Guest Artists

Every year, our guest artists are selected to perform in the Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival by Festival Co-directors, Anthony Marwood and Richard Lester. Our guests collaborate in different ensembles across the long weekend of concerts.

2024 Guest Artists

Alasdair Beatson

Photo Credit: Kaupo Kikkas

Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson works prolifically as soloist and chamber musician, adept on modern and historical instruments, and renowned as both performer and pedagogue. Notable performances in 2024 include multiple appearances at Wigmore Hall, in concert with Steven Isserlis, Viktoria Mullova and Alexi Kenney, as member of the Nash Ensemble, and in festivals including Bath Mozartfest, Ernen, Lewes, Megaron Spring Festival, Peasmarsh, Resonances, West Cork and Yellowbarn.

Alasdair is renowned as a sincere musician and intrepid programmer. He champions a wide repertoire with particular areas of interest: Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann; the solo and chamber music of Gabriel Fauré, Bartók and Janáçek; concertos of Bach, Bartók, Britten, Fauré, Hindemith, Messiaen and Mozart; and contemporary works, including the piano quintet of Thomas Adès, George Benjamin’s Shadowlines and Harrison Birtwistle’s Harrison’s Clocks.

Recent recordings include a solo piano recital Aus Wien on Pentatone, featuring music of Schumann, Schoenberg, Ravel, Korngold and Schubert, and Schubert works for violin and fortepiano with Viktoria Mullova on Signum. These join an acclaimed discography of solo and chamber recordings on BIS, Champs Hill, Chandos, Claves, Evil Penguin, Onyx, Pentatone and SOMM labels.

Alasdair teaches solo piano at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and regularly mentors for the London-based Chamber Studio. From 2012 to 2018 Alasdair was founder and artistic director of Musique à Marsac, and since 2019 is artistic director of the chamber music festival at Musikdorf Ernen in Switzerland.

Pablo Hernán Benedí

Photo Credit: Verena Chen

Pablo Hernán Benedí was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1991. He studied at the Padre Antonio Soler Conservatory in San Lorenzo de El Escorial with Fernando Rius and Polina Kotliarskaya, before coming to London in 2009 to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with David Takeno and András Keller supported by scholarships from the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Juventudes Musicales and La Caixa. Since 2010, Pablo has been a member of the Chiaroscuro Quartet, formed by Alina Ibragimova, Emilie Hornlund and Claire Thirion. Chiaroscuro Quartet has been one of the young quartets with international projection of today. The quartet plays with gut strings and period bows, exploring the repertoire of classicism and early romanticism. They have given recitals in venues such as Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Vancouver recital series, Boulez Saal, Stockholm Konzerhuse, Edinburgh Festival, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall London, Grafenegg Festival, Sage Gasteshead, Auditorium du Louvre, Gulbenkian Foundation among others. They have collaborated with Kristian Bezuidenhout, Nicola Bladeyrou, Christian Poltera, Trevor Pinnok, Malcom Bilson and Critophe Coin. They have received numerous awards and reviews for their recordings. Since 2016 they embark on a project with the record company BIS, having recorded Haydn op.20 and op.76 and a Schubert CD with “Death and the Maiden” and they are recording Beethoven’s quartet integral.

Pablo is a founding member of the Trio Isimsiz, a piano trio formed at the Guildhall School, where its three members were students. The trio has been gaining a reputation after winning the YCAT auditions and beginning to be represented by them. Winners of numerous competitions such as Trondheim, MMSF Philarmonia and Haydn Vienna, they begin to establish themselves on the UK and European stages. They have played at the Mecklenburg-Vorpomen Festival and have been residents of the Aldeburgh Centre where they return to the festival for the third time this year. They have participated in residencies and masterclasses at Prussia Cove and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, having worked with Ferenc Rados, Steven Isserlis, András Keller, András Schiff, Louise Hopkins and Anothony Marwood among others. In 2018 they received the prestigious Borletti Buitoni Trust Fellowship award, with which they commissioned the first piano trio by the renowned Francisco Coll trio, with its premiere at the CNDM in Madrid and at the Aldeburgh Festival during the 21/22 season, with several national premieres coming up.

Chaeyoung Park

Photo Credit: Thomas Brunot

​Chaeyoung Park has been praised as a passionate pianist who “does not play a single note without thought or feeling.” (New York Concert Review). Embracing a broad range of the classical music literature, her programs feature works ranging from the early French Baroque by Rameau to Beethoven sonatas, to new music by living composers including South Korean classical composer, Unsuk Chin. Through Park’s various roles as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, she has performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Tongyeong International Music Festival, Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall, Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall, as well as live-streamed concerts presented by the Gilmore Rising Stars series, the Carlsen Center, and the Lied Center of Kansas virtual series during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As winner of the 2019 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Park is the first female Korean pianist to receive First Place in the history of the competition. She subsequently presented her solo recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra under the baton of John Morris Russell. Her debut album on the Steinway label (to be released in soon), highlights diverse aspects of her artistry and her commitment to sharing hidden gems of the piano repertoire. It features the complete set of Musica Ricercata by Ligeti, as well as the more traditional, beloved masterpiece, Piano Sonata No. 3 by Brahms.

Eivind Ringstad

Photo Credit: Nikolaj Lund

The Norwegian violist Eivind Ringstad (b. 1994) is today featured as one of the most prominent violists of his generation. He made his breakthrough after winning the Eurovision young musicians 2012 and has since performed at major festivals and concert venues around the world.

He had his debut with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Eivind Aadland in 2013. This collaboration amounted to a debut CD for Lawo classics in 2017, featuring Walton viola concerto and Sinding suite transcribed/arranged for viola and orchestra.

In 2016, Eivind was awarded the Borletti-Buitoni fellowship award. At the same time, he was appointed to the prestigious talent scheme BBC New Generation Artists 2016-2018.

Through the scheme, Eivind made his recital debut in Wigmore Hall in 2017 as well as the Edinburgh festival 2018 alongside German pianist and regular recital partner David Meier.

Eivind has been invited and re-invited to basically all the BBC orchestras in the UK. Further he has performed with orchestras such as Copenhagen Philharmonic, Trondheim symphony orchestra, Kristiansand symphony orchestra, Dala sinfoniettan, London sinfonietta, Bergen Philharmonic, Vienna radio orchestra, Norwegian radio orchestra, The Norwegian chamber orchestra, Polish chamber orchestra. This season will see his debut with Lahti Symphy and Kuopio Symphony orchestras in Finland.

Barbican Quartet

Amarins Wierdsma and Kate Maloney, violin, Christoph Slenczka, viola and Yoanna Prodanova, cello

“Finely structured and virtuosically balanced […] the Barbicans brought to Beethoven’s op. 59. 2 the intensity and instinctiveness that the slow movement needs, while giving the other movements joy, frenzy and punch. Justifiably thunderous applause.”
— Harald Eggebrecht, Süddeutsche Zeitung (on the finale of the Ard International String Quartet Competition)

Photo Credit: Andrej Grilc

Praised for their unique sound and character, the Barbican Quartet is an original voice on the chamber music scene. They captivate audiences with powerful performances and impressive ensemble playing, constantly celebrating their individual strengths in order to unite, decipher and communicate the great string quartet repertoire, as well as music from today.

In 2022, the quartet won the First Prize at the 71st ARD International String Quartet Competition, also being awarded the special prize for Best Interpretation of the commissioned work by Dobrinka Tabakova, the Genuin Classics prize, the GEWA prize and the Henle Urtext prize. They were also First Prize first prize winners at the 2019 Joseph Joachim International Chamber Music Competition, and have also received awards from the Hattori Foundation, the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Musicians Company UK.

Amarins Wierdsma, violin

Photo Credit: Gabriel Isserlis

Born in Utrecht in 1991 to a musical family. After starting at age two with the Suzuki Method, Amarins studied with Coosje Wijzenbeek at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and with Vera Beths at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. In 2013 she moved to London to study with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama completing her Masters, Artist Diploma and Fellowship with distinction.

During her studies Amarins won numerous awards including the RPS Emily Anderson Prize, 3rd Prize at the 2013 Dutch National Violin Competition Oskar Back, the Young Music Talent of the Year Prize in the Netherlands (2007), 1st Prize at the Davina van Wely (2005), Iordens Viooldagen (2004) and Princess Christina Competitions. She has participated in Open Chamber Music and masterclasses at IMS Prussia Cove, the International Holland Music Sessions, Kronberg Academy, the East Neuk Festival and Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. In 2017 Amarins was selected to perform at the Wigmore Hall during the finals of the Young Classical Artists Trust and together with her duo partner Edward Liddall she was a finalist in the 2019 Parkhouse Award at Wigmore Hall.

A committed chamber musician, Amarins is the first violinist of the Barbican Quartet. Formed in 2014 at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, the Quartet has appeared at numerous halls including more notably the Wigmore Hall in London, Het Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ in Amsterdam and Casa da Musica in Porto.

Kate Maloney, violin

“Masterful performance, vulnerable music making”.

Recognised for bold and inspired performances, delivered with flawless technique and a vivid colour palette, Canadian violinist Kate Norine Maloney is truly an original in the field of classical music. She is dedicated to exploring repertoire that is rarely performed while promoting diversity and inclusivity.

Through the creation of immersive concert experiences, Kate seeks to engage listeners through her choice of repertoire, collaboration with multi-disciplinary artists, or through direct audience interaction.

Kate is a sought-after chamber musician and soloist. In March 2022 performed Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Nairobi Symphony Orchestra to celebrate International Women’s Day. Currently studying with Professor Christoph Poppen and Lena Neudauer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in Germany, she is also a founding member of the trio Ignis.

Christoph Slenczka, viola

Photo Credit: Andrej Grilc

​Christoph was born in Germany. He started to learn the violin in the age of 5. At 17 he picked up the viola and one year later started to study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Thomas Riebl. He then moved on, doing his postgraduate training at the Guilhall School in London with David Takeno. Further musical influences came from musicians such as Reinhard Goebel, Rainer Schmidt, Alasdair Tait, Krzysztof Chorzelski and Andras Keller.

Alongside his work with the Barbican Quartet, Christoph enjoys playing chamber music at festivals around Europe and regularly performs with chamber orchestras such as the Kammerakademie Potsdam and Camerata Salzburg.

Yoanna Prodanova, cello

Photo Credit: Andrej Grilc

​Cellist Yoanna Prodanova performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. Her most recent performances include Elgar Concerto with the Amati Orchestra and Haydn C Major with the Doric Quartet and the RAM Chamber Orchestra. She has received awards from Making Music UK, Tunnell Trust and Sylva Gelber Foundation, and has been invited to chamber music festivals such as IMS Open Chamber Music in Prussia Cove, Siete Lagos Festival in Argentina and Rencontres de Violoncelle de Bélaye in France. Yoanna’s debut CD on the Linn Records label was released in 2020 and includes music by Fauré, Janacek and Chopin.

Born in 1992, Yoanna began her studies in her native Varna, and subsequently attended the Conservatoire de Montréal, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and lastly the Royal Academy of Music, where she completed their prestigious advanced diploma as a bicentenary scholar. Her teachers include Denis Brott, Louise Hopkins, Rebecca Gilliver, Richard Lester and Hannah Roberts.

Yoanna plays on a Giuseppe Gagliano cello generously on loan from the Canimex Group.

Britten Sinfonia

Photo Credit: Mark Allen

Britten Sinfonia is a different kind of orchestra. It is defined not by the traditional figurehead of a principal conductor, but by the dynamic and democratic meeting of its outstanding individual players and the broad range of their collaborators – from Steve Reich, Thomas Adès and Alison Balsom to Pagrav Dance Company and Anoushka Shankar.

Rooted in the East of England, where it is the only professional orchestra working throughout the region, Britten Sinfonia also has a national and international reputation as one of today’s finest ensembles. It is renowned for its adventurous programming and stunningly high-quality performances, and equally for its record of commissioning new music, nurturing new composing talent, and inspiring schoolchildren, hospital patients and communities across the East of England.

Britten Sinfonia is an Associate Ensemble at London’s Barbican, Resident Orchestra at Saffron Hall and is resident in Norwich. It also performs regularly at London’s Wigmore Hall and appears at UK festivals including Aldeburgh, Brighton, Norfolk & Norwich and the BBC Proms. Its prolific discography features many award-winning recordings.

Its 2023-24 season includes Handel’s Messiah with the BBC Singers and performances with soprano Elizabeth Watts, saxophonist Jess Gillam, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, cellist Guy Johnston, tenor Nicky Spence, horn player Ben Goldscheider, The Marian Consort and New York City Ballet.