Trinity Laban Piano Showcase today at St John's Smith Square!

Broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, three of Trinity Laban’s award-winning pianists will be performing a rich and varied programme at the musical landmark, St John’s Smith Square.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is one of the world’s great centres for piano study, and a magnet for talented young pianists from around the globe. Performers Giulio Potenza, Gen Li and Jenna Sung are an example of the standard of alumni associated with the conservatoire. 

Giulio Potenza has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. He won numerous awards during his study at Trinity Laban and will be performing Janáček’s Piano Sonata 1.X.1905. This is the work that he performed for Martha Argerich, who described him as ‘a very gifted and deep pianist’ and invited him to perform at her festival in Lugano.

Gen Li has also won numerous competitions, including the 2015 Jaques Samuel Piano Competition, open to performers from the four London conservatoires. He will be performing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op 31 no 3 and Lowell Liebermann’s Gargoyles. Gen has become renowned for creating a wide variety of colours when he performers, and has spoken about his affinity for visual art. He has said that ‘I recently visited the Picasso Museum in Spain, and that really affected my piano playing’.

Identified as the ‘talent of tomorrow’ by Gramophone magazine, Jenna Sung will be performing Haydn’s Sonata in C Hob XVI:48, Rachmaninov’s Piano Sonata no 2 (original 1913 version) and Stephen Montague’s moving miniature ‘Nun-mul’ (Tears), composed for Jenna’s Wigmore Hall debut in memory of the victims of the MV Sewol ferry disaster, which claimed more than 300 lives (mostly secondary school students).

Watch a great video with the three pianists. 

The Trinity Laban Piano Showcase will also be a dedication to Deniz Gelenbe who is retiring from the conservatoire. A native of Turkey, Gelenbe has been acclaimed as one of the best chamber musicians of our time. In 2003 she was appointed Keyboard Coordinator for Collaborative Performance at Trinity Laban, and became Head of Keyboard in September 2007. During her time at the institution, Gelenbe has worked with numerous musicians – including all three featured pianists – and has given numerous masterclasses in the UK and internationally.

It's not too late to book! 

The Trinity Laban Piano Showcase will be broadcast LIVE on BBC Radio 3.