María Linares playing an eclectic programme of Brahms, Rameau and Debussy for the final recital of her Artist diploma at the Royal College of Music.

Being mentored whilst a Constant and Kit Lambert Junior Fellow by Norma Fischer and Danny Driver, she opened her final recital with the 6 pieces that make up Brahms op 118. Anchored in the bass the opening intermezzo was one long outpouring of sumptuous sounds played with a sweep and the beauty of interwoven counterpoints of refined musicianship. If the second intermezzo was rather slow it was imbued with poignant beauty and a palette of colour as it gradually took flight in the central episode with gently persuasive chords. Regaining its wings as Brahms miraculously adds more voices until dissolving to a mere whispered radiance. There was a gentle lilt to the ‘Allegro energico Ballade’ that was played as a true fantasy with orchestral colouring in which the melodic line was always present .Moving to the major key where the magical colours that Maria found just added to the flowing beauty of this etherial interlude. A pianist with a kaleidoscopic palette of colours added to a musicianship that can always follow the architectural line with bass notes that are the very anchor on which these ‘lullabies of grief ‘ are allowed to blossom . Maria brought a shimmering beauty to the ‘Allegretto un poco agitato’ of the 4th Intermezzo with its beautiful languid central episode. Passion and anguish were mixed with sumptuous full sounds only to be dissolved back into the dream they had come from. A poignant nobility to the ‘Romanze’ where the central ‘allegretto grazioso’ was floated on magic sounds of gossamer beauty.The final Intermezzo in E flat minor is a true tone poem of mystery and desolation and was played with extraordinary sensitivity as she built the tension to a great climax of poetic significance and burning intensity until like all these miniature masterpieces it dissolved into the dream world from where it had been conceived .

Rameau was played with a crystalline clarity that did not deny a subtle palette of colour and was a perfect way to add a refreshing contrast on this journey of poetic fantasy.

Debussy’s two books of ‘Images’ were played with great sensitivity but also great solidity, where the architectural shape of each piece was etched with colours that ranged from the glowing brilliance of ‘Reflets dans l’eau’ to the fleeting precision of ‘Poissons d’or.’ Whatever she played there was a rhythmic drive and sense of line allied to a fantasy world of colour and subtle refined beauty. ‘Hommage a Rameau’ was played very slowly but shaped so poetically and with such nobility that it contrasted with the web of continuous sounds of ‘Mouvements’ .Her technical mastery allowed her to maintain the tempo and the architectural line throughout as she played with a natural fluidity and beauty of movement that allow the music to flow always with horizontal fluidity. There was whispered magic in the air as sounds of glowing radiance filled the piano for ‘Cloches à travers les feuilles’ and it was the same beauty of subtle sounds that she imbued the desolate Temple with, as it was seen in the moonlight, lit with delicacy and refined beauty. The fleetingly wistful ‘Poisson d’or’ was a lesson in style as she could bring this impish image to life with the same poetic imagination as perceived by the composer. Performances of poetic beauty and mastery of picture postcards covered in flowers.

Hers is a technical mastery that does not draw attention to itself but is at the service of her imagination as she delves deeply into the scores with intelligence and masterly musicianship.

Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellow

Maria Linares, piano

23-year-old Spanish pianist María Linares has performed in consolidated Festivals and venues including CBSO Centre, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Steinway Hall in London and London Festival in the UK; II Iturbi Prize Festival, and Serenates Festival in Spain; Rossini Theatre in Gioia del Colle in Italy; and Vaduz Town Hall in Liechtenstein, among others.

At the age of 12, she performed her first solo piano recital, later followed by playing as a soloist with orchestras such as the Valencian Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Generalitat Valenciana, Youth Orchestra of Leon and Orchestra of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, in venues such as the Palau de Les Arts, Teatro Principal and Palau de la Música in Valencia, Palau Altea in Alicante, Palau de Congressos in Castellon and the Ciudad de León Auditorium, with conductors Manuel Hernández Silva, Roberto Forés, and Daniel Gil de Tejada.

In addition to being named Music Ambassador for Spain by the Lang Lang Music Foundation, she is being supported by the Munster Trust, Craxton Memorial Trust, The Musicians’ Company, and in 2023 she was given the ‘Myra Hess’ award by Help Musicians UK. Furthermore, she has been the main prize-winner in the most distinguished competitions in her home country, part of them being VIPA 2022, Ciutat de Carlet 2022, XXVI Ruperto Chapí, XXXIV Marisa Montiel or XXVII Jacinto Guerrero. In the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, she has also received the First Prize in competitions such as the Dennis Matthews, Renna Kellaway, and Beryl Chempin Beethoven Competition.

Meanwhile, she has been selected to participate in several Masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Kirill Gerstein, Cyprien Katsaris, Michel Beroff and Claudio Martínez-Mehner. In addition to this, she has received scholarships from Liechtenstein Intensive Weeks, Chetham’s International Piano Summer School and WSL Masterclasses.

Maria is currently coursing an Artist Diploma in the Royal College of Music under a full scholarship while being a Constant Kit and Lambert Junior Fellow, studying with Professors Norma Fischer and Danny Driver. Prior to this, she finished her bachelor’s and master’s Degrees with Distinction at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under full scholarships with Professor Pascal Nemirovski.

Regarding future projects, she is set to release a CD with the label Naxos, performing a set of pieces by the composer Anton Urspruch in January 2026. 

The Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellow receives an award that makes a substantial contribution to their course fees and living costs. Holders of this award are considered members of the team of junior fellows and will be expected to participate fully in RCM life.

The Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellowship is held for one year and is only available to students on the Artist Diploma (ArtDip) in performance programme. This fellowship offers a bespoke, tailored programme of performance and artistic development opportunities to help launch the most talented instrumental students as soloists and chamber musicians. All fellows are expected to develop musical and communication skills by undertaking further intensive study, working with students internally and doing all they can to raise the profile of the RCM externally. They play a full and active part in the musical life of the RCM as well as functioning as RCM ambassadors. They have full use of the RCM Library with its wealth of material and work in close contact with the Creative Careers Centre, the RCM’s centre for professional skills and publicity services.