E4. Clare Hammond: Into the Modern Era

Friends' Booking from 10 Aug 2026. General Booking from 24 Aug 2026.Clare Hammond pianoFrederic Chopin Barcarolle op60
Grazyna Bacewicz Sonatina (1955)
Sergei Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux op33
Leos Janacek In the Mists
Co-created by participants at HMP Featherstone with Michael Betteridge 'Shattered Freedom, Shards of Hope'
George Gershwin/Earl Wild Three Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin
Igor Stravinsky (arr. Agosti) The Firebird SuiteWritten only three years before his death, Chopin's opus 60 Barcarolle begins Clare Hammond's intriguingly varied programme, illustrating the piano's transition from Romanticism into modern times. In the Barcarolle, Chopin deliberately means us to hear the Venetian gondolier's song. By contrast, Rachmaninov is at pains to leave any interpretation of the individual pieces in his Etudes-Tableaux first to performer and then to listener - we're introduced to impressionism in musical form. Likewise, the title of Janacek's In the Mists might seem to be an explicit guide to the listener, but what we hear and see in it remains very much up to us.Arriving in the modern era, the strong jazz-influenced rhythms of Earl Wild's Virtuoso Etudes - versions of some of Gershwin's most well-loved songs - need (and will get) all the performer's strength, dexterity and technical ability; while the vituosic transcriptions of movements from The Firebird - exciting enough in their original orchestral form - are arguably even more so when played by Clare on the piano.Acclaimed as a "pianist of extraordinary gifts" (Gramophone) and "immense power" (The Times), Clare Hammond is recognised for her imaginative playing, visionary programming, and communicative performance style. In recent years, community engagement has formed an increasingly important part of Clare's work, and one direct result of this will be heard in a piece co-created by participants at HMP Featherstone. Clare will say a few words about this and her prison programme in general before she plays it.Clarehammond.ComMore information and events on our website