two contrasting duet transcriptions of movements from Bach’s cantatas open tonight’s recital. The first one is funeral music; a deeply spiritual piece and the second is the soprano aria from the cantata Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, which is often heard at weddings. Mozart’s genial Sonata KV521 follows, displaying the composer’s effortless mastery of compositional…
Find out more »Warren Mailley-Smith in Recital
2nd August 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
British pianist Warren Mailley-Smith begins tonight’s all-Chopin recital with three Ecossaises which are not often heard live, despite being some of his greatest shorter works. The beautiful Nocturne in B flat minor follows, before the titanic work of the evening, the complete 24 Preludes. Music critic Henry Finck (1854 – 1926) once wrote that ’if all piano music in the world were to be destroyed, excepting one collection, my vote should be cast for Chopin's Preludes’. This statement succinctly captures…
Find out more »Leslie Howard, Samantha Ward & Maciej Raginia: Two Pianos & Six Hands
3rd August 2019 | 7:30 pm
Weston Rhyn | UK
Revered worldwide as the only pianist to have recorded Liszt’s complete oeuvre for solo piano, Leslie Howard joins forces with festival directors Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia in a rare programme celebrating works for two pianos and six hands by Australian composer Percy Grainger. The evening opens with his fiery English Dance (1924), echoing Rachmaninoff’s virtuosic writing with its rich textures and emotionally charged compositional style. This is followed by the eclectic Jutish Medley (1927/1930), a movement from Grainger’s Danish…
Find out more »Samantha Ward, Maciej Raginia & Maiko Mori play Percy Grainger
19th August 2019 | 7:30 pm
Rugby | UK
The festival directors Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia join forces with Japanese concert pianist Maiko Mori in a rare programme celebrating works for two pianos and six hands by Australian composer Percy Grainger. The evening opens with his fiery English Dance (1924), echoing Rachmaninoff’s virtuosic writing with its rich textures and emotionally charged compositional style. This is followed by Green Bushes (1921) for two pianos, an arrangement of an English and a Scottish folk song dating back to the 1820s.…
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