OUTSTANDING PIANIST: Mariam Batsashvili, winner of the 2014 Liszt Competition, will perform as part of the next season of the Darlington Piano Society
Submitted by Darlington Piano Society
The next season of a Darlington-based piano society will bring international pianists to the city in a series of recitals demonstrating the astonishing breadth of the classical repertoire and the talent of its performers
The Darlington Piano Society season begins with a return visit from Leon McCawley on October 16 in a program of works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert which he will perform beforehand at Wigmore Hall, the premier chamber music venue from London.
All the pianists from the rest of the season will be making their first visit here and two of them are the international competition grand prize winners – Mario Häring (2nd prize, Leeds 2018) and Mariam Batsashvili (winner of the Liszt Competition 2014) on 20 November and January 15, 2023 respectively. They are two exceptional young pianists who are building international careers.
Mariam also gives her Darlington program at Wigmore Hall three days earlier and her growing international reputation is such that tickets were sold out five months before her recital. The December 11 recital features the young British pianist Mark Viner, president of the Liszt Society and the Alkan Society, and his recital includes works from both in its program.
On February 19, 2023, the Society welcomes the duo of Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins, some seven years after their last performance as a duo for the Society. This expands the boundaries of program possibilities, and they include pieces by Amy Beach, Constant Lambert, and Samuel Barber.
The final recital of the season on March 12, 2023 by Tom Poster is themed “Nights and Dreams: A Nocturnal Journey” and in addition to Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata includes Tom’s arrangements of works associated with the night by such as George Gershwin, Henry Mancini and Jerome Kern rub shoulders with original pieces by Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann.
Greg Johnson, president of the society, said: “It’s always a challenge to put together a balanced season of experienced and up-and-coming pianists, in programs that are diverse and engaging. I think that has been achieved this season with the music of JS Bach, through Schönberg and lesser-known composers such as Moszkowski, to composers of 20th-century music and film classics.
Find all the details of the season here and in the brochure available throughout the region, as well as content through the websites of What’s On in Darlington, Darlington for Culture and Tees Music. Recitals are held in the Dolphin Center’s Central Hall on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m.
Full season tickets (£60) can be purchased on the website or via the booking form in the Society’s brochure. Individual recital tickets (£15) can also be purchased online and are available at the recitals door. For young people under 21, admission is free.
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