International Piano

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.

Keyboard confessions

LETTERS

Tyler Hay wins Dudley Competition

Michael Ponti remembered

Too many pianists?

The bigger picture • An innate grasp of large-scale musical structure won Young Sun Choi first prize at the Rina Sala Gallo Competition. She tells Colin Clarke why the win was unexpected

What’s in a name? • Many pianists face the public with names not found on their birth certi cate. Benjamin Ivry considers their motives

The Ill-Tempered Clavier • In the wider world, why is ignorance bliss when it comes to classical music, wonders a despairing Charivari

Beyond music • Knighted in the Queen’s nal Birthday Honours List, British pianist Sir Stephen Hough is a true Renaissance man, with an astonishing range of activities on and beyond the concert platform. Early 2023 sees a world premiere of one of his compositions, two new CDs – one as player, one as composer – and an autobiography. Michael Church reports

A blessing and a curse • In the first in a new series examining the recorded legacy of artists whose playing divides opinion, Bryce Morrison considers the Russian pianist Simon Barere

Pairing up • A town in the suburbs of Paris best known for its wholesale food market is the unlikely setting for a new festival celebrating music for piano duet. Jonathon Brown meets its founders Arthur Ancelle and Ludmila Berlinskaya

Beautifully voiced • Are handcrafted pianos superior to factory-built instruments? James Bacon visited the Steingraeber workshop in Bayreuth to find out

Piano studies

RETURNING TO THE PIANO • A technical refresher course for recommencing piano enthusiasts, created for International Piano by Murray McLachlan

Humoresque

Humoresque

The Distance of Night

The Distance of Night

Top two • Jonathon Brown reports back from the revived Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris, where two young pianists shared first prize

Spirit of inquiry • It is not every day that world premiere recordings of works by Shostakovich and Mahler come along. Jeremy Nicholas reveals how Nicolas Stavy uncovered two musical surprises after meeting Shostakovich’s third wife

Into the light • Maria Martinova introduces her ‘classical comeback’ album, marking her return to solo playing with a programme that includes Ravel’s fiendishly virtuosic Gaspard de la nuit. Owen Mortimer reports

Critics’ choice

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

BOOKS

SHEET MUSIC

In concert

Who dares wins • Joseph Moog selects the recordings that have fostered his own taste for risk