The 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival Announces Livestream Schedule

THE 2026 IRVING S. GILMORE INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL—NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST GATHERING OF KEYBOARD ARTISTS—ANNOUNCES LIVESTREAM SCHEDULE

Free Broadcasts Featuring Alexandre Kantorow, Stewart Goodyear, Esteban Castro Trio, Eighth Blackbird, Tyler Bullock Trio, Charlotte Hu & Raquel Gonzalez, ARTEMIS, Chucho Valdés Royal Quartet, Sullivan Fortner Trio with Cécile McLorin Salvant and Ambrose Akinmusire

New Streaming Partners: The Violin Channel, Amadeus.TV and JazzTimes

New Collaboration with UMS and Pomegranate Arts Presenting the Complete Philip Glass Etudes

KALAMAZOO, MI (For Release 04.22.26) — The Gilmore today announced that fans worldwide can now join the magic of the 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival. Through an exclusive series of high-definition livestreams and new strategic streaming partnerships with The Violin Channel, Amadeus.TV andJazzTimes, this year’s Festival offers premium broadcasts of 10 concerts by today’s leading classical and jazz artists including Alexandre Kantorow, Sullivan Fortner, ARTEMIS, and more. From April 30-May 10, 2026, select shows from Michigan’s Chenery Auditorium, Kalamazoo Civic Center, and Dalton Center Recital Hall will be available to watch free of charge on The Gilmore’s YouTube Channel.

Quote from Pierre van der Westhuizen,  
The Gilmore’s Executive & Artistic Director: “Building on the Festival’s online viewership, we are committed to expanding our digital footprint to ensure accessibility for those unable to attend in person in Michigan. Each livestream concert is unique, but all 10 bring people together for these incredible performances in real-time. We invite the world to the front row of our Festival!”

With performances spanning historic concert halls, intimate clubs, family offerings, and community spaces across Southwest Michigan, the 2026 Festival envisions the piano not merely as an instrument, but as a unifying force that transforms the region into a dynamic hub of artistic exploration, storytelling, and shared human experience. Anchored by world premieres, interdisciplinary collaborations, and the inaugural Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Awards, the Festival celebrates the piano as a catalyst for creative exchange across genres, generations, and cultures. Its programming highlights both legacy and discovery—pairing iconic artists such as Joshua Bell, Brad Mehldau, Kirill Gerstein, and Marc-André Hamelin with rising classical and jazz talents, while commissioning new works that reflect the piano’s vibrant role in today’s musical ecosystem. For the complete Festival schedule, visit TheGilmore.org.

How to access the free Gilmore International Piano Festival livestreams:

• Available FREE at org/Livestreams

• Additional livestream partners for select performances include The Violin Channel, TV, and JazzTimes.
• Get notified of livestreaming events by visiting com/@TheGilmore
• Following the digital premiere on EDT, all livestreams will be accessible to the public for 30 days (unless otherwise noted)

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LIVESTREAM SCHEDULE:

SAT 4.18 AT 7:30 PM ET | THE COMPLETE PHILIP GLASS PIANO ETUDES

Presented in collaboration with the University Musical Society

Timo Andres | Inon Barnatan | Janice Carissa, 2022 Gilmore Young Artist | Vicky Chow | Aaron Diehl | Lara Downes | Lisa Kaplan | Daniela Liebman | Christian Sands | Justin Snyder

One of the most influential composers of our time, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact on the musical and intellectual life of our age. Glass has written more than 30 operas, 14 symphonies, 13 concertos, numerous soundtracks to films, nine string quartets, a growing body of work for solo piano and organ, and collaborated with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, Leonard Cohen and David Bowie. He describes himself as a composer of “music with repetitive structures” and says that “If I’m to be remembered for anything, it will probably be for the piano music, because people can play it.”

Now available on YouTube until April 28, 2026. Co-streamed with UMS and Pomegranate Arts.

SAT 5.02 at 8:00 p.m. ET | ALEXANDRE KANTOROW, 2024 GILMORE ARTIST

The day after performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, 2024 Gilmore Artist Alexandre Kantorow returns to give a solo recital. Kantorow will present the U.S. premiere of a new work by leading Swedish composer Anders Hillborg, which Kantorow commissioned through his Gilmore Artist Award; he will premiere the work at the Le Piano Symphonique Festival in Lucerne in January 2026.

J.S. BACH /arr. LISZT        Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen S. 180.
N. MEDTNER                     Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5
F. CHOPIN                         Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45
A. SCRIABIN                     Sonata No. 10, Op. 70
L.v. BEETHOVEN                Sonata No. 32 in C Minor Op. 111
ANDERS HILLBORG            The Kalamazoo Flow, U.S. PREMIERE, commissioned by The Gilmore

Co-streaming with: The Violin Channel and Amadeus.TV available May 2–June 1, 2026

MON 5.04 at 2:00 p.m. ET | STEWART GOODYEAR

Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear is renowned for his large, dramatic sound, elegant technique, and omnivorous approach to keyboard music. Goodyear has attracted particular attention for his Beethoven “Sonatathons,” a term he coined to describe his epic performances of Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas in one day.

L.v. BEETHOVEN                       Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2 ("Tempest")
STEWART GOODYEAR                Rhapsody
L.v. BEETHOVEN                       Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ("Moonlight")
STEWART GOODYEAR                Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
L.v. BEETHOVEN                       Andante favori, WoO 57
                                              Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 ("Appassionata")

Co-streaming with: The Violin Channel and Amadeus.TV available May 4–June 3, 2026

TUE 5.05 at 12:00 p.m. ET | ESTEBAN CASTRO TRIO - 2026 BELL YOUNG JAZZ ARTIST

Esteban Castro began playing piano at age four and at 13, became the youngest-ever First Prize Winner at the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition. Now 20, Castro is already an in-demand bandleader and side musician. At The Gilmore, Castro and their trio will perform a mix of standards and Castro’s own award-winning compositions.

Available May 5–June 4, 2026

TUE 5.05 at 2:00 p.m. ET | EIGHTH BLACKBIRD

Four-time GRAMMY® Award-winning contemporary music sextet Eighth Blackbird is, according to The Chicago Tribune, “one of the smartest, most dynamic ensembles on the planet.” They perform Four Organsand Piano Phase, two seminal 20th-century works by pioneering American minimalist composer Steve Reich in his 90th birthday year, as well as the World Premiere of a new work written for them by Clarice Assad, commissioned by The Gilmore. A composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, Assad creatively fuses elements of classical, jazz, and Brazilian music for a sound that’s completely her own.

ARI SUSSMAN                   to no end
CLARICE ASSAD                WORLD PREMIERE, commissioned by The Gilmore
STEVE REICH                    Piano Phase
                                       Four Organs
NICO MUHLY                     Doublespeak

Co-streaming with: The Violin Channel available May 5–June 4, 2026

WED 5.06 at 12:00 p.m. ET | TYLER BULLOCK TRIO - 2026 BELL YOUNG JAZZ ARTIST

The regular pianist for the Roy Hargrove Big Band, and with collaborations with Samara Joy, Sean Jones, and Dee Dee Bridgewater already under his belt, Tyler Bullock is one of the most promising pianists of his generation. His original compositions for his trio and other configurations combine the lineage of jazz with his own fresh perspective.

Available May 6–June 5, 2026

THU 5.07 at 2:00 p.m. ET | CHOPIN AND VIARDOT: A DIALOGUE
Raquel González, soprano
Charlotte Hu, piano

Pauline Viardot was an accomplished pianist who studied with Franz Liszt, a world-renowned mezzo-soprano, and a talented composer, yet her name is largely unknown today. In their collaborative recital, pianist Charlotte Hu and soprano Raquel González re-introduce Viardot to her rightful place alongside the greatest of Romantic composers, notably her friend and colleague Frédéric Chopin. Their program spans solo piano works by both Chopin and Viardot, Viardot’s piano-and-voice arrangements of Chopin’s mazurkas — which Chopin himself advised on and was pleased with — and some of Viardot’s own original songs for soprano and piano.

CHOPIN                         Polonaise-Fantasie, Op. 61

                                    Mazurka in C-sharp Minor, Op. 63, No. 3

                                    Mazurka in F-sharp Minor, Op. 59, No. 3

                                    Mazurka in C Major, Op. 33, No. 3

CHOPIN/arr. P. VIARDOT Mazurka Op. 50, No. 2 "Seize ans!”

                                    Mazurka Op. 33, No. 2 “Aime-moir”
                                    Mazurka Op. 6, No. 1 “Plainte d'amour”
                                    Mazurka Op. 7, No. 1 "Coquette"

                                    Mazurka Op. 68, No. 2 "L'Oiselet"

                                    Mazurkas Op. 7, No. 3 and Op. 7, No. 2 "Faible cœur!"

VIARDOT                       Mazurka

                                    Deux airs de ballet

                                    Serenade

CHOPIN                         Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60

VIARDOT Original Songs for Soprano and Piano

Co-streaming with: The Violin Channel and Amadeus.TV available May 7–June 6, 2026

FRI 5.08 at 7:30 p.m. ET | ARTEMIS

Equally beloved by audiences and critics alike, ARTEMIS conjures a powerful collective voice from its five members. Originally assembled by pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, the all-female group is distinguished not only by the star power of its individual members, but also by its multi-national and intergenerational lineup. ARTEMIS features Renee Rosnes (piano/Fender Rhodes), Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Nicole Glover (tenor saxophone), Noriko Ueda (bass), and Allison Miller (drums). At The Gilmore, ARTEMIS will perform tunes from their three acclaimed Blue Note albums, featuring a vibrant mix of original compositions by all five band members as well as Rosnes’s arrangements of pieces by Wayne Shorter, Burt Bacharach, and more.

Co-streaming with: The Violin Channel and JazzTimes available May 8–June 7, 2026

SAT 5.09 at 7:30 p.m. ET | CHUCHO VALDÉS ROYAL QUARTET

For over six decades, NEA Jazz Master Chucho Valdés has defined Afro-Cuban jazz through his work as a pianist, composer, and bandleader. A winner of multiple GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY® Awards, Valdés also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and has been inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. His Royal Quartet features virtuosos from the next generation of Afro-Cuban jazz: Horacio El Negro Hernandez (drums), Armando Gola (bass), and Roberto Vizcaino Jr. (congas). They will pay homage to Chick Corea, Mozart, American blues, Cuban folksongs, and more, all with their signature sense of joy and creativity.

Available May 9–June 8, 2026

TUE 5.10 at 4:00 p.m. ET | FINALE: SULLIVAN FORTNER TRIO featuring CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT & AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE
Sullivan Fortner, piano
Cécile McLorin Salvant, vocals
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet
Tyrone Allen, bass
Kayvon Gordon, drums

The 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival concludes with an exclusive performance created especially for this occasion, uniting three of today’s most visionary artists. Sullivan Fortner, recent recipient of The Gilmore’s inaugural Larry J. Bell Artist Award, leads his trio alongside GRAMMY® Award–winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and acclaimed trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, whose distinctive sound and compositional depth have earned him international recognition. Joined by Tyrone Allen (bass) and Kayvon Gordon (drums), they will explore new musical terrain where improvisation, storytelling, and collective imagination meet in a singular finale that promises to be both intimate and transcendent.

Available Live Only: May 10, 2026

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ABOUT THE GILMORE             
Created in 1989 to honor the legacy of businessman and philanthropist Irving S. Gilmore, The Gilmore is the premier institution in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, presenting and awarding extraordinary piano artistry. The Gilmore has presented 16 piano festivals, commissioned over 45 new works for piano, and awarded over $3 million as part of its internationally renowned Gilmore Artists Award for both classical and jazz pianists. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, The Gilmore hosts its annual (previously biennial) Gilmore Piano Festival April 30-May 10, 2026, and continues to impact the lives of thousands of area children and adults through its year-round community engagement and music education programs including summer camps, music therapy, and much more.

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