London Piano Festival 6-9 October 2022

Pianists and co-Artistic Directors Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen reveal another exquisite line-up for the seventh London Piano Festival (LPF) which returns to Kings Place from 6-9 October 2022. Four days of classical and jazz piano performances will see Festival debuts from star soloist Tamara Stefanovich, jazz sensation Vijay Iyer and rising star Dominic Degavino, in addition to Dame Imogen Cooper who has been a Patron of the London Piano Festival since its launch in 2016. Returning artists include Noriko Ogawa and Paul Roberts, as well as the Festival’s Artistic Directors Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen. Under 30s tickets are available for all concerts at a reduced price of £8.50. The Festival is delighted to be working with International Piano magazine as media partner for the seventh year running.

Co-Artistic Directors Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen commented, “We are delighted to present the seventh edition of exciting piano-themed concerts featuring an exceptional line-up of pianists in the welcoming setting of Kings Place. The recent return to unrestricted live music-making, complete with extra appreciative audiences has been energising for performers around the world. This year there will be a particular focus on the joys of musical collaboration between pianist friends, a sharing and exchange of ideas. Nothing can ever quite reproduce the visceral impact of a live event, the sheer thrill of experiencing music in real time.”

Visionary pianist Tamara Stefanovich opens this year’s Festival with a programme exploring form and freedom, beginning with Bach’s Aria variata (BWV 989) interweaving the birdsong-inspired pieces of Messiaen and Rameau, and ending with Messaien’s mesmerising Cantéyodjayâ [6 Oct].Piano duets have been performed at the London Piano Festival every year since it launched in 2016, helping to introduce audiences to new works whilst also celebrating rarely-performed masterpieces. This year Dame Imogen Cooper is joined by Katya Apekisheva, Charles Owen and Dominic Degavino, pianists who have all benefitted from her skill and unique insights through masterclasses and teaching sessions over the years, for an evening of piano duets. The four pianists will take to the stage in different pairings to perform Schubert’s piano duets whilst recreating the atmosphere of an intimate social gathering [7 Oct].Katya Apekisheva and Noriko Ogawa explore contrasting 20^th-century preludes in their afternoon recital [8 Oct]. Apekisheva will perform Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes, a collection of short pieces in all twenty-four keys, taking the audience through a diverse assortment of moods across the complete set. By contrast, Ogawa will play Debussy’s 12 Préludes, Book I, an imaginative collection which doesn’t follow any strict harmonic template.Later that evening award-winning jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer will perform a solo improvised set [8 Oct]. Known for performing internationally with ensembles and his own trio, this special evening of solo jazz improvisation will be a rare treat for London audiences.To celebrate the launch of his new book, concert pianist and lecturer Paul Roberts returns to the Festival to present a lecture-recital with Charles Owen celebrating Liszt’s passionate response to the poetry of Francesco Petrarca [9 Oct]. Roberts’ new book – Reading Franz Liszt – explores the inspiration Liszt drew from the poetry of Francisco Petrarca (1304-74), revealing the link between two major artists born 500 years apart.The London Piano Festival was founded by pianists Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen in 2016 and takes place every October at Kings Place, London. Previous visiting artists have included Alfred Brendel, Alexandra Dariescu, Julian Joseph, Gabriela Montero, Stephen Kovacevich, Jason Rebello and Kathryn Stott, amongst many others. The Festival has also commissioned a number of new works for two piano, working with composers including Sally Beamish, Jonathan Dove, Elena Langer and Nico Muhly.