A new festival in Glasgow and Edinburgh recalls a forgotten 19th century Scottish musical pioneer, Helen Hopekirk

Helen Hopekirk – National Galleries of Scotland collection (Photo: National Galleries of Scotland)

A new festival is hoping to bring back the name of Helen Hopekirk. Born in Peebles in 1856, she was one of the most accomplished pianists and composers of her generation, and her accomplishments including playing her Piano Concerto (now lost) with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1900.

A new festival, the Helen Hopekirk Festival will mark her 170th anniversary with events in Glasgow and Edinburgh from 18 to 24 May 2026. 

A young trio of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduates, Bubblyjock Collective will be presenting a concert featuring Hopekirk alongside other neglected names including Isobel Dunlop, Marie Dare and Claire Liddel. Dr Hannah Roberts will give a lecture-recital exploring the folk roots of Hopekirk’s music, performing her work and unpacking the Scottish songs and Celtic traditions that shaped it, followed by a masterclass for young musicians.

Gary Steigerwalt and Dana Müller are the world’s foremost Hopekirk scholars and performers and Steigerwalt’s recording Helen Hopekirk: Piano Music was the first album ever devoted to her music. They will be flying in from Arizona for a piano duo concert devoted to Hopekirk’s music.

There is also a competition for young pianists and organists placing Scottish repertoire at the heart of young musicians’ training. Free and open to the public, the closes with a winners’ gala concert.

Helen Hopekirk studied with Scottish composer Alexander Mackenzie and with Carl Reinecke in Leipzig. She planned to continue her studies with Franz Liszt, but after his death studied instead with Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. She lived in Vienna until 1892 and then she and her husband moved to Paris. Her first large scale work, the Concertstück in D Minor for piano and orchestra, was written in Paris in 1893–94, and she performed it with the Scottish Orchestra under Georg Henschel in Edinburgh and Dundee in November 1894. She accepted an invitation to teach at the New England Conservatory, later leaving it to teach privately and to perform. She and her husband became American citizens in 1918, and her career was then focused on the USA. 

Full details from the festival website.