Public masterclasses and guest recitals feature national and international tutors.
A five-day celebration of the piano is to take place at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire from 14th-18th June in a thrilling week of competition, collaboration and artistry.
The Birmingham International Piano Festival begins with a free Community Piano Day and includes a host of celebrity masterclasses and performances culminating in a recital by the world-renowned pianist Sir Stephen Hough. The Festival also sees twenty young musicians compete in the long-established Birmingham International Piano Competition.
Opening the Festival is a free Community Piano Day (Sunday 14th June) filled with guest artist recitals and masterclasses, and paid participant opportunities to enjoy a 
30 minute one-to-one lesson. It also marks the start of the Birmingham International Piano Competition with the first four 50-minute Young Artists’ Recitals.
Over the five Festival days, distinguished jurors Professor Shuhua Chen (China), Professor Klaus Sticken (Austria), Pascal Nemirovski (France) and John Thwaites (UK) will hear twenty recitals from some of the most well-known names in the younger generation of prize-winning global talents, as well as very young newly emergent artists. 2016 winner Domonkos Csabay also returns to give a guest recital and receive an Honorary RBC Award.
A celebrity masterclass and concert by the incomparable pianist Sir Stephen Hough (pictured), whose programme on Thursday 18th June (7pm) includes Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata and Schumann’s Carnaval, is an undoubted highlight. Indeed, the Festival is packed with special guest recitals and public masterclasses by leading national and international tutors including Roman Kosyakov, Daniel Browell, Karl-Heinz Simon, Andreas Frölich, Wu Chao, Xun Pan and Simon Nicholls.
Professor John Thwaites, Head of Keyboard Studies, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, said: “An acoustic solo piano recital vivifies some of the greatest music ever written in an unmediated stream of consciousness from the hands of a single interpreter.
The pianist speaks directly to the hearts of his or her audience. This festival offers the chance to understand the preparation and artistic thought processes that inform interpretation as some of the greatest pedagogues on the planet share their secrets.
It also offers the glamour and excitement of hearing the very best of the next generation of pianists. I urge you to explore who we have coming and to support them by offering a very special Birmingham audience to them. I also invite you all to take part in Sunday’s Community Day.”
Birmingham International Piano Festival is at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire from 14-18th June 2026. Tickets and details at bcu.ac.uk
