Pianist Rupert Egerton-Smith – “Heartlands”

The Pianist Who Won Carnegie Hall After a Decade as a Consultant

Rupert Egerton-Smith read history at Oxford, completed an MBA, and spent ten years as a strategy consultant before returning seriously to the piano. Rediscovering his early recordings changed the direction: he entered competitions, won the Bradshaw & Buono International, played Carnegie Hall, became a Steinway Artist, and served four years as Artist-in-Residence with the Orchestra of St John's.

Heartlands is his personal programme — repertoire of particular emotional significance, performed with live narration. It opens with Busoni's transcription of Bach's Chaconne in D minor, one of the most substantial acts of piano arrangement in the repertoire. Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata follows, tracking a journey from struggle to release. After the interval, a Brahms intermezzo leads into a sequence of Rachmaninov preludes before Balakirev's Islamey — an oriental fantasy notorious for its difficulty — closes the evening.

Licensed bar. Doors 6:45pm.

Sat 8 August 2026 · Tetbury Goods Shed, The Old Station Yard, Cirencester Road, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8EY · 7:30pm