Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva release their first duo album on 1 April and announce the inaugural London

Piano Festival at Kings Place

Stravinsky Piano Ballets Quartz Music | LC28888 Release date: 1 April 2016 CD launch: Rhinegold Live recital 26 April 2016 Conway Hall, London Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva London Piano Festival 7-9 October 2016 Kings Place, London Full programme below

Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva announce the inaugural London Piano Festival at Kings Place from 7-9 October 2016 as they release their debut duo album of Stravinsky piano ballets today. The festival – co-curated by Owen and Apekisheva – will include performances from some of the world’s leading pianists such as Kathryn Stott, Noriko Ogawa, Stephen Kovacevich and Julian Joseph in addition to a lecture on Liszt From Exuberance to Asceticism by Alfred Brendel. Owen and Apekisheva will perform the world premiere of a new work for two pianos written by American composer Nico Muhly. “There is a lot of laughter in our rehearsals and we have created the London Piano Festival because we wanted to share our enjoyment of the repertoire with many of our friends.” Charles Owen The album of Stravinsky’s piano ballets include Petrushka and The Rite of Spring which were arranged by Stravinsky to be played with his colleague Debussy who was a huge inspiration to the composer at a time of creative block. The Rite of Spring and Petrushka were both written for the Ballets Russes during Stravinsky’s employment writing for Diaghilev. The Rite of Spring was premiered in 1913 to a hostile audience, which saw people being cast out from the theatre due to the uproar. Charles Owen states that the piano ballets are “concert pieces in their own right”. For the CD launch at their Rhinegold Live recital on 26 April, the duo will be performing music by Poulenc, Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky. Owen, who had been learning Russian at school, first met Apekisheva when she visited the UK with the Gnessin school. The two pianists ended up meeting again at the Royal College of Music where they studied piano with the same teacher – Irina Zaritskaya. The duo has created the London Piano Festival to bring together their friends and colleagues for an entertaining and collaborative weekend of piano music. The festival begins with Alfred Brendel’s lecture on Liszt on 7 October, followed by a performance of Liszt’s piano sonata in B Minor by Hungarian pianist Dénes Várjon. On 8 October co-Artistic-Director Charles Owen performs a selection of

 

Bach Partitas, Kathryn Stott performs a French recital of Fauré, Ravel, Messiaen and Dutilleux and co-Artistic-Director Katya Apekisheva performs a programme of Chopin, Scriabin and Fauré. The highlight of the London Piano Festival is the two piano gala on 8 October with Stephen Kovacevich, Katya Apekisheva, Ronan O’Hora, Charles Owen, Martin Roscoe, Kathryn Stott and Ashley Wass. The varied programme includes duets by Busoni, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Milhaud, Piazzolla and Grainger, in addition to the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Fast Patterns – a rearrangement of an organ piece. On Sunday 9 October, Japanese pianist Noriko Ogawa gives three children’s concerts with the theme of the magical world of the piano. Ogawa’s short 30-minute concerts are aimed at 2 – 5 year olds followed by a 45-minute concert for children aged 6+. Pianist Lucy Parham joins actor Henry Goodman for Réverie - a composer portrait on Debussy combining his words and music. The 2016 London Piano Festival ends with a jazz recital by Julian Joseph, featuring a mixture of pieces including a selection of his own compositions and jazz standards by Gershwin, Ellington and Porter.

Full programme 7 October | Kings Place Hall One | 19:30pm Franz Liszt – From Exuberance to Asceticism Lecture (c. 60 minutes) Liszt Piano Sonata in B Minor, S178 Alfred Brendel speaker Dénes Várjon piano 8 October | Kings Place Hall One | 11:30am J.S. Bach Keyboard Partitas J.S. Bach Partita No. 1 in B Flat Major, BWV 825 J.S. Bach Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 J.S. Bach Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828 Charles Owen piano 8 October | Kings Place Hall One | 14:00pm The French F Sharp Connection Fauré Nocturne No. 11 Ravel Sonatine Messiaen Le Baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus from Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus Dutilleux Piano Sonata (1946-48) Kathryn Stott piano 8 October | Kings Place Hall One | 16:00pm Impromptus Scriabin 2 Impromptus Op.12 Fauré Impromptu E Flat Major Op.25

Fauré Impromptu F Minor Op.31 Fauré Impromptu A Flat Major Op.34 Fauré. Impromptu F Sharp Minor Op.102 Scriabin 2 Impromptus Op.14 Chopin Impromptu A Flat Major Op.29 Chopin Impromptu F Sharp Major Op.36 Chopin Impromptu G Flat Major Op.51 Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu C Sharp Minor Op.66 (posth.) Katya Apekisheva piano 8 October | Kings Place Hall One | 19:00pm Two Piano Gala Busoni Fantasia Contrappuntistica Ronan O’Hora and Martin Roscoe Debussy Lindaraja Debussy Prélude à l’apres-midi d’un faune Stephen Kovacevich and Charles Owen -- Rachmaninoff Suite No. 1 Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva Ravel La Valse Ronan O’Hora and Ashley Wass -- Nico Muhly Fast Patterns (world premiere) Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva

 

Milhaud Le Boeuf sur le Toit Katya Apekisheva and Ashley Wass Piazolla Tangos Kathryn Stott and Ashley Wass Grainger Fantasy on Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess Kathryn Stott and Martin Roscoe 9 October | Kings Place Hall Two Three Children’s Concerts with Noriko Ogawa “The Magical World of the Piano” 10-10:30am Ages 2-5 11-11:30am Ages 2-5

12-12:45pm Ages 6+ 9 October | Kings Place Hall One | 11:30am Rêverie – The life and loves of Claude Debussy Lucy Parham piano Henry Goodman actor 9 October | Kings Place Hall One | 14:30pm Jazz Recital Julian Joseph piano

CD track listings Petrushka 1. Scene One: The Shrovetide Fair 2. Scene One: The Enchantment 3. Scene One: Russian Dance 4. Scene Two: Petrushka's Room 5. Scene Three: The Blackamore's Room 6. Scene Three: Dance of the Ballerina 7. Scene Three: Waltz: The Ballerina and the Blackamore 8. Scene Four: The Shrovetide Fair 9. Scene Four: Dance of the Nursemaids 10. Scene Four: The Bear and the Peasant 11. Scene Four: The Jovial Merchant With Two Gypsy Girls 12. Scene Four: Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms 13. Scene Four: The Masqueraders 14. Scene Four: The Fight: The Moor and Petroushka 15. Scene Four: Death of Petroushka 16. Scene Four: The Police and the Juggler 17. Scene Four: Apparition of Petroushka The Rite of Spring 18. First Part: The Adoration of the Earth: Introduction 19. First Part: The Adoration of the Earth: The Augurs of Spring - Dance of the Young Girls 20. First Part: The Adoration of the Earth: Ritual of Abduction 21. First Part: The Adoration of the Earth: Spring Rounds 22. First Part: The Adoration of the Earth: Ritual of the Rival Tribes 23. First Part: The Adoration of the Earth: Procession of the Sage 24. First Part: The Adoration of the Earth: Dance of the Earth 25. Second Part: The Sacrifice: Introduction 26. Second Part: The Sacrifice: Mystic Circles of the Young Girls 27. Second Part: The Sacrifice: Glorification of the Chosen One 28. Second Part: The Sacrifice: Evocation of the Ancestors 29. Second Part: The Sacrifice: Ritual Action of the Ancestors 30. Second Part: The Sacrifice: Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)

 

Charles Owen Charles Owen is recognised as one of the finest British pianists of his generation with an extensive series of performances and recordings to his name. Charles has appeared at London’s Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Hall and regularly gives recitals at the Wigmore Hall and Kings Place. Internationally he has performed at the Lincoln Center, Weill/Carnegie Hall, the Brahms Saal in Vienna’s Musikverein, the Paris Musée d’Orsay, and the Moscow Conservatoire. His chamber music partners include Adrian Brendel, Nicholas Daniel, Augustin Hadelich, Chloë Hanslip, Julian Rachlin and Mark Padmore as well as the Carducci, Elias, Takács and Vertavo Quartets. In addition he has an established piano duo partnership with Katya Apekisheva with whom he

has recorded the duo versions of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Petrushka Charles’ solo recordings include discs of piano music by Janácek, Poulenc and the complete Nocturnes and Barcarolles by Fauré. Together with Natalie Clein, he has recorded cello and piano sonatas by Brahms, Schubert Rachmaninov and Chopin for EMI. Charles Owen is a Professor of piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Katya Apekisheva

Katya Apekisheva is one of Europe’s most renowned pianists, in demand internationally as both a soloist and as a chamber musician. Since becoming a prize-winner in the Leeds International and Scottish Piano Competitions and collating awards such as the London Philharmonic ‘Soloist of the Year’ and the Terence Judd Award she has been marked out as a pianist of exceptional gifts, performing with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, The Philharmonia, the Halle Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, working with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon, Jan Latham-Koenig and Alexander Lazarev. As a recording artist, Katya has received

widespread critical acclaim for her interpretations. Her recording of Grieg solo piano works in 2008 (Quartz) was chosen by Classic FM as CD of the week and selected by Gramophone Magazine as Editor’s Choice, further receiving a ‘Rising Star Award’ in International Piano Magazine and becoming Critics’ choice 2008 in Gramophone magazine. In 2012 Katya released a CD of works by Mussorgsky and Shostakovich (Onyx) and has also collaborated on several

 

recordings with violinist Jack Liebeck including a Classical Brit winning CD of works by Dvořák and more recently a disc of Kreisler arrangements for Hyperion. This season’s highlights include concerto performances with the English Chamber Orchestra, solo recitals at Wigmore Hall and in Glasgow (the latter was broadcast by the BBC), recitals in the Ryedale Festival at Castle Howard, the Belfast Lughnasa Festival, and duo concerts with Charles Owen. Future plans include concerts in the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh and at the Lincoln Centre, New York, among others. Katya will be co-curating a piano festival with Charles Owen at Kings Place, London, in 2016. Katya is a Professor of Piano at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

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