Hannah Lewis & Neil Crossland

Performers

Notes on the performers

Hannah Lewis was born in Watford and started learning the cello at the age of 5. She gained a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music with David Smith, and since graduating has developed a busy career as a freelance cellist and teacher.

She has always had a special passion for chamber music and in 2012 she formed the Cygnus Piano Trio with two fellow students at the Academy, Javier Montañana and César Saura. Over the last ten years, the trio has studied with internationally famous performers, competed successfully in various competitions, and performed widely in Europe and the UK. From 2017 to 2020 they participated in the specialised chamber music courses run by the Accademia Walter Stauffer in Cremona (Italy), working closely with members of the Quartetto di Cremona. They have attended many other chamber music courses and masterclasses in the UK and Europe, and have been coached by world renowned musicians such as Pascal Devoyon, Raphael Wallfisch, Krzyzstof Smietana and Sergei Bressler. In 2018 and 2019 the trio was invited to take part in a series of masterclasses with Alfred Brendel in Pistoia (Italy).

The Cygnus trio has performed in numerous festivals and concert series, including the Santander International Festival, the Panticosa International Festival (as resident ensemble in 2017), the Archipelago series at the Auditorium Lo Squero in Venice, and the Omaggio a Cremona series at the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona. In 2018, they were invited to join as members the Dimore del Quartetto organisation, providing them with an opportunity to perform all over Italy. The trio has also received received prizes in various international competitions including the Anton Garcia Abril chamber music competition and the Ecoparque de Trasmiera competition. In the summer of 2022 they were awarded the Recording Prize at the Filippo Nicosia Award, in Italy, and in 2023 will be recording their first commercial CD for Da Vinci Records with an accompanying programme of concerts.

In addition to her work with the trio, Hannah has performed extensively at recitals and concerts in many London venues – including four solo recitals at St James Piccadilly, the opening night of the new St James Theatre in Victoria, a complete cycle of the Beethoven string quartets at St Stephen’s Kensington and a tour of ‘The Lost Words’ project, which is set to Robert Macfarlane’s poetry to music with choir and chamber group.

Yorkshire pianist and composer Neil Crossland studied at the Royal College of Music, where he won major prizes in both piano and composition. Since then he has performed extensively at home and abroad.

Neil has played at many major London venues including the Barbican, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Albert Hall, St John’s Smith Square and St Martin in the Fields, and has made frequent appearances at Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room as well as performing all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in a concert series at St James’s Piccadilly. He has also performed throughout the UK as well as in France, Greece, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Germany, Sweden and Singapore – giving concerts of his own works which includes his unfinished Schubert sonatas.

Neil’s concerto performances include Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the British Chamber Orchestra at the Southwark Festival and also with Blackpool Chamber Orchestra. His performance of Mozart’s Concerto in A major K 488 at Queen Elizabeth Hall with Mozart Players was met with critical acclaim.

As a composer, Neil is known for his original, but accessible style. One of his pieces, Requiem Op. 43, is for soloists, chorus and orchestra – other noteworthy works include the Yorkshire Suite for piano Op. 41, the Variations for piano duet on Paganini’s 24th Caprice and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, and the Piano trio No.4 Op 66 ‘Fantasy Trio. He has also written a completion to Schubert’s 8th Symphony.

Neil actively works with composers groups such as CNM (Colchester New Music) and LCF (London
Composers Forum) collaborating with contemporary composers performing and recording and giving workshops on their compositions.

In 2020 Neil gave a repeat performance of Beethoven’s 32 Sonatas at Merton Abbey Mills, South London. In the same year he performed in Sterling, Scotland, Beethoven’s famous Moonlight Sonata alongside the Spring and Kreutzer sonatas with violinist Mark Wilson. In 2023, Neil joined forces with cellist Kirsten Jenson from Icon Strings and performed the Shostakovich and Chopin Cello Sonatas in Aylesbury at St Mary’s Church.

A return to the Royal College of Music in 2022 performing Schubert’s Unfinished Sonata in F# Minor (D.571) (completed by Neil) was greatly received alongside giving masterclasses there too. Earlier in 2022, Neil gave his first performance at the Ruislip & Harrow Music Festival performing the entire Beethoven sonatas, plus works by Haydn, Brahms, Schubert and Rachmaninoff. The festival continued last year with Neil performing Schubert’s late Sonata in G Major (D.894), alongside two of his own compositions – Yorkshire Suite and Funk the Fugue. In 2023 Neil completed his Op. 65 Piano Suite No 2 of which he recently posted on YouTube his recording of this work alongside his first Piano Suite Op 1.

December 2023 Neil completed his 2nd Piano Suite and in January 2024 he completed his 4th Piano Trio which was premiered in Scotland in February 2024. His 2nd Cello Sonata was completed in March 2024 and also his 2nd Violin Sonata was completed in April 2024. All four works are being premiered in the Harrow Summer Music Festival this year.

Programme

Programme notes

Ludwig van Beethoven

Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor Op 5

1. Adagio sostenuto e espressivo – Allegro molto più tosto presto
2. Rondo. Allegro

Cello Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 5, are two sonatas for cello and piano written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1796, while he was in Berlin. In the early 19th century, sonatas for piano and instrument were usually advertised as piano sonatas with instrumental accompaniment. Beethoven is credited with composing one of the first cello sonatas with a written-out piano part. The Op. 5 sonatas are the first two examples of fully developed cello sonatas in the modern tradition.

Source: Wikipedia

Neil Crossland

2nd Cello Sonata Op 68

1. Moderato e rimico
2. movement 2
3. Prayer
4. Andante e cantabile

Neil Crossland’s Cello Sonata No. 2 is a captivating work that showcases a vibrant dialogue between the cello and piano across four distinct movements. With its lush textures and abundant melodic inventiveness, this sonata explores a range of moods and expressions, from lyrical introspection to virtuosic brilliance. Each movement offers a unique character, contributing to a dramatic and cohesive journey. The piano and cello engage in a dynamic interplay, weaving intricate themes and echoing one another in moments of tender lyricism and bold intensity. This piece reflects Crossland’s skill in blending technical finesse with emotive power, resulting in a rich, multifaceted work that will captivate both performers and listeners.

Source: Neil Crossland