The second Ludlow Piano festival is on May 22nd 2024, 5 consecutive days, 19 events, 3 venues.
Everyone is talking about the second Ludlow Piano Festival – 19 quality music events over 5 spring days at 3 fabulous venues !
The festival opens with our hugely-popular CELEBRITY concert, hosted by Shefali Oza and featuring Giles from Giles & Mary among others. We have COMEDY from Rainer Hersch – asking and answering questions like ‘What do conductors actually do?’ (“This is comedy genius” – Sunday Times), a show celebrating the much-loved songs of Victoria Wood and three iconic SILENT MOVIES (from Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel and Hardy) with ‘live’ piano accompaniment.
‘Strictly Piano’ allows you to waltz to Chopin and Satie, tango to Piazzolla and cha-cha-cha to ’Tea For Two’ and is followed by a late-night concert where you listen to Debussy and Rachmaninov lying on mattresses. We include JAZZ for the first time as Ludlow-born Liam Dunachie plays Fats Waller, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. We highlight BRITISH composers in two lecture-concerts. Lucy Parham returns with another ‘Words and Music‘ concert celebrating the life of Clara Schumann and featuring one of our most-respected actors, Dame Harriet Walter. We have a husband and wife DUET event, a concert of film themes and we have four exciting newer pianists one of whom will be putting Beethoven on trial against his contemporaries and a ‘Young Artist Recital’ from a rising Welsh star. Darling of the concert circuit and Radio 3, Worcestershire’s Charles Owen, returns and… we have a headline act from Italy whose programme has to be seen to be believed.
And, most importantly of all, the street pianos return – your chance to play to the passing public!
Joel Baldwin Co-Artistic Director says: “The LPF 2024 programme builds on the success of last year’s inaugural festival by celebrating the instrument through an even broader showcase of extraordinary composers and performers. With the support from a whole host of world-class musicians, performers, speakers, comedians and celebrities, we present an eclectic mixture of pianistic virtuosity, marvel, and fun. From the deeply-felt to the light-hearted, we are thrilled to present 19 unique events that will feature an even broader range of styles and themes. Threads through it all include: musical forms that lift the soul and slow down time; lesser-known early Romantic works that rival certain canonic hegemonies; the playful and personal expressions of pianist-composers, both old and new; music with extra-musical impetuses (including text, drama, comedy, and film); and the exquisite music of Clara Schumann. As well as globe-trotting programmes featuring flavours from across Europe and the Americas, we will also be shining a spotlight on the intriguing musical inventiveness of British composers, not to mention the jazz-infused and rock-inspired themes popping up throughout. Come and spend some time in Ludlow’s stunning surroundings and soak up the atmosphere as we bask in the beauty of piano music in all its variety by some of the best known performers from across the spectrum.
Many events will sell out quickly so book early and we look forward to seeing you at one of our stunning venues in the beautiful town of Ludlow – nestling in the breathtaking Shropshire countryside – come the end of May.