JAMES LISNEY piano
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Thursday 5 November 2026Doors/Bar: 6.30pm
Concert: 7.30pm Duration: 90 min (with interval) Tickets: £30 general admission |
James Lisney’s …petits concerts take their title from the annual series of recitals given by Charles Alkan at the Erard Showroom in Paris during the 1870s.
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James Lisney returns to the 1901 Arts Club with a garland of romantic piano music inspired by poetry, song, and the spirit of dance.
Franz Liszt considered his Bénédiction (the third piece of his 1853 piano cycle Harmonies poétiques et religieuses) one of his most significant works, often performing it for house guests. It is a profound meditation on the eponymous poem by Alphonse de Lamartine, interpreting French Romantic sentiments through the most sumptuous of piano writing. Franz Schubert’s Drei Klavierstücke, written 1827/28, gained their Germanic title from Johannes Brahms who edited the pieces for their first publication in 1868. The first two pieces allude to his own lied and the opera Fierabras, and some commentators see a quote from Handel’s Messiah - a score that Schubert was studying in 1828. The outer sections of the final Allegro, however, are shot through with bohemian dance rhythms and virtuosic piano writing. Fryderyk Chopin was intensely interested in the bel canto style of Italian opera and particularly admired the long melodic lines of composers such as Vincenzo Bellini. The sonata presents a rich mixture of melodies and pianistic brilliance, but it is tightly wrought beneath the surface - one of the most satisfying of nineteenth century piano sonatas. Finally, Rachmaninoff produced affectionate transcriptions of music by Bach, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and others. James Lisney presents two celebrated songs originally written for soprano - and two waltzes that the celebrated violinist Fritz Kreisler passed off as “Old Viennese Dances” before confessing that they were his own. Rachmaninoff’s virtuosic and humorous transcriptions are a splendid tribute from one emigré musician to another. |
ProgrammeFranz Liszt
Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude Franz Schubert Drei Klavierstücke, D.946 Fryderyk Chopin Sonata in B, Op.58 Sergei Rachmaninoff Lilacs, Op.21 No.5 Daisies, Op.38 No.3 Liebesleid/Liebesfreud (Fritz Kreisler) "I have nothing but praise for James Lisney's piano playing; he combines velvet touch and wide range of colour with complete understanding of phrasing and dynamic shading. This is someone who can really give the mechanical box of wires and wood a singing soul." The Telegraph "I couldn’t fault Lisney’s technically and musically perfect playing of Chopin at Wigmore Hall… a gem of a concert which will stay in the memory for a long time to come; five stars." Musicomh |
Irene Taylor Trust |
Our mission is to nurture people who have been marginalised to be celebrated and elevated through the joyful process of creating original music together. We support positive change, helping participants to develop important skills for the future and offer a platform to ensure their voices are heard and talents recognised.
Founded in 1995 by Lord Chief Justice Peter Taylor in memory of his wife Irene, our work has grown from an initiative to keep 'music in prisons' alive to inter-linking programmes providing long-term support both in prisons and the community. Music can break down barriers and change lives.
Founded in 1995 by Lord Chief Justice Peter Taylor in memory of his wife Irene, our work has grown from an initiative to keep 'music in prisons' alive to inter-linking programmes providing long-term support both in prisons and the community. Music can break down barriers and change lives.
James Lisney |
James Lisney website
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"James Lisney has the rare ability to play Chopin with a genuine pianissimo, as well as possessing a full range of power and sensitivity when required. Chopin playing of fine quality and discernment.” Musical Opinion |
James Lisney enjoys a rich musical life, moving seamlessly from concerto and recital soloist to chamber musician, song accompanist and pianist director. Initiatives, such as his Schubertreise series at London's South Bank Centre, his extensive Beethoven Project or the recording company Woodhouse Editions, provide a platform for his wide-ranging musical sympathies.
James Lisney made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1986 and early representation by the Young Concert Artists Trust in London led to a career that has taken him to many prestigious venues and gained invitations to appear with major orchestras. Highlights have included residencies at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Carnegie Recital Hall in New York; and Beethoven and Schubert cycles at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Berlin Philharmonie. James Lisney's repertoire ranges from baroque masterpieces to music of the present day. In the past two decades, the music of Schubert and Beethoven have been a central pre-occupation, but he has also premiered several works by the Dutch composer Jan Vriend. His recordings (on Naxos, Bis, Somm, Olympia, Carlton and Attacca) have gained the highest recommendations. The present season will see recitals in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and the Prague Rudolfinum. |