Nicola Lisle looks forward to the SJE Arts International Piano Series

The Church of St John the Evangelist has recently been acclaimed by Gramophone magazine for the beauty of its acoustic – a wonderful endorsement just as the SJE Arts international piano series swings into action.

“There was a recording done here of Mendelssohn songs, and the review mentioned the lovely warm acoustic,” says Michele Smith, who runs SJE Arts with assistant Sally Doyle.

“We’re actually doing more and more recordings because it has got such a good acoustic and the piano is so lovely.

“I think the piano gets better and better. It had hardly been played when we bought it and it needed to settle in, which I think it now has.”

To prove the point, Michele has a galaxy of piano stars lined up, all of whom are guaranteed to produce some magic from the Steinway’s ivories.

Big names coming up in 2016 include Angela Hewitt, Imogen Cooper and Freddie Kempf, while local favourite Maki Sekiya and regular visitor Viv McLean are also back by popular demand.

“Angela came two years ago and gave a fantastic concert, and Imogen Cooper is just wonderful,” Michele says. “It’s exciting having Freddie Kempf because he doesn’t come over here very often now he’s based in Europe, so that’s lovely.

“Then we’ve got Maki back because everyone liked her so much, and Viv is with his brother, Benet, this time, so that’s going to be interesting.

“The first half will be Viv doing Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, then we’re not quite sure what Benet’s going to do! He’s an incredible jazz pianist, but he’s also a classical violinist. So we’re not sure what to expect, but I’m sure it will be good.”

For Michele, an important part of the festival is giving a platform to younger players, so there are two rising stars in this year’s series.

First up, in March, is Martin James Bartlett, who won the BBC Young Musician competition in 2014, aged just 17. In November, bringing the season to a close, is the young Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, winner of Spain’s National Music Prize in 2012.

Other treats include the Barbican Piano Trio, who open the season on Sunday with an all-Beethoven programme, and Clare Hammond, who recently shot to fame as a young Maggie Smith in the film The Lady in the Van.

A more unusual inclusion, in May, is an evening of song to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, with baritone Ashley Riches and pianist Emma Abbate. There will also be a pre-concert talk with composer Roxanna Panufnik, whose work features in the programme alongside the likes of Quilter, Finzi, Elgar and others.

Now in its third year, the piano festival has become an integral part of Oxford’s annual music calendar. It has also grown from just a handful of concerts in the first season to a whopping 10 concerts spread throughout the year.

“I really feel that this is now an established event,” Michele says. “I’m already planning 2017 and 2018 – in fact, I’ve got half of 2017 in the bag! So I feel it does sit comfortably with what’s going on in the rest of the city.

“I think this year it’s going to be a really interesting programme and we’ve got so many great people coming.”

Where and when
International Piano Series: Barbican Piano Trio
St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Road
Sunday, 4pm sje-oxford.org