CONCERTS IN OXFORD

Oxford skyline at dawn


Jack Gibbons has been giving highly acclaimed recitals in the university city of Oxford for over 45 years, his annual Oxford Summer Piano Series, founded 2 August 1988, having taken place in the city without a break for 35 years.

 For more information please contact Tickets Oxford at the Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street Oxford (tel 01865 305305).
www.ticketsoxford.com
 


COMING SOON!!

JACK GIBBONS'
35th annual Oxford Summer Piano Series


A series of biographical programmes

"High spirited and historically informed"

New Yorker



Video preview of all 8 concerts of the 2023 Oxford Summer Piano Series



CONCERT 1

BEETHOVEN: "an untamed personality"

Wednesday 12th July 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford

 

Pathétique Sonata
Moonlight Sonata
Appassionata Sonata
An die ferne Geliebte extracts (arr.Liszt)
Sonata in E, Op.109

 

 

"Jack Gibbons' affinity with Beethoven's music is such that he transcends mere recital; rather, he becomes one with the composer, absorbing his moods and passions, and recreating his bravura technique... This was an exhilarating tribute to a great master, enlivened by Gibbons's authoritative and entertaining commentary, and earning a well-deserved standing ovation."
OXFORD TIMES


Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88





CONCERT 2:

GERSHWIN part 1: "a heady surf of vitality"

Sunday 16th July 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford


Rhapsody in Blue
An American in Paris
Concerto in F (slow mvt)
The Man I Love
Fascinating Rhythm
Someone To Watch Over Me
Swanee
Do, Do, Do
Three Preludes, etc.




"To listen to Gibbons' performances is to marvel afresh at his astonishing virtuosity, his rare control of the music's rhythmic vigour and his supreme relish for its melodic richness... Gershwin does not come more exhilarating than this"
CLASSIC CD MAGAZINE


Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88




CONCERT 3

CHOPIN part 1: "Hats off gentlemen, a genius"

Wednesday 19th July 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford


Ballade no.1 in G minor Op.23
Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22
Romance from Concerto Op.11 (arr. Gibbons)
6 Etudes Opp.10 nos. 1, 3, 4, 9, 10 & 12
Nocturne in F major Op.15 no.1
Mazurka in C major Op.24 no.2
2 Mazurkas Opp. posth. 68 nos.1 & 2
Waltz in D flat Op. posth. 70 no.3
Lento con gran espressione Op. posth.

 


"As I listened, enthralled, to his glorious playing – now melting, now almost terrifying in its ferocity – there flashed across my mind that much quoted remark of Schumann's concerning Chopin: 'Hats off, gentlemen, genius.’ Surely there was more than a touch of genius in Jack Gibbons"
CROYDON ADVERTISER, FAIRFIELD HALLS REVIEW


Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88




CONCERT 4:

ALKAN: "The Berlioz of the piano"

Wednesday 26th July 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford


 

Concerto for solo piano
Symphony for solo piano
La chanson de la folle au bord de la mer Op.31 no.8
Saltarelle, Op.23
En songe, Op.63 no.48




 

"This ranks among the most exhilarating feats of pianism I’ve heard... Gibbons is an Alkan interpreter of exceptional authority"
THE GRAMOPHONE


Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88




CONCERT 5

GERSHWIN part 2: "freshly oxygenated"

Sunday 6th August 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford

Rhapsody in Blue
Catfish Row (Porgy & Bess Suite)
Cuban Overture
Strike Up The Band Overture
My One and Only
Embraceable You
I Got Rhythm
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
Our Love Is Here To Stay, etc.




"Gibbons incarnates an uncanny representation of Gershwin's piano style that hasn't been heard since the glory days of Oscar Levant"
VILLAGE VOICE, NEW YORK

"Hearing Jack Gibbons perform is like being at a Gershwin party, in a sense like being with Gershwin"
EDWARD JABLONSKI (GERSHWIN'S BIOGRAPHER)



Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88



CONCERT 6:

CHOPIN part 2: "Ariel of the piano"

Wednesday 9th August 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford

Scherzo no.3 Op.39
Barcarolle Op.60
Polonaise in A flat Op.53 ('Heroic')
Berceuse Op.57
Prelude in D flat Op.28 no.15 ('Raindrop')
Two Waltzes Opp.64 nos.1 & 2
Impromptu no.2 Op.36
Tarantelle Op.43
Grande Valse Brillante Op.18
Nocturne in F minor Op.55 no.1
Mazurka in B flat Op.7 no.1
Mazurka in C sharp minor Op.63 no.3



"Gibbons’ playing is constantly vibrant and alive, and communicates a physical joy in his instrument one rarely experiences today"
CLASSICAL NET


Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88


 


CONCERT 7

SCHUBERT: "melodies fit for angels"

Sunday 13th August 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford

 


Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel (arr. Liszt)
The Trout (arr. Gibbons)
Sonata in A major D.664
Entr'acte no. 3 from Rosamunde (arr. Gibbons)
Marche Militaire (arr. Tausig)
Impromptu in G flat D.899
Sonata in B flat D.960
Ave Maria - Ellen's Song (arr. Liszt)

 


"Jack Gibbons is a unique phenomenon in the musical world of today. Thanks to his virtuosic skills Gibbons can hold an audience in thrall. His concert-giving style is equally attractive: before his performances he talks unassumingly but with great authority from the platform, drawing the listeners into a special relationship."
HUMPHREY BURTON, FORMER HEAD OF MUSIC AND ARTS, BBC


Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88




CONCERT 8:

JACK GIBBONS' FAREWELL PIANO PARTY

Wednesday 16th August 2023 at 8PM

Holywell Music Room, Oxford


 

 

Musical reminiscences &
audience requests






 

"Jack Gibbons is one of Oxford’s treasures."
OXFORD TIMES


Tickets (from Tickets Oxford):
£20 (in advance), £25 on the door. Season ticket (8 concerts): £88






HOW TO FIND THE CONCERT HALLS IN OXFORD:

The maps below show the locations of popular concert venues in the city including the Holywell Music Room and SJE Arts' St John the Evangelist church, as well as the location of the Oxford Playhouse's Tickets Oxford box office.

All venues are well serve by nearby pubs.

 

Map of central Oxford shoiwng concert hall locations (courtesy Google)


 

 Map of central Oxford showing location of the historic Holywell  Music Room

 



Click on the image below to read reviews of past Oxford concerts

 New York Times impeachment special

 

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