Chetham’s International Piano Summer School

Joanna MacGregor Recital
2026-08-19 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | Stoller Hall
‘MacGregor seems incapable of giving performances that are not at once extremely intelligent and entertaining’.
The Sunday Times
‘She is one of the most exciting and enterprising pianists of the moment.’
The Observer
‘Joanna MacGregor’s career is practically built on a reinvention of the star virtuoso
tradition… MacGregor’s verve, energy and astounding technique are always at the
service of the music.’
BBC Classical Review
We are thrilled to welcome back Joanna to Stoller Hall. Free to all summer school participants- public tickets available from the Stoller Hall.

Piers Lane Recital
2026-08-19 20:30 - 21:30
“No praise could be high enough for Piers Lane whose playing throughout is of a superb musical intelligence, sensitivity, and scintillating brilliance.” Bryce Morrison, Gramophone
We are thrilled that Piers is available to join us again at Chetham’s for a solo recital and teaching on the faculty.
Five times soloist at the BBC Proms, Piers Lane’s wide-ranging concerto repertoire exceeds one hundred works and has led to engagements with many of the world’s great orchestras, working recently with conductors like Sir Andrew Davis, Vassily Sinaisky, Gerard Schwartz and Brett Dean. Festival appearances have included Aldeburgh, Bard, Bath Mostly Mozart, Bergen, Cheltenham, Como Autumn Music, Prague Spring, Rockport, La Roque d’Anthéron, Ruhr Klavierfestival, Schloss vor Husum, Seattle and the Chopin festivals in Warsaw, Duszniki-Zdrój, Mallorca and Paris.

Lunchtime Recital
2026-08-20 13:45 - 14:30
The daily lunchtime recital. Details announced soon.

Alim Beisembayev – winner of the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition

25 for 25 - part two
2026-08-20 17:15 - 18:00
To celebrate the summer school’s 25th course we are thrilled to present a very special recital series.
Full details will be released early in the new year – but we can promise excitement, surprises, innovation and performances that will thrill.
Keep an eye out for more details.

Noriko Ogawa Recital
2026-08-20 19:00 - 20:00
We are thrilled to welcome back Noriko Ogawa for a solo recital.
“What sets her apart from other pianists is her wonderful sense of timing… [Ogawa] allows the music to breathe, while maintaining the forward momentum” The Times
“…poetry as well as virtuosity… what makes his playing so complete is the combination of an innate musical simplicity with a highly developed technique… ” Daily Telegraph
Brahms
Op 117 Three Intermezzi

Intermezzo in E♭ major
Intermezzo in B♭ minor
Intermezzo in C♯ minor

Op 118 Six pieces for piano

Intermezzo in A minor
Intermezzo in A major
Ballade in G minor
Intermezzo in F minor
Romanze in F major
Intermezzo in E♭ minor

Op 119 Four pieces for piano

Intermezzo in B minor
Intermezzo in E minor
Intermezzo in C major
Rhapsody in E♭ major

Ronan O'Hora Recital
2026-08-20 20:30 - 21:30
We are thrilled to welcome back Ronan O’Hora, who has been on the faculty many times from the very 1st course 25 years ago!
“His sound is lustrous; his playing is lyrical and full of feeling; he thinks not only of the passing notes but of the overall form. Moreover, O’Hora is blessed with meticulous taste – there was not a vulgar, swooning or overstated passage in the program.”
The Washington Post
The British pianist Ronan O’Hora has performed throughout the world, playing with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and English Chamber orchestras, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Hallé Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle, Netherlands Radio Chamber, Philharmonia Hungarica, Brno Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Florida Philharmonic and Queensland Philharmonic.
Ronan O’Hora is Head of Keyboard Studies and Head of Advanced Performance Studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Lunchtime Recital - Prizewinners of the EPTA UK competition
2026-08-21 13:45 - 14:30
The daily lunchtime recital in the Stoller Hall.
Today we celebrate young pianists who have recently been awarded prizes in the EPTA UK National piano competition.

Pavel Nersessian Recital
2026-08-21 19:00 - 20:00
We are delighted to welcome Pavel Nersessian to the Stoller Hall and the summer school. “His performance brought a veritable roar of approval from the audience,” wrote the Irish Times, after Pavel Nersessian received the 1st Prize in the GPA Dublin International Piano Competition in 1991. Being one of the most remarkable pianists of his generation in Russia, he is known for his ability to play equally convincingly in the whole palette of the piano repertoire. He won prizes in the Beethoven Competition in Vienna in 1985, the Paloma O’Shea Competition in Santander, and the Tokyo Competition.
For more than 25 years P. Nersessian has been assisting his teacher, professor S. Dorensky. He has worked with such talented pupils as N. Lugansky, D. Matsuev, V. Rudenko, O. Kern, A. Shtarkman, Yu. Stadler, I. Tasovats, F. Amirov, M. Amara, A. Dossin, V. Igoshina, A. Mamriev, V. Korchinskaya-Kogan, S. Simonian, Z. Chochieva, G. Chaidze, N. Pisareva, A. Sychev, F. Kopachevsky, P. Kolesnikov, A. Tarasevich-Nikolaev, L. Bernsdorf, P. Elisha, A. Malofeev, A, Kliuchko and many others.
Pavel Nersessian served as a jury member in many international piano competitions: Dublin, Hamamatsu, Sendai, Maria Canals in Barcelona, Hilton Head, Almaty, Valencia, Tbilisi and other competitions.
In 2013 he started to work as a professor of piano in Boston university, in 2022 as a professor of piano in New England Conservatory.

Peter Donohoe Recital
2026-08-21 20:30 - 21:30
“Peter Donohoe played as if visited by the spirit of Rachmaninov.” The Guardian
“I cannot imagine a living pianist capable of improving upon Donohoe’s outstanding artistry.” Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion
We are delighted to welcome back Peter Donohoe, former Chetham’s student and a much loved regular on the faculty of the summer school
Bach-Busoni Prelude and Fugue in Eb major (‘St Anne’)
Webern Variations Op 27
Schubert Sonata in C minor D958

© Martin Lijinsky
