Edinburgh Royal Mile International Piano Series - The Beethoven Sonatas

Following its acclaimed debut in 2024, the prestigious Edinburgh International Royal Mile Piano Series returns with a complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas, performed across the 2025–26 season. Showcasing exceptional talent from leading UK and international pianists, each recital offers a unique perspective on some of the most profound and beloved works in the piano repertoire.

Set against the magnificent backdrop of St Giles’ Cathedral — illuminated by candlelight and enhanced by a newly installed Steinway grand piano — these concerts promise an unforgettable musical experience at the heart of Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile.

Featuring

Andrew Zolinsky (piano)

Programme

Schubert: Klavierstück in E flat major D.946 No.2 (from Drei Klavierstücke D.946)

Brahms: Rhapsody in G minor Op.79 No.2

Brahms: Intermezzo in E flat major Op.117 No.1

Brahms: Intermezzo in C major Op.119 No.3

Beethoven: Sonata No.32 in C minor Op.111

Andrew Zolinsky’s unique style of programming and his individual interpretations have secured performances at many prestigious venues and festivals. His work with living composers brings a vivid freshness, energy and passion to his interpretations of music from previous eras.

Though a noted performer of contemporary repertoire, Andrew enjoys performing a wide range of music spanning several musical periods. His concerto repertoire includes Beethoven, Chopin, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and Barber, he has performed these composers with major orchestras, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra and the Orchestre National de Lorraine, and has worked with many distinguished conductors such as Stefan Asbury, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Martyn Brabbins, Baldur Brönnimann, Diego Masson, Andre De Ridder, David Robertson and Pascal Rophe.

Andrew has given World and regional premieres of many of David Lang’s works, including the world premiere in New York of the complete set of Memory pieces. Lang’s beautiful piano piece ‘This was written by hand’ was written especially for Andrew; he has recorded both this and the Memory Pieces on the Cantaloupe label.

Andrew is also very closely associated with the music of Unsuk Chin. He has performed her complete Etudes for solo piano on many occasions, including the French (Festival Musica in Strasbourg), London (Wigmore hall) and Italian (Venice Biennale) premieres. Andrew also gave the London première of her Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya. As part of the BBC’s ‘Total immersion’ series in 2011, Andrew gave the UK premiere of the Double Concerto with percussionist Owen Gunnell and the London Sinfonietta conducted by Stefan Asbury at the Barbican Centre.

In addition to Lang and Chin, Andrew has, on many occasions, performed works by Laurence Crane, Michael Finnissy, Michael Zev Gordon, Simon Holt, Patrick Ozzard-Low, Valentin Silvestrov and Diderik Wagenaar; Finnissy, Zev Gordon, Lang and Holt have written and dedicated pieces to him.

Andrew has also performed at most of the major UK venues, and at Merkin Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Le Poisson Rouge in New York, the Venice Biennale, International Piano series at London’s Southbank Centre, Piano Rarities Festival in Husum, Germany and in China, the Czech republic, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Spain, Taiwan and Canada.

Andrew gives masterclasses and concerts each year at the Forum Musikae International Summer School in Madrid. He was President of the jury at the 8th International Contemporary Piano Competition of Orlèans, for Youth, 2019.

Andrew is professor of piano at the Royal College of Music, London, and at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

St Giles Cathedral, High Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom