Cellist Guy Johnston writes about the creation of the Bechstein Piano Trio, formed for the opening of London’s new Bechstein Hall:
Earlier this year, pianist Emmanuel Despax received a dream invitation to form a piano trio for the opening of the new Bechstein Hall this season. He immediately set about finding the players, and through various conversations initially with me, we led on to inviting violinist Priya Mitchell to join the new Bechstein Trio.
Alim Beisembayev won First Prize at The Leeds International Piano Competition in September 2021, performing Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrew Manze. He also took home the medici.tv Audience Prize and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for contemporary performance, with The Guardian praising him as a “worthy winner” with a “real musical personality”.
Junyan Chen won Second Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition 2024 also winning the chamber music prize and Alexandra Dariescu award for a work by a woman composer. In the competition final she performed Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 4 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Domingo Hindoyan. She has also performed this work with Edward Gardner and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, in a concert that was live-streamed on Classic FM.
Emmanuel Despax has gained worldwide recognition as a singular artist, whose interpretations bring a rare sincerity and imagination to the music.
A remarkable performer of romantic and post-romantic music, he has been invited to give recital performances in the UK (Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Chipping Campden and Petworth Festivals, and the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, where he was appointed artistic director in 2020 of a complete Beethoven piano sonata cycle);
The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest instrumentalists in his field, collaborating with many of the world’s leading artists, both in recital and on disc. His passionate interest in song has led to invitations to devise song series for Wigmore Hall, London; The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; 92nd Street Y, New York; and the Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin. He curates an annual series of song recitals – Julius Drake and Friends – in the historic Middle Temple Hall in London. Julius Drake is Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London and he is regularly invited to give masterclasses worldwide.
Elena Font is a Spanish pianist who has quickly established herself as a dynamic and versatile performer on the international stage. Born in 2000, she began her musical studies in Castellón and continued her advanced training at prestigious institutions including the Conservatori Liceu de Barcelona and Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC), where she worked with Antoni Besses. She went on to complete her Diplôme d’Artiste at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, under the guidance of Denis Pascal.
Nigel Hutchison graduated with a first class honours degree from the University of Glasgow, followed by intensive study with Craig Sheppard at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with help off scholarships from the Scottish International Education Trust and the Sir James Caird Trust. A Fulbright scholarship subsequently enabled him to study with Earl Wild at the Juliard School in New York.
Guy Johnston is one of the most exciting British cellists of his generation. His early successes included winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year, and significant awards, notably the Shell London Symphony Orchestra Gerald MacDonald Award, Suggia Gift Award and a Young British Classical Performer Brit Award.
He has performed with many leading international orchestras including the London Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra,BBC Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and St Petersburg Symphony.
British-Persian cellist, Ariana Kashefi is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician and section principal. As a soloist she has performed extensively throughout Europe, including at the Wigmore Hall, Pierre-Boulez Saal, and Berlin philharmonie. She is the winner of the Luigi Nono chamber music competition in Turin with her duo partner, Maksim Stsura and is a City Music Foundation Artist.
Winner of Nikolai Rubinstein Piano Competition, pupil of Maria João Pires and Dmitri Alexeev, award-winning British pianist Petr Limonov is increasingly sought-after both as a soloist worldwide. His notable solo and concerto appearances include La Roque d’Antheron festival (broadcast by radio France Musique), Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Kolarac Hall, Cadogan Hall, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, a solo recital in The Duke’s Hall given for His Majesty King Charles III, iTunes Festival, Lerici Music Festival, TV appearances for BBC Proms Extra, Podium Witteman and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.
Laura Ruo-An Lin, born in Taiwan, began playing the cello at age four. At eight, she was accepted into the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studies with Matthijs Broersma, Bartholomew LaFollette, and Una Cho. She has participated in masterclasses with renowned cellists such as Colin Carr, Alexander Chaushian, Gary Hoffman, and Marc Coppey.
Priya Mitchell grew up in Oxford and studied with David Takeno at the Yehudi Menuhin School and with Zachar Bron in Germany. She was then chosen as the British representative of the European Concert Halls Organisation ‘Rising Stars‘ Series, this success led to highly acclaimed tours and performances with, amongst others, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Philharmonia.
Morwenna Rees is 16 years old and is a music scholar in the Lower Sixth at St. Catherine’s, Bramley. She started playing saxophone aged seven and is currently studying at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and is taught by Josie Simmons, having previously been a pupil of Chloe Potter. She also partakes in composition workshops at Guildhall.
From early on in her career Margaret Roberts has worked as a piano accompanist, playing for some of the first BBC Young Musician of the Year competitions. As a music student at Brasenose College (Oxford) she specialised in piano performance and as organ exhibitioner, directed the chapel choir and played for college services and concerts.
Pascal Rogé exemplifies the finest in French pianism, renowned for his masterful interpretations of the French repertoire. Born in Paris, Rogé’s early promise led him to study at the Paris Conservatory, where he received mentorship from legendary musicians such as Julius Katchen and the iconic Nadia Boulanger. His exceptional talent soon gained international recognition, winning the Georges Enesco Piano Competition and securing First Prize at the Marguerite Long Piano Competition, establishing him as one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation.
Hanhan Qu was born in 2009 and is an academic and music scholar at Guildford High School. She has fostered a passion for music-making from a young age, currently studying as a joint principal pianist and flautist at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, with Richard Uttley and Katie Bedford, respectively. Alongside this she also enjoys conducting and participating in a variety of chamber ensembles at the RCMJD.
Yash Saran has been playing the piano since the age of 6, and now studies at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department with Eleanor Hodgkinson. Also at the Academy, he plays in a piano trio, having performed Debussy at Burgh House this summer. Currently Yash is studying for his GCSEs at St. George's College Weybridge where he is a music scholar. He is a thrice winner of Woking Music Festival's Junior Musician of the Year and twice runner up of the Piano Prize at the Academy, as well as winning various festival classes elsewhere.
Heralded by The Times as “just the sort of champion the newest of new music needs”, while being praised as “impeccable in his pianism and unfailing in his idiomatic grasp” by Gramophone, Hiroaki Takenouchi’s curiosity and a natural penchant for integrity makes his playing and vast repertoire unique amongst his generation of pianists. His love for the music of classical masters – particularly Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin – sits side by side with his passion for the music of Medtner, lesser-known British composers such as Sterndale Bennett and Parry, and the contemporary repertoire.
Yevgeny Sudbin has been hailed by The Telegraph as “potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century”. As BIS Records’ only exclusive artist, all of Yevgeny’s recordings have met with critical acclaim and are regularly featured as CD of the Month by BBC Music Magazine or Editor’s Choice by Gramophone. His Scriabin recording was awarded CD of the Year by The Telegraph and received the MIDEM Classical Award for Best Solo Instrument Recording at Cannes.
Roderick Williams is one of the most sought after baritones of his generation. He performs a wide repertoire from baroque to contemporary music, in the opera house, on the concert platform and is in demand as a recitalist worldwide.
He enjoys relationships with all the major UK opera houses and has sung opera world premieres by David Sawer, Sally Beamish, Michael van der Aa, Robert Saxton and Alexander Knaifel.