LONDON PIANO FESTIVAL

London Piano Festival is delighted to return to Kings Place for a wide-ranging weekend of exciting repertoire performed by an exceptional line up of pianists.

 

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.

Music for two pianos has been performed at the London Piano Festival every year since the inaugural 2016 edition helping to introduce audiences to new works whilst also celebrating rarely-performed masterpieces. This year Dame Imogen Cooper is joined by fellow pianists Katya Apekisheva, Charles Owen and Dominic Degavino, all of whom have benefitted from her unique insights and guidance. Together they will take to the stage in different pairings to focus on the extraordinary richness of Schubert’s duet music with the aim of recreating the intimate musical gatherings of early 19^th century Vienna.

Katya Apekisheva and Noriko Ogawa explore contrasting twentieth-century preludes in their afternoon recital. 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, acclaimed Debussy player Noriko Ogawa will play Debussy’s 12 Prèludes, Book One, an imaginative collection that includes some of his most popular piano pieces; The Girl with the Flaxen Hair and The Sunken Cathedral.

Award-winning jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer will perform a solo improvised set 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 experience another side of Iyer’s unique creativity.

To celebrate the launch of his new book, concert pianist and lecturer Paul Roberts returns to the Festival to present a lecture-recital celebrating Liszt’s passionate response to the poetry of Francesco Petrarca. Roberts’ book – Reading Franz Liszt – includes an exploration of the inspiration Liszt drew from Petrarca’s poetry, revealing the link between two major artists born 500 years apart. Charles Owen will complete the Liszt theme with a programme devoted to some of the glorious music inspired by the composer’s spirituality and faith.

 

Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen, Co-Artistic Directors of the London Piano Festival