Debussy’s Romantic Piano by Candlelight – ‘Clair de Lune’
e-programme
In 2025, Fringe Classics collaborated with acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Jack Hinks at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025.
Synopsis
Chopin’s scandalous elopement with the French author George Sand; Brahms’ secret affair with his best friend’s wife; Scottish widows and the masked balls of Venice meet for a romantic tour of the piano as acclaimed concert pianist and master storyteller Matthew Shiel exposes the hidden trysts, scandals and love affairs of the great composer’s hearts that have shaped the history of classical music from the 18th Century to the modern day. Tonight’s musical programme includes several of the most romantic piano pieces ever composed: Liszt’s Liebestraum, Wagner’s Liebestod, Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude and Debussy’s Clair de Lune – performed by intimate candlelight. This concert will also feature a new romance composed specially for tonight's artist by Matthew's Italian friend and composer Dr Alfredo Caponnetto – Notturno VI alongside a digital art exhibition and lightshow designed by acclaimed Chinese artist and Disney illustrator Emma Yitong Shen – to create an immersive musical experience designed to wind you down, find romantic inspiration and open your heart to live and to love.
Programme
Liebestraum No.3 – Franz Liszt
Minuet in G (from Anna Magdalena Notebook of 1725) – Johann Sebastian Bach
Barcarolle (from The Seasons Op. 37b) – Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Intermezzo in A (Op.118, No. 2) – Johannes Brahms
Notturno VI – Alfredo Caponnetto
‘Raindrop’ Prelude in D-flat major (Op.28 No.15) – Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne in F minor (Op.55 No.1) – Frédéric Chopin
Liebestod (from Tristan and Isolde) - Richard Wagner (arranged for piano by Franz Liszt)
Clair de Lune (from Suite Bergamasque) – Claude Debussy
Click HERE to learn more about tonight’s artists
EdFringe25 x Jack Hinks
"Matthew Shiel has ‘composed’ a most enchanting concert, relating amusing, enlightening stories to introduce each piece; his eloquent performance expresses a dramatic, emotional mood from sad and sorrowful to light-hearted and lyrical, oozing a joyful sense of romantic love."