The history of classical music is full of composers who left their homelands because of war, political upheaval or persecution. Others had to move country for their work. This concert tells the stories of some of these composers through their piano music. They resonate with the current climate of troubling attitudes towards refugees and those in exile. Margaret has chosen all the pieces for their association with the themes of exile and homesickness, and she will introduce the music in an illuminating and entertaining way. It is a programme with a myriad of different moods: sad, poignant, but also happy and uplifting, as well as dramatic and heroic. Margaret has especially commissioned a piece for the event from Moutaz Arian, a Kurdish Syrian composer who had to flee Damascus in 2013. Arian subsequently wrote the Refugee National Anthem for the Refugee Team at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Margaret Fingerhut is one of the UK’s best-loved and most distinguished pianists. Her career has taken her to many different countries, and her extensive discography on the Chandos label has won numerous accolades and worldwide critical acclaim. She is often heard on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. Margaret’s grandparents came to the UK from the Ukraine, Poland and Ireland, so this programme is a deeply personal project for her. All the proceeds from this concert will be donated to local refugee charities to support their work in helping refugee families in the UK.

Programme

HANDEL (1685-1759) Minuet in G minor

HAYDN (1732-1809) Sonata no.38 in F Hob.XVI/23 Moderato –Adagio – Presto

GRIEG (1843-1907) Three lyric pieces: Solitary Traveller Homesickness Homeward

FRANCIS POTT (b.1957) Farewell to Hirta

RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Two etudes-tableaux from Op.39: No.8 in D minor No.9 in D

Interval

MOUTAZ ARIAN (b.1983) Memories from My Land (Generously supported by Rob and Sara Lucas)

HANS GAL (1890-1987) Three preludes Op.65 PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Two pieces from Romeo and Juliet: The Montagues and Capulets Romeo bids Juliet Farewell

CHOPIN (1810-1849) Polonaise in A flat Op. 53