Ep. 17: James Lisney

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* Series 2 of the Talking Classical Podcast starts with this interview with British concert pianist James Lisney. We discussed his upcoming concert series Endgame, which explores the idea of ‘Late Style’ through the piano works of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin. He also shared some very interesting and thought-provoking insights into pianism, the performance aesthetics of the Late repertoire (challenging pre-conceived notions of how it should be interpreted), the music profession and the music educational system. Many thanks to James and Frances Wilson (The Cross-Eyed Pianist) for facilitating this interview! Interview recorded on 23rd September 2019 at James' house. Podcast released on 26th September 2019. Find out more about James and his Endgame concerts at www.jameslisney.com. James Lisney enjoys a rich musical life, moving seamlessly from concerto and recital soloist to chamber musician, song accompanist and pianist director. Initiatives, such as his Schubertreise series at London`s Southbank Centre, his extensive Beethoven Project or the recording company Woodhouse Editions, provide a platform for his wide-ranging musical sympathies. James Lisney made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1986 and early representation by the Young Concert Artists Trust in London led to a career that has taken him to many prestigious venues and gained invitations to appear with major orchestras. Highlights include residencies at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Carnegie Recital Hall in New York. His recordings (on Naxos, Bis, Somm, Olympia and Carlton) have gained the highest recommendations. Recent months have seen him performing Schubert cycles in the Oxford International Piano Series, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the first Schubert piano sonata cycles on the Indian subcontinent and his recital debut at the Prague Rudolfinum. Endgame launches in autumn 2019 at: 1 October - Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham 13 October - St George’s, Bristol 16 October - West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge (in support of The Amber Trust) And continues throughout 2020.