Cirque du piano = 6 hands x 30 fingers / 1 piano

Experimental circus troupe performs finger-gymnastic music for three pianists playing one piano together!
"rousingly enjoyable" ★★★★ Three Weeks
Playfully straddling categories of circus and a ‘serious’ classical music concert, our innovative ensemble take you on world tour of rarely heard music for three pianists playing one piano TOGETHER!!!
Our musical programme visits Russia, Turkey, Switzerland and Hollywood USA before returning to our ‘bonnie wee’ Scotland for the GRANDE finale. Assembled from award-winning alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, a captivating spectacle pushing the limits of what a piano can do!
Programme includes a toy piano and 6-hand arrangements of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Mozart’s Rondo alla Turka, Scottish folk songs and a comic performance of Sousa’s all-American Stars and Stripes Forever.
Fringe Classics are rated:
"an enchanting concert" ★★★★★ Edinburgh Guide
★★★★★ Binge Fringe
★★★★★ Corr Blimey

Stars and Stripes Forever – John Philip Sousa

Overture from the Barber of Seville – Gioachino Rossini

Romance – Sergei Rachmaninoff

Rondo alla Turka (‘Turkish March’) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Marche funèbre d’une Marionette – Charles-François Gonoud

Carillon de St Pierre - Georges Malézieux

Toccata and Fugue in D minor – Johann Sebastian Bach

Fantasy after Scottish Folk Songs – Carl Czerny

Matthew Shiel (Artistic Director)

Matthew Shiel is a British pianist who performs 200+ performances every year across UK, USA and Australia in partnership with the Edinburgh, Brighton, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hollywood Fringe Festivals.

In 2025, Matthew Shiel made history by performing the world’s first piano recital of music composed by artificial intelligence at the Edinburgh Festival; his performance was subsequently commissioned by Dame Wendy Hall’s Web Science Institute (University of Southampton) and broadcast on Al Jazeera.

He has notably performed at Usher Hall and The National Portrait Gallery of Scotland (Edinburgh), The Glasshouse International Centre for Music (Newcastle), Glasgow City Halls and has performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (broadcast on BBC Radio 3) and The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marine Band Scotland.

Matthew has received multiple 5-star reviews in the press:

“a most enchanting concert” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Edinburgh Guide

“masters of their crafts” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Binge Fringe

“profound” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Corr Blimey

Matthew is an Usher Hall and Live Music Now Scotland artist, artistic director of Fringe Classics and a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Fringe Classics

Fringe Classics is an international performing arts company that exports classical music to fringe festivals around the world. We organise 200+ performances every year across UK, USA and Australia in partnership with the Edinburgh, Brighton (UK), Adelaide, Melbourne (Australia) and Hollywood (USA) Fringe Festivals. We also creatively adapt classical concerts for festive occasions including Burns Night, Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas.

Our performances have been broadcast on Al Jazeera; have been commissioned by Dame Wendy Hall’s Web Science Institute (in association with the University of Southampton) and have received multiple 5-star reviews in the press:

“a most enchanting concert”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Edinburgh Guide

“masters of their crafts”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Binge Fringe

“profound”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Corr Blimey

We embrace the unbridled creativity and experimental aesthetic of fringe festivals. We embrace communication between classical music and other musical genres including jazz, folk and pop. And we embrace interdisciplinary collaboration with storytellers, visual artists, dancers, filmmakers and even computer scientists to push the boundaries of what a classical concert can be and create the 'performance of the future.'  

In 2025, Fringe Classics made history by performing the world’s first piano recital of music composed by artificial intelligence at the Edinburgh Festival and this historic event was broadcast on Al Jazeera.

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