Piano recital July 3, 2010

The finale of local concert pianist, Richard Saxel's recital at St Peter's Church, Petersfield on Saturday 3rd July will be a fun piece; a performance of the delightful Eighteen Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by his teacher and mentor, Clifford Benson.

Each variation is in a different musical style and it will be a challenge for the audience to pick them all out! Richard will also play music by Schumann, Janacek and Beethoven (his Sonata No 28 Pastoral"). Richard Saxel is establishing a reputation as one of the finest chamber music pianists and accompanists of his generation.

He was educated at Churcher's College, Petersfield, studied the piano with the late Clifford Benson whilst at the University of York, and then later with Michael Dussek as a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music. His musical interests owe much to the influence of these two outstanding teachers; whilst happy to explore lesser-known piano solo repertoire; his real interest lies in the art of chamber music and piano accompaniment.

Richard has performed at many major festivals, including the Istanbul International Festival, Lucerne Festival, La Roque D'Antheron, The Big Chill, the Victoria Arts Festival in Gozo, Cheltenham Festival, Huddersfield New Music Festival and the Dartington International Summer School as well as at several of London's leading venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall and St. John's Smith Square, and at St. David's Hall in Cardiff. He has toured Indonesia and Argentina under the auspices of the British Council.

Richard has been the recipient of an award from the English Speaking Union, and enjoys entertaining audiences at his recitals with spoken introductions and anecdotes. He is currently Head of Performance at Cranleigh School in Surrey. Tickets for the recital, which starts at 7.30 pm, are priced at £10 with concessions at £8 and are on sale at One Tree Books, Lavant Street, Petersfield.