Described as a 'fine and confident pianist, with a questing mind, musical maturity and great integrity' by Dame Imogen Cooper, William Bracken is a prizewinner at the Musikfest Schloss Gesmold International Piano Competition in Germany, the recipient of the Glass Seller’s Beethoven Prize (2021) and a Guildhall Gold Medal finalist, playing Beethoven’s 4th concerto at the Barbican. He is currently studying on a postgraduate scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ronan O’Hora, Martin Roscoe and Paul Roberts. In May this year, William will give his debut recital at Wigmore Hall as a recipient of the Guildhall Wigmore Recital prize.
William's programme for the Granary opens with Fanny Mendelssohn's bold and energetic Easter Sonata, a piece that was
lost for 150 years and then mistakenly attributed to her brother, Felix. The vivid musical language of Unsuk Chin is heard in two of her extraordinary Études; kaleidoscopic flashes of virtuosity flickering through complex, ingeniously layered textures. Three pieces by Franz Liszt complete the programme; En rêve (Dreaming) is a beautiful nocturne, reminiscent of Chopin; while Nuages Gris (Grey Clouds) is more impressionistic and enigmatic. The Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing) variations, written in 1863, is a profound and heartfelt piece which makes a lasting impression on the listener. Finding consolation in the music of J. S. Bach at a time of great personal sorrow, Liszt's unfolding variations are inspired by Bach's cantata of the same name, together with the Crucifixus movement from the B minor Mass.