Pianist set to perform marathon of concerts at Sheffield venue to help 'keep music alive'

The concert pianist is well-known on stages across Britain, a regular performer in the country’s major concert halls and festivals, on BBC Radio 3 and in recordings.

She will be performing the whole of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier spread across four concerts, presented by Sheffield-based Music in the Round, all within the space of one day on Friday August 13.

Libby’s Sheffield concerts form part of Project 48, a year-long project that sees her playing the whole of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (‘The 48’) in every one of England’s 48 ceremonial counties.

The Well-Tempered Clavier is informally known as ‘The 48’ because it consists of 48 short pieces for keyboard, and is widely considered to be a masterpiece of Western art, rarely performed in its entirety.

“Each of ‘The 48’ lasts only a few minutes,” Libby said.

"But between them they explore a wealth of characters, styles and moods, exploring the whole gamut of human emotional experience.”

She is undertaking this endeavour to raise money for four musical charities: Help Musicians, Future Talent, Live Music Now and Youth Music. They help hundreds of thousands of musicians every year, offering financial support, creating opportunities, addressing inequalities and altogether safeguarding the future of the music world.

Of the concerts she has already performed, Libby said: “Each day so far, there have been people in the audience who haven’t until that moment experienced live music for over a year. Some commented they spent the first ten minutes in tears just for that reason.”

Libby’s tour will continue around the country this year.

She is already a quarter of the way to her £20,000 fundraising target.

Libby said: “As we all know, the pandemic has hit the music world hard. This is a great chance to be able to support four incredible charities who work with musicians of all ages to keep music in our society alive.”

Tickets priced £5 - £15 are available for each of the hour-long concerts on 13 August at Upper Chapel, Norfolk Street, Sheffield city centre, from musicintheround.co.uk or call 0114 249 6000.