Katy Smith Leads Sold-Out All-Elgar Celebration at Howden Minster

EAST YORKSHIRE, UK—

On July 16, 2026, violinist Katy Smith joined pianists Amy Butler and Graziana Presicce (Luna Piano Duo) for a sold-out all-Elgar recital at Howden Minster, presented by Howdenshire Music as part of the Elgar Society’s 75th anniversary celebrations.

Smith performed throughout on Elgar’s own historic violin bow — lending an extraordinary layer of connection to a programme already steeped in the composer’s world. The recital drew a capacity audience to the 14th-century minster and earned an enthusiastic notice from critic Paul Conway in Seen and Heard International.

The programme opened with Butler and Presicce in Otto Singer’s piano four-hands arrangement of the Cockaigne Overture, which Conway praised for the duo’s diversity of expression, sharpness of focus, and control of touch. Smith then joined Butler for Chanson de Matin — described as a fluently eloquent reading — and La Capricieuse, in which Smith made light of the main theme’s technical challenges with its rapid upbow staccato passages.

The centrepiece of the afternoon was Elgar’s Violin Sonata in E minor, which Conway called an imposing interpretation, noting the central Romance movement for its confessional intimacy and a finale that blazed with conviction. The musicians closed with an encore — a trio arrangement of Salut d’amour — which Conway described as rendered with relaxed, expressive freedom and delightful interplay between the musicians.

Smith’s use of the bow at Howden Minster continued her ongoing Elgar Bow Project — a commitment to bringing audiences into direct contact with Elgar’s living legacy. In 2024, she performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Hertfordshire Philharmonia Orchestra using the same bow, to a standing ovation and exceptional praise from the Elgar Society. Katy Smith is represented exclusively by Eva Artistic Management.