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Details
Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall
The School of Music
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT
England
Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata no.2 in A major, Op.2 no.2
Sergei Rachmaninov – Etude-tableau in A minor, Op.39 no.2
Johann Sebastian Bach – Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543
Felix Mendelssohn – Rondo capriccioso, Op.14
Felix Mendelssohn – Six Songs Without Words, Op.19b
Robert Schumann – Piano Sonata no.2 in G minor, Op.22
Performers
Leon McCawley – piano
Other concerts in this Series (+)
Programme Note
Described by International Piano as “one of today’s most impeccably musical pianists”, we are delighted to welcome back Leon McCawley to the University. Winner of the Beethoven International Piano Competition in Vienna and 2nd prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 1993, Leon's fascinatingly wide-ranging programme includes Beethoven’s youthful and startlingly original early Sonata, op. 2, no. 2, the desolate, soulful and bell-inspired Étude-Tableau, op 39, no 2 in A minor by Rachmaninov, and the dramatic and masterly transcription of Bach’s cathedral-like Organ Prelude and Fugue in A minor by Liszt. The second half of the programme couples Mendelssohn’s joyous and playful Rondo Capriccioso with his first set of intimate Songs Without Words, op. 19, and closes with Schumann’s passionate Sonata in G minor, op. 22.
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 in the 21/22 season was Artist-in-Residence), 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 Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National and Ulster Orchestras, Bournemouth and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras and Royal Northern Sinfonia. He made his sixth appearance at the BBC Proms in August 2019 performing John Ireland’s Piano Concerto with BBC Concert Orchestra/Bramwell Tovey which was 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 Hans Graf, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Domingo Hindoyan, Kurt Masur, Rossen Milanov, Robin Ticciati and John Wilson.
Highlights of the 2023/24 season include a return solo recital at Wigmore Hall, a debut recital at the En Blanco y Negro Piano Festival in Mexico City with further Mexico performances in Monterrey (Sala Beethoven Festival) and Torreón’s Teatro Isauro Martinez.
