Darlington Piano Society presents a recital by the young Jordanian-Palestinian pianist, Iyad Sughayer, in Central Hall, the Dolphin Centre, at 3pm on Sunday 20th March. He has come to the fore in recent years, having completed his International Artist Diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019 and was made an Associate of the RNCM in 2021. In the same year, he was a prize-winner at the YCAT International Auditions and became an inaugural YCAT Concordia Artist. His performances have taken him to several of the UK’s premier venues – Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall and Stoller Hall in Manchester (the latter event broadcast by BBC Radio 3) – and to engagements in France and the USA.
He has begun a commercial recording career, with his first CD – of solo pieces by the Armenian composer, Aran Khachaturian (whose music for the ballet “Spartacus” is well known as the theme music of “The Onedin Line”) being released in 2019 and receiving accolades from such as the Gramophone, BBC Music and International Piano magazines, with the latter describing him as “One to Watch”. A further recording of works by Khachaturian will be released in 2022 and includes the work with which he ends his recital.
Iyad’s recital replaces that scheduled for the Leeds International Piano Competition winner in 2018, Eric Lu, who has a hand injury that prevents him from fulfilling a tour which would have taken in five Societies in the north, ending in Darlington. Greg Johnson, Chairman of the Society said, “we are extremely grateful to Iyad for standing in at fairly short notice and it is a great pleasure to bring him to Darlington at the early stages of his career, with a programme that will please everyone in our audience”. His programme on 20th of March is an eclectic mix of works by Haydn, Sibelius, Liszt and Beethoven and ends with Khachaturian’s Masquerade suite.
The recital takes place in Central Hall, the Dolphin Centre, at 3pm on Sunday 20th March. Full details of the programme are available at www.dpiano.co.uk. Tickets can also be purchased through the website and will also be available at the door on the day, price £15, with under 25’s free.