Chopin & Champagne at Christmas

A Christmas evening of piano music by Frédéric Chopin, played by Warren Mailley-Smith at Edinburgh New Town Church, with a champagne reception held before the concert.

Frédéric Chopin was a Franco-Polish composer and pianist, active from 1817. He settled in France at the age of twenty-one and wrote almost exclusively for the piano, so the whole evening is built around his keyboard works. The pianist Warren Mailley-Smith is the sole performer listed, playing solo at the instrument.

The programme draws on Chopin's output across several forms: a G minor Ballade, a Berceuse, the Raindrop Prelude, a B flat minor Nocturne, a Scherzo in the same key as that Nocturne, the Military Polonaise, a late E minor Waltz and the Grande Valse Brillante. Seasonal favourites are added to the evening to give it a Christmas character.

The concert takes place in Edinburgh New Town Church, a religious building on George Street in the city's New Town. A complimentary champagne reception is served before the performance begins. Several bars and restaurants are within walking distance of the church, which suits an outing in the lead-up to the holidays.