The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra announces Oxford Piano Festival 2019 Welcoming Alfred Brendel, Boris Berezovsky, Ingrid Fliter, Beatrice Rana, Sergei Babayan, Menahem Pressler, and Steven Osborne

27 July – 4 August

‘an international forum to turn piano lessons into performance art’ The New York Times

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director Marios Papadopoulos announce the 21st Oxford Piano Festival taking place from 27 July – 4 August. The Festival welcomes some of the world’s most distinguished pianists and teachers for the week-long series of varied concerts and masterclasses. This year, the faculty includes Boris Berezovsky, Ingrid Fliter, Beatrice Rana, Trio Metral, Sergei Babayan and Steven Osborne alongside Festival Patron Alfred Brendel and Menahem Pressler, Life President of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Particular focuses of this year’s Festival include chamber music and the music of Chopin.

The Oxford Piano Festival is held in some of Oxford’s most atmospheric venues, including the Holywell Music Room, dating from 1748 – the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Europe – Merton College’s 13th- century Chapel, Christ Church Cathedral, the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, St John the Evangelist Church, the Oxford Town

Hall, and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s home, the 17th-century Sheldonian Theatre, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

The 2019 Festival opens with a chamber recital by the three-sibling Trio Metral, performing the second Piano Trios of Schubert and Mendelssohn. On 28 July, Boris Berezovsky, a laureate of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, offers the first piano recital: selected Mazurkas by Chopin bookended by Rachmaninov’s rhapsodic Sonata no. 2 and Moments musicaux.

The Festival’s evening recital series continues on 29 July with Beatrice Rana performing Chopin’s Études, Ravel’s Miroirs and Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka, arranged by the composer himself for Arthur Rubinstein to be notoriously technically challenging but musically satisfying. Sergei Babayan performs an all- Chopin programme on 31 July, and Menahem Pressler gives a special recital in the Holywell Music Room on 2 August. The 94-year old Life President of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra was the founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio for all of its 51 years.

Marios Papadopoulos and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra perform an all-Mozart programme in the Sheldonian Theatre on 1 August, including his Symphonies no. 24 and no. 40. Ingrid Fliter joins the orchestra to perform Mozart’s intimate and expressive Piano Concerto no. 23.

Steven Osborne performs Messiaen and Schubert in the striking Christ Church Cathedral on 3 August to close the Festival recital series, and last but not least, the Festival’s participants take to the stage in a Participants’ Recital on 30 July.

Throughout the week, a busy programme of masterclasses is given by the distinguished Festival recitalists and faculty of the Festival, including Konrad Engel, Mikhail Voskresensky, Vanessa Latarche, and Festival Director Marios Papadopoulos.

Making a rare appearance, Alfred Brendel opens the Festival, holding Chamber Music Masterclasses on 27 and 28 July, and on 1 August, Ian Jones gives a masterclass, followed by an hour-long Piano Clinic.

Every year, the Oxford Piano Festival creates a unique didactic environment for emerging young professionals to learn from some of the world’s most esteemed pianists. The concept of the pianist as musician lies at the heart of the Festival: the various roles of the pianist – as virtuoso, chamber musician, accompanist, conductor, academic and teacher – are all examined. Participants are given the opportunity to take part in masterclasses, attend recitals, and showcase their talents at the Participants’ Recital following fresh guidance from these pillars of the piano world.

The Oxford Piano Festival is presented by the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, which, since being established in 1998 by Music Director Marios Papadopoulos, has grown steadily in stature. The Orchestra, this year celebrating its 20th anniversary season, now attracts some of the world’s leading soloists and conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Sir András Schiff, Lang Lang, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Martha Argerich and Maxim Vengerov. Performing regularly in the intimate surroundings of the Sheldonian Theatre, the musicians of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra include some of the UK’s finest players.

Full Schedule of Events

9:30am-12.45pm 2:30pm-5:45pm 8:00pm

Masterclasses Masterclasses Concerts Alfred Brendel Trio Metral 27 July Marios Papadopoulos Holywell Music Room Alfred Brendel Boris Berezovsky 28 July Konrad Engel Marios Papadopoulos Oxford Town Hall Beatrice Rana 29 July Konrad Engel Boris Berezovsky Merton College Chapel Participants Recital 30 July Marios Papadopoulos Mikhail Voskresensky Jacqueline du Pré Music Building Sergei Babayan 31 July Mikhail Voskresensky Vanessa Latarche St John the Evangelist Ian Jones Ingrid Fliter 1 August Vanessa Latarche Ian Jones Piano Clinic Sheldonian Theatre Menahem Pressler 2 August Ingrid Fliter Steven Osborne Holywell Music Room Steven Osborne 3 August Marios Papadopoulos Menahem Pressler Christ Church Cathedral 4 August Menahem Pressler

Concert Listings

Saturday 27 July, 8:00pm Holywell Music Room Monday 29 July, 8:00pm Merton College Chapel Schubert Piano Trio no. 2 Mendelssohn Piano Trio no. 2 Chopin Études, Op. 25 Ravel Miroirs Trio Metral Stravinsky Three Movements Joseph Metral violin from Petrushka Justine Metral cello Victor Metral piano Beatrice Rana piano

Sunday 28 July, 8:00pm Tuesday 30 July, 8:00pm Oxford Town Hall Jacqueline du Pré Music Building

Rachmaninov Sonata no. 2 Participants’ Recital Chopin Selection of Mazurkas Rachmaninov Moments Wednesday 31 July, 8:00pm musicaux St John the Evangelist Church

Boris Berezovsky piano Chopin selected works

Sergei Babayan piano Friday 2 August, 8:00pm Holywell Music Room Thursday 1 August, 8:00pm Sheldonian Theatre Programme to be announced

Mozart Symphony no. 24 Menahem Pressler piano Mozart Piano concerto no. 23 Mozart Symphony no. 40 Saturday 3 August, 8:00pm Christ Church Cathedral Ingrid Fliter piano Marios Papadopoulos Schubert Sonata no. 21 conductor Messiaen Vingt Regards sur Oxford Philharmonic l’enfant-Jésus (Nos 1, 8, 14, 19, Orchestra 10)

Steven Osborne piano

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

Praised as ‘excellent’ by Gramophone magazine and ‘thoroughly impressive’ by BBC Music Magazine, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s reputation is based on the uncompromising artistic standards of its Founder and Music Director, Marios Papadopoulos, and maintained by some of the finest musicians in the UK.

As an orchestra of the highest quality, the Oxford Philharmonic attracts some of the world’s greatest artists to appear in its series, including Valery Gergiev, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, András Schiff, Renée Fleming, Lang Lang, Janine Jansen, Yuri Temirkanov and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Following his remarkable debut with the Orchestra in 2013, Maxim Vengerov became its first Artist in Residence. Over an unprecedented four-season collaboration, Vengerov and the Oxford Philharmonic performed across the UK and recorded the violin concertos of Brahms and Sibelius, with commercial releases pending. Recent collaborations with Vengerov include a recording of Mendelssohn’s Octet and appearances at Cheltenham Music Festival and Saffron Hall. Besides an annual concert season, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s achievements include touring performances across the UK and a growing list of international engagements; and the annual Oxford Piano Festival. Recent releases include works by Nimrod Borenstein for Chandos, and cello concertos by Shostakovich and Mats Lidström (Solo Cello of the Oxford Philharmonic) on the BIS label, both conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy.

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has been firmly committed to outreach work from its earliest days. Its various projects focus on taking music to areas of social and economic disadvantage, including work in special

schools and hospitals, and partnerships with Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council provide tuition and performance opportunities for hundreds of talented young musicians. The Orchestra and its Music Director were awarded the City of Oxford’s Certificate of Honour in 2013, in recognition of their contribution to education and performance in Oxford.

A recent partnership with J & A Beare provides the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s distinguished members with opportunities to play on Stradivari instruments, adding a new dimension to the sound of the Orchestra.

Marios Papadopoulos

Marios Papadopoulos is the founder, music director and driving force behind the Oxford Philharmonic, Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford. Described by The Times at his 1975 piano recital debut as ‘having all the attributes of one of the world’s greatest players’, Papadopoulos has gone on to enjoy an international career both as pianist and conductor.

He has appeared as soloist with and conducted many of the world’s great orchestras, and worked with a host of eminent musicians including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Hélène Grimaud, Nicola Benedetti, Martha Argerich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Menahem Pressler, Maxim Vengerov, Nigel Kennedy and Lang Lang. His recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas have been set on a level with Schnabel, Brendel, Barenboim, and Kempff (Daily Telegraph, Classic FM Magazine Critics’ Choice). Papadopoulos was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 2014 New Year’s Honours List for services to music in Oxford.

www.oxfordphil.com

Media partner: Pianist Magazine

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