John Lenehan’s interest in the combination of music and film has been long-standing. As well as performing on several more recent soundtracks (such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings) he has, as director of Sounds for Silents written and arranged more than 20 scores for silent films. He specialises in presenting film and music programmes, reviving the art of the improvising pianist. This concert programme is a tribute to ‘The Roaring Twenties’, in which he plays on stage as a selection of films from that era are projected.
‘The Roaring Twenties’ takes us on a journey through the decade, highlighting the many technological advances that changed lives and introducing on film a host of famous personalities – Henry Ford, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Albert Einstein, Harry Houdini, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh as well as the famous movie stars – Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Harold Lloyd and even Mickey Mouse. Music includes hit songs from Irving Berlin and Vaudeville as well as improvisation.
The programme also includes a full performance of Gershwin’s iconic masterwork, Rhapsody in Blue, and the story of how the most famous concert piece written in the 20s almost never came about. Included are scenes from Life and Death of a Hollywood Extra – a surreal silent film admired by Chaplin which was made to be shown alongside Rhapsody.
A bit more about John…
In a career of unusual diversity, with an extensive discography of more than 80 albums of music ranging from the 17th to the 21st Centuries, John Lenehan has performed in concerts worldwide and his breadth of repertoire has led to his popularity on Spotify and Apple music with over a million monthly listeners worldwide. Praised by the New York Times for his “great flair and virtuosity” and the (London) Times – “a masterly recital”, John Lenehan has also collaborated with some of the leading instrumentalists of our time.
As soloist he has appeared with LSO, RPO and LPO amongst many other orchestras and his recordings include piano recitals and concertos as well as duo sonatas, chamber music and jazz. A four-disc survey of John Ireland’s piano music received great critical acclaim including a Gramophone award, and other solo recordings include three discs for Sony Classical of minimalist piano works and a disc of Erik Satie (for Classic FM). Most recently he has recorded albums with the Rossetti Ensemble as well as concertos by Mozart (K.467) and Beethoven (Emperor) with the National Symphony Orchestra.
John Lenehan also composes, with works published by Faber, Novello, and Schotts. His Fantasy on Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker has been recorded by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and his 2023 piano concerto The Legend of Maritime Silk Road (commissioned by the Silk Road International Arts Centre and premiered in Beijing) has been performed in China several times since then. He has written and arranged for a long list of soloists and orchestras including Lang Lang, Nigel Kennedy, Yuja Wang, Tasmin Little, Nicola Benedetti and the BBC Concert Orchestra, RPO and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. In 2021 his work was heard in the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris (Orchestre de Paris) and the last night of the proms (BBCSO). A collaboration during lockdown with Dame Joanna Lumley and the Philharmonia created a reading of The Night before Xmas with incidental music. His recent reworking of Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for 2 pianos (3 hands) as a piece for one soloist was premiered by him in 2025 at the Malcolm Arnold festival.
John has a Website 
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