Strand International Piano Series 2023-4 (Concert 14)

St Mary le Strand (The "Jewel" of the Strand) plays host to the second Strand International Piano Series.  Further to its launch to great acclaim in the 2022-23 season, the new series will feature all 32 of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. London's most intimate concert venue boasts stunning architecture, beautiful acoustics and a brand new Steinway concert grand piano.

Pianist
Simon Watterton

Programme
Bach/Kempff - Siciliano from Flute Sonata no.2
Schumann - Waldszenen 'Forest Scenes' op.82
Beethoven - Bagatelles, op.119 no.6 in G Major, op.126 no.2 in G minor and op.119 no.11 in B Flat Major
Bach/Busoni - Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Beethoven - Sonata no.15 in D Major op.28 'Pastoral'

Wirral born pianist Simon Watterton has given recitals as soloist and chamber musician all across the world. In recent years he has performed in China, Canada, the USA, Sweden and Italy as well as extensively in the UK and Republic of Ireland. He made his concerto debut at London’s Cadogan Hall and was featured as a Rising Star in International Piano Magazine at the time of a cycle he gave of all the Beethoven piano sonatas in London.  He has appeared at the Wigmore Hall, St John’s, Smith Square and the Purcell Room, as well as performing live on Radio 3’s InTune and for Classic FM. As chamber musician he has made two visits on a collaborative piano internship to the Banff Centre, Canada, and has worked with a number of artists including his wife, Irish violinist Anna Cashell, ‘cellist Raphael Wallfisch and violinist Daniel Rohn. In addition to this his piano trio have also performed extensively in the UK to critical acclaim. 

Whilst a specialist in the music of Beethoven, Mozart and Schumann, Simon’s repertoire encompasses a broad range of styles and periods. He has also given lecture recitals ranging from Liszt’s Anness de Pelerinage to Bach’s Goldberg Variations.As a writer on music he selected and wrote the foreword for a new edition of Frank Bridge’s piano music published by Dover Publishing of New York, which came out in October 2014. He is currently a visiting teacher at Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Limerick in the Republic of Ireland.Simon studied at the Purcell School of Music with Patsy Toh and the Royal College of Music with Yonty Solomon, where he won a range of prizes and awards, including the Hopkinson Silver Medal, the Marmaduke Barton Piano Prize and the Peter Wallfisch Prize.Recent concerts included an evening of chamber music at Cadogan Hall with the London International Players, and future projects include an eight recital traversal of Beethoven’s piano sonatas at Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre from September 2020, in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.