Photo: Geoffroy Schied/Hastings International Piano.

Mitsuko Uchida to give piano concert at Fairlight Hall

International pianist Mitsuko Uchida will be giving a short concert at Fairlight Hall this coming Saturday under the auspices of Hastings International Piano, which is gearing up for the return of the piano concerto competition next year. Nick Terdre reports.

Mitsuko Uchida, born in Japan and now a British citizen, will be playing Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, op. 120, in a one-hour concert.

She is known, say Hastings International Piano, “as a peerless interpreter of the works of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven, as well for being a devotee of the piano music of Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and György Kurtág.

“She has played with many of the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and, in the US, the Chicago Symphony and The Cleveland Orchestra, with whom she recently celebrated her 100th performance at Severance Hall.

“Conductors with whom she has worked closely include Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel, and Mariss Jansons.

“Uchida has been since 2016 an artistic partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with whom she is currently engaged on a five-year touring project in Europe and North America. She also appears regularly in recital in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, London, New York and Tokyo, and is a frequent guest at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Salzburg Festival.”

Piano concerto competition

The concert is a fundraising event for the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition which is set to return in 2022 after a year’s absence due to the coronavirus. It will be held between 24 February and 5 March, again at White Rock Theatre. Entries are now invited from young pianists with a closing date of 1 October.

A further fundraising concert has been arranged on Friday 8 October at White Rock Theatre when Maxim Kinasov, runner-up in the piano concerto competition in 2019, will play with the European Union Chamber Orchestra .

Mitsuko Uchida, piano, plays Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, Op 120 Saturday 25 September, 5.30pm at Fairlight Hall, Martineau Lane, Fairlight TN35 5DR. The concert will be followed by a drinks reception. Visit the website to book a ticket – minimum donation is £100.

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