Step into the stunning candlelit setting of St Mary le Strand — “the Jewel of the Strand” — for the return of The Strand International Piano Series, now it's in 5th year after a critically acclaimed launch season in 2022–23. This intimate and architecturally impressive Baroque church has quickly become one of London’s most captivating concert venues.

This year’s series celebrates one of the most profound and enduring achievements in the piano repertoire: Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas. Spanning the full arc of Beethoven’s creative life, these masterpieces offer an extraordinary portrait of the composer’s evolving musical voice—from youthful elegance and Classical clarity to thunderous drama, virtuosic brilliance, profound lyricism, and deeply introspective beauty. These concerts are a tribute to Beethoven at the 200th anniversary of his death.

Whether you’re a seasoned concert-goer or discovering classical piano music for the first time, this is an evening not to be missed—set in one of London’s most atmospheric musical spaces, just steps away from some of the city’s finest restaurants and bars.

Featuring

Caterina Grewe (piano)

Programme

Beethoven - Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1

Rachmaninoff -  Moment Musicaux, Op.16, Nos.1,4 and 6

Beethoven - Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (Pathétique)

“Though there are dozens of fine accounts of Davidsbündlertänze out there, hers is one full of character. Grewe

never loses sight of the work’s overarching form. This is a fine disc and an artist to watch.”

Gramophone, July 2016

German-Japanese Pianist Caterina Grewe, born in Tokyo, has performed to great critical acclaim throughout the UK, continental Europe and Asia as a Steinway Artist. She has given recitals in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Steinway Hall London, Hamburg and Tokyo, Cadogan Hall, Fairfield Halls, Mozartsaal and Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, Dublin National Concert Hall, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Rachmaninoff Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire and the Toppan Hall in Tokyo amongst others. Caterina has also given recitals which were broadcasted by the BBC, the NDR in Hamburg and France Musique in Paris and has appeared in music festivals such as the Xiamen Music Festival in China, both as a soloist and as part of a chamber group. She appeared alongside Lang Lang on Sir Micheal Parkinson’s TV Show Parkinson Masterclass which was aired on Sky TV in 2013. As a concerto soloist, she has appeared with the Classic Philharmonic Orchestra Hamburg, the Lüneburg Symphony Orchestra, the Oldenburg State Orchestra, the RCM Symphony Orchestra, Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra and has collaborated with conductors Robert Stehli, Thomas Dorsch, Robin O’Neill, Manel Valdivieso and Alan Buribayev amongst others.

Description supplied by the event organiser.