Oxford Piano Festival 2026: Preview Pt. 3

The Oxford Piano Festival is back for its 27^th year. As always, established and respected pianists are arriving from all over the world to deliver mesmerising recitals and expert masterclasses for observers and participants.

This is part three of three.

The morning after his baton commands the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and Theodosia Ntokou, Marios Papadopoulos provides his first of three masterclasses in the back third of the Festival. It’s fantastic to have the founder of Oxford Piano Festival imparting his knowledge in multiple masterclass sessions, and his broad experience across piano performance and conducting will no doubt be invaluable to participants and observers alike. Day seven’s morning and afternoon slots will both be with Papadopoulos.

In the evening, Rustem Hayroudinoff takes to the recital stage of the Holywell Music Room. The repertoire for this programme transports the audience across three centuries. CPE Bach, Schumann and Rachmaninov will all be performed. Hayroudinoff has performed throughout Europe, the Americas, Japan, China and Russia. He was born in Kazan, Russian Federation, and he’s received acclaim for the performances of his countrymen’s compositions.

Day eight begins with a masterclass from Vanessa Latarche, Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music. Many international prize winners can count Latarche as a teacher. She gives masterclasses across the world from Texas to Seoul and, most importantly, in our opinion, Oxford. Another masterclass from Rustem Hayroudinoff after that.

The Participants’ Recital rounds out 1 August, giving the students a chance to showcase their new learnings and phenomenal talents. This is a chance to hear the greatest pianists of tomorrow, today, so it’s certainly not an event to miss.

Marios Papadopoulos’s final masterclass is our final event on 2 August, bringing Oxford Piano Festival 2026 to a close. We hope you enjoy!

You can book tickets for individual events here, or perhaps consider an Observer Pass here.