Couperin Les Barricades Mistérieuses; Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou Les Maillotins; Les Ombres Errantes; Les Tricoteuses
Messiaen Préludes - La colombe, Un reflet dans le vent
Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin
Interval
Beach Variations on Balkan Themes, op.60
Ravel La Valse

Junyan Chen came away from the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition garlanded with awards: a silver medal from the main competition, the chamber music prize and the work by a woman composer prize. She is praised for ‘exhilarating and technically thrilling’ performances.

Apart from a set of variations by American composer Amy Beach, Junyan’s programme looks to France and first, to the sumptuous Baroque court of Louis XIV, where François Couperin wrote his intriguingly named short pieces for the 2-manual harpsichord.

Ravel was a great admirer of Couperin and Tombeau de Couperin – a suite of Baroque-style dance movements - is his tribute. La Valse was started with a similar idea, as a tribute to Johann Strauss, but World War I intervened. The Viennese ballroom erupts with distorted rhythms and clashing harmonies to spin ever faster to a shuddering conclusion. A stunningly dramatic finale and a very exciting new pianist on the circuit.

Wheelchair Spaces

If you require a wheelchair space for this event, please call 01865 305 305 or email boxoffice@oxfordplayhouse.com for further assistance.