Paul Roberts
Artistic Director
'Paul Roberts’ excellence as a writer on music is matched by his superb talents as a pianist. I know of no other figure in the musical world who combines so impressively the roles of scholar and performer.' Richard Goode
Paul Roberts has just been appointed Series Editor for a new project: Short Guides for Pianists, for Bloomsbury US. He is currently writing the first in the series, ImpressionismI, to be published at the end of 2026. His most recent book Reading Franz Liszt: Revealing the Poetry Behind the Music, was published in 2023 to wide critical acclaim. Alfred Brendel wrote that it was 'perceptive and nobly written;' for Bryce Morrison in International Piano it was a book 'dazzling and richly informed, a book as deeply human as it is far reaching.'
Martin Sturfält
Course 1: 22 June -29 June
Real beauty and sophistication in every aspect of the music-making - International Record Review
Swedish pianist Martin Sturfält enjoys an international career as a concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and recording artist. He performs a large repertoire ranging from the baroque through to the present day, but increasingly it is his passion for the music of his native country that is earning him recognition internationally as well as in Sweden. His CD of the Adolf Wiklund Piano Concertos on the Hyperion label was named the second best release of the year in Sweden and also won an Outstanding Award in International Record Review, and he has previously recorded a critically acclaimed disc of Stenhammar's solo music for the same label.
He studied at the Stockholm Royal College of Music and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. His principal teachers were Esther Bodin-Karpe and Stefan Bojsten in Stockholm, and Paul Roberts and Ronan O’Hora in London.
We are delighted to welcome the pianist William Bracken onto the faculty for the first time, though he is by no means a stranger to the courses having attended several times as a student. It will be inspiring to have him participating again in a new role.
William Bracken
Courage, stamina and musicality in abundance . . . An ability to hold an audience in the palm of his hand - Daily Telegraph
Course 2: 30 June - 7 July
Pianist William Bracken's creative voice stems from a deep fluency with the language of music itself, dissolving musical boundaries through improvisational state of mind, curiosity and acute contextual awareness. A visionary musician with a vast repertoire of classical masterworks, contemporary works and equally at home in jazz and improvised music, the Wirral-born pianist has won numerous international awards and performed at venues such as Wigmore Hall, The Barbican Centre, Cadogan Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York. He currently holds a position as a member of teaching staff in the Centre for Creative Performance and Classical Improvisation at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Charles Owen
Course 3: 10 July - 17 July
A beautifully executed programme … the disc as a whole is really beautifully put together and it’s really lovely, it makes you feel good when you’re listening to it - Record Review, BBC Radio 3, on Owen's new disc The Young Schumann
Charles Owen has an international career performing a wide-ranging repertoire to outstanding critical acclaim. He appears at many major UK venues such as Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, The Sage & Kings Place. Internationally, he has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Brahms Saal in Vienna’s Musikverein, Paris Musée d’Orsay, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Moscow Conservatoire. He has an extensive recording list, ranging from Bach (complete Partitas) to Brahms, Janacek, Poulenc, and Liszt. He has just released a Schumann disc, The Young Schumann.
Charles has been a hugely valued presence at Paul Roberts' summer school – 2026 will be his 14 th year on the courses.
Diane Baxter
Diane Baxter, pianist, educator and consultant, is the editor of Oregon Musician. She recently retired as Professor of Music at Western Oregon University where she received the Faculty Honors Award for Outstanding Creativity and the Pastega Award for Excellence in Teaching. Diane taught piano and courses in Ethnomusicology, Performance Anxiety and Research Methods. Diane performs and adjudicates far and wide. “The Science of Artistry: The Fourth String” was published in Clavier Companion in Nov/Dec 2013. Diane’s article, “Ethnomusicology and Alchemy” was published in the April/May 2020 edition of American Music Teacher. Diane began Piano at Tigh na Breac in 2018, an annual workshop on the shores of Loch Etive in the Scottish Highlands. The focus is on performance success and doing our best when it matters most.
Diane has been a regular participant at the summer school in France since 2012, both as a performer in the master classes and recently as a compassionate and wise teacher and counsellor of the intermediate class.
Lefki Karpodini constitutes one more link in the long chain of fine female pianists of our country. After her return from abroad, her recitals have been notable for their combination of assured technique and emotional depth. Athinorama Magazine, Greece
Lefki Karpodini
Lefki Karpodini has performed in most European countries, Israel, Canada, America and the Barbados islands. Her festival appearances include Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Banff, Cully Classique, Heraklion Piano Festival, Pharos Trust, and Aegina. After graduating from the Athens Conservatory she continued her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (Bmus, Mmus, PGDip, PACC) and at the Ensemble Modern IEMA Academy in Frankfurt.
Currently Lefki teaches at the Athens Conservatory and the Athenaeum Conservatory. She is a devoted piano pedagogue with teaching experience of over 25 years; she also composes, and recently she has pursued an old dream, taking jazz piano lessons from Greek jazz pianist and composer Dimitris Kalantzis.
We are delighted to welcome Lefki Karpodini for the second time to Music at Chateau d'Aix.
See also www.lefkikarpodini.com and listen to one of her compositions