In a house‑concert setting in Hall One, we present a Mozart Piano Gala with pianists Charles Owen, Katya Apekisheva, Junyan Chen, Martin James Bartlett and Tom Poster coming together to perform repertoire written for four hands and two pianos.

This concert offers a chance to experience some of the world’s leading pianists sharing the stage, responding to one another and to the music, in a setting that invites focused listening and genuine connection.

This event will last for approximately 2 hours with an interval.

About Charles Owen

Charles Owen enjoys an extensive international career, performing a wide-ranging repertoire to outstanding critical acclaim. In the UK he appears regularly at major venues including Bridgewater Hall, The Sage Gateshead and Kings Place, while internationally he has performed at leading halls such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Brahms-Saal in Vienna’s Musikverein, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Melbourne Recital Centre.

A committed chamber musician, Charles collaborates with many distinguished artists, including Alina Ibragimova, Johan Dalene, Steven Isserlis and Augustin Hadelich, and has partnered leading ensembles such as the Carducci, Heath, Sacconi and Takács string quartets. He is also a frequent guest at major festivals including Aldeburgh, Bath, Cheltenham, Three Choirs and Ryedale, as well as appearing internationally at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and the Verbier Festival.

As a concerto soloist, he has worked with orchestras including the Philharmonia, Hallé, Aurora and London Philharmonic, collaborating with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Ryan Wigglesworth, Nicholas Collon and Martyn Brabbins. His acclaimed discography spans both solo and chamber repertoire, from Bach and Brahms to Janáček, Poulenc and Schumann, alongside recordings with Katya Apekisheva and Augustin Hadelich.

Charles Owen is Co-Artistic Director of the London Piano Festival, which he founded with Katya Apekisheva in 2016. A dedicated educator, he is Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a Steinway & Sons UK Ambassador. He also supports young musicians through his work with Help Musicians.

About Katya Apekisheva

Described by Gramophone as a “profoundly gifted artist”, Katya Apekisheva is recognised as one of Europe’s most distinguished pianists. Born into a family of musicians in Moscow, she studied at the Gnessin Music School for gifted children and made her debut at the age of 12. She later continued her training at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem and at the Royal College of Music in London, before coming to international attention as a prizewinner at the Leeds International Piano Competition.

Katya has since performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She has collaborated with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon, Jan Latham-Koenig and Alexander Lazarev.

A highly acclaimed recording artist, Katya has received numerous accolades, including Gramophone Editor’s Choice, International Piano Magazine Critics’ Choice, Classic FM CD of the Week and a Classical BRIT Award. Her discography spans both solo and chamber repertoire, with works by composers including Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Dvořák and Rachmaninov.

An in-demand chamber musician, she regularly performs with leading artists such as Janine Jansen, Natalie Clein, Guy Johnston and Nicholas Daniel, and appears at major festivals and venues worldwide, including Wigmore Hall. She also maintains a celebrated piano duo partnership with Charles Owen; together they are Co-Artistic Directors of the London Piano Festival, which they founded in 2016.

About Junyan Chen

Junyan Chen made her debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra this season performing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 4.  She played this concerto in the final of the Leeds International Piano Competition 2024, where she won Second Prize. In Leeds she collaborated with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Domingo Hindoyan.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include solo recital debuts in Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Hannover, Fribourg, and at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, as well as a return to Wigmore Hall in London. She is the Artistic Director of the Leeds International Chamber Series 2025/26.

In 2025 Junyan performed Sur Incises in a London concert celebrating the centenary of Pierre Boulez, conducted by Susanna Mälkki. As an enthusiastic performer of contemporary music, she  regularly collaborates with Manchester Collective and Her Ensemble. Junyan has worked closely with  composers including Hans Abrahamsen and Mark-Anthony Turnage.  Her debut solo album, It’s Time (Linn Records, 2022), features works by Fazıl Say, Unsuk Chin, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Eleanor Alberga.

Following her time at the Shanghai Conservatoire, Junyan moved to London and continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, with Professor Joanna MacGregor. She recently held a fellowship at RAM, following her undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

About Martin James Bartlett

Martin James Bartlett possesses a fearless technique and plays with a maturity and elegance far beyond his years. In 2022, he became the inaugural recipient of the Prix Serdang, a Swiss award curated by Rudolf Buchbinder to recognise a young pianist forging an international solo career. An exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics, Bartlett has earned consistent critical acclaim, with his albums receiving five-star reviews and top accolades. Praised by The Arts Desk for his performance as “frankly like watching another, superior, species,” Bartlett continues to affirm his place as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation.

The 2025/26 season sees Bartlett perform across the UK, USA, and Europe. He begins the season in the United States as soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and later returns for recital appearances in Florida. In the UK, he performs with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras, and appears in recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall. He returns to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg for chamber music performances and reunites with long-time collaborator Jonathan Bloxham for a festival dedicated to Mozart and Prokofiev with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, following their recent Beethoven tour featuring the Emperor Concerto.

Recent highlights include debuts at the Lucerne and Moritzburg Festivals, a return to the Concertgebouw, and a two-week U.S. tour in April 2025 with solo engagements in Cincinnati and San Francisco. As a concerto soloist, Bartlett has toured the UK with Sinfonia of London under John Wilson, and across Europe with the LGT Young Soloists, performing Philip Glass’s Tirol Piano Concerto at major venues including the Berlin Konzerthaus and Vienna Musikverein. The tour culminated in a gala performance for the Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein in London.

He has given recitals at leading venues including the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Salle Cortot in Paris, and appeared at festivals including La Roque d’Anthéron, Grafenegg, Rheingau, Dresden, and the International Chopin Piano Festival. His US recital debut in 2022, presented by the Young Concert Artists Series, included performances in New York and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

An exclusive artist with Warner Classics, Bartlett has released three acclaimed albums on the label, with the next release in March 2026. La Danse (2024), featuring French baroque and impressionist repertoire, received five stars in The Times and was named Editor’s Choice in Gramophone. Rhapsody (2022), recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Joshua Weilerstein, pairs Rachmaninoff and Gershwin and received similar accolades from Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine. His debut, Love and Death (2019), was praised in The Times, The Guardian, and The Sunday Times.

Bartlett rose to prominence in 2014 as winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year, making his BBC Proms debut the following season with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He has since performed with all five BBC orchestras and at major national events including the National Service of Thanksgiving for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, broadcast live from St Paul’s Cathedral.

He studied at the Royal College of Music with Professor Vanessa Latarche, graduating with top honours and later receiving the Queen Mother Rosebowl from HRH The Prince of Wales. From 2020–2022 he held the RCM Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship, during which time he made his play/direct conducting debut with the London Mozart Players. He now serves on the RCM faculty as Assistant Professor of Piano.

Other accolades include First Prize at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, Second Prize and the Audience Award at the Kissingen Piano Olympiad (2018) and victory at the 2020 global Virtu(al)oso competition hosted by Piano Cleveland.

About Tom Poster

Tom Poster is a pianist of exceptional versatility, acclaimed for his imaginative programming and wide-ranging musical interests. Described as “a marvel … who can play anything in any style” (The Herald), he has performed more than forty concertos ranging from Mozart to Ligeti with leading orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Hallé and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has collaborated with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nicholas Collon and Robin Ticciati, and frequently directs performances from the keyboard.

A passionate chamber musician, Tom is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, which was appointed Associate Ensemble at Wigmore Hall in 2020. Known for its dynamic and inclusive programming, the ensemble champions both established repertoire and rediscovered works, and has appeared at major festivals including Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Lammermuir. Their recordings have been widely acclaimed, with several shortlisted for major industry awards.
Tom’s creativity extends beyond the concert platform. During the 2020 lockdown, his #UriPosteJukebox series with violinist Elena Urioste reached a global audience through daily online performances, earning the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Inspiration Award. Their subsequent recording, The Jukebox Album, was similarly well received.

As both performer and composer, Tom has collaborated with a wide range of artists, and his work spans concert, recording and film projects. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and King’s College, Cambridge, and is also an award-winning competition performer.