Heroic Piano & Premiere

British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is internationally recognized for his sonorous lyricism and understated brilliance at the keyboard. His virtuosic interpretations are underpinned by a unique balance of technical mastery and intense musicality. Benjamin has been heralded as one of the most important pianists to emerge from the UK in several decades.

A pianist of widespread international acclaim, in the 21/22 Season he is Artist in Residence at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London with three varying projects. The previous season he was Artist-in-Residence at both Radio France and with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. His “astounding technical gifts, the freshness of his imagination, his intense concentration, the absence of any kind of show, and the unmistakable sense of poetic immersion directed solely at the realisation of music” have been lauded by Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Recent and forthcoming concerto highlights of the 21/22 season include engagements with the Chicago, Baltimore and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber, Hamburg Staatsorchester and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Benjamin works with such esteemed conductors as Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Mark Elder, Kent Nagano, Alan Gilbert, Manfred Honeck, Vladimir Jurowski, François-Xavier Roth and Esa-PekkaSalonen.

In recital this coming season Benjamin looks forward to returning to the Théâtre des Champs Elysées Paris, Munich’s Herkulessaal, Konzerthaus Berlin and Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona. He also undertakes an extensive US recital tour including venues such as Philadelphia CMS and People’s Symphony NYC. He has also performed at the Chopin and his Europe Festival in Warsaw, Montpellier Festival, Barbican Centre, Southbank Centre, Washington’s Kennedy Center, New York’s Carnegie Hall and 92nd Street Y. A keen chamber musician, regular collaborators include Hyeyoon Park, Tabea Zimmermann, Timothy Ridout, Benedict Kloeckner, Kian Soltani and the Doric String Quartet. Benjamin is Co-Artistic Director of the Bromley and Beckenham International Music Festival, a unique and vibrant event for the local community which was born out of the desire to reconnect with the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2011 Benjamin signed to Decca Classics, becoming the youngest British musician ever, and the first British pianist in almost 60 years, to sign to the label. Released in 2020, his second concerto album featuring Chopin’s piano concertos, recorded with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of Elim Chan, received both the Gramophone Concerto Award and a Diapason d’Or de L’Année, with Diapason’s critic declaring that the recording is “a version to rank among the best, and confirmation of an extraordinary artist.” The renewal of the Decca recording partnership in early 2021 coincided with the release of Benjamin’s latest album Liszt, centred around the composer’s Sonata in B minor, which was recently shortlisted for a Gramophone Award.