Oxford Piano Festival 2023

Oxford Piano Festival

Alfred Brendel KBE Patron

Sir András Schiff President

Marios Papadopoulos MBE Artistic Director

Welcome from Marios Papadopoulos

Artistic Director

The piano, that most universal and accessible of instruments, retains its grasp on our emotions and imaginations like few others. As the great concertos of Grieg and Rachmaninov prove, the piano can give even the symphony orchestra a run for its money when it comes to expression, colour and agility. And yet the piano remains a fixture of homes, hostelries and – increasingly – railway stations.

This year marks a milestone for us as we reconvene for our 25th Oxford Piano Festival. This Festival promises special concert experiences at some of Oxford’s most atmospheric locations. We welcome star pianists Richard Goode, Jeremy Denk, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Blackshaw, Anna Fedorova, Kirill Gerstein and Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (who brings two of her extraordinarily talented siblings with her).

Away from the concert platform, an equally distinguished line-up of pianists are on hand to give masterclasses and guidance to the next generation –among them Yoheved Kaplinsky, Vanessa Latarche, Stephen Kovacevich and Tessa Nicholson. I am particularly pleased to be giving a masterclass myself on the art of directing from the keyboard, a skill I have honed with our very own Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, who feature in what promises to be one high-point of the festival: an orchestral concert with Grieg’s captivating concerto at its heart.

Join us this summer, as we once again celebrate the piano in all its diversity and brilliance.

Masterclass Schedule

JdP Music Building, St Hilda’s College

Saturday 29 July

13:00 - 14:00 Registration

14:30 - 17:50 Marios Papadopoulos Masterclass

Sunday 30 July

9:30 - 12:50

Christian Blackshaw Masterclass 14:30 - 17:50 Marios Papadopoulos Masterclass

Monday 31 July

9:30 - 12:50

Richard Goode Masterclass 14:30 - 17:50 Tessa Nicholson Masterclass

Tuesday 1 August

9:30 - 12:50

Kirill Gerstein Masterclass 14:30 - 17:50 Yoheved Kaplinsky Masterclass

Wednesday 2 August

9:30 - 12:50

Yoheved Kaplinsky Masterclass 14:30 - 17:50 Vanessa Latarche Masterclass

Thursday 3 August

9:30 - 12:50

Nikolai Lugansky Masterclass 14:30 - 17:50 Nikolai Lugansky Masterclass

Friday 4 August

9:30 - 12:50

Anna Fedorova Masterclass 14:30 - 17:50 Stephen Kovacevich Masterclass

Saturday 5 August

9:30 - 12:50

Marios Papadopoulos Masterclass: Directing from the keyboard 14:30 - 17:50 Stephen Kovacevich Masterclass

Sunday 6 August

9:30 - 12:50

Jeremy Denk Masterclass

The repertoire list for the masterclasses will be available to view from 21 July 2023 on our website.

Breaks with complimentary tea and coffee: 11:30 - 11:50 and 16:30 - 16:50.

Select events will be livestreamed on the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra YouTube channel.

Christian Blackshaw

Saturday 29 July 2023

Holywell Music Room, 20:00

Mozart Fantasia No. 3 in D minor, K. 397/385g Mozart Adagio in B minor, K. 540 Schubert Four Impromptus, D. 899 Chopin Four Mazurkas, Op. 24 Franck Prélude, Choral et Fugue, FWV 21

British pianist Christian Blackshaw brings his ‘elegance, inwardness, delicacy of touch and poetry of feeling’ (Financial Times) to this opening recital of the Oxford Piano Festival at the Holywell Music Room. His recital journeys from the grace of Mozart to the intimacy of Schubert and the pure charm of Chopin’s Op. 24 Mazurkas, its

Tickets £30

iconic fourth installment beloved of the great pianists. To finish, Blackshaw negotiates the compelling rarity that is César Franck’s Prélude, Choral et Fugue – a grand homage to Bach, Beethoven and Schumann in which fervent rapture and restrained discipline tussle for supremacy.

Richard Goode

Sunday 30 July 2023

St John the Evangelist Church, 20:00

Beethoven Bagatelles Op. 119, Nos 6–11

Beethoven Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109

Beethoven Diabelli Variations, Op. 120

Beethoven’s new vision for music coincided with major developments in piano technology. The result was the first piano music that could whisper, sing, thunder and orate.

Beethoven aficionado Richard Goode comes to the atmospheric surroundings of St John the Evangelist Church for this portrait of Beethoven

Tickets £30 £24 £16 £12 (restricted view)

the pianist. He starts with the carefree and occasionally eccentric Bagatelles before traversing the contrasting emotional states of the composer’s Piano Sonata No. 30 and finally, the extraordinary exploration of mood, movement and mindset that is the composer’s epic Diabelli Variations.

Kirill Gerstein

Monday 31 July 2023

Sheldonian Theatre, 20:00

Stravinsky Sonata

Schubert Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958 Ligeti Etude No. 13, ‘The Devil’s Staircase’ Liszt Sonata in B minor, S. 178

A heavyweight pianist comes to the Festival with a heavyweight programme. From the spiky neoclassicism of Stravinsky’s Piano Sonata, RussianAmerican pianist Kirill Gerstein brings us the first of Schubert’s introspective and poignant three final piano sonatas. Then things get devilish. Ligeti’s Etude No. 13 ‘The Devil’s Staircase’ is an exhilarating preface to one of the most epic piano works ever written. Liszt’s iconic Sonata in B minor rages demonically with Beethoven’s grandeur, Chopin’s virtuosity and Schumann’s poetry to create a narrative drama in disguise that could only have come from Liszt’s pen. A big night beckons at the Sheldonian Theatre.

Tickets £38 £28 £22 £15

Kanneh-Mason Trio

Tuesday 1 August 2023

Sheldonian Theatre, 20:00

Mendelssohn Excerpts from Songs Without Words Mendelssohn ‘On Wings of Song’ from Six Songs for Voice and Piano, Op. 34 No. 2 (tr. Joseph Achron)

Beethoven Piano Trio in G major, Op. 1 No. 2 Brahms Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87

Braimah Kanneh-Mason  violin Sheku Kanneh-Mason  cello Jeneba Kanneh-Mason  piano

Britain’s most talented siblings come to the Sheldonian Theatre for a variously configured concert taking in the momentum and lyricism of Mendelssohn. Eventually, all three KannehMasons unite for two staples of the piano trio literature. First they bring us the gentle giant among Beethoven’s piano trios: the G major work that offers a rare portrait of Beethoven at his

Tickets £38 £28 £22 £15

most untroubled and serene. Next comes a trio spawned by Brahms at the peak of his powers, a work of Olympian prowess and virile heroism that ultimately channels the same joy animated by Beethoven. Don’t miss this remarkable trio of musicians who have been playing together since childhood.

Nikolai Lugansky

Wednesday 2 August 2023

Christ Church Cathedral, 20:00

Rachmaninov Six moments musicaux, Op. 16 Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36 Rachmaninov Études-tableaux, Op. 39

Nikolai Lugansky is the finest living exponent of the virtuoso Russian piano tradition, and returns to the Festival for this recital in the splendid surroundings of Christ Church Cathedral. His programme consists exclusively of the pianist’s beloved Sergei Rachmaninov, concluding with

Tickets £30 £12 (unsighted)

the epitome of the Russian composer’s pianistic romanticism: his explorations of sonority and texture, the Études-Tableaux. Before it, Lugansky weighs in with Rachmaninov’s monumental Piano Sonata No. 2 and his summation of pianist history and tradition, the Six moments musicaux.

Anna Fedorova and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

Thursday 3 August 2023

Sheldonian Theatre, 20:00

Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 Sibelius Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82

For Sibelius, only nature could transcend the agony of life. The composer’s Symphony No. 5 is perhaps the supreme musical example of that concept – a work in which the composer imagines himself soaring above earthly concerns like the flock of swans he describes using the orchestra’s inspiring, ascendant trumpets. The Nordic region’s most stirring symphony is heard here at the Sheldonian Theatre alongside its most famous Piano Concerto – Edvard Grieg’s Concerto in A minor. The composition is a reconciling of romantic sweep and passion with the clarity and fresh air of his Norwegian mountain aesthetic. Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova joins Marios Papadopoulos and the Orchestra for this concert of bold statements from the north.

Tickets £48 £38 £28 £15

Supported by an anonymous donor

Anna Fedorova  piano Marios Papadopoulos  conductor

Participants’ Recital

Friday 4 August 2023

JdP Music Building, 20:00

The Festival’s participants take to the stage with fresh guidance from the world’s most esteemed pianists echoing in their ears.

Be sure not to miss this showcase of outstanding talent from rising stars of the piano world. Tickets £12

Jeremy Denk

Saturday 5 August 2023

University Church of St Mary the Virgin, 20:00

Bach Partita No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825

Bach Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826

Bach Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827

Bach Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828

Bach Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829

Bach Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830

Each year from 1726 to 1730, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a Partita for keyboard that elaborated on the series of baroque dance forms standardised by his colleague Johann Kuhnau. Bach’s works, however, were exceptional and only got more so – mining new emotional depth and technical flair from ostensibly simple dance music with levels of perfection that Bach would

Tickets £30 £22 £18 £12 (unsighted)

never surpass. The composer’s first biographer Forkel wrote that the Partitas sound ‘always new’. Jeremy Denk – ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs’ (New York Times) –comes to the University Church to play a score Bach intended for the delight of the player, but which extends far beyond.

Following studies with Gordon Green at the Royal College Manchester and Royal Academy London, winning the gold medals at each, Christian Blackshaw was the first British pianist to study at the Leningrad Conservatoire with Moisei Halfin. He later worked closely with Sir Clifford Curzon in London. He has performed worldwide and in festivals as recitalist and soloist with many renowned conductors including Yannick NézetSéguin, Sir Simon Rattle, Herbert Blomstedt and Gianandrea Noseda. His hugely acclaimed Wigmore Hall complete Mozart Piano Sonatas series was recorded for Wigmore Hall Live and released in four volumes. Critics have been unanimous in their praise, describing these landmark recordings as ‘captivating’, ‘magical’ and ‘masterful’. Recent notable performances include the Mozart cycle in Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing and debuts at the Schwetzingen, Edinburgh International Festival, Schubertiada Vilabertran and Philadelphia Orchestra. Future engagements include recitals at Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Schwetzingen Festival, a recital tour in Japan and the complete Mozart sonata cycle at Snape Proms in August 2023.

Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists, proclaimed by the New York Times as ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs’. Denk has performed multiple times at Carnegie Hall and in recent years has worked with such orchestras as Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra. Further afield, he has performed at the BBC Proms and Klavier-Festival Ruhr, and appeared in such halls as the Köln Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Boulez Saal in Berlin. He has also performed extensively across the UK, including recently with the London Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, and play-directing the Britten Sinfonia. Last season’s highlights include his performance of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I at the Barbican in London, and performances of John Adams’s Must the Devil Have All The Great Tunes? with the Cleveland Orchestra, St Louis Symphony, and Seattle Symphony.

Anna Fedorova’s playing is ‘unfailingly sensitive, poetic and tasteful’ (Gramophone). Her live recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 has more than 35 million views on YouTube and is highly acclaimed by critics and world-renowned musicians. Highlights of 2023 include the release of the box set of all Rachmaninov concertos by Channel Classics and a debut with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Karabits at the Barbican Hall. Anna was one of the first musicians to organise benefit concerts for the victims of the war in Ukraine, raising over €500,000 for humanitarian aid organisations. With the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, she toured the main concert halls of Europe, and performed at the BBC Proms and in the United States. Anna Fedorova and Nicholas Schwartz founded the Davidsbündler Music Academy in The Hague. Before the Academy’s door officially opened in September 2022, the Davidsbündler Foundation had already started to provide top quality musical education to Ukrainian refugees.

Kirill Gerstein’s heritage combines the traditions of Russian, American and Central European music-making with an insatiable curiosity. From Bach to Adès, Gerstein’s playing is distinguished by its clarity of expression, discerning intelligence and virtuosity, and an energetic, imaginative musical presence that places him at the top of his profession. Born in the former Soviet Union, Gerstein is an American citizen based in Berlin. His career is similarly international with world-wide performances ranging from concerts with the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Concertgebouworkest, Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics and London Symphony Orchestra, to recitals in London, Berlin, Vienna, Paris and New York. During the 2022/23 season, Gerstein’s flair for creation will be on display as he presents residencies with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) at home in Munich and on tour; at London’s Wigmore Hall with three-part concert series ‘Busoni and his World’; and at the 2023 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

Richard Goode has been hailed for music-making of tremendous emotional power, depth and expressiveness, and is recognised worldwide as one of today’s leading interpreters of Classical and Romantic music. An exclusive Nonesuch artist, Goode is a regular performer in the major recital halls and festivals across Europe and the US and performs as soloist with some of the world’s finest orchestras. A native of New York, he studied with Nadia Reisenberg at the Mannes College of Music and with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute. Goode is also a highly respected teacher and mentor of young musicians, regularly giving masterclasses at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions. He holds the position of International Chair of Piano Studies at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, and is on the faculty at Mannes College, New York.

The Kanneh-Mason Trio is comprised of three siblings who have been playing together since they were very young. They have performed at many prestigious venues in concerts throughout the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and the Caribbean. They share a passion for chamber music and for performing together as an ensemble. Jeneba holds the Victoria Robey Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, studying piano with Vanessa Latarche. Braimah is currently studying with Barnabás Kelemen and Eszter Perenyi at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music alongside his brother. Studying with Hannah Roberts, Sheku was appointed in May 2022 as the Academy’s first Menuhin Visiting Professor of Performance Mentoring. The Kanneh-Masons are exclusive Decca recording artists and are represented by Enticott Music Management.

Yoheved Kaplinsky is the Susan W Rose Chair of Juilliard’s Piano Department. Currently an artistic advisor to the Pre-College Division, she served as its artistic director from 2007 – 2019. Dr Kaplinsky has appeared throughout the United States as a recitalist, in chamber music concerts and with orchestras, including performances in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington DC. Noted for her insight and understanding of piano technique, she has been in great demand for lectures and masterclasses in the US, Israel, Europe and Asia. She has served on the faculties of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and the Manhattan School of Music, and has been a member of the Juilliard piano faculty since 1993. She also teaches regularly at various summer festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival and Piano Texas International Academy & Festival. She has participated in the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, the Tel-Hai International Master Classes in Israel, Pianofest in Long Island, New York and Oxford Piano Festival in the UK, among others.

With an international career spanning over six decades, Stephen Kovacevich has long been recognised as one of the most searching interpreters. Born in Los Angeles, Kovacevich made his European debut at Wigmore Hall in 1961. He has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors, including Hans Graf, Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur, Sir Simon Rattle, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the late Sir Georg Solti. Kovacevich is a frequent guest at prestigious festivals including Lugano, Verbier, and the Mariinsky International Piano Festival. He has forged long-standing artistic partnerships, including numerous recordings with Sir Colin Davis and frequent duo appearances alongside Martha Argerich. As a committed chamber musician, Kovacevich enjoys regular artistic collaborations with Nicola Benedetti, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Emmanuel Pahud and Alina Ibragimova. To celebrate his 75th birthday, Decca released a limited edition 25-CD box set of his entire recorded legacy for Philips. In 2008, he re-recorded Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, which won him the Gramophone Editor’s Choice Award (2009) and the Gramophone Magazine Top Choice Award (2015). Since 2005, Professor Vanessa Latarche has been Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music, formerly having been a professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music. Latarche was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music, an honour conferred on her by HRH Prince of Wales in 2010. In 2011, she was granted a Personal Chair, and in 2017 was made the Associate Director for Partnerships in Asia. Latarche has frequently travelled to give masterclasses in such institutions as Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Beijing Central Conservatory, and she is an advisor to Lang Lang’s music school, in Shenzhen, China. In the UK, Latarche has performed as a soloist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Concert and BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestras and appeared at festivals including Cheltenham and Harrogate. She has been a juror for competitions worldwide including BBC Young Musician of the Year. She is currently the Artistic Director of Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition.

Nikolai Lugansky is a pianist who combines elegance and grace with powerful virtuosity. Recognised as a master of Russian and late romantic repertoire, Lugansky is renowned for his interpretations of Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Chopin and Debussy and has received numerous awards. Concerto highlights for the upcoming season include performances with Russian National Orchestra in Paris, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Strasbourg and Oslo Philharmonic. In 2023 Lugansky launches a special project to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninov, with a series of recitals featuring the composer’s major solo works. The project will be presented in Paris, London (Wigmore Hall), Brussels, Vienna, Berlin, Lucerne, Amsterdam and many other cities across the world. Lugansky regularly performs at the La Roque d’Anthéron Festival and the Verbier Festival. In June 2019, Nikolai Lugansky received the Russian Federation National Award in Literature and Art, for his contribution to the development and advancement of Russian and international classical music culture over the past 20 years. Nikolai records for Harmonia Mundi.

Tessa Nicholson had a busy early career, performing twice with the CBSO as a teenager, and her first broadcast for BBC Radio 3 was at the age of 12. During this time, she worked with Lillian Niblette, former pupil of Solomon, Cortot and Moiseiwitsch. Her later studies were at the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music and then in Italy, where her most influential teachers were Lamar Crowson, Guido Agosti and Maria Curcio. Tessa has performed widely in Europe, Asia, and the UK, and has given many recitals at Wigmore Hall, the Southbank, for BBC Radio 3 and the World Service. More recently, her focus has been on working with gifted young students at the Royal Academy and at the Purcell School. Her students have included Alim Beisembayev (winner of Leeds International Piano Competition 2021), Mark Viner, Tyler Hay and presently Milda Daunoraite, who are all pursuing successful international careers.

Marios Papadopoulos is the Founder of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and the Oxford Piano Festival. He has appeared in many of the world’s most prestigious venues and worked with a host of eminent musicians including Evgeny Kissin, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maxim Vengerov, Martha Argerich and Lang Lang. His many recordings feature works by Beethoven, Mozart, Mussorgsky, César Franck, Stravinsky and the 24 Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich. He conducts the Oxford Philharmonic in new recordings of the Brahms and Sibelius violin concertos with Maxim Vengerov with whom he has also recorded the complete Brahms Violin Sonatas. In recent years, Maestro Papadopoulos has concentrated his work mainly in Oxford with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Rare guest appearances have included a UK tour with the LPO and a Mozart Piano Concerto cycle directed from the keyboard with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, he conducted a new production of The Marriage of Figaro for the Greek National Opera at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens. Marios holds a doctorate in music from City University, is a Fellow by Special Election of Keble College, Oxford and has been awarded an MBE for services to music in Oxford.

Oxford Piano Festival

The Oxford Piano Festival was founded in 1999 by Marios Papadopoulos, renowned pianist and Music Director of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Each year, the Festival welcomes piano players and pedagogues, experts and enthusiasts to some of Oxford’s most historic venues, such as Sir Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre, the Holywell Music Room, and Christ Church Cathedral.

The Oxford Piano Festival takes place in the last week of July, on the tranquil and scenic campus of St Hilda’s College, Oxford, home of the JdP Music Building, and located just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre.

The Oxford Piano Festival’s objective is simple: to inspire, support and encourage music-making at the piano of the highest quality. Welcoming world-renowned soloists and teachers each year, the Festival provides gifted young players with a rare opportunity to work alongside and learn from some of the world’s finest pianists and teachers, to perform and to learn new repertoire,

as part of a dedicated community of artists which encourages exchange over competition. 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. As part of this holistic approach, the various international schools of piano playing are considered.

With Alfred Brendel as the Festival’s Patron, Sir András Schiff as President, and the Festival’s founder Marios Papadopoulos a renowned pianist himself, the bar is set very high in terms of quality and artistic integrity.

Previous participants at the Festival have gone on to achieve great success. Notable alumni include Alim Beisembayev (winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition 2021), Martin James Bartlett, Mark Viner, Alexander Ullman, Mishka Rushdie-Momen and Denis Kozhukhin.

Support the Oxford Piano Festival

Nurturing and developing emerging artists from diverse backgrounds

The Oxford Piano Festival attracts the very best young artists globally to participate in a week’s programme of masterclasses and concerts with distinguished pianists. Since 1999, the Festival has provided a springboard for young people who are on the verge of exciting careers. Join us for the 2023 Festival and help support emerging young artists with extraordinary performance opportunities and unique tutoring from world-leading pianists.

General Support

Donate to masterclasses that explore the various schools of piano playing, to provide the students with new approaches and help them become well rounded performers. Inspirational concerts and events featuring renowned artists provide life-changing experiences to these up-and-coming pianists.

Scholarship

With philanthropic support, we are able to offer full scholarships to participants to ensure fair access to talent pathways into classical music and to promote the diversity of the pipeline of emerging pianists.

Legacy

A legacy would support the Piano Festival and the Orchestra’s educational programmes with emerging artists.

If you would like the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra (Registered Charity no. 1084256) to thrive in every aspect, please consider making an unrestricted gift. To donate or learn more about how to support, please contact Mollie Lewis on 01865 987 222 or at mollie@oxfordphil.com.

‘It was an incredible privilege to take part in masterclasses at the Festival, to be able to learn from such legendary musicians as Maria Curcio, Ferenc Rados, and Sir András Schiff, whose lessons were unforgettable, along with those of many other wonderful teachers – and in such an inspiring historical setting. It is truly amazing to see what our director Marios Papadopoulos has achieved, and I found it very moving to return to the Festival for a recital last summer.’

Mishka Rushdie Momen

Information for Participants and Observers

Participants (playing students):

All participants receive four public masterclasses and perform at the Participants’ Recital. Although we try to accommodate participants’ choice of teachers, we cannot guarantee that everyone will receive tuition from their preferred professors. Participants are provided with a Festival Pass which offers entry to all events.

Observers (non-playing attendees):

Full-time observers are provided with a Festival Pass upon arrival and registration, which offers entry to all events.

Practical Information

Travel:

The Oxford Bus Company (01865 785 400 / www.oxfordbus.co.uk/airline) run a coach service from Heathrow and Gatwick airports named ‘the airline’. Stagecoach runs a 24-hour coach service between Oxford and Central London (01865 772250 / www.oxfordtube.com). There are frequent rail services from London Paddington and London Marylebone to Oxford (information from National Rail Enquiries on 0345 748 4950 / www.nationalrail.co.uk). Our staff are happy to advise you about your journey to and from the Festival.

Transport to concerts:

All concerts are within walking distance (under 1 mile) of St Hilda’s College. The office can organise taxis at an additional cost for those who would prefer not to walk. We advise against driving as there is no parking available within St Hilda’s College.

Arrival and Registration:

Festival staff will be at St Hilda’s College to welcome participants and observers and show them to their accommodation from 13:00 on 29 July. Please aim to register at the JdP Music Building by 14:00.

Accommodation/meals:

Accommodation is available on site at St Hilda’s College and includes all meals. Meals start with dinner on 29 July and end with lunch on 6 August.

Accommodation is subject to availability and allocated on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis. Requests for part-time accommodation at St Hilda’s will only be accepted, subject to availability, in early July.

Practice Pianos: Festival participants may practise for up to three hours per day in the JdP Music Building.

Certificates: Certificates of Attendance will be presented to all Festival Pass holders.

Scholarships:

We understand that for some participants the cost may be out of reach. We welcome applications for a scholarship that will help with some or all of the cost. During the Festival we will talk to you about your role in fundraising, introducing you to the donor supporting your place.

How to Apply

Participants should apply through the online form at oxfordpianofestival.com/information-for-applicants or by scanning the QR code.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by May 2023.

28 April 2023 application deadline

Entry Requirements

Participants:

We welcome applications from advanced piano students of all nationalities born on or after 29 July 1996.

Observers: Open to all.

Cancellation Policy:

Participants and observers who withdraw from the Festival will receive a refund of all but £50 if withdrawn by 7 July. Those who withdraw after 7 July will also have additional expenses incurred by the Festival deducted from their refund.

Prices

Festival Passes: Participant £840

Observer £340 (offers access to all masterclasses and concerts)

Please note that accommodation is not included in the Festival Passes and should be purchased separately.

Full-board single-room accommodation:

Standard £700

En suite £800

Anniversary Building £940

Full-board for 2 people sharing twin-room accommodation:

Standard £1,150 En suite £1,250

Anniversary Building £1,375 Payment Deadline

7 July 2023

Venue Information

Christ Church Cathedral Christ Church, St Aldate’s, Oxford OX1 1DP

Holywell Music Room Holywell Street, Oxford OX1 3SD

JdP Music Building St Hilda’s College, Cowley Place, Oxford OX4 1DY

Sheldonian Theatre Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AZ

St John the Evangelist Church Iffley Road, Oxford OX4 1EH

University Church of St Mary the Virgin High Street, Oxford OX1 4BJ

Festival events are open to the public.

Prices

Masterclasses £11 (no concessions)

Other events are priced individually

Book 7+ events for a 10% discount

How to Book

Box Office: 01865 980 980 Email: boxoffice@oxfordphil.com Online: oxfordpianofestival.com

Brochure design by Larisa Afrić.

Photography credits: Satoshi Aoyagi, Victoria Cadisch, Richard Cave, Simon Fowler / Warner Classics, Chris Gloag, Clare Park, Elishama Udorok, Hugh Warwick.

This brochure is published by Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd. Information is correct at time of going to press (December 2022). Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd reserves the right to change the date, time, artist, programme or venue of any event where unavoidable.

The University of Oxford logo is the registered trademark of the University of Oxford. The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is licensed to use the mark in the branding of events in the United Kingdom. The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is run by the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Trust. Neither the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra nor the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Trust are part of the University of Oxford.

Observer Sign-up Form

Purchase your Observer Festival Pass and full-board accommodation online at oxfordphil.com/shop or by calling 01865 980 980.

Alternatively, please fill in this form and return no later than 7 July 2023 to William Emery, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, 29a Teignmouth Road, London NW2 4EB, or email William at opoeducation@oxfordphil.com.

Title Name Address

Postcode

Telephone E-mail

Payment Methods

Pay online oxfordpianofestival.com

Cheque made payable to Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd

Debit/credit Card: please call +44 (0)1865 980 980

Online transfer (state your name as the payment reference and please note the full amount should be transferred net of bank charges)

Account Name: Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd

Account No: 8771 4957 Sort Code: 515001

Swift Address: NWBK GB 2L Iban: GB40 NWBK 5150 0187 7149 57

Observer festival pass (29 July to 6 August) £340

Standard single room + meals £700

En suite single room + meals £800

Single en suite Anniversary Building room + meals £940

Standard twin room + meals (per room, 2 people sharing) £1,150

En suite twin room + meals (per room, 2 people sharing) £1,250

Anniversary Building twin en suite room + meals (per room, 2 people sharing) £1,375

I wish to make a donation to support the Festival £

Total £

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Patron

HRH Princess Alexandra Life Presidents

Geoffrey de Jager Harry Leventis Menahem Pressler

Honorary President

The Rt Hon the Lord Patten of Barnes, CH Vice President

Sir Victor Blank Patron

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Piano Festival Patron

Alfred Brendel KBE

Piano Festival President

Sir András Schiff

Patron for New Music Marina, Lady Marks Music Director Marios Papadopoulos MBE

Conducting Fellow Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Trust

Registered Charity No. 1084256

Sir Ivor Roberts KCMG (Chair)

Geoffrey de Jager (Deputy Chair)

Dr Saphié Ashtiany Alfiya Askar

Marco Assetto

Raymond Blanc OBE Prof. Michael Earl David Haenlein

Lord Hall

Dr Russell Hirshfield

Bianca Jagger

Rasha Khawaja

Dr Marios Papadopoulos MBE

Sir Jonathan Phillips

Prof. Sir Andrew Pollard

Advisory Council

Dr Saphié Ashtiany (Chair)

Emma Chamberlain OBE

John Caunt

Prof. Michael Earl Joanna Foster CBE

Peggotty Graham

Jeff Hewitt

Robert Jackson

Lord Krebs

Dr Jill Pellew

Sir Jonathan Phillips

Bob Price

Hilary Reid-Evans

Lady Stewart Prof. Irene Tracey

Prof. Sir John Vickers Angela Wade David Whelton

Finance and Risk Committee

Prof. Michael Earl (Chair) David Haenlein

Jeff Hewitt Colin Maund Tom Purves

Honorary Members

Lord Butler of Brockwell

Sir Jeremy Greenstock Lady Heseltine

John Leighfield CBE

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus

Sir Michael Parkinson CBE

Dr Michael Peagram Prof. Reinhard Strohm

Francesca Schwarzenbach George Tsavliris

Bruno Wang

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd

Company No. 03592323

VAT No. 208 4077 20

Directors

Dr Saphié Ashtiany

Marco Assetto David Haenlein Anthi Papadopoulos Dr Marios Papadopoulos MBE

Board Members, American Friends of the Oxford Philharmonic

Joshua M Berman Russell Hirshfield Marios Papadopoulos MBE Faanya Rose Saundra Whitney Christopher Wright

Advisory Council, American Friends of the Oxford Philharmonic

Alex Gorsky

Sir John Hood Leila Larijani Aviad Meitar Antony Phillipson

HE Mr Matthew Rycroft CBE James Sherwood†, Chairman Emeritus

Executive Management Music Director

Dr Marios Papadopoulos MBE

Chief Operating Officer

Anthi Papadopoulos

Education and Community Director

David Haenlein

Administration

Design/Office Manager

Larisa Afrić

Planning Manager

Janet Marsden Orchestra Personnel Manager

Ellie McCowan

Development Officer

Mollie Lewis Logistics Officer

Ellie Rayfield Marketing Administrator Megan Cunnington

Ticketing and Events Officer

Lydia Skrentny

Education Officer

William Emery Associate Stephen Browning

Philanthropic Consultancy Support

Global Philanthropic Press and PR Nicky Thomas Media

Friends & Patrons Liaison John Caunt

Librarian Helen Harris Stage Manager

Max Howard

Contact us

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, 29a Teignmouth Road, London NW2 4EB 01865 987 222 (general) | 01865 980 980 (box office) | info@oxfordphil.com | oxfordpianofestival.com