Jonathan Plowright

 

"the piano positively purrs with pleasure"           Gramophone

  


"How richly satisfying to hear playing of such unimpeachable musical honesty and awe-inspiring grandeur;  Gilels himself never produced a richer, more full-bloodied sonority.......and it is surely no exaggeration to say that if such playing is anything to go by you are listening to one of the finest living pianists"     GRAMOPHONE 
                                          




"This Hyperion release is simply stunning....The plaudits for Plowright... confirm a colossal musical mind and matching technical ease."                 INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW   



 "Plowright shows his real qualities as a virtuoso, especially his clarity of texture and instinct for phrasing."      BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE             

 

"Jonathan Plowright's playing is tender and virtuosic, providing a perfect companion to Stojowski's late romantic style."
POLISH MUSIC CENTRE


"there’s no doubt that these are commanding, triumphant and ultra-virtuosic performances of lasting value."  
MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL            

"..he understands the structure of Bach's music so that the performances have a pleasing inner logic and clarity"    INTERNATIONAL PIANO

"Here is a pianist at the top of his game with meticulous attention to detail, stylistic absorption, and a vivid sense of colour and character; the piano positively purrs with pleasure."   GRAMOPHONE

"He is a constant joy."   PIANIST MAGAZINE

 

Hailed by reviewers as "a colossal musical mind"  with a "transcendent technique", Jonathan Plowright is recognised globally as a truly exceptional pianist.

Gold Medallist at the Royal Academy of Music and a Fulbright Scholar, prizewinner in many competitions, Jonathan won Gold Medal at the Royal Overseas League Competition as well as first prize at the European Piano Competition.  Critics, colleagues and audiences alike have since had unanimous praise for his many national and international performances and he has been in demand all over the world as recitalist, appeared with leading orchestras and ensembles and given numerous radio broadcasts.

Jonathan's last nine CD recordings have been exclusively for Hyperion records, the UK’s largest and highly respected independent classical music label.  His commemorative 'Hommage a Chopin' recording attracted many accolades, including the prestigious Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Diapason D'Or and CD of the Week on both ClassicFM and ABC ClassicFM.

During the past decade Jonathan has become well known as an advocate of the Polish Romantic repertoire and, besides his popular disc of pieces by Chopin, his first recording of a rare collection of pieces by Paderewski earned Jonathan an invitation by the Paderewski in Memoriam Foundation to give the closing recital of the Polish Parliament’s 2001 ‘Year of Paderewski’ celebrations in Warsaw.

Jonathan's recordings featuring the music of the largely forgotten Polish/US emigré Sigismund Stojowski led to a revival of interest in his music after several generations of neglect and attracted considerable attention in the international music press.  The discs, on Hyperion Records, were both named 'Record of the Month' in the Polish national music monthly Muzyka 21 and Jonathan has since been invited to perform with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Polish National Symphony Orchestra.

In 2006 he gave a sell-out Weill Hall recital promoted by the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York.  Whilst in the USA he was invited to perform at a special event at the Polish Music Centre at the University of Southern California, in the presence of Stojowski's surviving family, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his death and in celebration of their donation of the Stojowski manuscripts and personal papers to the University.

His hugely successful Hyperion recording of the notoriously difficult Paderewski Sonata in 2007 was admired by many, including the BBC "The playing is world-class; understated virtuosity at its best."

In 2006 his Hyperion recording of Bach transcriptions by Walter Rummel, was also released to great critical acclaim. His recording of the Constant Lambert Piano Concerto (which he world premiered in 1988) with David Lloyd Jones and the English Northern Philharmonia for Hyperion in 2005, was Gramophone Editor’s Choice and CD of the Week in both The Sunday Times and ClassicFM.

Recent memorable engagements included recitals with the Szymanowski Quartet in Krakow,  at the Wigmore Hall in London, at the Albeniz Centenary celebrations in Majorca,  as well as concerto appearances with Chichester Camerata and the Arthur Rubenstein Philharmonic in Poland.  To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Chopin in 2010, as well as recitals throughout Poland, Jonathan was also invited to appear with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra during their special Year of Chopin celebrations.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Paderewski in November 2010, Jonathan was invited back by the Polish Music Centre in Los Angeles for a series of recitals in the USA.  In addition his Hyperion CD recording 'Homage to Paderewski' was released by Hyperion in November 2011, to critical acclaim including a 5 star Classical CD of the Week in the Daily Telegraph.  

Highlights for 2012 include the release of his first chamber music CD with the Szymanowski Quartet, recording his third Romantic Piano Concerto CD both for Hyperion Records, and his first appearance at the Australian Chamber Music Festival.

Jonathan is Head of Keyboard at the University of Chichester and on the Keyboard Faculty of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  He is also often invited to give masterclasses, consultation lessons and prize adjudications at competitions and international conservatoires.

Winter 2011

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