Thursday 11 June 2020 at 7.30pm
Chopin & Champagne
1901 Arts Club, Exton Street, London
Warren Mailley-Smith (piano)
Since 2018, the 1901 Arts Club by Waterloo station has hosted monthly sold-out performances of Chopin piano recitals(‘Chopin & Champagne’) given by Pianist Warren Mailley-Smith, the UK’s first concert pianist to perform the composer’s complete works for solo piano from memory (at St John’s Smith Square in 2016).
On Thursday 11th June 2020, the 1901 Arts Club will reopen its doors, not to its capacity seating of 45, but to everyone, thanks to an online-streaming process which Mailley-Smith has developed across 50 online concerts in 10 weeks during the coronavirus crises.
He will single-handedly setup and operate a 5-mic, 5 camera, multimedia livestream from the Steinway C Grand piano, in isolation, whilst performing and introducing a varied and hugely challenging all-Chopin programme.
This event is hugely important for the Classical Music Industry as it demonstrates how, without financial assistance, management or technical support, a single musician can still deliver an engaging concert experience to rival the quality of audio and video of any major international venue and crucially, with the ability and the strategy to monetise. This event will help to inform the way in which artists and venues now need to explore new relationships and business models in order to move forwards.
Since the lockdown, Mailley-Smith has given over 50 performances online of 10 different, mixed programmes, on multiple channels, experimenting with different approaches to monetising and each has succeeded in generating aperforming fee.
Warren makes the observation:
“everything we need to make things work for our industry is already here. We just need to figure out how to use if effectively since this is brand new territory for everyone. I believe the biggest opportunity in the current climate presents itself for individual performers and small outfits, as costs are minimal, logistics arecomparatively simple and mobility is rapid. It is just a case of getting your head around the necessary technology, which is, admittedly a steep learning curve. But if you already know how to play the piano, its only a small step to learn how to push a few more buttons”
Mailley-Smith is utilising a variety of different platforms in addition to Facebook and Youtube channels, including Zoom and a bespoke new Pay per View platform which he is currently using to give one concert per week on, with plans to open this up to other musicians in the UK in the coming weeks.
- Tune in to THURSDAY NIGHT’S ground-breaking event at 7.30pm on his Facebook page here:
- (also be simultaneously streamed live to his website here)
Voluntary ticket donations are invited here