Frith Rolfe Piano Duo
The celebrated British pianists Benjamin Frith and his wife Heidi Rolfe will give a ‘one piano four hands’ recital at the Lion Ballroom, Leominster with a mixed programme of music ranging from an atmospheric work by John Ireland; a sublime Fantasie by Schubert; a most accessible new work, specially written for the duo by contemporary composer Martin Ellerby; and a blockbusting version of Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous Scheherazade arranged for four hands by the composer himself.
Ireland The Forgotten Rite
Schubert Fantasie in F minor D.940
Martin Ellerby 5 Lowry Pictures:
Going to Work
Man Lying on a Wall
The Elite Fish and Chip Shop
Meeting Place
Lancashire Fair: Good Friday, Daisy Nook
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (piano duo version by the composer)
Benjamin Frith is one of the most respected and engaging pianists in the UK. A prolific recitalist and recording artist with over 80 recordings - from Scarlatti to MacMillan - and many acclaimed reviews, he is at the forefront of the craft of music making. He has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. In high demand as both soloist and chamber musician, Benjamin enjoys a busy and versatile career. As pianist in the Gould Piano Trio he has toured extensively throughout North America; and has performed as guest pianist in the illustrious Nash Ensemble to critical acclaim. Solo tours have taken him to America, Europe and the Middle and Far East. He was a life student of the late Dame Fanny Waterman and lives in Yorkshire with his wife and piano duo partner, Heidi Rolfe.
He was Gold Medal Winner of the Artur Rubinstein Piano Masters Piano Competition and Top Prize Winner of the Busoni International Piano Competition.
‘… he possesses a formidable talent both musically and technically’ Gramophone
After time spent riding racehorses in the UK and abroad, Heidi Rolfe returned to continue her musical studies, graduating with a Masters degree in Piano Performance. Throughout her education she was privileged to work with eminent pianists, including the legendary Andrei Gavrilov, and take musical guidance from the late Dame Fanny Waterman. Heidi and her husband Benjamin Frith, as the exciting and esteemed Frith Rolfe Piano Duo, have explored the wonderful piano duo repertoire in recitals throughout the UK and abroad, both four hands at one piano and two piano works. The Frith Rolfe Duo received the honour of an invitation to give a complete Piano Duo Day at the Wigmore Hall and have appeared at many of the UK’s leading Festivals and venues. Much in demand, their performances are renowned for their synchronicity, insight, intensity and sheer impact of spontaneity.
Tickets £20 (students in full-time education and carers free) from
Leominster TIC, 11 Corn Square, Leominster 01568 616460 and
The Courtyard, Hereford on 01432 340555 and online at www.courtyard.org.uk
Concert promoted by Espressivo and supported by the Gemma Classical Music Trust