7 Star Arts at the 1901 Arts Club

We are delighted to announce our new residency at the 1901 Arts Club, a convivial, intimate concert venue just a stone’s throw from Waterloo station.

With its salon-style decor and ambiance, the 1901 Arts Club is possibly London’s most stylish small venue and it’s the perfect place to enjoy 7 Star Arts varied events in a relaxed, welcoming setting – from our popular words-and-music productions such as Classic Gershwin to world-class chamber music with leading musicians, and two shows starring actor, comic, impressionist and pianist Alistair McGowan.

If you have yet to discover the wonderful 1901 Arts Club, now is your chance to do so. Join us there and experience something different with 7 Star Arts…

Find out more/book tickets

Music salon at the 1901 Arts Club

SAVE THE DATE! Alistair McGowan at the 1901 Arts Club

We’re excited to announce two dates with comic, actor, writer and pianist Alistair McGowan at the convivial 1901 Arts Club.

Wednesday 22 January 2025

Alistair McGowan : 3-in-1

Poetry, comedy and piano 

Alistair brings you the comedy and impressions for which he is known and loved, plays short piano favourites by Chopin, Grieg, Elgar, Satie and others, and reads from his newly-published poetry collection.  Expect beautiful music, poignant poems and spot-on mimicry. It’s three great shows in one!

Tuesday 11 March 2025 

Alistair McGowan : “Erik Satie : his words, his music, your ears”

Using Satie’s own surreally comedic writings and extracts from his letters as well as playing many of his best known short piano works, Alistair tells the story of Erik Satie’s bizarre, brave and lonely life. With vocal contributions from soprano, Charlotte Page. “A perfect Edinburgh show” (Stephanie Merritt, The Observer) 

Tickets will be on sale soon. If you haven’t yet discovered the 1901 Arts Club, an intimate salon-style small venue close to Waterloo station, now is the time to do so! (See our listings for other concerts at this exquisite gem of a venue).

https://www.1901artsclub.com

Alistair McGowan
Music salon at the 1901 Arts Club

“Classical music is an awe-inspiring thing. It’s freakish and incredibly classy at the same time” – Sofia Kirwan-Baez, soprano

Meet Sofia Kirwan-Baez, up-and-coming soprano, who appears in Classic Cole at Ham House Stables on 29 November

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

I was very lucky to have a very supportive family who love music – my mum is a wonderful singer (and has a huge range of musical tastes) and my dad is a phenomenal amateur pianist. They both have been excellent cheerleaders and hugely inspiring. All my teachers also have been major cornerstones to my progress and resilience.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

Among the many challenges, self-discipline is high up there. Not just with regards to practising, but also when planning ahead. One must be simultaneously an administrator, a marketing manager, a travel agent, a linguist and a consummate artist. These can occasionally come in unpredictable waves…

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

I just finished a run with Longborough Festival Opera performing as Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, and I loved every second of it. The role felt incredibly natural, and the production was really cool. It helped massively that the rest of the cast were absolutely wonderful!

Which particular works/composers do you think you perform best?

I love French art song, but I think Italian bel canto – anything from Donizetti, to Bellini or Puccini – is my favourite genre to sing from a physical point of view. It carries a lot of emotion without needing many words. The words in French art song move me in their symbiosis with the music.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

I see what comes up! I try to trust my gut.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

The acoustics of Wigmore Hall have the same effect on me as water does to a thirsty hiker. I have yet to sing somewhere with such a power for enveloping the sound around the audience. I was so lucky to do the Wigmore French Song Exchange ; I got to sing there every month for coachings with Felicity Lott and François Le Roux, gurus of French song!

That all being said, I have a huge soft spot for the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes – it is more than a venue for me as I worked there as a barista over lockdown and the people there have become like family. The theatre always has a great lineup of acts!

What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage?

I love people-watching and travelling, as both allow you to gain new perspectives on the world. It’s easy to fester in a bubble, even in a big city like London. But artists, composers, poets – they come from all over! So how can one possibly interpret their works if we don’t understand where they come from (both geographically and culturally)?

What is your most memorable concert experience?

Possibly singing the Venezuelan song ‘Caramba’ by Otlio Galíndez at Wigmore Hall, with the beautiful arrangement by Venezuelan concert-pianist Carlos Urbaneja. It felt very special to be sharing more of my background in a classical setting.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

My definition of success is to be able to do what I love – to create art, to move people, to push people outside of their comfort zone, to introduce people to new stories – on a daily basis and to live from it. If I can eat, pay my rent and have a lovely time, all is well! I would also like to continue challenging myself musically.

What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?

I think people need to go back to basics. In particular with something like opera. The compositional form, or even sometimes the story line, are, in my opinion, not necessarily the first things that jump out at you when you attend. It’s the fact that there’s one tiny human on a huge stage who somehow feels SO much that they manage to sing over an orchestra to hundreds of people. It’s primal. It’s dirty, elegant, political, heartbreaking, and hilarious. It expresses joy and pain in a way that’s both completely unleashed but also the product of years of intricate training.

When you perform classical music to children you realise this – classical music is an awe-inspiring thing. It’s freakish and incredibly classy at the same time. It’s good to see that ‘WOW’ element emphasised in publicising it, and to not diminish that.

What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be

On an artistic plane, Zarzuelas! Why don’t we do them in the UK? On a more global plane, especially with regards to education, we need to encourage musicians to keep their minds open. Snobbery between genres should not be perpetuated. As Duke Ellington said in 1962 (as well as many wonderful musicians before him) : “There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind”.

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

If music is what you absolutely love, just keep going. Don’t give up. The people who seem to continue in this business are the ones who put up with its ups and downs. And stay in your lane! Don’t compare yourself to others. You have your own stories to tell, your own emotions to feel. If something doesn’t happen, it wasn’t meant to be. But there will be something else. And don’t be afraid to organise your own events – I have learnt so much by self-organising concerts.

All this being said (and this is not said enough), if you realise that after years it’s not for you, don’t allow the pressure cooker that music can be to convince you that changing careers is somehow “a failure”. Failure is only doing something you don’t love. And also, music as a career is much more than performing. It’s ok to discover that the things around it are…intense.

But stay open, and don’t give up because of people saying ‘you’re not enough’. You are always enough for someone.

What’s next? Where would you like to be in 10 years?

Hopefully sat on a terrace (maybe in France?) having a delicious menu du jour.…followed by rehearsals in the afternoon on a challenging and exciting opera!

Join Sofia Kirwan-Baez and Alex Norton (piano) at historic Ham House Stables on 29 November for Classic Cole: The Life of Cole Porter in Music & Words. Tickets on sale now – click here to book

Sofia Kirwan-Baez
Sofia Kirwan-Baez
Cole Porter
Alex Norton

Anthony Hewitt at Café Yukari – back by popular request!

After his previous sell out performances at Cafe Yukari, “remarkably gifted” international concert pianist Anthony Hewitt returns for another solo piano recital at this convivial intimate venue close to Kew Gardens tube station. Anthony will play music by Skryabin and friends.

Tickets £20

Book online or in person via the venue 020 8487 1338

Concert-goers can enjoy authentic Japanese food before the concert – please book via the venue 020 8487 1338

“What a charming experience …to listen to first-class music and eat delicious food while outside, beyond the fairy lights, commuters pour out of Kew Gardens Station” – audience comment at recent 7 Star Arts concert hosted by Cafe Yukari

Read an interview with Anthony Hewitt

BOOK TICKETS

Meet the Artist – Mei-Ting Sun, pianist

Mei-Ting returns to The OSO in Barnes on 24 June, to wow audiences once again with a generous programme of music by Scriabin, Schumann, Hindemith & Brahms. He is joined in the second half by Michelle Chow.

Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and pursue a career in music?

I started piano when I was three, so the question wasn’t so much who inspired me to take it up but rather who started me on it, and the answer to that would be my parents. I always liked music – I remember marching on the bed when I was 2 or something to the march from Aida – so my parents thought it would be an interesting experiment to have a young child sit at the piano for hours. In terms of a career, it wasn’t anything other than music itself that inspired me. I decided at the age of 16 that I could not live without music in my life every day, and playing music made my happy.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

There have been many, since different influences played important parts during different periods of my life. The most important influences during my formative years must have been my professor at the time, Dr. Edward Aldwell, who really taught me everything I know about how to study music among other things, and going to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York for 13-15 performances every year from when I was 14 to 18.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

The ups and downs of a career in music can be extremely challenging, mentally, physically, and financially. Finding a balance not to be too high or too down, and to focus on what I love to do without always having an end meant creating projects for myself, which turned out to be a major source of entertainment. One of the biggest challenges was to learn, perform, and record the complete works of Chopin published during his lifetime, and that is also the series of performances and recordings that I am most proud of.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

This is a most difficult question for me to answer! Of course I feel affinity towards certain composers and works, but I think one of the challenges for me is to get into the minds of every composer I want to play, and to truly – as much as I personally believe I can – understand the works I perform. When that happens, that work will be one that I feel I play best.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

This is a most easy question. I do that by thinking, what haven’t I played recently and what can make my life richer, more diverse, and more interesting?

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

I can’t say that I do. I like all kinds of venues, ranging from the biggest halls to the smallest salons, but I would perform different kinds of repertoire in each. Acoustically, my favorite is the Auditorio of Zaragoza.

Who are your favourite musicians?

There are too many, so I’ll just list a few of the dead pianists: Alfred Cortot, Walter Gieseking, Myra Hess, Artur Schnabel, Clara Haskil, Sergei Rachmaninoff, William Kapell.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

A recital in Lazienki Park in Warsaw. I ended the recital with the Heroic Polonaise of Chopin, and an older gentleman wobbled to the stage, and told me about how he used to be a soldier, took part in the Warsaw Uprising, and how they played a record of the Heroic Polonaise during the uprising. Then he said, “when you played the Polonaise, it reminded me of the Uprising,” with tears flowing down his cheeks.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

To love music, to share music, and to share that love of music with as many people as possible.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

Work hard, and enjoy working hard. If you can’t enjoy working hard, then there’s no point in working hard, and no point in working in music. That being said, one must also enjoy life and work hard at it.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

My idea of perfect happiness would involve too many things that’s not under my control, such as world peace, so perhaps a smaller and more achievable definition would be in order here. A moment of perfect happiness: sitting in a quiet bar with good company, a glass of Bruichladdich 40 in hand, 45 minutes after a perfectly satisfying performance of something by Bach or Schumann.

Critically acclaimed pianist Mei-Ting has been heard in many of the world’s greatest concert halls performing an extensive repertoire that includes the complete works for solo piano of Brahms, Chopin, and Debussy, in addition to all 32 Sonatas of Beethoven.

After winning several major competitions, including the first Piano-e competition and the National Chopin Competition of the US, Mei-Ting’s career has taken him throughout most of the US, Latin America, Asia, and Europe, at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Tonhalle in Zurich, and Obecni Dum in Prague.

He has collaborated with many major orchestras, including the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, the Prague Philharmonia, Orquesta Nacional de España, the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the National Symphony of Mexico, working with eminent conductors including Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Antoni Wit, Jakub Hrůša, Michał Nesterowicz, Lü Jia, Antoni Ros-Marbà and Pablo González.

While performing the complete works of other composers, Mei-Ting transcribed and arranged several orchestral and operatic works, expanding the technical and tonal possibilities of the modern piano. This project, which encompasses selections from R. Strauss’s Rosenkavalier and Salome, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite from 1919, and a brand new transcription of Ravel’s La valse, has already garnered rave reviews around the world.

Mei-Ting is a Yamaha artist. He is represented by Ibermusica in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, and Caecilia Artist Management Agency in worldwide.

Mei-Ting

Classic Gershwin Showreel

A taster of Classic Gershwin, 7 Star Arts’ most popular mixed genre production, starring Viv McLean (piano) and Susan Porrett (narrator). Music by George Gershwin

 

Anthony Hewitt wows The Jazz Room

The Jazz Room in Barnes, SW London, affectionately known as “the suburban Ronnie’s Scotts” (and almost as longstanding as the eponymous Soho jazz club), resonated to a different vibe on Sunday evening when internationally-renowned pianist Anthony Hewitt – an artist more used to playing in hallowed gilded spaces such as the Wigmore or Carnegie Halls – gave a concert of classical music by Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel and Gershwin – all performed on the Yamaha upright piano which resides in the Jazz Room. It’s a very good piano, but it ain’t a Steinway model D!

Yet such is Anthony’s skill and sensitively that he wrought myriad sounds and colours from the modest instrument – and somehow listening to Bach (Partita No. 1) in a venue normally reserved for jazz, one suddenly becomes hyper-aware of all the jazzy syncopations and offbeat rhythms inherent in Bach’s writing.

The piano music of Brahms, more usually heard on a modern concert grand, had a lightness which lent a greater poignancy and tenderness to his Op 119 piano pieces; while in Debussy’s Estampes multi-layered lines and textures were revealed.

The second half of the concert swung to the sounds of Ravel’s decadent and sensuous La Valse and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue, his vibrant and exhilarating evocation of the melting pot of America and the sounds of the big city. Anthony did a remarkable job in drawing so much colourful sound out of the Yamaha upright to achieve brilliant results.

For the audience, the small size of the Jazz Room means one gets up and close and personal with music and performer in a way which is never possible in a larger or more formal venue. Such closeness creates a very special sense of communication and shared experience between audience and performer, and throughout the concert there was a very palpable sense of people listening really intently – a great compliment to the music and the pianist. In addition, Anthony introduced the music engagingly and audience members were able to meet and chat to him after the performance. As one audience member remarked “the Jazz room is a real gem and now to start a classical series there is an added bonus”.

The concert was billed as “Iconoclassics”, paying homage to the Jazz Room’s iconic status as one of London’s leading jazz venues. More like this please!

 

7 Star Arts says: audiences can enjoy more classical music, fused with jazz, world and original compositions on 10 April when pianist and composer Helen Anahita Wilson makes her Jazz Room debut. Book tickets here

(Reviewed by The Cross-Eyed Pianist)

Meet the Artist – Duncan Eagles, saxophonist

Saxophonist and composer Duncan Eagles chats to The Cross-Eyed Pianist (AKA Frances Wilson) about his musical influences and inspirations, and more…..

I think there are many moments that define what kind of musician you are / will become. One of the earliest I remember was borrowing a John Coltrane double album from school. It was probably the first jazz CD I checked out. The first of the two CD’s I listened to was “My Favourite Things” which I didn’t really get and can’t say I enjoyed. I got a few minutes in and then swapped to the second CD which was “Blue Trane”. This blew my mind. I was intrigued how someone could play the instrument in the way Coltrane does on that record. The sound, technique, composition were all completely new to me. That started me on the road to wanting to be able to get serious about playing, improvising, composing etc and also started to open up the history of the music to me. From here I found Miles Davis then Wayne Shorter then Art Blakey etc etc its all linked.

Read more

Duncan Eagles and his quartet perform at The Jazz Room at The Bull’s Head on Thursday 15 March. Book tickets

Interview with Niklas Walentin, violinist

Ahead of his appearance with the Walentin Trio at Craxton Studios on 16 March, violinist Niklas Walentin talks about his influences and inspirations, significant teachers, repertoire, performing and more……
Who or what inspired you to take up the violin and pursue a career in
music?
I was first introduced to the violin and classical music “live” when attending a chamber music concert in Germany at the age of 6. The programme included, among other pieces, the famous C major string quintet by Franz Schubert. It had an immense impact on me, and I startet leaning the violin later the same year. At the age of 10, and not having found much interest in school, I decided to stay in the world of music into which I had been so luckily invited. At the same time, I had already been participating successfully in many competitions and masterclasses, so that taking the decision of becoming the best violinist I could possibly become, was not so far away.
Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
The number of people and their endless support it has taken makes up a list longer than one could possibly imagine. I know of very few careers where from childhood, one is in the need of such strong and continuous support. But naturally, every member of my family is the initial answer. Then, my teacher and mentor, Søren Elbæk, who both as a violinist and musician has inspired me tremendously, but also his personality and as a human being has been a great support through my youth.
What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
It is difficult question to answer, as there are so many different things I have encountered at different times in my career. But looking back, I would say the most challenging thing has been to accept how the world of classical music works as a business. Even though it sounds quite harsh, and in some way ruins the romantic image of this wonderful world filled with so much incredible music, musicians, composers and so forth all need to make a living. To me, having slowly experienced how all that works, and to accept in some situations, that even though one has done ‘the job’ exactly as intended to highest standards, and all the work it takes around building up a career has been done, still sometimes, doors just simply won’t open. And that has been quite a challenge.
Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?
The perfect answer would and should of course in many ways be them all. Yet there are some I am particularly happy about. One of them was by debut concert in Carnegie Hall two years ago: it was a childhood dream come true, and a truly magical evening. I was at the time releasing my second album with four grand works for violin by Carl Nielsens, and even though my fourth album is on its way with my piano trio, I am still very proud of the recording of Carl Nielsen.
Which particular works do you think you play best?
I have spent a lot of time with Carl Nielsen and his music. He is definitely a composer woth whom I have strongly identified. I have a passion for playing solo violin, and have many plans of doing much more in the future. But next to my solo career, I have a very busy ensemble with my piano trio, Trio Vitruvi, and this spring I will return to Carnegie Hall together with my colleagues. We will be releasing our first album together, with the second piano trio by Schubert, and his music; being some of the first classical music I ever experienced, it has a very dear place in my heart.
How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?
It is far from easy to choose, and a lot of the time, other circumstances do the choosing for me. But when I have my hands totally free, I choose pieces I simply can’t help but play. There comes an incredible and very naturally overflow of passion when performing pieces that you simply must play, and this is something that I feel always transmits to the audience very positively.
Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?
The Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall is unique. But I have to admit that I have fallen equally in love with Wigmore Hall. Also, the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg is to me, when performing violin concertos, a gem!
Who are your favourite musicians?
I would say the violinist Henryk Szeryng has had a very big influence on my playing. But my chamber music professor, founding member of the Alban Berg quartet, Hatto Beyerle, is a musician to whom I very much look up. Danish jazz violinist Svend Asmussen is also very high on the list!
What is your most memorable concert experience?
Lately it was when I was at the Verbier Festival, I had a free evening to attend a concert with Ana Chumachenko, who together with friends performed Schubert’s String Quintet in C. I had not heard the work for many years, and I was in tears more or less throughout the piece.
As a musician, what is your definition of success?
To remain yourself throughout your career and not to be confused by the many who want their influence to show through your character and way of playing. I have had many faces in my life, where I have been torn between two parties, and their way to do things would be the best. But when I finally learned to take the final decisions myself, a true sense of freedom followed.
What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?
One thing which can be difficult to impart is the experience of the life itself as a musician. How to overcome issues of not undestanding why things don’t come your way when you work hard, or to restrain the pressure of nerves when performing at a high level. So much time is spent on learning how to play the instrument and the pieces, but I find advice for when you are actually out there on your own, and you need to show your very best to an unfamiliar audience that demands the highest level of quality, is rarely given enough.
Niklas Walentin performs with Alena Walentin (flute) and Viv McLean (piano) at Craxton Studios, Hampstead on Friday 16 March in a programme featuring Franck’s Sonata in A for violin and piano. Further details and tickets here www.7stararts.com/event/walentin-trio-craxton-studios/

Iconoclassics at The Jazz Room

7 Star Arts announces the launch of a new series of concerts in the iconic Jazz Room at the Bull’s Head

Iconoclassics features leading, critically-acclaimed classical musicians, more at home in the world’s great concert halls than in a jazz club but all happy to break free from the conventional classical music scene. The small size of the Jazz Room creates a special connection between musicians and audience, and allows the musicians to present music in a more accessible and relaxed way.

In keeping with the main focus of The Jazz Room, programmes in the Iconoclassics series will explore links between classical music and jazz, and will include works by Ravel and Gershwin, two composers whose music crossed genres and pushed the boundaries of what we define as “classical music”.

Iconoclassics launches on 14 February 2018 with Classic Valentine – a special concert for Valentine’s Day featuring David Le Page (violin) and Viv McLean (piano). This will be followed on 11 March by a solo concert by internationally-acclaimed pianist Anthony Hewitt, who has been praised for his “fine, poetic and communicative musicianship” (BBC Music Magazine).

This promises to be an exciting and intriguing new series in an intimate and friendly venue.

 

Purists may balk at hearing classical music in a venue normally reserved for jazz, but the small size of the jazz room lends itself to the right kind of concentrated listening and intimacy of expression which this music demands and offers. And David Le Page and Viv McLean create a very special intimacy of their own – these musicians work together regularly and their empathy and mutual understanding is palpable in every note they play.

  • Frances Wilson/The Cross-Eyed Pianist