• Charles Owen & Katya Apekisheva

  • PIANO DUO

    Charles Owen & Katya Apekisheva

    One of the most highly-acclaimed piano duos performing today, Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva are passionate advocates for the wide range of four hands and two piano repertoire. In parallel with their extensive solo careers, they have been performing together around the world and across the UK since 2001. Their close collaboration stems from a shared teacher, the inspirational Irina Zaritskaya, with whom they both studied at the Royal College of Music. Their friendship dates from 1987 during a visit of students from the Gnessin School in Moscow to the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey. The duo released a first recording for Quartz in 2016, featuring Stravinsky's two piano ballets, the Rite of Spring and Petrushka, with a dedication to the memory of their teacher. Their second disc came out in January 2018 on Avie featuring music by Rachmaninov, recorded at Kings Place. Their latest release was an album of Poulenc, Debussy and Milhaud, released on Orchid Classics in 2023. Together, Charles and Katya are the Artistic Directors and founders of the London Piano Festival, which is held annually at Kings Place, and celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2025.

  • Biographies

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    Charles Owen

    Charles Owen is recognised as one of the finest British pianists of his generation with an extensive series of performances and recordings to his name.

    Read more...

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    Katya Apekisheva

    Katya Apekisheva is one of Europe’s most renowned pianists, in demand internationally as both a soloist and as a chamber musician.

    Read more...

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    French Music for Two Pianos: Poulenc - Debussy - Milhaud

    OUT NOW

    Gramophone

    "A refreshingly entertaining disc"

    BBC Music Magazine

    "Owen and Apekisheva at their best"

  • Upcoming concerts

    16 April 2025

    Ankara International Festival, Bilkent Concert Hall, Turkey

    Mozart - Sonata in D major, K.448

    Poulenc - Élégie

    Ravel - Rhapsodie Espagnole

    Milhaud - Scaramouche

    Jonathan Dove - Between Friends

    Lutoslawski - Variations on a Theme by Paganini

    11 October 2025

    Two-Piano Gala, London Piano Festival, London

    Joseph Havlat - 64 Geese UK Premiere (with Joseph Havlat)

    Poulenc - Élégie

    Stephen Hough - King’s Cross March World Premiere

    Rachmaninov - Romance for Six Hands (1891) (with Stephen Hough)

    Alongside performances from other featured artists

    TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

     

     

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    Rachmaninov Two-Piano Suites; Six Morceaux, Op. 11

    OUT NOW

  • Press

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    The Observer

    REVIEW

    "This is playing of great elegance and spirit"

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    BBC Radio 3 - Record Review

    REVIEW

    “They bring a sophisticated blend of tenderness and

    dramatic conviction to Poulenc’s sonata for 2 pianos"

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    The Telegraph

    REVIEW

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    "it was a perpetual-motion machine of running notes and syncopated accents, passed and back forth with hair-raising virtuosity by Owen and Apekisheva"

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    Planet Hugill

     

    REVIEW

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    "Brilliant pianism and physical dexterity"

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    BBC Music Magazine

    REVIEW

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    "Apekisheva and Owen light up Stravinsky's world with every phrase pellucidly clear; the precision of their playing is a delight in itself"​

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    Bachtrack

    REVIEW

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    "Apekisheva and Owen brought a magical liquidity of sound"

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    Gramophone

     

    PODCAST

    Pianists Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva have recently recorded a disc of Stravinsky’s Petrushka andThe Rite of Spring for Quartz in piano four-hand transcriptions. Gramophone’s Editor-in-Chief James Jolly talks to them about the challenges of performing these formidable works on our latest podcast.

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    International Piano

    PREVIEW

    Jeremy Nicholas speaks to Charles Owen, Katya Apekisheva, Kathryn Stott and Julian Joseph about the London Piano Festival

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    The Independent

    REVIEW

    "Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva are superb pianists in their own right... as a duo they make more than the sum of their parts"

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    Jessica Duchen Classical Music Blog

    REVIEW

    "A new piano festival for London!"

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    Stravinsky Piano Ballets

    OUT NOW

     

    BBC Music Magazine

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    "This performance crackles with excitement"

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    London Piano Festival

    Curated by Co-Artistic Directors Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva

  • Videos

    Rachmaninoff
    Suite No. 1 Op. 5 (Fantaisie-Tableaux) for 2 pianos

    Kings Place

    Rachmaninoff
    Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 for 2 pianos

    Kings Place

    Faure Le Pas Espagnole

    Andrew Marr Show

    Stravinsky
    The Rite of Spring

    RhinegoldLIVE

    Ravel
    Mother Goose Suite

    RhinegoldLIVE

    Rachmaninoff
    Barcarolle

    RhinegoldLIVE

    Rachmaninoff
    Slava

    RhinegoldLIVE

  • Contact

    For further information please contact:

    Rebecca Johns
    rebecca.johns@premiercomms.com

    07715 205 196