At the pre-opening for the Renaissance-21 Festival, composer and pianist Teodor Doré will perform his cycle of miniature piano pieces, Les Reflets dorés — his eighth album and the first written in the Renaissance-21 style, guiding listeners from Renaissance polyphony through Impressionism to extended tonality. The evening will also feature a distinct performance set by South Asian pianist Jay Verma, with artist Jake Andrew translating the musical compositions into a painting in real-time.

Scottish harpist and composer Abigail Millar Todd presents a concert exploring rarely performed works from across the UK.

Featuring music by S.C. Dussek, T.Marson and J. Marson, the programme brings to light remarkable works that have largely disappeared from today’s concert repertoire. Combining performance and conversation, Abigail will introduce the music and the stories behind its composers, inviting audiences to discover a lesser-known part of the UK’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

Part concert, part musical discovery, the event reflects Renaissance-21’s mission to rediscover remarkable works of the past and bring overlooked musical voices back to the contemporary
stage.

Taking place during Frieze Week, opposite the Royal Academy of Arts, this is a concert without the conventional boundaries of a concert hall: the Holtág Quartet performs among the artworks, with the audience free to move through the gallery and experience the music at close range. The programme unearths rarely heard British music spanning four centuries, from the Classical elegance of Thomas Linley the Younger through Herbert Howells, E. J. Moeran and Frank Bridge to the fierce modernism of Elizabeth Maconchy.

Set within one of London’s historic cultural districts, the evening places this overlooked musical heritage in direct dialogue with contemporary art. Through this immersive encounter, Renaissance-21 asks how works inherited from the past can be experienced anew — not as museum pieces, but as a living source of ideas, emotion and creative possibility. British Music and Beyond reflects the wider vision of the festival: rediscovering remarkable voices from cultural history and exploring how their legacy can resonate within the art and culture of today.

Presented at art'otel Hoxton (official Frieze partner), this panel discussion brings together leading voices from the cultural sector to explore how heritage continues to shape artistic practice, institutional thinking and the future of contemporary culture, while engaging with the wider artistic discourse
surrounding Frieze London.

Participants:
Chidi Nwaubani – Artist and Founder of LOOTY
Nour Saleh – Founder of Art Breath, Writer and Curator
Alexandra Dolgosheina- Independent curator, Co-founder of FAX Gallery, scent researcher, and visual arts professional
Teodor Doré – Composer, Pianist and Co-founder of Renaissance-21

The discussion will be followed by a guided tour of Chidi Nwaubani's exhibition Mbari Memorial at art'otel London Hoxton.

The Renaissance-21 festival culminates in an evening of profound artistic rediscovery, serving as a conceptual bridge between historical heritage and contemporary meaning. The program opens with an insightful talk dedicated to forgotten musical legacies and the resurrected works of lost
composers. This discussion explores the stories behind these long-silent masterpieces, examining how unearthing forgotten heritage restores vital depth to our cultural memory and offers a fresh
perspective on the evolution of musical thought. This exploration of historical legacy flows seamlessly into a musical journey titled "A 400-year historical arc of British musical thought — from the Renaissance to modern days." Performed by the Holtág Quartet (associated with the London City Philharmonic) alongside pianists Sonya Tulea Pigot and Teodor Doré, the concert unearths rare masterpieces and forgotten British
geniuses, spanning four centuries of artistic evolution. The repertoire unearths rare masterpieces and neglected British geniuses, spanning four centuries
of creative lineage. The journey opens with Teodor Doré performing O. Gibbons’ Renaissance polyphony, moving into the elegant Classical Adagio of T. Linley the Younger.

The program then traverses through the Romantic and early 20th-century modernism of H. Howells, E.J. Moeran and F. Bridge, culminating in the fierce ingenuity of E. Maconchy and a modern commentary by B.Davies, performed by Sonya Tulea Pigot. By placing these works in direct dialogue, the concert illuminates the living continuity of art, where the rediscovery of the past acts as a powerful catalyst for modern innovation. It is an evening dedicated to the idea that true creativity is a continuous stream, where the echoes of tradition provide the essential resonance for the music of tomorrow.