Clare Hammond (Image: Philip Gatward)Clare Hammond
(Event 4: Sun 4th Oct 2026 3.00pm Little Missenden Church)
Clare Hammond piano
Frédéric Chopin Barcarolle op60
Grazyna Bacewicz Sonatina (1955)
Sergei Rachmaninov Études-Tableaux op33
Leoš Janáček In the Mists
Co-created by participants at HMP Featherstone with Michael Betteridge ‘Shattered Freedom, Shards of Hope’
George Gershwin/Earl Wild Three Virtuoso Études after Gershwin
Igor Stravinsky (arr. Agosti) The Firebird Suite
Programme Notes will be available for download here and free at concert
Written only three years before his death, Chopin’s opus 60 Barcarolle begins Clare Hammond’s intriguingly varied programme, illustrating the piano’s transition from Romanticism into modern times. In the Barcarolle, Chopin deliberately means us to hear the Venetian gondolier’s song. By contrast, Rachmaninov is at pains to leave any interpretation of the individual pieces in his Études-Tableaux first to performer and then to listener – we’re introduced to impressionism in musical form. Likewise, the title of Janáček’s In the Mists might seem to be an explicit guide to the listener, but what we hear and see in it remains very much up to us.
Arriving in the modern era, the strong jazz-influenced rhythms of Earl Wild’s Virtuoso Études – versions of some of Gershwin’s most well-loved songs – need (and will get) all the performer’s strength, dexterity and technical ability; while the vituosic transcriptions of movements from The Firebird – exciting enough in their original orchestral form – are arguably even more so when played by Clare on the piano.
Acclaimed as a “pianist of extraordinary gifts” (Gramophone) and “immense power” (The Times), Clare Hammond is recognised for her imaginative playing, visionary programming, and communicative performance style. In recent years, community engagement has formed an increasingly important part of Clare’s work, and one direct result of this will be heard in a piece co-created by participants at HMP Featherstone. Clare will say a few words about this and her prison programme in general before she plays it.
Clare Hammond plays Grazyna Bacewicz Sonatina (1955)
This recital is sponsored by Rosemary Pearce in memory of her late husband Frank.
Online booking is managed by TicketSource. This event may be booked from the Tickets link on this page but, when booking for multiple events, it may be more convenient to use our Little Missenden Festival page on TicketSource.