Concert 3 Saturday 21st November 2026
Jamie Cochrane, piano
The concert is at 7:30pm on Saturday 21st November 2026 at Amersham Free Church. Tickets can be bought on-line here or on the door.
Programme:
| Schubert | Piano Sonata in G major, D. 894 |
| Interval | |
| Chopin | Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61 |
| Schumann | Fantasie in C, Op. 17 |
We always like to include a piano recital in our season as these are popular with our audiences. We also like to support young and emerging artists and this year Jamie Cochrane is giving our piano recital.
Jamie presents a recital featuring three masterworks that trace a path through the peak of the Romantic piano literature, moving from structured lyricism to free-form fantasy. 2026 marks two hundred years since the composition of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in G major, D. 894. Sometimes called the “Fantasie” sonata, it is known for its dreamlike and almost seraphic character – where else can one find a sonata where all movements end pianissimo or ppp? Chopin grapples with the challenge of freedom and form in his Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61, in which heroic grandeur collides with melancholy introspection. The recital concludes with Schumann’s Fantasie in C, Op. 17 – the quintessential Romantic piano work. Schumann, who so admired Schubert’s D. 894 “in form and conception”, casts his fantasy in three movements: the first rhapsodic; the second giddy with dotted rhythms, and the third radiant and noble.
With playing of ‘immense musical flair and consummate artistry’ praised for its ‘combination of delicacy and vigour’, Jamie Cochrane is equally at home as a concerto soloist, song accompanist, or chamber musician. He is keen to bring music to a wide audience, programming less widely performed works alongside audience favourites. A Tillett Trust Debut Artist, his recent successes include prizes at the Bromsgrove International Musicians’ Competition 2025 and the 2024 Norah Sande Award. Jamie has performed at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, as well as internationally, and recent performances have included Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with Sinfonia Smith Square and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Colchester Symphony Orchestra. He has also been fortunate to receive lessons and masterclasses from pianists such as Steven Osborne, Yevgeny Sudbin and Tom Poster, amongst others.
From 2019 to 2022, Jamie was the pianist in the Oxford-based, contemporary music group Ensemble ISIS, where he had the opportunity to work with composers Shirley Thompson and Cheryl Frances-Hoad, amongst others, as well as collaborating and performing works by student composers. During this time, the ensemble was also involved in a recording project in connection with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Chamber music continues to be important to Jamie, and recent performances include the Brahms Piano Trio No. 3.
After being crowned Essex Young Musician of the Year in 2018, Jamie went on to study at Merton College, Oxford, where he was awarded both instrumental and academic scholarships. Having graduated with a first-class degree, he went on to hold the position of Graduate Musician in Residence from 2022-23 at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, whilst continuing his studies in London. Jamie finished his Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music with William Fong and Michael Dussek, where he was also awarded a DipRAM for outstanding performance in a postgraduate final recital. His studies were generously supported by the Wayne Sleep Foundation, Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation and the Cullis Bursary Fund.
This concert is supported by the Tillett Trust.
