Welcome from Marios Papadopoulos
Artistic Director
I would like to pay tribute to our Patron Alfred Brendel who sadly passed away in the summer. His legacy as one of the most prolific and revered musical figures the world has ever seen and his dedication to and support of our Piano Festival will endure in our memories forever. We are immensely honoured that Murray Perahia, another legendary musician of equal standing, has accepted to become the Festival’s Patron.
The programme in this year’s Festival features works in the piano literature that are rich in conveying the power of music and its ability to speak to us all through the instrument. No less than seven internationally renowned pianists, each with a very distinct voice, will be exploring music of various styles and periods. Steven Osborne and Paul Lewis bring music from the First Viennese School in recitals at Christ Church Cathedral and the Sheldonian Theatre respectively, whilst Argentinean pianist Ingrid Fliter returns to the Festival with an all-Chopin programme at the Holywell Music Room.
Richard Goode is a pianist of great distinction and his recital will take us through a journey of musical discovery as he explores the central European repertoire across the centuries.
Isata Kanneh-Mason and Theodosia Ntokou are a new generation of pianists bringing fresh perspectives and introducing new audiences to classical music, the latter in a performance of Grieg’s iconic concerto with the Oxford Philharmonic in the Sheldonian Theatre.
Another pianist that never fails to rouse strong feelings and passion is Elisabeth Leonskaja, who will unlock the simple yet profound wisdoms of Schubert’s late piano music.
Whilst these extraordinary concerts will provide stimulating and thrilling musical experiences, we must not forget the main focus of our Oxford Piano Festival: nurturing young talent. Such is the international reputation of our Academy Programme that for each available place, we receive 10 applications for a chance to study with some of the world’s most eminent artists and pedagogues in an intensive programme of daily masterclasses, all open to the public. Those attending as participants, will enjoy unique experiences as we impart our knowledge and experience on their inquisitive minds and open new horizons for them.
I look forward to welcoming pianists, teachers, piano-enthusiasts and the wider public to what I am sure will be another stimulating week of musical discovery.
Masterclass Schedule 2026
JdP Music Building, St Hilda's College, Oxford
Tickets £12.50
Breaks with complimentary tea and coffee: 11:30 11:50 and 16:30 16:50. The repertoire list for the masterclasses will be available to view on our website from 17 July 2026.
Saturday 25 July
13:30 — 14:00 Registration
14:30 — 17:50 Alon Goldstein
Sunday 26 July
9:30 — 11:30 Steven Osborne
11:50 — 12:50 Steven Osborne piano clinic
14:30 — 17:50 Kathryn Stott
Monday 27 July
9:30 — 12:50 Ingrid Fliter
14:30 — 17:50 Kathryn Stott
Tuesday 28 July
9:30 — 12:50 Paul Lewis
14:30 — 17:50 Stephen Kovacevich
Wednesday 29 July
9:30 — 12:50 Momoro Ono
14:30 — 17:50 Rustem Hayroudinoff
Thursday 30 July
9:30 — 12:50 Elisabeth Leonskaja
14:30 — 17:50 Ian Jones
Friday 31 July
9:30 — 12:50 Marios Papadopoulos
14:30 — 17:50 Marios Papadopoulos
Saturday 1 August
9:30 — 12:50 Vanessa Latarche
14:30 — 17:50 Richard Goode
Sunday 2 August
9:30 — 12:50 Arie Vardi
Steven Osborne
Saturday 25 July 2026
Christ Church Cathedral, 19:30
Schubert Sonata No. 21 in B flat major, D. 960
Beethoven 33 Variations in C major on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120
Steven Osborne piano
Tickets £32 £12 (unsighted)
The towering pianistic talent that is Steven Osborne opens the festival at Christ Church Cathedral with two standout masterpieces of the Viennese school. He starts with Schubert’s last and greatest piano sonata – a work of introspection, volatility but unbounded lyricism that had a profound influence on Beethoven. And Beethoven balances it here in the form of the greatest set of keyboard variations after Bach’s Goldbergs – the journey from the plain to the celestial that is Beethoven’s monumental Diabelli Variations
Ingrid Fliter
Sunday 26 July 2026
Holywell Music Room, 19:30
An all-Chopin programme to include:
A selection of Mazurkas and Nocturnes
Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
Ingrid Fliter piano
Tickets £32
Ingrid Fliter made her name with an exceptional recording of Chopin’s Waltzes in 2009. Here she comes to the intimate surroundings of the Holywell Music Room with a recital of the composer’s music, featuring a selection of Mazurkas and Noctures, and culminating in the epic Sonata No. 3.
Paul Lewis
Monday 27 July 2026
Sheldonian Theatre, 19:30
Mozart Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330
Poulenc Improvisations Nos 7-12
Debussy L’isle joyeuse
Poulenc Improvisations Nos 1-6 & 13-15
Mozart Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457
Paul Lewis piano
Tickets £38 £32 £22 £15
Festival favourite Paul Lewis returns with a programme framed by two of Mozart’s most appealing piano sonatas – one known for its charm and grace, the other for its intensity and restlessness. In between comes music from France – Debussy’s sensual and ecstatic vision of an island ruled by love L’isle joyeuse, and a selection of Poulenc’s more down-to-earth Improvisations – the witty, lyrical vignettes the composer wrote over a period of 27 years, each dedicated to a colleague or friend.
Isata Kanneh-Mason
Tuesday 28 July 2026
Merton College Chapel, 19:30
Beethoven Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, ‘Moonlight’
Ravel Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55
Dobrinka Tabakova Nocturne
Dobrinka Tabakova Halo
Beethoven Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, ‘Waldstein’
Isata Kanneh-Mason piano
Tickets £32 £12 (unsighted)
A truly exceptional pianist of huge nuance, expression and communicative abilities returns to this year’s festival with a recital at Merton College Chapel bookended by Beethoven. Isata Kanneh-Mason plays the composer’s iconic Moonlight and Waldstein sonatas while also bringing us the striking imagery and technical virtuosity of Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. After that come two works by one of the most imaginative and original composers working today Dobrinka Tabakova, including another moon-themed work – her luminous depiction of a lunar phenomenon from darkness to shine to settled glow, Halo.
Elisabeth Leonskaja
Wednesday 29 July 2026
Sheldonian Theatre, 19:30
Schubert Sonata No. 9 in B major, D. 575
Schubert 4 Impromptus, D. 935
Schubert Sonata No. 20 in A major, D. 959
Elisabeth Leonskaja piano
Tickets £38 £32 £22 £15
Schubert wondered how he could follow in the pianistic footsteps of Beethoven. In the end, he found a way – following that composer’s terse intensity with a world of lyrical expanse, mining emotional complexity through technical simplicity. An icon among pianists, Elisabeth Leonskaja, comes to the festival to traverse Schubert’s world from the dreamy but turbulent B major sonata to the abysmal melancholy of his penultimate work in the form and the peak of the composer’s vision of the Impromptu.
Grieg Piano Concerto
Thursday 30 July 2026
Sheldonian Theatre, 19:30
Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
Theodosia Ntokou piano
Marios Papadopoulos conductor
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra
Tickets £48 £38 £28 £15
Supported by an anonymous donor
The festival is thrilled to present one of the most exciting emerging instrumental talents, Greek pianist Theodosia Ntokou, who has counted Martha Argerich as her mentor since 2009. Theodosia joins the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra for all the fresh air, spontaneity and adventure of one of the central piano concertos of the literature, that by Edvard Grieg – followed here by Rachmaninov’s symphony of infernal whirlwinds, passionate declarations of love and heartfelt longing for peace.
Richard Goode
Friday 31 July 2026
Holywell Music Room, 19:30
Beethoven Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
Schoenberg 6 kleine Klavierstücke, Op. 19
Brahms 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Schumann Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
Richard Goode piano
Tickets £32 £12 (unsighted)
A programme that fascinates on every level from pianists’ pianist, Richard Goode. Each work on the menu teases and entrances in its own way – from the elusive conflicts of Beethoven’s sonata to the dualities of the vibrant young Schumann finding his place in the musical universe. In between come two extraordinary statements in sets of six – Schoenberg’s delving into the world of serialism on the brink of the First World War in his aphoristic Six Short Pieces and the strange and beautiful world of Brahms’s emotionally rich Op. 118.
Participants’ Recital
Saturday 1 August 2026
JdP Music Building, St Hilda’s College, 19:30
The Festival’s participants take to the stage with fresh guidance from the world’s most esteemed pianists echoing in their ears. Be the first to hear the rising stars of the piano world in this showcase of their outstanding talent.
Tickets £12
Ingrid Fliter
Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter has won the admiration and hearts of audiences around the world for her passionate yet sensitive music-making and effortless technique. Winner of the 2006 Gilmore Artist Award, and the only woman to have ever received this honour, Ms Fliter divides her time between North America and Europe. Highlights of Ms Fliter’s 2025/26 season include orchestral appearances with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Oregon Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, and recitals at the Mänttä Music Festival in Finland, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Poland, and the London Piano Festival at King’s Place. Recent orchestral engagements include appearances with the Auckland Philharmonia, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Sydney, Singapore, Vancouver, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras. A Linn recording artist, Ms Fliter’s most recent recording is the first of two discs of Chopin Mazurkas. Her two all-Chopin recordings for EMI earned her the reputation as one of the preeminent interpreters of that composer.
Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive artists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence and dynamic personality. His artistic vision and innovative programming have made him a favourite with audiences and critics alike throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. He made his orchestral debut at the age of 18 with the Israel Philharmonic and returned a few seasons ago with Maestro Herbert Blomstedt in Beethoven Concerto No. 1. In recent seasons, Mr Goldstein has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Philadelphia Orchestra; the San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis, Houston, Vancouver, Kansas City, Indianapolis, and North Carolina symphonies. This season Mr Goldstein performs in such cities as Philadelphia, Washington DC, Vienna, Berlin, and Milan. He will make his debut with the Holland Symphony and the Wilmington Symphony. Mr Goldstein also maintains an active recording presence on the Naxos label, including his series of Mozart piano concerti with the Fine Arts Quartet (Nos 19 & 25 in December 2023; 2021 release nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award), Dvořák piano trios with the Tempest Trio, and an album of Scarlatti piano sonatas (June 2020).
Richard Goode
Richard Goode has been hailed for music-making of tremendous emotional power, depth and expressiveness, and is recognised worldwide as one of today’s leading interpreters of Classical and Romantic music. An exclusive Nonesuch artist, Goode is a regular performer in the major recital halls and festivals across Europe and the US and performs as soloist with some of the world’s finest orchestras. Goode has made more than two dozen recordings over the years, ranging from solo and chamber works to lieder and concertos. His 10-CD set of the complete Beethoven sonatas cycle, the first-ever by an American-born pianist, was nominated for a Grammy and has been ranked among the most distinguished recordings of this repertoire. Goode is also a highly respected teacher and mentor of young musicians and holds the position of International Chair of Piano Studies at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music. For the 2025-26 season, Goode joins The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as an Artistic Partner.
Alon Goldstein
Rustem Hayroudinoff
Described by Gramophone as ‘musicianly to the core’ and ‘a true virtuoso’ and by BBC Music Magazine as ‘equal even to the greatness of Richter’, Rustem Hayroudinoff has performed to critical acclaim in Japan, the USA, Latin America, Canada, Russia and Europe. He has appeared with such orchestras as BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, NHK Symphony and Czech Philharmonic, and has collaborated with some of the world’s most prominent conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Marin Alsop and Gianandrea Noseda. Hayroudinoff has recorded for Chandos, EMI and Onyx Classics. His CD of the complete Rachmaninov Preludes was selected by Classic FM Magazine as part of its ‘Essential Rachmaninov Collection’ together with the recordings of Arthur Rubinstein and André Previn. The disc of the complete Études-Tableaux was hailed as a ‘benchmark recording’ and became BBC Music’s Instrumental Choice of the Month, as well as being nominated for the Best Instrumental CD of the Year award. It was also selected as the finest existing version of these pieces by BBC Radio 3’s ‘Building a Library’. Hayroudinoff is currently a professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Ian Jones
Ian Jones FRCM is Deputy Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music, London, and fellowship of the RCM was conferred on him by His Majesty King Charles III in 2014. He is one of the UK’s most sought-after piano teachers and is frequently invited to give masterclasses in renowned institutions worldwide, including recent residencies at Universität der Künste in Berlin, Shanghai Conservatory and several USA universities. He is Artistic Director of the WPTA International Piano Competition, International Advisor for the Isidor Basic International Piano Competition in Serbia and often serves on the juries of other international piano competitions. His career as a Steinway Artist takes him around the globe to perform as guest artist and give masterclasses at numerous international music festivals, including most recently at Chigiana Academy, Siena and MusicFest Perugia. He has broadcast for radio and television networks internationally and his world premiere performances and recordings of music by British composer Rebecca Clarke received much enthusiastic attention. Classic FM magazine wrote that ‘Jones possesses the “pearl” touch that marks out the finest Chopin exponents...his timing remains immaculate whatever the technical pressure.’
Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason offers eclectic and stimulating recital programmes with repertoire encompassing Haydn and Mozart, Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, Chopin and Brahms to Gershwin and beyond. In concerto, she is equally at home in Felix Mendelssohn and Beethoven as in Prokofiev and Rachmaninov. Isata is in high demand from concert halls and orchestras worldwide. In July 2024, she was invited to perform at the First Night of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony and conductor Elim Chan, a performance which resulted in stellar reviews in the mainstream press. Highlights of the 2025/26 season include Rachmaninov’s third piano concerto with Bar Avni and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and with Petr Popelka with the Prague Radio Symphony at the Rudolfinum. Isata makes further debuts with the Naples Philharmonic and Seattle Symphony, and returns to the City of Birmingham Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa. Isata exclusively records for Decca Classics.
Isata Kanneh-Mason
Stephen Kovacevich
Stephen Kovacevich is widely recognised as one of the most revered artists of his generation. With an international career spanning more than six decades, he has long been one of the most admired interpreters of works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Schubert. Kovacevich made his European debut at Wigmore Hall in 1961. Since then, he has performed with the world’s finest orchestras and conductors, including Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur, Simon Rattle and Colin Davis. As a dedicated chamber musician, Stephen Kovacevich has worked with such legendary artists as Jacqueline du Pré and Josef Suk, as well as the Amadeus and Cleveland Quartets. Today he collaborates with violinists Nicola Benedetti, Renaud Capuçon and Alina Ibragimova, cellists Gautier Capuçon, Steven Isserlis and Truls Mørk, flautist Emmanuel Pahud, the Belcea Quartet and has a distinguished duo with Martha Argerich.
A renowned piano pedagogue, with many international competition prizewinners amongst her students, Vanessa has been Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music since 2005. Awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Music in 2010 for outstanding services to music, an honour conferred on her by the then HRH Prince of Wales, in September 2011, she was granted a Personal Chair at the RCM, which gave her the title of Chair of International Keyboard Studies. She also holds the position of Artistic Director of Hastings International Piano Competition, as well as Artistic Advisor to the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. She has performed as a soloist with international orchestras and those in the UK including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC NOW, working with many leading conductors. She is a Steinway Artist and has broadcast for over 30 years for BBC Radio 3 and has also broadcast extensively on the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. To celebrate Queen Victoria’s 200th birthday in 2018, Vanessa appeared on BBC 2’s documentary on the Queen, Prince Albert and Felix Mendelssohn with Lucy Worsley, which was filmed in Buckingham Palace.
The pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja is one of the most important performers of our time. In 2020, she was awarded the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) for her life’s work. A few years earlier, she received the country’s highest award, ‘Priestess of Art’, from her native Georgia. In her adopted home of Austria, she was also awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class, for special services to the country’s culture. In 2024, she received the Wigmore Hall Medal in London. Elisabeth Leonskaja’s extensive discography is adorned with numerous awards. She has received the coveted Caecilia Prize and the Diapason d’Or, among others. She has recorded all of the piano sonatas by Franz Schubert and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In 2024, the piano concertos by Robert Schumann and Edvard Grieg were released with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Sanderling. Her most recent solo album is dedicated to the Second Viennese School – Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg, and, with orchestra, she released in 2025 Beethoven’s Emperor piano concerto, coupled with the quintet for piano and winds by the same composer.
Elisabeth Leonskaja
Vanessa Latarche
Paul Lewis
Paul Lewis is one of the foremost interpreters of the Central European piano repertoire, his performances and recordings of Beethoven and Schubert receiving universal critical acclaim. He was awarded a CBE for his services to music, and the sincerity and depth of his musical approach have won him fans around the world. This global popularity is reflected in the world-class orchestras with whom he works, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Philharmonia, Bavarian Radio Symphony, NHK Symphony, New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestras. His close relationship with Boston Symphony Orchestra led to his selection as the 2020 Koussevitzky Artist at Tanglewood. Lewis often focuses on specific composers in projects that allow him to take audiences deep inside the works. In 2026 and 2027, he will tour his Mozart+ series around the world, juxtaposing Mozart’s lesser-known piano repertoire with works by composers such as Poulenc, Chopin and Weber, illuminating Mozart’s influences over subsequent generations, as well as shining a light on works that are often overshadowed by his concertos.
Praised by BBC Music Magazine as ‘dramatically poised’, ‘classically aware’, ‘emotionally supple’, and ‘refreshing’, Greek pianist Theodosia Ntokou has established a distinguished presence on the international classical music scene. Celebrated for her expressive artistry, refined technique, and compelling stage presence, she captivates audiences in major concert halls around the world. A protégé of the legendary Martha Argerich, with whom she released a highly acclaimed Beethoven album on Warner Music, Theodosia is admired for her rich sound and thoughtful interpretations. Gramophone Magazine noted, ‘I can see why Argerich is drawn to Ntokou’s playing, for it has a certain freedom and daring.’ She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the China Music Series, an international festival devoted to fostering cultural exchange and promoting the highest standards of classical music. An active chamber musician, she has collaborated with esteemed artists including Martha Argerich, Maxim Vengerov, Steven Isserlis, Gil Shaham, Mischa Maisky, and Daniel Hope, among many others.
Momoro Ono has given numerous concerts and masterclasses, including at the University of British Columbia, Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta, Xavier University Music Series in Cincinnati, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Seoul National University, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Conparu Hall in Japan and Kennedy Center Concert Hall. This past summer, Momoro performed his arrangement of Manuel de Falla’s ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ at Carnegie Weill Hall during the Sound Espressivo Laureates Gala. He then presented his own ‘Through Chaos’ at the NCKP Piano Conference in Chicago. He has appeared as soloist with the Baltimore and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, the latter performance broadcast on NPR. He holds a Doctorate and Artist Diploma from the Peabody Institute, where he studied with Leon Fleisher. He also holds his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the Juilliard School as a student of Adele Marcus. He and his violinist wife, Heejoung Kim, received coaching from the Guarneri Quartet. He currently serves on the piano faculties at Creighton University and Omaha Conservatory.
Momoro Ono
Theodosia Ntokou
Steven Osborne
Steven Osborne’s musical insight and integrity underpin idiomatic interpretations of varied repertoire that have won him fans around the world. The extent of his range is demonstrated by his 35 recordings for Hyperion, which have earned numerous awards, and he was made an OBE for his services to music in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2022. The Observer described him as ‘a player in absolute service to the composer’. A thoughtful and curious musician, he has served as Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Bath International Music Festival. Orchestral engagements in 25/26 include a tour with the Philharmonia Orchestra (Mozart) and performances with the San Diego Symphony (Beethoven), Malmö Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Marios Papadopoulos
Marios Papadopoulos is the Founder of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and the Oxford Piano Festival. He has appeared in many of the world’s most prestigious venues and worked with a host of eminent musicians including Evgeny Kissin, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maxim Vengerov, Martha Argerich and Lang Lang. His many recordings feature works by Beethoven, Mozart, Mussorgsky, César Franck, Stravinsky and the 24 Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich. He conducts the Oxford Philharmonic in recordings of the Brahms and Sibelius violin concertos with Maxim Vengerov with whom he has also recorded the complete Brahms Violin Sonatas. In recent years, Maestro Papadopoulos has concentrated his work mainly in Oxford with the OPO. Rare guest appearances have included a UK tour with the LPO and a Mozart Piano Concerto cycle directed from the keyboard with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, he conducted a new production of the Marriage of Figaro for the Greek National Opera at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre in Athens. Marios holds a doctorate in music from the City University, is a Fellow by Special Election of Keble College, Oxford and has been awarded an MBE for services to music in Oxford.
Kathryn Stott
At the age of five, I made friends with the upright piano in our living room. That was the beginning of my musical journey, one which continues as you read this. Studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music led me abruptly into the life of a professional musician via the Leeds International Piano Competition and onto a steep learning curve. After a rollercoaster three years, I realised that I needed to re-connect with chamber music in a bid to feel more connected to other musicians and when, quite by chance, I met Yo-Yo Ma in 1978, it turned out to be one of the most fortuitous moments of my life and led to a long-standing collaboration. There are too many highlights in my career to mention. Yes, it was a thrill to perform at the Last Night of the Proms, but equally a massive thrill to have lit up twenty small faces in an inner city school while they jumped up and down to energetic piano music! Working with young musicians is something I feel passionate about and I’ve also had some truly exciting music written for me by composers. What an unbelievable privilege it is to be immersed in a language which has no boundaries and has allowed me to share musical stories on a global scale; that little upright piano set me on quite a path!
Arie Vardi
Beginning his artistic career at the age of fifteen, Israeli born Arie Vardi went on to receive acclaim as one of the country’s foremost pianists. After winning the Chopin Competition in Israel, he appeared with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Zubin Mehta, and upon winning the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest, he played numerous concerts throughout Europe. Alongside his study of music at the Rubin Academy he succeeded in achieving a degree in law at Tel Aviv University. Vardi has performed widely as soloist with major orchestras under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, Sergio Commissiona, Gustavo Dudamel, Lukas Foss, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Paul Paray, Paul Sacher, David Zinman and David Robertson, among others. Concert tours have taken him to Australia, Europe, East Asia, Latin America and the United States. He played together with Yo-Yo Ma, Radu Lupu, Joseph Silverstein, Yefim Bronfman, Pnina Salzman, Murray Perahia and András Schiff. In addition to his concert career, Vardi is a professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover and at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, where he served as Director and Chair of the piano faculty. Over 60 of his students have won first prizes at international competitions.
Oxford Piano Festival
The Oxford Piano Festival was founded in 1999 by Marios Papadopoulos, renowned pianist and Music Director of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Each year, the Festival welcomes piano players and pedagogues, experts and enthusiasts to some of Oxford’s most historic venues, such as Sir Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre, the Holywell Music Room, and Christ Church Cathedral.
The Oxford Piano Festival takes place in the last week of July, on the tranquil and scenic campus of St Hilda’s College, Oxford, home of the JdP Music Building, and located just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre.
The Oxford Piano Festival’s objective is simple: to inspire, support and encourage music-making at the piano of the highest quality. Welcoming world-renowned soloists and teachers each year, the Festival provides gifted young players with a rare opportunity to perform and to learn new repertoire, and to work alongside and learn from some of the world’s finest pianists and teachers as part of a dedicated community of artists, encouraging exchange over competition. The concept of the pianist as musician lies at the heart of the Festival. The various roles of the pianist – as virtuoso, chamber musician, accompanist,
conductor, academic and teacher – are all examined. As part of this holistic approach, the various international schools of piano playing are considered. With Murray Perahia as the Festival’s Patron, Sir András Schiff as President, and the Festival’s founder Marios Papadopoulos a renowned pianist himself, the bar is set very high in terms of quality and artistic integrity.
Previous participants at the Festival have gone on to achieve great success. Notable alumni include Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition 2024), Alim Beisembayev (winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition 2021), Martin James Bartlett, Mark Viner, Alexander Ullman, Mishka RushdieMomen and Denis Kozhukhin.
Support the Oxford Piano Festival
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is a UK registered charity number 1084256. The American Friends of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. is a US based 501(c)(3) tax exempt organisation under the Internal Revenue Code.
Nurturing emerging artists
The Oxford Piano Festival attracts the very best young artists globally to participate in a week’s programme of masterclasses and concerts with distinguished pianists. Since 1999, the Festival has provided a springboard for young people who are on the verge of exciting careers.
Help support emerging young artists with extraordinary performance opportunities and unique tutoring from world-leading pianists.
General Support
Donate to support masterclasses that provide students with new approaches to their artform, and help them to become well-rounded performers. Inspirational concerts and events featuring renowned artists provide life-changing experiences to these up-and-coming pianists.
Scholarship
With philanthropic support, we are able to offer full scholarships to selected participants. In this way, we ensure fair access to talent pathways into classical music, thereby promoting the diversity within the pipeline of emerging pianists.
Legacy
A legacy would support the Piano Festival and the Orchestra’s educational programmes with emerging artists.
If you would like the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra to thrive in every aspect, please consider making a bequest in your Will.
To donate or learn more about how to support, please contact our team on 01865 987 222 or at philanthropy@oxfordphil.com.
‘I consider myself very fortunate to have participated in the Oxford Piano Festival in summer of 2023. It was a rich and formative experience to benefit from the instruction and insight of some of the world’s most esteemed artists in the picturesque city of Oxford. The exceptional evening concerts remain vivid in my memory, and were a profound source of inspiration for me during my time at the festival. The environment was greatly enhanced by the passion and enthusiasm of my fellow student participants, with whom I remain good friends. I would strongly recommend the festival to any aspiring young artists!’
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko – Winner of the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition
Information for Participants
Tuition:
All participants receive three one-hour lessons in public masterclasses with three professors of the Piano Festival Faculty and perform a piece at the Participants’ Recital. Although we try to accommodate participants’ choice of teachers, we cannot guarantee that everyone will receive tuition from their preferred professors.
A Participant Pass offers free access to all Festival events.
Entry Requirements:
We accept applications from advanced piano students (of at least Diploma standard) of all nationalities who are between the ages of 14 and 26 on the 25 July 2026.
Participants under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian for the full duration of the festival.
Applicants must be available to participate for the full festival duration (25 July – 2 August).
Practice Pianos:
Festival participants will have access to practice facilities in the JdP Music Building.
Scholarships:
We understand that for some participants the cost may be out of reach. We welcome
How to Apply
applications for a scholarship that will help with some or all of the cost. Two exceptional students will receive full scholarships in memory of the great Menahem Pressler, who was a regular member of the faculty, and our former Patron, Alfred Brendel.
Filming:
Masterclasses at the Oxford Piano Festival may be filmed for Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra media content. Should they be filmed, participants of these masterclasses agree to footage from the festival remaining available to view online for two years from the date of publication.
Participants should apply via oxfordpianofestival.com/application-form or by scanning the QR code.
Fill in the application form at the bottom of the webpage, where you will be asked to submit a short biography and video links of yourself playing 10-15 minutes of standard repertoire.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by May 2026.
Application deadline 24 April 2026
General Information
Travel:
The Oxford Bus Company (01865 785 400 / www.oxfordbus.co.uk/airline) runs a coach service from Heathrow and Gatwick airports named ‘the airline’. Stagecoach runs a 24-hour coach service between Oxford and Central London (0345 241 8000 / www.oxfordtube. com). There are frequent rail services from London Paddington and London Marylebone to Oxford (information from National Rail Enquiries on 0345 748 4950 / www.nationalrail.co.uk).
Our staff are happy to advise you about your journey to and from the Festival.
Transport to concerts:
All concerts are within walking distance (under 1 mile) of St Hilda’s College. The office can organise taxis at an additional cost for those who would prefer not to walk.
We advise against driving as there is no parking available within St Hilda’s College.
Venue Information
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church, St Aldate’s, Oxford, OX1 1DP
Holywell Music Room
Holywell Street, Oxford, OX1 3SD
JdP Music Building
St Hilda’s College, Cowley Place, Oxford, OX4 1DY
Merton College Chapel
4 Merton Street, Oxford, OX1 4JD
Sheldonian Theatre
Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3AZ
Arrival and Registration:
Festival staff will be at St Hilda’s College to welcome participants and observers and show them to their accommodation. Please aim to register at the JdP Music Building by 14:00 on Saturday 25 July.
Accommodation/meals:
Full board accommodation is available on site at St Hilda’s College. Meals start with dinner on 25 July and end with lunch on 2 August. Accommodation is subject to availability and allocated on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis. Requests for part-time accommodation at St Hilda’s will only be accepted, subject to availability, in June.
Certificates:
Certificates of Attendance will be presented to all Festival Pass holders in the closing ceremony.
Prices
Festival Passes: Participant £950
Observer £390
Please note that accommodation is not included in the Festival Passes and should be purchased separately.
Full-board single-room accommodation:
Standard £775 (with shared bathroom)
Ensuite £900 (with private bathroom)
Anniversary Building £1,000 (premium ensuite)
Full-board for 2 people sharing twin-room accommodation:
Standard £1,275 (with shared bathroom)
Ensuite £1,375 (with private bathroom)
Anniversary Building £1,550 (premium ensuite)
Festival events are open to the public.
Masterclasses £12.50 (no concessions)
Other events are priced individually
Book 7+ events for a 10% discount
Payment Deadline
1 July 2026
Cancellation Policy
Observers or Participants who withdraw from the Festival will receive a refund of all but £50 if withdrawn by Thursday 9 July. Those who withdraw after 9 July may receive a partial refund dependent on non-refundable expenses incurred by the Festival.
How to Book
Tel: 01865 980 980
Email: boxoffice@oxfordphil.com
Online: oxfordpianofestival.com
Photography credits: Marco Borggreve, Dreamstime.com © viking75, Ben Ealovega, Gary Houlder, Kaupo Kikkas, Waldy Martens, Marco Mura, Nicholas Posner, Steven J Riskind, Karolina Wielocha, Sophie Wright.
This brochure is published by Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd. Information is correct at time of going to press (December 2025). Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd reserves the right to change the date, time, artist, programme or venue of any event where unavoidable.
Observer Festival Pass Sign-Up Form
An Observer Festival Pass offers entry to all events and is provided upon registration.
You can purchase your Observer Festival Pass and full-board accommodation online at oxfordpianofestival.com or by calling +44 (0)1865 980 980.
Alternatively, please fill in this form and return no later than 1 July 2026 to Lydia Bennett, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, 29a Teignmouth Road, London NW2 4EB.
Title Name(s)
Address
Telephone E-mail (s)
Postcode
Payment Methods
Online oxfordpianofestival.com
Cheque made payable to Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd
Debit/credit Card: please call +44 (0)1865 980 980
Online transfer (state your name as the payment reference and please note the full amount should be transferred net of bank charges)
Account Name: Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd
Account No: 8771 4957 Sort Code: 515001
Iban: GB40 NWBK 5150 0187 7149 57
Category
Observer Festival Pass (25 July to 2 August)
Standard single room + meals
Ensuite single room + meals
Anniversary Building ensuite single room + meals
twin room + meals (per room, 2 people sharing)
Ensuite twin room + meals (per room, 2 people sharing)
Anniversary Building ensuite twin room + meals (per room, 2 people sharing)
I wish to make a donation to support the Festival
Total
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Patron
HRH Princess Alexandra
Life Presidents
Geoffrey de Jager
Harry Leventis
Honorary President
The Rt Hon the Lord Patten of Barnes, CH
Vice President
Sir Victor Blank
Fellow
Alex Gorsky
Patrons
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Raymond Blanc OBE
Piano Festival Patron
Murray Perahia KBE
Piano Festival President
Sir András Schiff
Patron for New Music
Marina, Lady Marks
Music Director
Marios Papadopoulos MBE
Conducting Fellow
Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
Composer in Residence
Alexey Shor
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Trust
Registered Charity No. 1084256
Sir Ivor Roberts KCMG (Chair)
Geoffrey de Jager (Deputy Chair)
Prince Etienne d'Arenburg
Dr Saphié Ashtiany
Marco Assetto
David Haenlein
Lord Hall
Dr Russell Hirshfield
Colin Maund
Dr Marios Papadopoulos MBE
Sir Jonathan Phillips
Prof. Sir Andrew Pollard
Lord Stewart
Natalie Stoneham
Per Wimmer (Trustee Elect)
Prof. Christopher Wood
Advisory Council
Dr Saphié Ashtiany (Chair)
John Caunt
Prof. Michael Earl
Joanna Foster CBE
Peggotty Graham
Jeff Hewitt
Robert Jackson
Lord Krebs
Dr Jill Pellew
Sir Jonathan Phillips
Bob Price
Hilary Reid-Evans
Lady Stewart
Prof. Sir John Vickers
Angela Wade
David Whelton
Finance & Risk Committee
Colin Maund (Chair)
Prof. Michael Earl
David Haenlein
Jeff Hewitt
Tom Purves
Honorary Members
Lord Butler of Brockwell
Sir Jeremy Greenstock
Lady Heseltine
John Leighfield CBE
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus
Dr Michael Peagram
Prof. Reinhard Strohm
Francesca Schwarzenbach
George Tsavliris
Bruno Wang
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Productions Ltd
Company No. 03592323
VAT No. 208 4077 20
Directors
Dr Saphié Ashtiany
Marco Assetto
David Haenlein
Anthi Papadopoulos
Dr Marios Papadopoulos MBE
Board Members,
American Friends of the Oxford Philharmonic
Joshua M Berman
Dr Russell Hirshfield
Dr Marios Papadopoulos MBE
Christopher Wright
Advisory Council, American Friends of the Oxford Philharmonic
Alex Gorsky
Hon. Kerry Murphy Healey
Sir John Hood
Leila Larijani
Aviad Meitar
James Sherwood†, Chairman Emeritus
Executive Management
Music Director
Dr Marios Papadopoulos MBE
Chief Operating Officer
Anthi Papadopoulos
General Manager
Stephen Carpenter
Education & Community Director
David Haenlein
Administration
Artistic Planning Manager
Olivia Lyndon-Jones
Planning & Logistics Officer
Orlando Grant
Concerts Officer
Maria Liu
Orchestra Personnel Officer
Tom Allen
Head of Philanthropy
Ruth Ellul
Philanthropy Liaison
Fiachra Kelleher
Philanthropy Officer
Carolina Abeledo Vilariño
Graphic Designer
Sam Woodland
Marketing & Digital Coordinator
Maja Persson
Ticketing & Events Officer
Meg Robinson
Education Officer
Lydia Bennett
Librarian
Marcello Palazzo
Recordings & Marketing Consultant
Mark Wilkinson
Media Relations
Karen Pitchford
Friends & Patrons Liaison
John Caunt
Stage Manager
Max Howard
