Date and Time
Sat, 21st Nov, 2026 at 17:30 - 19:30
We are delighted to welcome celebrated British piano duo Benjamin Frith and his wife Heidi Rolfe to give a ‘one piano four hands’ recital with a mixed programme of music ranging from an atmospheric work by John Ireland; a sublime Fantasie by Schubert; a most accessible new work, specially written for the duo by contemporary composer Martin Ellerby; and a blockbusting version of Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous Scheherazade arranged for four hands by the composer himself.
Programme
Ireland – The Forgotten Rite
Schubert – Fantasie in F minor D940
Martin Ellerby – 5 Lowry Pictures:
Going to Work
Man Lying on a Wall
The Elite Fish and Chip Shop
Meeting Place
Lancashire Fair: Good Friday, Daisy Nook
Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade (piano duo version by the composer)
Benjamin Frith is one of the most respected and engaging pianists in the UK. A prolific recitalist and recording artist with over 80 recordings – from Scarlatti to MacMillan – and many acclaimed reviews, he is at the forefront of the craft of music making. He has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. In high demand as both soloist and chamber musician, Benjamin enjoys a busy and versatile career. As pianist in the Gould Piano Trio he has toured extensively throughout North America; and has performed as guest pianist in the illustrious Nash Ensemble to critical acclaim. Solo tours have taken him to America, Europe and the Middle and Far East. He was a life student of the late Dame Fanny Waterman and lives in Yorkshire with his wife and piano duo partner, Heidi Rolfe. He was Gold Medal winner of the Artur Rubinstein Piano Masters Piano Competition and Top Prize Winner of the Busoni International Piano Competition.
‘… he possesses a formidable talent both musically and technically’ Gramophone
After time spent riding racehorses in the UK and abroad, Heidi Rolfe returned to continue her musical studies, graduating with a Masters degree in Piano Performance. Throughout her education she was privileged to work with eminent pianists, including the legendary Andrei Gavrilov, and take musical guidance from the late Dame Fanny Waterman. Heidi and her husband Benjamin Frith, as the exciting and esteemed Frith Rolfe Piano Duo, have explored the wonderful piano duo repertoire in recitals throughout the UK and abroad, both four hands at one piano and two piano works. The Frith Rolfe Duo received the honour of an invitation to give a complete Piano Duo Day at the Wigmore Hall and have appeared at many of the UK’s leading Festivals and venues. Much in demand, their performances are renowned for their synchronicity, insight, intensity and sheer impact of spontaneity.
Here is what Espressivo Concerts say about the music:
‘The programme that has everything …
It may be a bold statement but we think it is true of the music to be played by the celebrated piano duo of Ben Frith and his wife Heidi Rolfe.
In short, you have the atmospheric world of John Ireland; the sheer beauty of Schubert; the interest of a new work by Martin Ellerby based on paintings by L S Lowry and specially written for the Duo; and the most exciting and what we call ‘blockbusting’ work by Rimsky-Korsakov: his piano duo version of his famous Scheherazade, a work which truly has you on the edge of your seat. Based on The Arabian Nights, it tells the story of the brutal Sultan, his beautiful young wife and the tales she told to keep his anger at bay.’
Concert starts at 17:30 pm
Haywain bar and doors open 30 minutes prior to performance.
Tickets £20 (students in full-time education and carers free).
In collaboration with Espressivo Concerts
Regd Charity No. 255004 www.johnirelandtrust.org