| Saturday 27 September 2025 | 19:30 |
| Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek (1810-1849) | Piano Concerto no. 1 in E minor, Op.11 | |
| Rachmaninov, Sergei (1873-1943) | Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, Op.18 |
| Scott Dunn | Conductor |
| Curtis Phill Hsu | Piano |
| Harmony Zhu | Piano |
| Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
Hastings International Piano presents what promises to be the highlight of the season: a Gala Concert, conducted by Scott Dunn, and two prizewinners from the 2024 competition, Curtis Phill Hsu and Harmony Zhu. The programme includes two pillars of the Romantic piano repertoire by Chopin and Rachmaninov.
Harmony Zhu, was just 18 when she won second prize in 2024 and now not only forging a career as a pianist, but also studying maths at Harvard. She will be soloist in Chopin’s poignant and romantic Piano Concerto No.1, written in 1830 when he was just twenty and about to leave his native Poland to live the rest of his life in exile.
First prize winner Curtis Phill Hsu is the soloist in Rachmaninov’s monumental Piano Concerto No.2. One of the best known of all concertos, the piece was a huge success when it was premiered in 1901 with Rachmaninov himself as soloist, and later became part of popular culture thanks to its use in David Lean’s 1945 film Brief Encounter and later still Eric Carmen’s 1975 hit (later covered by Celine Deon) ‘All by Myself’.
Ticket information
£23.00 - £41.15 (inc. booking fee of 15%)
