LEON McCAWLEY (UNITED KINGDOM)

email - festivalpianomalaga@gmail.com

WhatsApp - +34 622683476

“One of today’s most impeccably musical pianists.” International Piano, January/
February 2021
Praised for his unfailingly communicative playing, British pianist Leon McCawley
has been delighting audiences worldwide since winning, in 1993, First Prize in the
International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and Second Prize at the
Leeds International Piano Competition. His many concert performances and
extensive discography have established him as a pianist of great integrity and
variety, bringing freshness and vitality to Classical, Romantic and 20th century
repertoire. McCawley’s 2024 release ‘Natural Connection’ for SOMM Recordings is
no exception: “This scintillatingly varied recital combines sensuous virtuosity,
compelling charm and musical probity. Highly recommended.” (Gramophone,
February 2024).
An acclaimed exponent of Mozart, he has performed and recorded (Avie Records)
the complete cycle of Mozart piano sonatas in winning interpretations: “There’s
absolutely no vanity in his playing. In his hands the Mozartian oeuvre emerged with
striking vividness” (International Piano). Notable recitals in past seasons include:
London Piano Series at Wigmore Hall (where he is a regular performer and was
Artist-in-Residence in the 21/22 season), four invitations to International Piano
Series at London’s Southbank Centre, Hong Kong Arts Festival, New York’s Lincoln
Center, Singapore International Piano Festival and Piano Visions series at
Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. He can be frequently heard on BBC Radio 3
both in performance and interview with recent broadcasts including In Tune,
Wigmore Hall Lunchtime Series and Performance on 3.
As a concerto soloist, Leon has performed with many leading British orchestras
including the BBC Concert, BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal
Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National and Ulster Orchestras, Bournemouth and
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras and Royal Northern Sinfonia. He has
made several appearances at the BBC Proms which have been televised on BBC4.
Further afield, McCawley has made concerto appearances with, amongst others,
Cincinnati, Dallas, Fort Worth, RTÉ National and St. Petersburg Symphony
Orchestras, Malaysian and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestras, Philadelphia
Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias and has worked with
conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Hans Graf, Paavo Järvi, Domingo Hindoyan,
Andrew Litton, Kurt Masur, Sakari Oramo, Sir Simon Rattle, Robin Ticciati and John
Wilson.
Highlights of the 2023/24 season included a return solo recital at Wigmore Hall and
recitals in Mexico at the En Blanco y Negro Piano Festival in Mexico City, Sala
Beethoven Festival in Monterrey and Teatro Isauro Martinez in Torreón. Leon also
gave masterclasses in July 2024 at the Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival in
Italy.
Leon studied at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester with Heather Slade-Lipkin
before continuing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia with
Eleanor Sokoloff. He also received invaluable guidance from Nina Milkina in
London.
As a collaborative musician, he has performed at many prestigious concert venues
including BBC Proms Chamber Series, BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Series at Wigmore
Hall and Aldeburgh, Brighton, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Galway, Lofoten (Norway)
and Westport international festivals. Recent chamber music partners have included
Castalian and Simply Quartets, Michael Collins, Nicholas Daniel, José Franch-
Ballester and performances with baritone Roderick Williams.
Leon has appeared as juror and adjudicator of many competitions including at The
International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition, BBC Young Musician, Royal Over-
Seas League Competition, Feis Ceoil (Dublin) and Les Étoiles du Piano
International Competition in Roubaix, France.
McCawley’s discography includes, on Avie Records, a double disc of Schumann
Piano Music (Editor’s Choice in Gramophone); The Complete Piano Works of Hans
Gál (also a Gramophone Editor’s Choice); and The Complete Mozart Piano
Sonatas (awarded a Diapason d’Or); Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra and City of London Choir/Hilary Davan Wetton (Naxos
Records); Vaughan Williams Double Piano Concerto with John Lenehan and Royal
Scottish National Orchestra/Martin Yates (awarded 5 stars by BBC Music
Magazine) and Stanford’s Piano Concerto in B flat with Royal Northern Sinfonia/
Martin Yates (Dutton Epoch); and ten albums on SOMM Recordings that include
Chopin Piano Music; Barber Piano Music (Critic’s Choice in Gramophone); Brahms
Piano Music (Classic FM CD of the Week); Schumann Piano Music; Rachmaninov
Complete Preludes; Haydn: Sonatas and Variations (awarded a Diapason d’Or):
Schubert Piano Music; and three further volumes of Haydn Sonatas. His most
recent disc for SOMM, released in January 2024, is a compilation album of natureinspired
piano works entitled ‘Natural Connection’.
Leon McCawley has been professor of piano at London’s Royal College of Music
since 2008. He is married to the painter Anna Hyunsook Paik.
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