Piano Series at Malvern Theatres starts 12 October 2012

12th October is the date Yamaha was founded in 1887 in Hamamatsu, Japan. And to kick off the series, on that exact date, Joanna MacGregor will perform an inspired programme of works by Beethoven, Bartok and Brahms. Marc-Andre Hamelin appears on 23rd November, Freddy Kempf on 21st February and culminates on 8th March 2013 with a performance by Steven Osborne. Previous seasons have included concerts by HJ Lim, Steven Kovacevich, François-Frédéric Guy, Paul Lewis, Peter Donohoe, John Lill, Noriko Ogawa, Nikolai Demidenko, Angela Hewitt, Freddy Kempf, Stephen Hough, Benjamin Grosvenor, Artur Pizarro and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.
All artists for the fifth Yamaha International Piano Series will be playing Yamaha’s CFX Grand, which was the choice of the winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2010.
Yamaha’s Leanne Barrell comments, 'We are extremely delighted to be able to extend the Yamaha International Piano Series into a fifth season and celebrate our 125th Anniversary by showcasing the CFX concert grand piano in the hands of some of the world’s finest pianists.'

MacGregor was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours 2012. She has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras with such eminent conductors as Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, Sir Simon Rattle and Michael Tilson Thomas and has premiered many landmark compositions ranging from Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Django Bates to John Adams and James MacMillan. She has just made two appearances at the BBC Proms: in the Piano Concerto by the British composer Hugh Wood and Messiaen's Turangalila, conducted respectively by Ryan Wigglesworth and Vasily Petrenko, and made her debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival in Lincoln Center, New York in August 2012. Currently Head of Piano at The Royal Academy of Music, she was Artistic Director of Bath International Music Festival (2006-2012) and curated the multi-arts Deloitte Ignite Festival at the Royal Opera House in 2010. In the 2012/13 season she will curate a series of orchestral concerts at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg – ‘Aventures’ – in which she will also perform.
 
Malvern Theatres marketing director Fred Moroni said, 'Malvern Theatres congratulates Yamaha on its 125th anniversary is once again grateful for its support, which has helped secure a distinguished line up of internationally renowned pianists. We sincerely hope this wonderful partnership with Yamaha will continue to bring the very best pianists here for many years to come.'

Ticket prices: £14 - £21. All four concerts for £65.  
Starts: 7.30 pm at the Forum Theatre. Tel: 01684 892277 or book via the Malvern Theatres