Pianist Stephen Hough donates fee for Hampstead Arts Festival performance to Music in Prisons

On Monday 7^th November our patron pianist Stephen Hough will play at the Hampstead Arts Festival and is very kindly donating his fee to our Music in Prisons programme as part of our 21^st Year Celebrations.

Talking about our Music in Prisons projects Stephen said:

“There is nothing more precious to a human being than liberty – the bigger issue of freedom of conscience of course, but also the simple freedom to choose when to go for a walk or whether to turn left or right when our front door is closed behind us.  I feel a deep empathy with those who have had this liberty taken away from them.  I also feel an empathy for those who risk seeing their lives as lost and hopeless: prisoners are our brothers and sisters who have made mistakes.  My interest in Music in Prisons is a hope that the beauty of music can make a difference in the lives of those who have had beauty stripped away; that music can be a messenger of hope and of new purpose,”  Stephen Hough

Stephen will be playing the following pieces;

SCHUBERT   Sonata in A minor D784
FRANCK       Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
HOUGH         Sonata III (Trinitas)
LISZT            Valses oubliées nos. 1 & 2
Transcendental Etudes nos. 11 & 10

Tickets are £15/£20/£35 – book here.

Speaking about the event, our Artistic Director Sara Lee said: “We are thrilled that Stephen Hough has generously pledged his fee for this exciting evening of music to our vital work in prisons. Our creative music projects can bring a life changing spark of self-discovery to those inside prisons. This is a wonderful opportunity for Music in Prisons to be associated with the Hampstead Arts Festival and we hope all who attend will leave feeling stirred and inspired themselves. Stephen’s playing is phenomenal, so they’re in for a real treat!”