This concert has changed since the published programmes and posters were printed.

Programme (TBC):

Beethoven - Sonata "Appassionata"

plus music by Liszt, Alkan and Chaminade

Mark Viner, piano

"... No 3 of the set that will make you sit up, wide-eyed and amazed. Is it early Prokofiev? Bartók perhaps? In 1849? Its ‘incessant left-hand ostinato’ underpins ‘a bright sunlit piece of unfettered joy’. Like me, Viner wonders why this isn’t on every pianist’s encore list. I also wonder why Viner does not have a higher public profile. Once more I am full of admiration for this outstanding pianist."

Grammophone Magazine, June 2026, re. Mark's recently released volume 8 of Alkan's complete works for piano.

Described by International Piano Magazine as “one of the most gifted pianists of his generation”, Mark Viner is steadily gaining a reputation as one of Britain’s leading concert pianists; his unique blend of individual artistry combined with his bold exploration of the byways of the piano literature garnering international renown.

Mark began playing at the age of 11 before being awarded a scholarship two years later to enter the Purcell School of Music where he studied with Tessa Nicholson for the next five years. Another scholarship took him to the Royal College of Music where he studied with the late Niel Immelman for the next six years, graduating with first class honours in a Bachelor of Music degree in 2011 and a distinction in Master of Performance 2013; the same year which afforded him the honour to perform before HM the King.

After winning 1st prize at the Alkan-Zimmerman International Piano Competition in Athens, Greece in 2012, his career has brought him across much of Europe as well as North and South America. While festival invitations include appearances the Raritäten der Klaviermusik, Husum in Germany, the Cheltenham Music Festival and Harrogate Music Festival in the United Kingdom and the Festival Chopiniana in Argentina, radio broadcasts include recitals and interviews aired on Deutschlandfunk together with frequent appearances on BBC Radio 3. His acclaimed Wigmore Hall début recital in 2018 confirmed his reputation as one of today’s indisputable torchbearers of the Romantic Revival.

He is particularly renowned for his CD recordings on the Piano Classics label which include music by Alkan, Blumenfeld, Chaminade, Liszt and Thalberg, all of which have garnered exceptional international critical acclaim. His most important project to date is a survey of the complete piano music of Alkan: the first of its kind and which is expected to run to some 18 CDs in length. Aside from a busy schedule of concerts and teaching, he is also a published composer and writer and his advocacy for the music of Alkan led to his election as Chairman the Alkan Society 2014.

Video from a previous visit to Wensleydale Concert Series: