The 29th Singapore International Piano Festival to feature Lim Yan & Tengku Irfan

Asia’s premier piano festival returns for its 29th edition from 3 to 11 June with a selection of live and digital recitals, masterclasses and a talk. Led by Artistic Director and Singaporean pianist Lim Yan, the 2023 festival will feature renowned pianists Nelson Goerner, Tengku Irfan, Jonathan Biss and Pierre-Laurent Aimard.

Praised for his unfailingly communicative pianism, leading British pianist Leon McCawley presents an evening of piano poetry featuring the irresistible gems of Austrian piano tradition.

Prize-winner of 13 international awards, including nine first prizes and five-time winner in international Chopin competitions across the world, Berlin-based pianist Shaun Choo has been called the most talented and gifted Singaporean pianist of his generation. “His smile is enough to light up Carnegie Hall without electricity.” Come witness this phenomenal artist in this recital of classics concluding with his own Tango.

One of the world’s foremost classical pianists, Nelson Goerner has been praised across the globe for his performances of the highest art and poetry, possessing exhilarating and masterful conviction. As a leading pianist-ambassador of Polish musical culture, his close association with Chopin will be on show at this recital of the four ground-breaking Ballades. Liszt’s powerful B minor Sonata, a monumentally unbroken stretch of music spanning 30 minutes, has been the subject of intense study and interpretation for generations – Goerner’s rendition is sure to enlighten.

Besides recitals and performances with orchestras around the world, Jonathan Biss is a multi-award-winning pianist, Co-Artistic Director alongside Mitsuko Uchida at the Marlboro Music Festival and an accomplished writer, educator and piano faculty at the New England Conservatory. He recently led a massive open online course (MOOC) via Coursera, reaching an international audience of over 150,000. Biss writes extensively on his repertoire and has authored four audio- and e-books, including UNQUIET: My Life with Beethoven (2020).

Pianist, composer and conductor, Malaysian-born Tengku Irfan has impressed audiences the world over, with his “sheer incisiveness and power” (New York Times), and “mature outlook well beyond his years” (Straits Times). In his Singapore International Piano Festival debut, he presents a programme as compelling as it is fascinating: from Beethoven’s lesser-known Sonata No. 22 to masterworks by Fauré and Schumann, and two startling conclusions to each half – a miniature based on a 4th-century prayer by Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin and Villa-Lobos’ Rudepoêma, a tonal portrait of Artur Rubenstein unironically described as “Le Sacre du Printemps meets the Brazilian jungle”.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard‘s close collaborations with many leading composers of the 20th and 21st centuries and unparalleled interpretations of their music are celebrated widely in concerts, recordings and his extraordinary masterclasses. Don’t miss this illuminating session as the veteran French pianist talks to SIPF Artistic Director Lim Yan about the intent behind his Sunday recital, and about György Ligeti, who considered Aimard the best interpreter of his music.

All programmes for the festival as below:

3 June, 8:00pm
Leon McCawley in Recital (Online)

4 June, 8:00pm
Shaun Choo in Recital (Online)

8 June, 7:30pm
Nelson Goerner in Recital
Victoria Concert Hall

9 June, 7:30pm
Masterclass by Jonathan Biss
Victoria Concert Hall Dance Studio

9 June, 7:30pm
Tengku Irfan in Recital
Victoria Concert Hall

10 June, 1:00pm
Masterclass by Tengku Irfan
Victoria Concert Hall Dance Studio

10 June, 5:00pm
Talk by Pierre- Laurent Aimard
Victoria Concert Hall Dance Studio

10 June, 7:30pm
Jonathan Biss in Recital
Victoria Concert Hall

11 June, 7:30pm
Pierre- Laurent Aimard in Recital
Victorial Concert Hall

For more information about the concerts and ticketing info, visit SSO’s official website here.

Priority Sale* : From 27 Mar, 10am
Public Sale: From 30 Mar, 10am
*Priority Sale for SSO Donors and Friends Seasons Pass holders only

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