Leon McCawley (born 12 July 1973) is a British classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. He studied with

Heather Slade-Lipkin Heather Slade-Lipkin (9 March 1947 – 16 October 2017) was an English pianist, harpsichordist and teacher. Biography Slade-Lipkin was born into a musical family from Hoylake, Wirral. She began formal piano lessons before the age of six and m ...

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is a private co-educational boarding and day music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates pupils between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. The music school was established i ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and with

Eleanor Sokoloff Eleanor Sokoloff (née Blum; June 16, 1914July 12, 2020) was an American pianist and academic who formed a piano duo with her husband, Vladimir Sokoloff. She taught piano on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music from 1936 until her death ...

The Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

in the United States, and latterly pianist Nina Milkina was a source of inspiration. He won the first prize in the Ninth International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna in 1993, and second prize in the

Leeds International Pianoforte Competition The Leeds International Piano Competition, informally known as The Leeds and formerly the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, is an international piano competition which takes place every three years in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It ...

. He has given solo performances with major orchestras such as the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

and

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. McCawley has produced CD recordings of music by

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...

, by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, and by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

, as well as a complete edition of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's piano sonatas and a world premiere recording of the complete piano works of

Hans Gál Hans Gál Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (5 August 1890 – 3 October 1987) was an Austrian composer, pedagogue, musicologist, and author, who emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1938. Life Gál was born to a Jewish family in ...

. Two of his recordings have earned the "Editor's Choice" award of the journal ''

The Gramophone ''Gramophone'' (known as ''The Gramophone'' prior to 1970) is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continue ...

''.

References

External links

* * 1973 births Living people Curtis Institute of Music alumni Prize-winners of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition British classical pianists British male classical pianists People educated at Chetham's School of Music 21st-century British classical pianists 21st-century British male musicians {{UK-classical-pianist-stub