Described as "a pianist of rare quality" by London's Daily Telegraph,
Leon McCawley is solidly building his reputation as one of Britain's leading pianists of the new generation. He leapt into international prominence in 1993 when he won both First Prize in the Ninth International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and Second Prize in the Leeds International Competition, building on earlier national first prize successes in the Piano Section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year and the London Philharmonic Orchestra's Pioneer Young Soloist of the Year in 1990.
Critical acclaim for his CD releases of Barber: Music for Solo Piano on EMI/Virgin Classics and Beethoven: Piano Works on Sanctuary Classics have acknowledged him as a pianist of great integrity, bringing freshness and vitality to both popular and lesser known repertoire. His most recent double disc of Schumann's piano music for Avie Records was released in Autumn 2003 and selected as "Editor's Choice" in the March 2004 edition of Gramophone.
Leon McCawley's deeply committed performances and engaging musicality have made him a favourite at recital venues and festivals in the UK and abroad. In recent seasons he has given highly praised recitals at LSO/St Lukes, Wigmore Hall, International Piano Series at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Berlin Philharmonie for Deutschland Radio, Berlin Konzerthaus, Festival Radio France in Montpellier, Kennedy Center Washington DC, Munich Prinzregententheater, Prague Rudolfinum, Vienna Musikverein and Zurich Tonhalle.
McCawley performs with many of the top British Orchestras at all the major concert venues including City of Birmingham Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Hallé, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He has performed several times at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio 3 in recital and with many of the BBC Orchestras. Further afield, Leon has performed with Adelaide Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Vienna Symphony and Vienna Chamber Orchestra among many others. Conductors he has worked with include Kurt Masur, Simon Rattle, Mark Elder, Paavo Järvi, Andrew Litton, Sakari Oramo and Yan Pascal Tortelier.
Highlights in 2004/5 include performances with City of Birmingham Symphony and Sakari Oramo, Netherlands Philharmonic with Joseph Swensen, Royal Philharmonic and Daniele Gatti and in May 2005 he returns for his third appearance at International Piano Series on London's South Bank.
A keen chamber music player, McCawley has enjoyed collaborating with the Nash Ensemble, the Belcea, Chilingirian and Lindsay Quartets, Emma Johnson, Andrew Marriner and Steven Isserlis. Born in 1973, Leon McCawley studied firstly at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester with Heather Slade-Lipkin and continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia with Eleanor Sokoloff. He also acknowledges Nina Milkina for her inspiration and guidance.
