Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough (; born 22 November 1961) is a British-Australian classical pianist, composer and writer.

Biography

Hough was born in

Heswall Heswall () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was historically part of Cheshire and became part of Merseyside in 1974. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 202 ...

(then in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

) on the

Wirral Peninsula The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpo ...

, and grew up in Thelwall, where he began piano lessons at the age of five. His father, who was born in Australia, worked as a technical representative for British Steel before his death at the age of 54. At an early age, Hough was able to memorise approximately 100

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

s. After much pleading, his parents agreed to buy a second-hand piano for £5 from a local antique shop. At the age of 12 he suffered what he has described as a "mini-nervous breakdown", triggered by a

mugging Mugging (sometimes called personal robbery or street robbery) is a form of robbery and street crime that occurs in public places, often urban areas at night. It involves a confrontation with a threat of violence. Muggers steal money or person ...

incident, which resulted in him taking almost a year off school. Hough studied at

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 ...

, which he later called "not a wonderful place while I was there", and at the Royal Northern College of Music. In 1978, he was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition and won the piano section. In 1982, he won the Terence Judd Award in England. In 1983, he took first prize at the Naumburg International Piano Competition in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1985, he was a soloist with the

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. ...

, in the Naumburg Bandshell summer series in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. Hough holds a master's degree from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, where his studies were assisted by the receipt of the first

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Julius Isserlis Scholarship for study abroad. He has studied with Heather Slade-Lipkin, Gordon Green, Adele Marcus, Martin Canin, and Derrick Wyndham. A prominent soloist, he is also a composer and transcriber, and often includes his own works in his recitals. He has published over 30 pieces. His cello concerto, written for

Steven Isserlis Steven John Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, educator, writer and broadcaster, he is widely regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation. He is also noted for his div ...

, premiered in 2007. Also in 2007,

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

and

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

performed

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es he wrote for them. In 2009, members of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

premiered Hough's trio for piccolo, contrabassoon and piano (''Was mit den Traenen geschieht'') at the Philharmonie. His song cycles ''Herbstlieder'' (2007), ''Other Love Songs'' (2010), and ''Dappled Things'' (2016) were premiered by members of The Prince Consort. He premiered his ''Sonata for Piano (broken branches)'' at the Wigmore Hall in 2011. In 2012, the

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra was founded in 1930 and is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown ...

and Symphonic Choir gave the world premiere of the orchestrated version of his ''Missa Mirabilis''. The Colorado Symphony and Andrew Litton recorded this work for

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is a British classical music record label. It was independent until February 2023, when it was acquired by the Universal Music Group. Under Universal, Hyperion is one of the three main classical record labels, alongside Decca a ...

in 2015. Hough has written four piano sonatas, ''Partita and Sonatina Nostalgica'' for solo piano, and the test piece, ''Fanfare Toccata'', for the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The Takacs Quartet commissioned His String Quartet and recorded it for

. The

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

commissioned his Piano Concerto (''The World of Yesterday'') and premiered it in 2024. The European co-commissioner, The Hallé, recorded the piece for Hyperion in 2024 with Sir

Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the bassoon when in primary school, at Bryanston School, Dorset, and in the National ...

. In 2020, Hough's essay collection, ''Rough Ideas'', won the

Award in the Storytelling Category. Faber published his memoir, ''Enough: Scenes of Childhood'', in 2023. At the 2024 '' Last Night of the Proms,'' Hough accompanied soprano Angel Blue in his own arrangement of two

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

and was also the soloist in Saint-Saëns's ''Egyptian Concerto'', followed by an encore of his own fantasia on " Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

Recordings

Hough has recorded more than 60 albums, one of his most notable being a set of the four

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

piano concertos and the '' Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'', recorded during live performances with the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District, Dallas, Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra tr ...

under then music director Andrew Litton, which have been compared to Rachmaninoff's own recordings. These recordings won him his seventh Gramophone Award as well as the Classical BRIT Critics Award. Hough's recording of Saint-Saëns's piano concertos won the Gramophone Record of the Year in 2001 and was later voted the Gold Disc, "winner of winners" in a poll commemorating 30 years of the award. His recording of the complete Chopin waltzes won the Diapason d'Or de l'Année in 2011. Hough is also known for championing lesser-known composers considered outside the standard repertoire, such as

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and ...

, Xaver Scharwenka,

York Bowen Edwin York Bowen (22 February 1884 – 23 November 1961) was an English composer and pianist. Bowen's musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a tal ...

, and Federico Mompou. Hough's compositions can be heard on the

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recording ...

album ''Broken Branches'' and on the

Prince Consort A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as ''prince''. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be ...

album ''Other Love Songs'', on

Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...

. His second piano sonata (''notturno luminoso'') appears on his album ''In The Night'', and his cello sonata on a recital disc with

. His sequence ''Hallowed'' for unaccompanied choir was recorded by Harry Christophers and

The Sixteen The Sixteen (previously known as the Symphony of Harmony and Invention) are a British choir and period instrument orchestra. Founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first bille ...

on their CD 'Star of Heaven'.

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

recorded two of his transcriptions on his album with Kathryn Stott, Song of Comfort and Hope. Hough's fourth piano sonata is the title track on his 2021 album Vida Breve. The Takacs Quartet recorded his String Quartet for Hyperion. In 2017, Pentatone-Oxingale Records released an album commemorating the inaugural opening of the Tippet Rise Festival, featuring Hough, Christopher O'Riley, and Matt Haimovitz, among others.

Teaching and writing

Hough is a visiting professor of piano at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in London and the International Chair of Piano Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He is also on the faculty of the

. Hough joined the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

when he was 19. Twice in his life he considered becoming a priest, in particular joining the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

. Hough has written about his homosexuality and its relationship with both his music-making and his religion. For 15 years, following his Catholic conversion, he was celibate. In 2007, he published ''The Bible as Prayer: a handbook for

lectio divina In Western Christianity, ''Lectio Divina'' (Latin for "Divine Reading") is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's word. In the v ...

''. ''Nosing Around'', his little book on perfume, was published in 2014. In 2018, Sylph Editions published his first novel, ''The Final Retreat'', which explores the inner world of a priest dealing with sex addiction and religious despair. His book ''Rough Ideas: reflections on music and more'' is a collection of essays and short musings published by

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

in 2019 and by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

in 2020. In February 2023, Faber published his memoir ''Enough: Scenes from Childhood''. In 2008, Hough won the Sixth International Poetry Competition. From 2010 to 2015, he wrote a blog for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''.

Other activities

Hough had a solo exhibition of his paintings at the Broadbent Gallery in London in October 2012. In October 2016, Hough was the guest on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

''. His choices were Cortot's recording of Chopin's Prélude No. 17 in A-flat, Rachmaninoff's recording of Kreisler's ''Liebesleid'',

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

's ''

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...

'', the ''Kyrie eleison'' from Bach's Mass in B minor, the third movement of

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

's ''Lyric Suite'', his own sonata for cello and piano left hand ("Les adieux"), and ''Bird Songs at Eventide'' by Eric Coates. His favourite was "Proficiscere, anima Christiana (Go Forth)" from

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

's ''

The Dream of Gerontius ''The Dream of Gerontius'', Opus number, Op. 38, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from The Dream of Gerontius (poem), the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man' ...

''. His book choice was a bilingual edition of Proust's '' À la recherche du temps perdu'', and his luxury item was a

panama hat An Ecuadorian hat, also known as a Panama hat, a Jipijapa hat, or a toquilla straw hat, is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. Traditionally, hats were made from the plaited leaves of the '' Carludovica palmata'' plant, k ...

. He made a special request for a copy of the

Tyndale Bible The Tyndale Bible (TYN) generally refers to the body of biblical translations by William Tyndale into Early Modern English, made . Tyndale's biblical text is credited with being the first English-language Biblical translation to work directly ...

Australian connections

Hough's father was born an only child in Mayfield, a suburb of

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

, in 1926. Before his first birthday his mother took him to England, settling in the North, and leaving her husband behind in Australia. The boy was always told his father had died, but in fact his father lived 30 more years, working in the steel industry at Newcastle. Hough's grandfather wrote Hough's father letters, none of which he ever received. Stephen Hough says his assumption of Australian citizenship was in part a tribute to his father, who wanted to return to the land of his birth but was unable to do so before his death in 1980 at the age of 54.

Honours

Hough is an Honorary Member of the

in London, where he is a visiting professor, a Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where he is the International Chair of piano studies, and an Honorary Fellow of the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

. He received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

in 2011. In 2001, Hough became the first classical music performer to receive a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

. In 2009, ''The Economist'' and ''Intelligent Life'' magazines named him one of 20 living polymaths. In 2010, he was named Instrumentalist of the Year at the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards. He was a Governor of the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

Companies (The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School). He is a patron of the charity The Nightingale Project, which takes music and art into hospitals and of Music in Prisons (Irene Taylor Trust). Hough was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to music. He was made an Honorary Bencher of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 2017. In 2018, he was made an honorary member of the

. From 2019 to 2022 he was a visiting fellow at Lady Margaret Hall at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. In 2024, he was made an honorary fellow of Girton College, Cambridge. He was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, for services to music, in the Queen's

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

Works by Hough

Books

* ''The Bible as Prayer: A Handbook for Lectio Divina'' (2007) * ''Nosing Around'' (2014) * ''The Final Retreat'' (2018) * ''Rough Ideas: Reflections on Music and More'' (2019) * ''Enough: Scenes from Childhood'' (2023)

Selected discography

* '' Hummel: Piano Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op.89; Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor, Op.85:

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra spe ...

'' (Chandos, 1987, CHAN 8507) * ''Stephen Hough:

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

'' (Virgin Classics, 1988) * ''My Favorite Things: Virtuoso Encores'' ( MusicMasters, 1988; re-released by Virgin Classics as ''The Piano Album 1'', 1993, VC7595092) * ''

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 ...

: Fantasie and Davidbündlertänze'' (Virgin Classics, 1989, VC90770-2) * ''The Piano Album 2'' (Virgin Classics, 1993, VC7593042) * ''

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

: Holiday Diary, the piano music'' (EMI) * '' Xaver Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor and Emil von Sauer: Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor'' ( City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster, Hyperion, 1994, CDA66790) * ''Piano Music by

'' (Hyperion, 1996) * '' Lowell Liebermann: Piano Concertos'' (Hyperion, 1997) * ''Piano Music by Federico Mompou'' (Hyperion, 1997) * '' Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2,

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

'' (Virgin Classics 1998) * ''New York Variations'' (Hyperion, 1998) * ''Stephen Hough's New Piano Album'' (Hyperion, 1999, CDA67043) * '' Saint-Saëns: The Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra'' (Hyperion, 2001) * ''Stephen Hough's English Piano Album'' (Hyperion, 2002) * ''Hummel: Piano Sonatas'' (Hyperion, 2003) * ''

: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Andrew Litton/

'' (Hyperion CDA67501/2) * ''The Stephen Hough Piano Collection'' (Hyperion, 2005) * ''Liszt: Années de pèlerinage – "Première Année: Suisse", S. 160'' (Hyperion, 2005) * ''Stephen Hough's Spanish Album'' (Hyperion, 2005, CDA67565) * '' George Tsontakis: Man of Sorrows for piano & orchestra'' (Hyperion, 2007) - includes solo works by Schoenberg, Berg and Webern * ''

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 ...

Album'' (Hyperion, 2007)
''Stephen Hough in Recital''
(2009) * '' Chopin: Late Masterpieces'' (Hyperion, 2010) * ''

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

: Complete music for piano and orchestra'' (Hyperion, 2010) * '' Chopin: Complete Waltzes'' (Hyperion, 2011) * ''

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

: Piano Concertos'' (Hyperion, 2011) * ''Stephen Hough: Broken Branches'' (BIS, 2011) * ''Stephen Hough's French Album'' (Hyperion, 2012, CDA67890) * '' Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg'' (Hyperion, 2013, CDA67961) * ''Stephen Hough: In the Night'' – includes

's '' Carnaval'' and Hough's own Sonata No 2, 'Notturno luminoso' (Hyperion, 2014, CDA67996) * ''

Lyric Pieces ''Lyric Pieces'' () is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 ( Op. 12) to 1901 (Op. 71). The collection includes several of his best known pieces, such as '' Wedding ...

'' (Hyperion, 2015, CDA68070) * ''

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

: Sonatas & Poems'' (Hyperion, 2015, CDA67895) * ''

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

: Concertos, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra &

Andris Nelsons Andris Nelsons (born 18 November 1978) is a Latvian conductor. He is currently music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'' of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was previously music director of the Lat ...

'' * ''Stephen Hough's Dream Album'' (Hyperion, 2018, CDA68176) * '' Brahms: The Final Piano Pieces'' (Hyperion, 2020, CDA68116) * ''

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 ...

Piano Concertos'' (2020) * ''Vida Breve'' (Hyperion, 2021, CDA68260) * ''Schumann: Kreisleriana, Arabeske and Fantasie'' (2021) * ''Chopin: Complete Nocturnes'' (2021) * ''Schubert: Sonatas D664, 769a and 894'' (2022) * ''Mompou: Musica Callada'' (2023) * ''Hough: Piano Concerto, Sonatina & Partita'' (2025)

References

External links

Stephen Hough Official Website

Compositions at Official Website

Hyperion Website: includes audio samples

3 July 1989
Interview on The Next Track podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hough, Stephen 1961 births Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Australian classical pianists Australian Roman Catholics British male classical pianists British piano educators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Converts to Roman Catholicism English classical composers English classical pianists English gay musicians English LGBTQ composers English male classical composers English people of Australian descent English Roman Catholics Gay composers Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music Juilliard School alumni Knights Bachelor LGBTQ classical composers Living people MacArthur Fellows Musicians awarded knighthoods Naturalised citizens of Australia People from Heswall