Alistair McGowan, our Festival Chair and Artistic Director, looks forward to LPF Pop-Up and Open Piano in November 2026 – and further forward to next year.
While we work on putting together another exciting festival for you for next May – some very exciting names are already confirmed – Pop-Up returns for its November Weekend.
As well as getting your chance to enjoy playing the concert Steinway during the two days, we are bringing you two incredible Pianists.
Polish-Welsh-English pianist, Cordelia Williams, has performed all over the world including concerts with the CBSO and the RPO. Winner of BBC Young Musician of the year in 2006 she, unusually, enjoys introducing the music she plays and, as the mother of three small children, wrote the award-winning ‘Happy Music Playbook’ for parents of young children who want to make music a joyful part of everyday family life.
So, as well as hearing her playing a typically varied programme there is much for me to ask her about during our second-half interview. I’m very excited to find out more about what she does and just how she does it all!
Scipione Sangiovanni is another unique spirit within the world of piano performance. We are so thrilled that he has chosen to come back from Italy with his wonderful mix of baroque and jazz and rock music. He believes that all music is ‘just music’ and loves to interweave every style. It is a unique offering.He performs all over Europe but this is a rare chance to see him in England. I can’t wait to see him again!
Myself and my team look forward to welcoming you (back) to Ludlow this Autumn.
Alistair
Upcoming Events
13 & 14 NOVEMBER 2026
Open Piano
St Laurence’s Church
10:00am – 4:00pm on Friday 13th November
10:00am – 2:00pm on Saturday 14th November
Over 30 extremely talented amateur and semi-professional pianists are playing an incredibly wide range of music in 20 minute slots over two days. Why not come along to the church, grab a coffee and cake and sit back and enjoy some superb live piano playing in the splendour of ‘the Cathedral of the Marches’?
It is of course free to attend but if you do, we do ask that, if you can, please make a donation to the Church at one of the donation points.
Saturday’s set concludes with the effervescent and LPF favourite ‘Boogie-Woogie’ Sue Holmes.
13 NOVEMBER 2026
LPF Pop-UpCordelia Williams
Ludlow Assembly Rooms
7:30pm
In a wonderfully varied programme, leading pianist, Cordelia, brings us a Bach Partita, Janacek’s In The Mists, several of Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitifs and several Mazurkas by Chopin.
14 NOVEMBER 2026
LPF Pop-UpScipione Sangiovanni
St Laurence’s Church
7:30pm
The return of Scipione Sangiovanni who delighted a full house when he closed our second piano festival with his incredible ability to interweave highly dexterous playing of Bach and Purcell with ‘banging’ tunes by Radiohead and Nirvana!
13 & 14 NOVEMBER 2026
Duo Deal: Two concerts, one great price!
Buy adult tickets for both LPF Pop-Up events together for just £36 — almost two concerts for the price of one elsewhere!
Discount will be automatically applied during checkout process. When purchasing for both events, add tickets for the first event, follow the link to the other event and add tickets, the cart will re-open and update itself.
LPF Pop-Up
Pop-Up is a two day, winter celebration of piano music which tries always to bring a ‘straight’ classical concert alongside something more quirky.
LPF Presents
Due to popular demand from audiences and performers alike, we are aiming to put on a small number of piano concerts throughout the year as well as during our main five-day festival and winter Pop-Up.
