Please note, this event will also be live-streamed as well as have an in-person audience. You can watch the live stream here on the day or after for the replay. Please only book an Eventbrite ticket if you would like to attend in person.

With this recital we come to the concluding chapter, and we may say the culmination, of BEETHOVEN 251, our survey of Beethoven’s largest Sonatas in (or near) his 250^th anniversary season. The American pianist Alexander Bernstein will give a rare Belfast performance of the Piano Sonata in Bb op.106 – the Hammerklavier Sonata. Alex gave a teasing but memorable performance of the first movement of the Sonata in pre-Covid times, as a prelude to his premiere of Ryan Molloy’s Innisfail – but it has taken until now for us to get him back to give the full sonata. This is a rare chance to hear one of Beethoven’s biggest works in any medium, containing some of his most experimental piano-writing; we do hope you will join us.

Alexander Bernstein has performed in 16 countries across the US, Europe and Asia. Alexander has earned top prizes from international competitions in the US, Ireland, Austria, Germany, and Italy. He also attended numerous summer festivals and was the pianist for the resident new music ensembles at the Aspen Musical Festival and Tanglewood Music Center. As a devotee of new music he also recorded a CD of solo piano works by the Irish composer, Ryan Molloy. Alexander holds a Doctorate from the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Ireland, a Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard University, a Master’s Degree from the Royal Irish Academy of Music and an Artist Diploma from Shenandoah Conservatory at Shenandoah University. Alexander has recently been named the new full-time professor of piano at Shenandoah Conservatory at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. In addition to a full teaching schedule, this concert season includes solo and concerto performances in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Washington State, Ireland and Northern Ireland, and a tour of Chile with the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Along with those performances will be masterclasses, outreach programs, and composition workshops designed to bring pianists and composers together.