Claire Hammond

Programme

Sibelius 6 Impromptus, Op.5
Satie Gnossiennes Nos.2 & 3
Schubert Sonata in A, D.664
Sergei Lyapunov Etudes Nos.4, 5 & 6 from the 12 Etudes d’Exécution Transcendante
Chopin Etudes, Op.25: Nos.1-7 & No.11
Nikolai Kapustin Studies in different intervals: Nos.1, 3 & 5

Acclaimed by The Daily Telegraph as a pianist of “amazing power and panache”, Clare Hammond gave debut recitals at the City of London, Cheltenham and Presteigne Festivals, and made return visits to the Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls in 2013. Her Purcell Room debut for the Park Lane Group concert series was praised by The Guardian for its “crisp precision and unflashy intelligence”. A passionate advocate of twentieth and twenty-first century music, Clare combines a formidable technique and virtuosic flair onstage with stylistic integrity and attention to detail. Highlights in 2014 included 3 BBC radio broadcasts, debut performances at 7 festivals across Europe, including the 'Chopin and his Music' Festival in Warsaw, the world premieres of works by 10 composers, and a Panufnik Centenary tour of Poland under the aegis of the British Council's 'Artists' International Development Fund'.

Clare released her debut CD for Prima Facie Records in 2012, and appeared on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ to promote the disc. In 2013 her BBC recording of the six études by Unsuk Chin was broadcast on Radio 3’s ‘Hear and Now’ while her recital at the Wigmore Hall in 2012 was featured on ‘Live in Concert’. Her performance that evening of Le Tombeau de Couperin by Ravel was chosen as one of their classical highlights for the month and later broadcast on Radio 4 in the Netherlands. Highlights in 2013 included the premieres of works by Kenneth Hesketh, Ed Hughes, Robert Saxton and Robert Peate, three BBC broadcasts and two discs for BIS records; one of the complete solo piano works of Andrzej and Roxanna Panufnik and the other of études by Unsuk Chin, Karol Szymanowski, Nikolai Kapustin and Sergei Lyapunov. The Guardian wrote of her performance of Ken Hesketh’s Horae at the Cheltenham Festival that she ‘displayed its scintillating passagework and poetic calm with great flair’.

In recent years, Clare has performed at St George’s Bristol, the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, Cheltenham Town Hall, the Barber Institute in Birmingham and the City of London, Presteigne and Brighton Festivals. She was Artist-in-Residence at Queen’s University Belfast in 2012-13 where she gave the world premiere of recently discovered pieces by Hamilton Harty and made two broadcasts for BBC Radio Ulster. An active chamber musician, Clare has worked with Andrew Kennedy, Jennifer Pike, Philippe Graffin, Lawrence Power, Ruth Palmer, Sara Trickey and the Endellion, Dante and Badke String Quartets. She has recently formed the Odysseus Piano Trio with violinist Sara Trickey and cellist Gregor Riddell. Clare is curating a chamber festival to celebrate the centenary of the birth of composer Andrzej Panufnik at Kings Place in November 2014, at which she will perform alongside the Brodsky Quartet and mezzo soprano Heather Shipp.

Eager to extend the boundaries of traditional concert life, Clare is intrigued by new perspectives that musicological study can bring to bear on performance. She completed a doctorate on twentieth-century left-hand piano concertos in 2012 and gave lectures and seminars as part of her residency at Queen’s University Belfast. Clare is also in demand as a speaker and has been invited to give presentations at Oxford, Manchester, and Surrey Universities this season. On the concert circuit, she enjoys introducing recitals, pre and post concert talks, and giving lecture recitals and workshops to audiences of all levels.

Clare completed a BA at Cambridge University, where she obtained a double first in music, and undertook postgraduate study with Ronan O’Hora at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and with Professor Rhian Samuel at City University London. She is grateful for the support of the Fidelio Trust, Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, RVW Trust, the Vernon Ellis Foundation and the Stradivari Trust. Clare is represented by Liz Webb Management.