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One of the world’s best pianists, Sir András Schiff, joins the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to perform some of world’s best piano music.

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Written 22 years apart, Brahms’ only piano concertos are snapshots of his life. The first is youthful, raw and expressive; the second is mature, structured and wiser. Both embody radical ideas of the 19th century, when revolution was in the air and artists joined political movements to overturn the old order.

The OAE performs these blockbuster piano concertos over two nights with Sir András Schiff, an extraordinary pianist and one of the world’s finest musicians. To complement the piano concertos, they also delve into music by Brahm’s mentor and inspiration, Robert Schumann exploring the complex interplay between political turmoil and personal anguish in composer’s life.

Pre-concert talks, Level 5 Function Room, Royal Festival Hall 6pm

New to Brahms? Enjoy an introduction to Brahms’ Piano Concertos at a free pre-concert talk by presenter Katy Hamilton.

On the second night, Dr Robert Samuels of the Open University will explore Brahms’ relationship with Schumann in a pre-concert talk

Brahms Piano Concertos with Sir András Schiff

Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 March 2019, Royal Festival Hall, 7pm

Further information and tickets

source: OAE press

(Photo: Yutaka Suzuki/Askonas Holt)

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The Cross-Eyed Pianist site has been selected for inclusion in the the UK Web Archive at the British Library.

Established in 2010 initially as a place where I could record thoughts about returning to the piano after a long absence, the repertoire I was working on and concerts I attended, the site has evolved over the past 9 years into a varied “magazine” of articles on piano playing and pianism, repertoire, performing, performance psychology, musicians’ health and well-being, teaching, concert and CD reviews, interviews with musicians, composers and conductors, guest posts, and more esoteric musings on being a musician in the 21st century, and classical music in general.

I am hugely grateful to everyone who reads, supports and contributes to The Cross-Eyed Pianist.

Frances Wilson, author/editor

February 2019

The UK Web Archive was established in 2004 to capture and archive websites from the UK domain and across the web, responding to the challenge of a digital black hole in the nation’s memory. It contains specially selected websites that represent different aspects of UK heritage on the web, as well as important global events.

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Extensive learning and engagement activities take piano out of the concert hall and into communities 

Outstanding young scholars from Lang Lang International Music Foundation also perform

“Artistry of that kind is rare in pianists of any age; to find it in a 20-year-old is simply astounding.”
The Daily Telegraph

Following his win at the Leeds International Piano Competition in September 2018, 21-year-old pianist Eric Lu returns to ‘The Leeds’ for Leeds Piano Festival, with recitals in Leeds and London. World-renowned pianists Steven Osborne and Barry Douglas also perform recitals, with Osborne leading a masterclass with Young Scholars from the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, building on the ongoing relationship between the Foundation and The Leeds.

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The Festival continues the much-enriched programme of events that surrounded the 2018 Competition, allowing audiences to engage with the piano and The Leeds beyond the triennial Competition. As part of The Leeds’ commitment to developing new and exciting ways of bringing the piano to as wide an audience as possible, the Festival – successfully inaugurated in 2018 – will again comprise many learning and engagement activities, including the return of the ‘Discover the Piano: Piano Fantasia’ on 28 March – The Leeds’ biggest primary school event to date, reaching more than 1,000 schoolchildren. The Young Scholars also participate in learning activities in primary schools and adult care settings in both Leeds and London – the latter once again in partnership with Wigmore Hall’s learning and participation programme – inspiring music lovers young and old with their prodigious talents.

Leeds Piano Festival recitals 

Eric Lu’s return to The Leeds is part of the revolutionary prize package at The Leeds last year, designed with career development in mind. The prize also included world-wide management with Askonas Holt, a release of his Leeds-winning performance on major label Warner Classics (released to much acclaim in November 2018), opening the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2018/19 season, mentoring with jury members and more. Lu performs Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 – a piece he performed in the Competition semi-finals and released as a single on Warner Classics following his win – as well as works by Mozart, Brahms and Handel.

Former Royal Philharmonic Society ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ Steven Osborne explores Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas. Osborne is a renowned interpreter of Beethoven’s music, not least from his critically-acclaimed recordings of the composer’s piano sonatas on the Hyperion label, and these recitals offer a rare opportunity to see him perform in an intimate setting.

Internationally-renowned pianist Barry Douglas pairs miniatures with more expansive works in both halves of his programme for the Festival, contrasting Tchaikovsky’s vignettes The Seasons with his Grande Sonata in G major, before pairing Rachmaninov’s Six Moments Musicaux with Schubert’s intense Sonata in A minor.

The Festival also showcases three Young Scholars from the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, developing the continuing relationship between the Foundation and the Leeds. Three exceptional young pianists, Aliya Alsafa, Jaspar Heymann and Shuheng Zhang – handpicked and mentored by Lang Lang, the Competition’s Global Ambassador –perform recitals at both Festival venues, as well as participate in a masterclass led by Steven Osborne at Leeds College of Music.

Speaking at the Finals of the 2018 Competition – where he also presented prizes and was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Leeds – Lang Lang stated: “I’m extremely proud of my association with the city of Leeds, and with the Piano Competition – which is doing so much to unite excellence and accessibility”.

Closing the Festival, celebrity pianist Alistair McGowan returns to The Leeds with Introduction to Classical Piano at Besbrode Pianos. An alumnus of the University of Leeds, McGowan previously performed at The Leeds during Piano + events at the 2018 Competition, and his 2017 recording The Piano Album reached Number One in the UK Classical Album Charts.

Learning and Engagement 

In addition to their recitals and masterclass, the Young Scholars participate in many external learning and engagement activities, following the success of similar events at last year’s Festival. As well as performing in the Piano Fantasia to over 1,000 primary schoolchildren, they also visit local primary schools in both Leeds and London, as well as adult care settings.

The University of Leeds, a principal partner of the Competition, hosts a ‘Steinway Experience’ on 30 March as part of Be Curious, the University’s research open day, where families can enjoy these wonderful instruments. Steinway & Sons, also a partner of The Leeds, has provided the pianos for the Competition since its beginnings in 1963.

Coinciding with Piano Day on 29 March, pop-up performances take place on the Leeds Piano Trail, in partnership with Leeds Business Improvement District (BID). These Besbrode pianos, decorated by local artists, were a popular feature of last year’s Competition and encouraged the public to play and experience the pianos at high-profile locations around Leeds city centre; most of the trail pianos stayed in place after the Competition due to the huge popularity of the initiative.

Adam Gatehouse, Artistic Director of the Leeds International Piano Competition, said: “After winning over both the jury and audiences at the 2018 Competition, we’re delighted to welcome Eric Lu back to The Leeds for the second annual Leeds Piano Festival. We’re thrilled too that Steven Osborne, Barry Douglas and the extraordinary Lang Lang Scholars will join him in both Leeds and London, allowing audiences to experience their remarkable talent and help us share in wonderful performances of great piano music. Deepening our roots in our communities by developing fun, diverse and inclusive events to enable more people to discover and fall in love with the piano is also crucial to our mission, and the Festival continues its inspiring work to attract ever-wider audiences.” 

Tickets for the Leeds recitals and the masterclass can be booked here, and the London recitals here.

 

Leedspiano.com

@leedspiano

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Classic FM, the UK’s most popular classical music station, is releasing a new, free podcast aimed at introducing children to classical music in a fun and accessible way. The 10-episode series is narrated by the bestselling children’s author and TV personality David Walliams.

Launching on Monday 4th February, each episode will take listeners on a weird and wonderful journey into the world of classical music. As well as discovering what some of the greatest composers such as Mozart and Beethoven were really like, Walliams travels inside a piano, investigates the strangest instruments on the planet, and meets the mavericks and divas who took the classical music world by storm. Having sold more than 25 million children’s books, Walliams’ sense of humour, fun and enthusiasm make him the perfect host of the podcast.

Aimed at children aged 7 to 12 years old, as well as their families, David Walliams’ Marvellous Musical Podcast has been created by Classic FM to demonstrate that classical music is as relevant to young people as it is to adults. Currently 680,000 under-25-year-olds tune in to Classic FM each week and in November last year, the station launched the third series of its popular programme dedicated entirely to video game music.

David Walliams said: “I’m incredibly happy to be working with Classic FM on a brand new venture, bringing the fascinating stories and the works of iconic composers to life, through fun and insightful storytelling. It’s wonderful to be able to bring a whole genre of music to a new generation of children, whilst getting the rest of the family listening and enjoying at the same time.”

Classic FM’s managing editor Sam Jackson said: “At Classic FM, we have always passionately believed that classical music is for all – young, old, and everyone in between. That’s why we’re excited to launch David Walliams’ Marvellous Musical Podcast. As a father of four young children myself, I think it’s the perfect way to introduce the next generation to classical music – not to mention adults, too. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, it’s cheeky and we know it will attract many new listeners to enjoy what we at Classic FM proudly declare to be the world’s greatest music.”

The launch of the podcast coincides with the new podcasts feature in the Global Player app. The Global Player is Global’s entertainment hub, which allows listeners worldwide to enjoy all Global’s radio brands, Heart, Capital, Smooth, Classic FM, Radio X, LBC, Capital XTRA and Gold, all in one place. A catalogue of 1,500 premium podcasts from a wide variety of publishers including the BBC will be available curated by the audio industry experts at Global. The new section features premium podcasts across a range of categories including Business, Technology and Sport, suggesting new podcasts for listeners based on their interests.

David Walliams’ Marvellous Musical Podcast is available to download from the Global Player and other major podcast platforms from Monday 4th February. Listen to the trailer and subscribe to the podcast now to hear the first episode as soon as it’s released.

(Source: press release)