Commissioned for the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition by The Cliburn with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, this work was premiered 30 times by each of the contestants in Fort Worth. It is based on a song from the French Renaissance which is the basis for several Masses. The Toccata is an incessant torrent of semiquavers, albeit one ingeniously varied in keyboard figuration. It opens with an explicit reference to the tune’s rhythm, disguised by cacophonous clusters. Thereafter, it seems fitting to imagine the emergent tune (not to mention the pianist?) as the armed man himself, fighting his way across the battlefield while repeatedly rising to the surface of the mortal mayhem around him. The music does embrace passages of a febrile quiet. But, whether or not our armed combatant survives to fight another day, Hamelin takes no prisoners: the closing two bars are delivered ffff.
i Foreboding (Předtucha) – Con moto, ii Death (Smrt) – Adagio
Piano Sonata 1.X.1905, is a two-movement (originally three-movement) piano sonata in E-flat minor composed by Leoš Janáček in 1905. It is also known as From the Street. Janáček intended the composition to be a tribute to a worker named František Pavlík (1885–1905), who on 1 October 1905 was bayoneted during demonstrations in support for a Czech university in Brno. In the work, Janáček expresses his disapproval of the violent death of the young carpenter. He started to compose it immediately after the incident occurred and finished its composition in January 1906.
i Einfach, ii Hastig, iii Einfach und zart, iv Innig, v Sehr lebhaft, vi Mit einigem pomp, vii Zum beschluss
Humoreske in B-flat major, Op. 20, is a romantic piano piece by Robert Schumann, composed in 1839 and dedicated to Julie von Webenau. Schumann cited Jean Paul's style of humour as source of inspiration, although there are no direct programmatic links to Jean Paul's oeuvre found in the piece.
Cherry Ge - Piano
A versatile musician, Cherry Ge began playing the piano at a young age, quickly earning numerous accolades following her debut at eight years old. She has since performed at renowned venues such as Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Southbank Centre. In addition to her piano work, Cherry also pursued a professional career as a solo and orchestral harpist for many years, leading harp sections of NYOGB and Barbican Youth Orchestra among others- experiences that has enriched her musical perspective and creative approach. Her diverse background in solo, chamber, and orchestral performance gives her a unique ability to play with instinctive spontaneity, a quality that has led to praise from figures such as Julian Lloyd Webber OBE, who described her playing as "incisive."
Cherry's career has been marked by numerous accolades, including her recent First Prize in the Chung Nung Lee Piano Prize at the Royal Academy of Music. She has also received the Beckenham Young Musician of the Year Prize and the Tom and Pat Sowerby Award in 2014. Notable earlier achievements include 1st Prize in Category A at the Young Pianist of the North International Competition (2011), as well as Ist Prize and the special "Citta di Taurisano" award at the 12th European Grand Prize of Music in Italy (2012).
With a passionate interest in contemporary music, Cherry has worked alongside composers such as Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CBE and Thomas Adès CBE, and has more recently collaborated with Dan Trueman on his Cantata in Doublespeak: Olagón. Her musical development has been further shaped by masterclasses with distinguished professors, including Steven Osborne, Tamara Stefanovich, Yevgeni Sudbin, and more.
In addition to her performance career, she has dedicated much of her time to community outreach, seeking to make classical music more accessible to broader audiences. Notably, she appeared on the CBeebies program Melody and Friends, where she helped spark young children's imaginations through music and the arts.
Cherry is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Piano at the Royal Academy of Music. She continues her studies with the Emeritus Head of Keyboard, Christopher Elton, who has mentored her since her time at The Purcell School of Music where she was generously supported by the Austin and Pilkington Trust. Beyond her musical achievements, Cherry recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University with a degree in Anthropology.
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