Élisabeth Pion joined the Musicians' Company Young Artists' Programme after winning our Silver Medal at the #GuildhallSchool of Music and Drama in 2019. Here she performs a variety of Chopin's Preludes Op 28. Élisabeth says: "'Hi and welcome to this #MiddayMusic concert! My name is Élisabeth Pion and I am currently pursuing the Artist Diploma degree with Ronan O'Hora at the #GuildhallSchool of Music and Drama in London, where I am grateful to be a full scholarship recipient. I have previously worked with Francine Lacroix, Suzanne Goyette and André Laplante in Montreal. I have been selected to participate in the Imogen Cooper Music Trust’s 2020-2021 mentorship program for young artists, as well as The Musicians' Company Young Artists' Programme. My solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall will take place on July 13, 2021.'' Chopin wrote the Preludes op.28 between 1835 and 1839. They were finalized while he was in Mallorca, Spain, which is an isolated island in the Mediterranean. I chose to play for you a selection of these Preludes because I find them to be powerful works of seclusion, which we've all been facing especially since the beginning of the pandemic. I have made a selection of six Preludes. These pieces, despite their shortness, picture a wonderfully vast array of emotions, containing light and darkness, as well as great transformative power. Chopin never gave names to them, but the French pianist Alfred Cortot did, and I find them to be particularly powerful. It goes as follows: No 1 Feverish anticipation of loved ones No 3 The singing of the stream No 7 Sensational memories float like perfume through my mind... No 8 The snow falls, the wind screams, and the storm rages; yet in my sad heart, the tempest is the worst to behold No 15 But Death is here, in the shadows No 16 Descent into the abyss Thank you again for tuning in today!" Laureate of the Sylva Gelber Foundation Music Prize 2020 and supported by the Kathleen Trust, as well as the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, pianist Élisabeth Pion (b.1996) is currently pursuing her Artist Diploma degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, with Ronan O'Hora, as a full scholarship recipient. She has previously worked with Francine Lacroix, Suzanne Goyette and André Laplante in Montreal. Élisabeth Pion won First Prize at the Thousand Islands International Piano Competition, First Prize at the Shean Piano Competition, the Banque Nationale Award at the Prix d’Europe, and the Guildhall Wigmore Recital Prize.  She has participated in several masterclasses, most notably with Stephen Hough, Nikolaï Lugansky, Richard Goode, Robert Levin, and Christian Blackshaw. In 2018, Élisabeth Pion was named one of CBC's "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30" and was selected by La Scena Musicale magazine as one of its "15 Risings Stars".  She has been invited as a soloist with the Ensemble Sinfonia de Montréal, the Malta Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, and the Ensemble Volte. She was recently broadcasted by the BBC as part of the event “Lili & Nadia Boulanger: Total Immersion”. She has been selected to participate in the Imogen Cooper Music Trust’s 2020-2021 mentorship program for young artists. She is also supported by Talent Unlimited UK. Her solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall will take place on July 13, 2021. -------------------------------------------------- Musicians' Company Profile - http://www.wcom.org.uk/yeoman/elisabeth-pion About our Silver Medals - http://www.wcomarchive.org.uk/--ramrcmgsmd-silvers Élisabeth's Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/lilipian -------------------------------------------------- Join our weekly #MiddayMusic e-news at http://eepurl.com/dv0ccr #MiddayMusic is supported by funds from the Musicians' Company’s Prince’s Prize which received a generous endowment in 2015 from The Eranda Rothschild Foundation and Rothschilds Bank, in memory of Leopold de Rothschild, a Liveryman of the Musicians’ Company for over 50 years. Donate to support The Musicians' Company Young Artists - http://www.justgiving.com/musicianscompanyfund