London Piano Festival 2019

Ingrid Fliter sprang to international attention when she was awarded the 2006 Gilmore Artist Award, one of only a handful of pianists to have received this honour. Ingrid Fliter has established a reputation as one of the pre-eminent interpreters of Chopin, her two all-Chopin discs on EMI Classics a testament to this.

Katya Apekisheva, described as being a “profoundly gifted artist” by Gramophone magazine, is one of Europe’s most renowned pianists, in demand internationally as both a soloist and as a chamber musician. She has been marked out as a pianist of exceptional gifts, performing with many of the world’s leading orchestras, and has received widespread critical acclaim for her interpretations. Katya is a Professor of Piano at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Described by Gramophone magazine as “one of the finest British pianists of his generation”, Charles Owen has enjoyed an extensive international career performing a wide-ranging repertoire to outstanding critical acclaim. Charles’ solo recordings comprise discs of piano music by JS Bach, Janácek, Poulenc and Fauré.

Gwilym Simcock has carved out a career as one of the most gifted pianists and imaginative composers on the European scene. He moves effortlessly between jazz and classical music, with a ‘harmonic sophistication and subtle dovetailing of musical traditions’.
 

Susan Tomes has won numerous international awards as a pianist, both on the concert platform and in the recording studio, including the 2013 Cobbett Medal for distinguished service to chamber music. She has made over fifty CDs, many of which have become benchmark recordings. In addition to her performing career, Susan gives masterclasses and serves on competition juries across Europe.

In the last decade Christian Ihle Hadland has established himself as a true craftsman of the piano, a musician whose delicate, refined playing and individual touch have led him to the most prestigious stages in the world. Christian came to international attention in 2011 when he began a two-year stint as a BBC New Generation Artist.
 

Tim Horton is one of the leading chamber pianists of his generation. He is a founder member of both the Leonore Piano Trio and Ensemble 360 and has been a regular guest pianist with the Nash Ensemble.

Sarah Nicolls is a UK-based experimental pianist, at the forefront of innovations in piano performance. She invented the ‘Inside-out Piano’, a sculptural feast of an instrument played, pushed and swung in her touring show Moments of Weightlessness.

One of Britain’s finest pianists, Lucy Parham applies her sensitivity and imagination not only to concertos and recitals, but also to portraits in words and music of such composers as Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt and Debussy. In recent years, Lucy Parham has established herself as a leading interpreter of the works of Robert Schumann and of his wife, Clara.

Dame Harriet Walter is an Olivier-Award-winning English stage and screen actress. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2011 for services to drama.