Stowe School in Buckinghamshire is the exciting 2019 destination for the Summer School for Pianists, which has, over its 40 year history, travelled from London to the West Midlands, via York and Hereford. A National Trust site, with fabulous gardens landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, Stowe House features the magnificent State Music Room for masterclasses, and for our final 3-course gala dinner, while other meals will be in the State Dining Room. Further masterclasses, presentations and recitals will be held in the Music School and the Ugland Auditorium.

Stowe is an All Steinway school, so we have a fleet of fine pianos at our disposal in numerous practice rooms. Five excellent tutors will be hosting masterclasses and performing for us in recitals, while a variety of other musical options such as accompaniment class, choir, sight-reading class, piano technique discussion and  information on music software will be on offer.

Comfortable, ensuite accommodation in modern boarding houses with lifts, sitting rooms and kitchens will give participants the opportunity to relax, recharge and socialise. With superb grounds to explore, featuring follies, temples and architectural treasures, a week at the Stowe Summer School for Pianists will be a musical highlight of the year.

But don’t delay! Classes are filling fast, and Observers are welcome. Send your application form to Brian White  – scroll down for contact details, and contact Brian for further information.

PS – With Christmas now on the horizon, why not add a Summer School Gift Voucher to your wish list?! Details from Brian.

Summer School is just around the corner and we’re delighted to announce the recital programmes which our tutors will present.

Karl Lutchmayer  opens the week on Saturday 11 August at 7.45pm  with a fascinating mix – Alkan’s Etude pour la main gauche seule  Op 76 No 1 (Fantasie), Liszt’s  Hungarian Rhapsody No 13 and Enescu’s Piano Sonata No 3 in D Major.

Christine Stevenson follows on Sunday 12 August with a concert featuring  ‘The Romantic Piano’, playing Schumann’s well-loved Romance Op 28 No 2 followed by Chopin’s sparkling Four Scherzi.

After last year’s memorable talk about the work, this year  Graham Fitch will perform Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations on Monday 13 August.

And the Summer School welcomes David Owen Norris on Tuesday 14 August, who, in a stirring programme, will play his own arrangements of The Frost Scene from King Arthur by Henry Purcell and Sir William Walton’s Prelude & Fugue : The Spitfire, Francis Poulenc’s  Les soirées de Nazelles, and Sir Edward Elgar’s  Concert Allegro.

The concerts, all at 7.45, are a bargain at £10 each, £8 concession, and free for accompanied children. They take place in the Black Box Theatre in the Performance Hub, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus.  Tickets will be available via Eventbrite – watch this space for a link in due course – or at the door.  There’s something for everyone; do join us. Reserve the dates now!

Welcome to our website! The Summer School for Pianists is launching a new initiative for piano teachers this year. Spend a day with us at Summer School – observe our tutors in action in their masterclasses, take in a Piano Matters Presentation, enjoy a recital – or two! – and network with like-minded pianists from all over the globe.  All this for £40 for the day.

On Tuesday August 14 there’ll be masterclasses with our five tutors: Karl Lutchmayer, Christine Stevenson, Ann Martin-Davis, David Owen Norris and Graham Fitch; ‘French Fancies’  –  a lecture-demonstration from ABRSM Examiner and  dynamic presenter Ann Martin-Davis on French piano music from the new 2019 ABRSM Piano Syllabus; an ‘Aperitif’ pre-concert talk by Karl Lutchmayer, a Platform concert by one of our delegates, and an evening recital by David Owen Norris, playing music by Purcell, Elgar, and Walton. All this, plus refreshment breaks, lunch and dinner!

Or join us on Monday 13 August for masterclasses with our five tutors, an accompaniment masterclass with Ann Martin-Davis and baritone Brian White,  a Platform recital by one of our delegates, presentations by David Owen Norris : The Severity of Time – How nineteenth-century composers used dynamic markings to indicate rubato in piano music,  and Karl Lutchmayer : The Dispassionate Pianist; an ‘Aperitif’ pre-concert talk, and a performance by Graham Fitch of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, plus refreshment breaks, lunch and dinner.

Places are limited, so book now! Contact Brian White  (scroll down for contact details) to reserve your place. We look forward to meeting you.

STOP PRESS – late vacancies – one or two places have become available in our excellent masterclasses. Contact our Administrator, Brian, for details.

Have you seen the latest Pianist magazine? Don’t miss it – full of exciting articles and tips to refresh and inform our love for the instrument. Don’t miss the Summer School for Pianists’ advertisement on page 70!  And don’t miss out on your place at Summer School – contact us now to apply; the last few places are going fast. There is room for non-participating Observers, too.

A week of great teaching, inspirational recitals, good company –  our Summer School offers it all, and more.

The tutor Recitals will be particularly varied, with repertoire drawn from Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Enescu, Purcell, Stockhausen, Schumann, Schulz-Elver, Walton, Elgar and Debussy. And the popular pre-concert talks, the Aperitifs, will return, giving brief “tasting notes” about the music before the evening performances.

The “Piano Matters” presentation topics for 2018 are – Karl Lutchmayer: Piano-flaneur: Concert Life in Pre-War Paris; Christine Stevenson: So who was the Girl with the Flaxen Hair? Perspectives on Claude Debussy; David Owen Norris: The Severity of Time – How nineteenth-century composers used dynamic markings to indicate rubato in piano music; and Graham Fitch: On Urtext and Other Editions: Does it Matter?

Remembering the anniversary of Debussy’s death in 1918, we are having a theme of Debussy and his World in 2018. As a non-obligatory option, participants are invited to choose a piece by Debussy or his contemporaries. There is much to explore!

There will be classes for Piano Accompaniment with Ann Martin-Davis and baritone Brian White, and for Piano Duet, overseen by Graham Fitch. There are thirty-minute solo recital opportunities – Platforms – and Student Concerts for solo or duet items.

Each participant will be allotted three half-hour slots in their masterclasses. All are welcome to visit other classes to observe. Private lessons can be arranged with each of the tutors.

Welcome to our updated website, with details of all the exciting events on offer at Summer School 2018. We welcome David Owen Norris to the team, and look forward to our tutors’ recitals featuring music from Bach to Stockhausen, presentations on a wide range of subjects, pre-concert talks, masterclasses for solo pieces, masterclasses for accompaniment and for duets, student concerts and platforms, a film night, a choir and a gala dinner. Our theme in 2018 is Debussy and his World, as we remember the anniversary of his death in 1918. You are invited to explore the music of Debussy and his contemporaries as a repertoire option. Private lessons can be booked with any of the tutors for an additional fee, and there is access to the University swimming pool and gym for a small charge. Why not put a Summer School Gift Voucher on your wish list for Christmas or a birthday, or give one to a friend?!

For details, contact our administrator, Brian White – you’ll find his contact details below at the foot of the page. For your application to join the course, see the Application Form page of the website, and contact Brian if there are any queries. But don’t delay –  some classes already have waiting lists. Book your place now!