Internationally renowned pianist Lucy Parham is the creator of the acclaimed Composer Portrait concerts, “one of the must-see events of the musical calendar” according to BBC Music Magazine. She performs them with leading actors in the UK and around the world. A specialist in the music of Robert and Clara Schumann, Lucy is also in demand as a professor, artistic director, writer and broadcaster.
“Hearing Clara’s story in her own words, interspersed with relevant music, is a joy. Harriet Walter’s delivery is utterly compelling. Performing on a glorious Fazioli, Parham’s playing is eloquent and engaging.”
“This celebration of her life, with the music fitting the narrative so well, is another fine tribute to this remarkable woman in her bicentenary year.”
“If you are not moved to tears by my Clara’s account of his death and by Parham’s choice of music you are made of stronger stuff than I am.”
“I adore working with Lucy. To sit beside her at the piano, to see her hands on the keyboard, is such a privilege. Hers is a physical relationship with the piano – what is costs her is astonishing. She channels everything through the music.”
“The music is played with an exquisite touch and stylistic empathy by Lucy Parham”
“A superb evocation of the life and music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. The design of the listening experience is skillfully and subtly structured, and the manner is engaging and intimate, so that the great Sergei himself seems to be recalling his life for us as we listen.”
“Lucy Parham’s trailblazing evening concerts in which she fuses music and words with the help of some of our most distinguished thespians, have become one of the must-see events on the musical calendar.”
“It is a beautifully designed portrait of Clara”
“These wonderful concerts are so cleverly organic because the composers become alive again. This happens before your eyes and it transforms the musical experience for the audience. The composers speak directly, frankly and intimately about the secrets of the lives shared and, coupled with the superb playing of Lucy Parham, their music is transformed”
“The readings combine great dignity with a delicate poignancy. The changing moods of the Schumann and Brahms repertoire, from the capricious and turbulent to the reflective and haunting, are deftly interpreted by Lucy Parham. The whole is an intimate portrait, with the passions of the presenters as palpable as those of their subjects.”
“Lucy is not only an excellent pianist – she is also a musical communicator par excellence who demonstrates a strong rapport with the music she performs and possesses a deep insight into the character of the composers who wrote it. We could not have had more eloquent readers than Dame Harriet and Alex Jennings to…
“I feel so fortunate to be able to work with a musician like Lucy, such a brilliantly accomplished and sensitive artist. I certainly take inspiration from hearing such undeniably great music up close and personal, as it were. It has been a huge privilege to be a part of Lucy’s recreations of the lives of…
“In an age that has seen the piano become increasingly objectified, Parham takes her listeners back to a golden age when music was a metaphor for life itself. Hers is playing that is not so much about the actual notes but exploring the elusive regions of expressive reverie that lie tantalisingly hidden between and behind…
“It is a treat to hear playing in which expressively, nothing is extraneous and everything is at a high level of intelligence and imagination”
“Lucy Parham surmounted the challenges of the optimistic Ballade No 3 with ease, while her performance of the Ballade No 4 with all its grandeur and profundity was a revelation. The whole evening was a remarkable accomplishment”
Nocturne – Chopin Society, London (postponed)
24th January 2021 @ 2:30 pm - 4:30 pmLucy Parham - piano Alex Jennings - narrator Harriet Walter - narrator
Elégie – Fidelio Cafe, London (1)
26th January 2021 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pmLucy Parham - piano Tim McInnerny - narrator
at Fidelio CafeElégie – Fidelio Cafe, London (2)
27th January 2021 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pmLucy Parham - piano Tim McInnerny - narrator
at Fidelio CafeI, Clara – Quarry Theatre, Bedford (postponed)
7th February 2021 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pmLucy Parham - piano Patricia Hodge - narrator
at Quarry Theatre, Bedford