ABOUT LEON McCAWLEY

“One of today’s most impeccably musical pianists.” International Piano, January/February 2021

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 recent CD of Haydn Sonatas Volume IV for SOMM Recordings is no exception: “There is real freshness to McCawley’s playing throughout, concomitant with a sense of Haydn’s delight in playing with form. Captured in superb sound, this is one of McCawley’s finest discs to date”. (International Piano, December 2021).

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NEWS | EARLIER NEWS

NEWS

BACK IN THE RECORDING STUDIO

April 17th, 2023|

Leon was recently back in the studio at Menuhin Hall recording a compilation disc for SOMM Recordings of piano music inspired by the natural word including works by composers such as Bartók, Debussy, […]

‘A PIANIST WHO FINDS THE HUMANITY IN THE MUSIC AND EMBODIES IT’

February 25th, 2023|

Leon performed recently at the Fanny Davies International Piano Series at St James Guernsey and received a fine review in the Guernsey Press:

‘Until I heard Leon McCawley play, I’d never have considered so dry a virtue as […]

‘MAGNIFICENTLY JUDGED PERFORMANCE’ IN SINGAPORE

June 15th, 2022|

Leon has received a very impressive review from the The Straits Times for his recent solo recital performance for Singapore International Piano Festival at Victoria Concert Hall on June 12th:

“British pianist Leon McCawley’s recital returned to the classical […]

BACK IN THE RECORDING STUDIO

April 17th, 2023|

‘A PIANIST WHO FINDS THE HUMANITY IN THE MUSIC AND EMBODIES IT’

February 25th, 2023|

Leon performed recently at the Fanny Davies International Piano Series at St James Guernsey and received a fine review in the Guernsey Press:

‘Until I heard Leon McCawley play, I’d never have considered so dry a virtue as […]

‘MAGNIFICENTLY JUDGED PERFORMANCE’ IN SINGAPORE

June 15th, 2022|

Leon has received a very impressive review from the The Straits Times for his recent solo recital performance for Singapore International Piano Festival at Victoria Concert Hall on June 12th:

“British pianist Leon McCawley’s recital returned to the classical […]

EARLIER NEWS

CONCERTS

13th May 2023 OXFORD, UK
Recital at Holywell Music Room with Soloists of Oxford Philharmonic (8pm)

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Schubert: Piano Quintet D.667 ‘Trout’

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5th June 2023 LUTON, UK
Solo recital for Luton Music Society at St. Mary’s Church (7.30pm)

Book tickets

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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16th June 2023 DARTMOUTH, UK
Solo recital at The Flavel (7.30pm)

Book tickets

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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10th-15th July 2023 LOFOTEN, NORWAY
Recitals at Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival

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10/7 SVOLVÆR: Grieg Op. 43 Nos. 1, 4 and 6 at Lofoten Kulturhaus (7pm)

11/7 BØSTAD: Mozart Three Songs K523, K476 and K472 with Roderick Williams at Borge Church (10pm)

12/7 SVOLVÆR: Schumann Faschingsschwank aus Wien at Svolvær Church (10pm)

13/7 LEKNES: Grieg Violin Sonata No. 2 (with Soo-Yin Hong) and Gershwin Song Selection (with Roderick Williams) at Meieriet Kultursenter (10pm)

14/7 KABELVÅG: Madeleine Dring Three Songs (with Roderick Williams) in Lofotkatedralen (10pm)

15/7 GRAVDAL: Final concert at Buknes Church (7pm)

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17th-24th July 2023 MAYFIELD, UK
Masterclasses and recital (open to participants only) at Lot Music

More info

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Brahms: Rhapsody in G minor Op. 79 No. 2
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”

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14th August 2023 MANCHESTER, UK
Solo recital at Stoller Hall (5pm)

Book tickets

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Brahms: Rhapsody in G minor Op. 79 No. 2
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”

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15th-17th August 2023 MANCHESTER, UK
Masterclasses at Chetham’s International Piano Summer School

More info

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26th September 2023 LIMERICK, IRELAND
Solo recital at Castleconnell Autumn Concert Series (8pm)

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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30th September 2023 MEXICO CITY
Solo recital at Festival Internacional de Piano En Blanco y Negro

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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2nd October 2023 MONTERREY, MEXICO
Masterclass at Escuela Superior de Música y Danza

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3rd October 2023 MONTERREY, MEXICO
Solo recital at Sala Beethoven International Festival (7.30pm)

Book tickets

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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4th (or 5th TBC) October 2023 TORREÓN, MEXICO
Solo recital

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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20th October 2023 NAIRN, UK
Solo recital for Music Nairn (7.30pm)

Book tickets

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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28th October 2023 WHITSTABLE, UK
Solo recital for Whitstable Music Society (7.30pm)

Book tickets

Haydn: Sonata No. 38 in F major XVI/23
Chopin: Two Nocturnes Op. 55
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major Op. 81a “Les Adieux”
Brahms: Two Rhapsodies Op. 79
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26

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12th-18th November 2023 ROUBAIX, FRANCE
On the jury of Les Étoiles du Piano International Competition

More info

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8th December 2023 BRADFORD ON AVON, UK
Solo recital at Wiltshire Music Centre (7.30pm)

Venue info- tickets not yet available

Haydn: Sonata No. 34 in D major Hob. XVI/33
Tchaikovsky: Song of the Lark & Autumn Song from The Seasons Op. 37a
Prokofiev: Sonata No 2 in D minor Op. 14
Chopin: Impromptu in A flat major Op. 29
Schubert : Four Impromptus D 935

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PRESS – RECITALS

Guernsey Press, February 22nd February 2023
Solo recital at Fanny Davis International Piano Series, February 15th 2023

Until I heard Leon McCawley play, I’d never have considered so dry a virtue as ‘respect’ to feature in my reasons for my being so utterly captivated by a musician’s performance. But mulling it over with fellow audience members, it became clear that this was the overriding quality that linked his extraordinarily varied but always enthralling approach to such diverse composers as Haydn and Brahms. His credentials and interpretation together demonstrate a unique talent. But respect? I believe it is in the way he honours the deepest truths in every composer he undertakes to play and manages to communicate that to an audience so that they, in an instant, can understand and share his reverence. This is a pianist who finds the humanity in the music, and embodies it.

He was greeted with deafening applause and a standing ovation reflecting, I believe, his intuitive connection with aficionados and first-timers alike. Having led us into fierce and wonderful terrain, the master guided us safely back home. We were drained; he looked ready to do it all over again. It felt unrepeatable. It was certainly unforgettable.

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CharlesHutchPress, October 24th 2022
Solo recital at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York, October 12th 2022

Athletes and performers alike talk about being “in the zone”. Leon McCawley found it here. He played the Schubert like a man possessed, not running amok, quite the opposite. The audience sensed it early on and kept incredibly quiet, even between movements. No-one wanted to break the extraordinary spell he generated.

Although Schubert’s multiple key-changes can easily disrupt the flow, they were not allowed to here, seeming perfectly and smoothly logical. This slackened not a whit in the Andante, which was deeply thoughtful and ended with the same serenity we had heard earlier.

The scherzo was fiery but light, with crisp inner voices. Gravity returned in the trio but evaporated with the scherzo’s return and peaceful conclusion. The finale was inevitably more extrovert, and even briefly stormy, but the scale was always intimate, as if secrets were being shared rather than trumpeted around the hall.

By now McCawley had the audience in the palm of his hand and could have got away with almost anything. But he kept faith with our intelligence and resisted the temptation to over-explain. It was possible to believe that this was exactly how Schubert intended it to be. Certainly it was a performance never to be forgotten

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The Straits Times, June 15th 2022
Solo Recital for Singapore International Piano Festival at Victoria Concert Hall, June 12th 2022

British pianist Leon McCawley’s recital returned to the classical world of Vienna, represented by Haydn’s masterly Variations in F minor and Mozart’s rarely heard Sonata in F major (K533/494), brought out with gravitas that was both touching and moving. In the fast movements of the Mozart, clarity and illumination were the rule, and the music could not have been more tastefully rendered.

Then there was Schubert’s final Sonata in B flat major (D. 960) where McCawley’s sense of proportion and architecture was peerless. Playing the exposition repeat of its first movement ensured that its warmth and lyricism were doubly enjoyed.

An overwhelming sense of mortality possessed the haunting slow movement. This, balanced by the apparent gaiety of the last two movements, gave this magnificently judged performance a human perspective that has become all too rare.

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PRESS – CONCERTOS

Cambridge Independent, 20th February 2020
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Domingo Hindoyan at Cambridge Corn Exchange

The soloist for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 was multi-award- winning British pianist Leon McCawley who in many respects, one would have to say, is the perfect pianist.

McCawley gave a spellbinding performance of this concerto…[his] understanding of this beautiful music was complete. It was impossible not to be moved by both the ability of the composer to create such a thing, and a performer who could engage with it so masterfully.
John Gilroy

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La Nueva España, Asturias 12th May 2019
Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias/Hans Graf at Auditorio Principe Felipe, Oviedo

Without a doubt, McCawley was one of the attractions of the evening. His style, intimate and technically imposing, fitted like a glove for the interpretation of the Schumann concerto, and was in evidence even more so in the ‘Liebeslied’ encore, played with such sensitivity and delicacy.
Jonathan Mallada

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El Comercio, Asturias 21st January 2017
Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias/Manuel López-Gómez at Teatro Jovellanos, Gijón

…this was a passionate and poetic Beethoven [Piano Concerto No. 3], full of energy and rhythm. McCawley is a pianist with a very lyrical and poetic touch, so transparent and precise…

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