The first in the series of lunchtime recitals for 2026.

In March 2023, Ariel Lanyi was honored to receive the Prix Serdang, a Swiss prize awarded by the distinguished Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. The prize is endowed with CHF 50,000 and is not a competition, but a recognition of a young pianist’s achievements and an investment in their future.

Prior to this, Ariel won 3rd prize at the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition, performing Brahms Concerto No. 2 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrew Manze in the finals. In the same year, he was a winner of the Young Classical Artists Trust International Auditions.

Current highlights include returns to the Wigmore Hall and to the Miami International Piano Festival, as well as a tour of Asia.

On the concerto platform Ariel has appeared with various orchestras, including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Israel Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

In 2021 Linn Records released his recording of music by Schubert to critical acclaim. His newest recording, Organ Reflections, a recording of piano music inspired by the organ by Mozart, Franck, and Reger, was released to critical acclaim in May 2025 (“…the admirable Lanyi drawing out their many and varied colours superbly” – from a 5-star review from the BBC Music Magazine).

An avid chamber musician, Ariel has attended the Marlboro festival, and has collaborated with eminent musicians such as Maria João Pires, Marina Piccinini, Charles Neidich, Alena Baeva, and Torleif Thedéen.

Recent highlights have included recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Homburg MeisterKonzerte series in Germany, the Grafenegg festival in Austria, the Bravo!Vail festival in Colorado, the Kissinger Festsommer and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern festivals in Germany, Perth Concert Hall (broadcast by BBC Radio 3), Vancouver Recital Society, Nottingham International Piano Series, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Merkin Hall in New York, and in festivals across the UK including Chipping Campden, Brighton and Bath.

Born in Jerusalem, Ariel studied with Lea Agmon and Yuval Cohen. Based in London, he completed his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Hamish Milne and Ian Fountain. He has received extensive tuition from eminent artists such as Robert Levin, Murray Perahia, Imogen Cooper, Nicholas Walker, and the late Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher and Ivan Moravec. Other awards include 1st Prize at the Grand Prix Animato Competition in Paris and 1st Prize in the Dudley International Piano Competition, as well as a finalist award at the Rubinstein Competition. Ariel was recently made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

“…the admirable Lanyi drawing out their many and varied colours superbly.” – BBC Music Magazine, 5-star review

Programme

Beethoven Diabelli Variations