New Ross Piano Festival has announced its programme for 2024. The festival will present twelve concerts at St Mary’s Church in the County Wexford town from 25 to 29 September, including renowned British pianists Paul Lewis and Steven Osborne performing solo and in piano duet. Dublin International Piano Competition winner Yukine Kuroki, Artistic Director Finghin Collins, Leeds competition winner Sofya Gulyak, Trio Rodin, Michael McHale and Eoin Fleming will also feature. 

The festival opens with a Young Pianists Concert on 25 September, featuring artists aged 6 to 19. This will be followed on the 26th with Belfast pianist McHale performing his own arrangements of Irish melodies and American jazz classics. At midday on Friday 27th, there will be a performance from multi award-winning Dublin pianist Eoin Fleming which will be free for secondary school students.

On Friday evening at 7pm, renowned Schubert interpreter Paul Lewis will perform two Schubert sonatas (D. 959 in A major and D. 960 in B flat major) and later at 9pm he will be joined by Steven Osborne for the Allegro in A minor D. 947 ‘Lebensstürme’ and the Sonata for Piano Duet ‘Grand Duo’. 

This is the first of two performances by Osborne who will perform solo in the final concert and will also host a masterclass on 28 September at 3pm.

Japanese pianist Yukine Kuroki will perform a Coffee Concert at 12pm on Saturday 28 September with a programme including works by Liszt and Prokofiev, while Sofya Gulyak, the first woman to win the Leeds piano competition in 2009, will perform Bach, Busoni, Chopin, Liszt and Bellini on Sunday 29 September. 

Finghin Collins will present a programme of works by Clara and Robert Schumann as well as Mendelssohn, Haydn and Stanford on 28 September at 7pm. The first of two concerts by Spanish ensemble Trio Rodin takes place at 9pm that evening and sees the performance of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet suite, arranged by the trio, as well as Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor. 

The closing concert of the weekend, at 3.30pm on Sunday 29th at St Mary’s, will feature Osborne with a diverse contemporary programme including works by Marion Bauer, Meredith Monk, Rzewski, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson, and Trio Rodin will conclude the festival with their arrangement of Bernstein’s West Side Story and Piazzolla’s Dos estaciones porteños.

Commenting on this year’s programme, Collins said:

We are very excited to present such distinguished artists in New Ross this year. Over the past 18 years, the town has become synonymous with piano performances of the highest quality for audiences of all ages to enjoy. We have carefully curated a lineup that promises to be a celebration of the piano, featuring a range of world-class performances in an intimate setting.

Tickets are on sale now. For more information and booking, visit www.newrosspianofestival.com.

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