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St John’s International Piano Series: Vadym Kholodenko
07 December 2025 @ 7.00pm
About St John’s International Piano Series: Vadym Kholodenko
Beethoven Piano Sonata no.29 in B-flat major ‘Hammerklavier’
Interval
Lyatoshinsky Three Preludes, op.38
Liszt Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Pananini, S.140
Gold medallist at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Ukraine-born pianist Vadym Kholodenko is sought after by halls across Europe, North America and Asia. This summer, he made his debut at the BBC Proms with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
Vadym starts straight in with Beethoven’s mighty Hammerklavier sonata, its opening statement of fortissimo chords a challenge to the audience to sit up and pay attention. The longest of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, Hammerklavier is also one of the most unconventional.
Violinist Niccolò Paganini enjoyed superstar status, crowds flocking to witness his dazzling performances. Liszt heard him and, captivated, set about piano transcriptions of the pieces. Published as 6 Paganini Etudes, the work failed to take off – it was simply too difficult to play – and Liszt was eventually persuaded to tone it down.
This revised version, S.141, is the one normally performed in concert halls today. But not tonight. Vadym Kholodenko gives us the full pianistic pyrotechnics of the original.
Tickets
Please see important booking information below.
Booking information
Ticket prices:
From £7.00 to £40.00
A fee of £1.50 per transaction applies to bookings for this event across all channels – website, phone and in-person bookings at the Box Office. The fee is waived for Oxford Playhouse members.
Dates & times:
Sunday 07 December 2025 at 7.30pm
Doors open at 7.00pm
Running time:
2 hours, including an interval