British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is internationally recognised for his electrifying performances, distinctive sound and insightful interpretations. His virtuosic command over the most arduous technical complexities underpins the remarkable depth and understanding of his music making. Described as “one in a million...several million” by The Independent, 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 realization of music” have been lauded by Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Benjamin first came to prominence as the outstanding winner of the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of eleven, and he was invited to perform with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the First Night of the 2011 BBC Proms aged just nineteen. A pianist of widespread international acclaim, he was announced as the inaugural recipient of The Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize with the New York Philharmonic in 2016.
Recent and forthcoming concerto highlights include engagements with the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich-Orchestra Cologne, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Hallé Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the London, City of Birmingham, San Francisco, and Washington National Symphony Orchestras as well as a tour of China with Britten Sinfonia. Benjamin works with such esteemed conductors as Andrey Boreyko, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Elim Chan, Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, Alan Gilbert, Manfred Honeck, Vladimir Jurowski, Andrew Manze, Ludovic Morlot, Kent Nagano, Sir Roger Norrington, Gianandrea Noseda, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, François Xavier Roth, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin, Nathalie Stutzmann, Michael Tilson Thomas, Krzysztof Urbański, and Kazuki Yamada.
Among Benjamin’s major recital dates in the 2019/20 season are London’s Wigmore Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées Paris, Munich’s Herkulessaal, Cologne Philharmonie, Palau de la Música Catalana Barcelona, New York’s distinguished Peoples’ Symphony Concerts, Vancouver Recital Series, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall and Teatro Petruzzelli Bari. Also a keen chamber musician, the season sees Benjamin embark on a North American duo tour with violinist Hyeyoon Park, join musicians of the Lucerne Festival Soloists for a performance at the new Andermatt Concert Hall and, together with Hyeyoon Park, Timothy Ridout and Kian Soltani, return to the International Chamber Music Season at London’s Southbank Centre for a quartet programme featuring works by Strauss and Brahms.
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. Benjamin’s most recent CD on the label, Homages, explores works in which celebrated composers pay tribute to their predecessors, and includes Busoni’s transcription of Bach’s great solo violin Chaconne, Franck’s Choral, Prelude and Fugue and Liszt’s tribute to Italian folk song, Venezia e Napoli. Named Instrumental Recording of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, the disc was also awarded a Diapason d'Or, with Diapason's critic declaring that “his pianistic ingenuity, his lyrical voice and aristocratic distinction remind one of the young Josef Hofmann or Ignaz Friedman. The whole recital is charged with Romantic élan.”
During his sensational career to date, Benjamin has received Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year and Instrumental Awards, a Classic Brits Critics’ Award, UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent and a Diapason d’Or Jeune Talent Award. He has been featured in two BBC television documentaries, BBC Breakfast and The Andrew Marr Show, as well as in CNN’s Human to Hero series. The youngest of five brothers, Benjamin began playing the piano aged 6. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton and Daniel-Ben Pienaar, where he graduated in 2012 with the ‘Queen’s Commendation for Excellence’ and in 2016 was awarded a Fellowship from the institution. Benjamin has been supported since 2013 by EFG International, the widely respected global private banking group.
