International Piano offers a rich mix of inspiration and guidance to pianists and piano fans around the world, from dedicated amateurs and students to professional pianists, teachers and aficionados. Celebrating the piano in all its forms, including the fortepiano and digital keyboards, each edition of our magazine is packed with interviews, features, news and reviews showcasing the top artists of today and yesteryear.
The importance of concerts
International Piano meets Yevgeny Sudbin
NEWS IN BRIEF
Hyperion Records on streaming services
LETTERS
Jeonghwan Kim wins in Sydney
Being Maurizio Pollini • Pollini’s latest recital at London’s Royal Festival Hall revealed the fragilities of old age, but Jonathon Brown wonders whether we should have di erent expectations
André Watts
Jenő Jandó
Historical Perspectives • In a new regular column Mark Ainley explores historic treasures both familiar and obscure, recommending new discoveries and encouraging fresh listening. He begins by suggesting why we should listen to pianists from the past
The Ill-Tempered Clavier • From huge pop festivals to classical concerts en plein air, Charivari finds more cons than pros when it comes to the supposed attractions of outdoor concerts
Learning from Liszt • Having gone from precocious prodigy to mature musician, Haochen Zhang has recorded Liszt’s formidable Études d’exécution transcendante. He talks to Tim Parry about his journey from China to America and his growing appreciation of Liszt’s musical imagination
Understanding Horowitz • In the latest in his series exploring pianists who have both admirers and detractors, Bryce Morrison sifts through the vast output of Vladimir Horowitz, who perhaps more than any other pianist has sharply divided critical opinion
Calling time on a unique career • Jeremy Nicholas pays tribute to the versatile and prolific artistry of the Turkish pianist Idil Biret and shares a long exchange conducted over email
Mysterious beauty • Daniel-Ben Pienaar introduces his recorded cycle of 48 Haydn piano sonatas, which casts fresh light on the composer’s musical style and personality
Godowsky’s Symphonic Metamorphosis on Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus • Jeremy Nicholas surveys the history on record of the second of three virtuoso paraphrases Godowsky composed on themes by Johann Strauss II and picks out his personal favourites
RET URNING TO THE PIANO • A technical refresher course for recommencing piano enthusiasts, created for International Piano by Murray McLachlan
Nocturne in C sharp minor, ‘Autumn’
Best of British • News and updates from the UK’s leading conservatoires for pianists
Focusing on Fauré • Marc-André Hamelin is well known for his omnivorous appetite for the highways and byways of the piano’s repertoire. He talks to Harriet Smith about exploring the refined subtleties of a fin de siècle French composer
Critics’ choice
Live Reviews
Like an electric shock • Bertrand Chamayou talks about five pianists who made a deep impression on him while growing up and who still give inspiration, and recommends five recordings