York2

York2 Has A Fine Reputation As The 'duo With A Difference' Gained Through John And Fiona's Exploration Of Larger Scale And Contemporary Scores Alongside The Rich And Familiar Duet Repertoire. They Have Given Concerts For Societies And Festivals In The UK And Australia On BBC Radio 3 CBC TV And TV Ontario In Both The UK And Canada On Boats On The Great Lakes At Garden Parties At The Salzburg Festival At Elegant Edwardian Soirées Marathon Recitals In Innsbruck Concertos At The Barbican Centre And South Bank In London Etc. Their Recordings On The LondonHall Label Include A Mixed Programme Of Minimalist Music By Contemporary Austrian Composer Norbert Zehm And Released In January 2001 But Since Deleted Holst’s 'The Planets' The World Première Recording Of The Composer’s Four-Hands Version And Complete Solo Piano Works For Black Box Music And Two-Piano Works Of Poulenc Also On Black Box. Gramophone Magazine June 2001 Commented On Their ‘likeable Spirit And Shapely Accounts’ And Noted The ‘exemplary Polish’ Of The Holst Recording. Fiona Has Taught At Several London Schools And In The Junior Departments Of The Royal College Trinity And Guildhall. At Present She Is With The Piano Staff At St. Paul’s Girls’ School And Eltham College Both In London. John Was Professor At Guildhall For 33 Years And Is Senior Music Head Of Department At St. Paul's Girls' School Where Holst Was Director Of Music For 20 Years In The Early 20th Century And Where John Discovered The Long-Forgotten Four-Hands Score Of The Planets. Recently They Toured Australia And Canada Playing In Sydney And Canberra And At The Festival Of The Sound In Ontario. At Only One Day’s Notice In 2010 They Gave A Recital In An Important Festival In Madrid To A Full House Broadcast Live On Spanish Radio. They Gave A Highly Successful Recital At London’s Wigmore Hall Marking The 30th Anniversary Of John’s Début There. The Independent And Financial Times Reviewers Were Enthusiastic – ‘York2 Goes Stratospheric!’ - Concluding By Saying That ‘the Playing Was Enough To Confirm The Evening In Its Ambition Scope And Sheer Grit As Something Exceptional Duly Exciting A Prolonged Ovation From Its Capacity Audience.’ York2’s Unique Repertoire Is Being Released Soon On Nimbus Stravinsky’s Rite Of Spring Debussy’s La Mer Ravel’s Rapsodie Espagnole Holst’s Planets And Music By York Bowen. Independently And Together Fiona And John Have Rounded Versatile Careers That Combine Concerts John Working In Particular With Celebrated Cellist Raphael Wallfisch Editing And Reviewing Composing For Major Publishers And Adjudicating And Teaching And Coaching At The Highest Level In Switzerland Austria Australia Bermuda Venezuela – And London. read less