The keyboard and part of the lid of an antique harpsichord

Artistic Temperaments Keyboard Festival 2026

Dates: Friday 13 - Sunday 15 February

Three days exploring the amazing world of keyboard instruments from 1700 – present day.

 

Need to know

Weekend Pass: Book standard Band A tickets for Beethoven Revisited + The Glamorgan Duo + The Village Coquettes for £44 (full price £50)

For full offer details see Booking tickets >

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Try the Pianos: Friday 13 February / Saturday 14 February

During the Artistic Temperaments Keyboard Festival, the University of Southampton Music Department is offering the chance to play historic keyboard instruments in the University’s Keyboard Room.

You’ll have the chance to play the Schantz pianoforte (a modern replica of the Viennese Grand of 1802) and the Taskin 2-manual harpsichord (modern replica of Paris 1769), with Music Students on hand to support you.

Find out more and book your slot here

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Beethoven at home in the Nineteenth Century: Friday 13 February / 1pm

In the days before recordings and orchestras in every city, the way people got to know orchestral music was in arrangements for piano duets. The University of Southampton is the fortunate possessor of the Cadwallader Bequest. It is a unique collection of bound piano duet arrangements of the orchestral and chamber works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Dvořák.

The University also has two beautiful grand pianos. Our concert goes one better even than this magnificent music collection – not four hands but EIGHT. Our pianists will get to know these great works from the inside out.

This concert is free to attend.

Book your ticket here

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Foyer Music with our 1796 Broadwood: Friday 13 February / 3pm – 5pm

Come and go informally. Sit for a while with a glass or a cuppa and enjoy the music – the bar will be open.   

Enjoy Beethoven Piano Sonatas performed by University of Southampton music students.

Free – just drop in. 

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Beethoven Revisited: Friday 13 February / 7.30pm

An Evening with Jacqueline Ross & Artem Belogurov 

Join internationally acclaimed violinist Jacqueline Ross and virtuoso pianist Artem Belogurov for a captivating evening that reimagines Beethoven’s violin sonatas. 

Tickets from £10

Find out more and book here

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Masterclass and Lecture with Jaqueline Ross & Artem Belogurov: Saturday 14 February / 10.30am

Join Jacqueline Ross (pictured) and Artem Belogurov, our Friday-night artists, as they work with University of Southampton Music Students.   

Free – just drop in.

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I can’t believe my ears!: Saturday 14 February / 1pm

Our students compare Temperaments (tuning methods) in favourite pieces by Chopin, Schumann & Liszt. The University of Southampton Music Department’s beautiful new Bösendorfer will be tuned in the nineteenth-century way. The Turner Sims’ beloved Steinway will be tuned in the twentieth-century way. University of Southampton Music students will play well-loved pieces by Chopin, Schumann & Liszt on both pianos, one after the other. Come and hear the difference for yourself.

This concert is free to attend. 

Book your ticket here

 

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Foyer Music with our 1796 Broadwood: Saturday 14 February / 3pm – 4pm

Come and go informally. Sit for a while with a glass or a cuppa and enjoy the music – the bar will be open.

Students of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin present Irish Piano Music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Free – just drop in.  

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The Glamorgan Duo: Saturday 14 February / 7.30pm

Cellist Tabitha Selley and pianist Cheryl Tan shine a spotlight on female composers whose music was often overlooked in their time. Together, as the Glamorgan Duo, they bring these powerful voices to today’s audiences.  

Tickets from £10

Find out more and book here

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Dickens songs & musical portraits: Sunday 15 February 12pm

Performed by University of Southampton Music students, the programme includes music from Dickens’s sister, Fanny, who was a student and later a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Our composition students have allowed their imagination to run riot. Ebenezer Scrooge is just one of the characters you’ll see as you’ve never seen him before!

This concert is free to attend. 

Book your ticket here

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The Village Coquettes: Sunday 15 February / 4pm

Discover Dickens’s only opera – a comic tale full of charm, wit, and unforgettable characters.  

Written just before ‘The Pickwick Papers’ launched Dickens’s literary career, The Village Coquettes offers a glimpse into his early creative spirit. Expect romance, mischief, and a vivid slice of village life.  

 Featuring orchestral accompaniment, a Come & Sing chorus, and talented young soloists, this is a rare chance to experience Dickens in a whole new light.   

If you would like to Come & Sing, send an email to don@soton.ac.uk 

Tickets from £10 (£5 students and under 18s)

Find out more and book here