A recent recipient of two Gramophone awards, young British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor made his Queen Elizabeth Hall debut in a concert focusing on stylised dances – from the stately Allemandes and Sarabandes of a Bach Partita through Polonaises, Mazurkas, and Waltzes to a foot-tapping Boogie-Woogie for an encore. Read my full review for Bachtrack here
It’s hard to ignore Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, and sometimes for the wrong reasons (remember all the fuss last summer about That Dress?). So it was that I went to hear her in the Southbank Centre’s excellent international Concert Series with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. The programme was an ambitious mix of music which showed off more than just her technical prowess….. Read my full review here
The excellent International Piano Series at the Southbank Centre continued with a fine recital of music by Haydn, Bartók, Debussy and Chopin by acclaimed and very popular (judging by the full house) Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes.
In this age of flashy piano pyrotechnics and daring designer concert outfits, Andsnes comes across as refreshingly understated……..read my full review here
French pianist, François-Frédéric Guy, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Ludwig van Beethoven, gave a recital of three of the composer’s most well-loved and well-known piano sonatas, nicknamed ‘Pastoral’, ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Hammerklavier’. Read my review for Bachtrack here
More on the Beethoven piano sonatas here
The Cross-Eyed Pianist 