Edinburgh Royal Mile International Piano Series 2024

St Giles Cathedral plays host to the inaugural Edinburgh Royal Mile International Piano Series. This exciting and prestigious new concert series will feature all 32 of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas throughout 2024. Featuring exceptional performances from leading UK and international pianists, these concerts will be an unrivalled opportunity to enjoy some of the world's greatest piano repertoire, as curated by our guest performers. Set in the stunning candlelit venue of St Giles Cathedral, with it's newly installed Steinway Grand Piano, this will be a musical experience to remember! St Giles is situated in the heart of the Royal Mile with many bars and restaurants nearby to complete your evening.

Featuring
Edward Leung

Programme
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in C-sharp minor, K. 247
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1, 'Quasi una fantasia'
Franz Liszt: Transcendental Étude No. 11 in D-flat major, 'Harmonies du soir'
César Franck: Prélude, choral et fugue

About Edward Leung
Lauded as one of '16 Incredibly Impressive Students at Princeton University’ by Business Insider, American pianist Edward Leung has performed solo recitals and appeared with orchestras across North America, Europe, and Asia. Edward is a 2025-2027 Making Music Recommended Artist and a Bösendorfer-Amadeus Young Artist.In 2024, Edward won the Grand Prize and Public Prize in the inaugural Piano&Souls International Piano Competition. His debut album on Resonus Classics was critically acclaimed by Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and Fono Forum, and was featured on ABC Classic’s Festival of Female Composers and SWR2 Treffpunkt Klassik. Highlights of the previous season included a sold-out Wigmore Hall recital, chamber music performances with Julian and Jiaxin Lloyd Webber, Simon Callaghan, and members of Philharmonia Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic. 

A sought-after chamber musician, Edward has worked with members of the Artemis, Lindsay, and Elias String Quartets, as well as David Campbell, Willam Hagen, Viviane Hagner, Guy Johnston, Boris Kucharsky, Charles Neidich, and Rafal Zambrzycki-Payne. He has worked in masterclasses with Ferenc Rados, Richard Goode, Stephen Kovacevich, Joseph Kalichstein, and Nikolai Demidenko. 

Edward is the founder of Opus 21, an innovative chamber music collective dedicated to bringing an eclectic repertory of chamber music to Princeton University and beyond. He has curated programmes juxtaposing contemporary works of living composers with traditional repertoire, organised high-profile concerts throughout New York and New Jersey, and managed the financial and logistical elements of operating the ensemble. Hailed by The Daily Princetonian for its 'dramatic, exciting performances' and 'a true need in the Princeton arts community', Opus 21 has formed chamber music collaborations with Harvard and Columbia Universities, and has performed at the Harvard Club of New York, Richardson Auditorium, and APAP|NYC. After studies at Princeton University and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Francine Kay and Pascal Nemirovski, Edward is currently the Staff Pianist at The Yehudi Menuhin School. He frequently gives masterclasses internationally and has previously taught at the Junior Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Westminster School.