Happy Birthday Peter Hill!

A born artist, a beautiful natural talent

As one of the leading British pianists of his generation, Peter Hill is known for his widely acclaimed performances and recordings. We celebrate a birthday milestone with Peter and acknowledge his inspirational performances, teaching and research at the University of Sheffield.

Beethoven's ten violin sonatas are among the most important bodies of work for piano and violin ever written. Peter teams up with outstanding violinist and former member of the Lindsay Quartet, Ronnie Birks, to bring us the Sonata in F major, ‘Spring’. The flowing opening theme of spontaneous lyricism and gentle radiance, suggests immediately the freshness and beauty of spring that has earned the sonata its nickname.

The ‘formidable’ piano partnership of Benjamin Frith and Peter Hill execute Stravinsky’s monumental tour-de-force, The Rite of Spring, alongside Schubert’s haunting Fantasie in F minor. Finally, this birthday celebration couldn’t fail to give a nod to a particular French musical pioneer… As a connoisseur of all things Messiaen, Peter shows us the deep but dazzling world of the woodlark, ‘L’Alouette Lulu’, from the composer’s Catalogue d’oiseaux.

Performers

Peter Hill (piano), Ben Frith (piano) and Ronald Birks (violin)

Programme

• Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata in F major, 'Spring'
• Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
• Franz Schubert: Fantasie in F minor