NEWS

EXCELLENT REVIEWS FOR ‘NATURAL CONNECTION’

May 15th, 2024|

Leon has received some excellent reviews for his latest CD ‘Natural Connection’ on SOMM Recordings:

‘This scintillatingly varied recital combines sensuous virtuosity, compelling charm and musical probity. Highly recommended.’ Gramophone

‘a recital of enormous pictorial charm’ Pianist Magazine

‘The fluidity […]

‘ELEGANCE AND VIRTUOSITY’ IN MEXICO

October 10th, 2023|

Leon has returned from a highly successful recital tour in Mexico making his debuts at the En Blanco y Negro Festival in Mexico City, the Festival Internacional de Piano Sala Beethoven in Monterrey and Festival Internacional de […]

‘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 […]

SINGAPORE DEBUT

May 21st, 2022|

Leon makes his Singapore recital debut at the Victoria Concert Hall for Singapore International Piano Festival on June 12th performing Haydn’s Variations in F minor, Mozart Sonata K533/494 and Schubert’s Sonata in B flat D960 followed […]

NEW RELEASE!

November 28th, 2021|

Leon’s fourth volume of Haydn Piano Sonatas has recently been released on SOMM Recordings and has already been lauded as “one of McCawley’s finest discs to date” by International Piano Magazine. See the whole […]

LIVESTREAM RECITAL ON MARCH 19TH AT WIGMORE HALL

March 7th, 2021|

Leon is so pleased to be giving another livestream recital at Wigmore Hall on March 19th, performing works by Schubert, Grieg and Schumann. This will be available to watch on all of Wigmore Hall’s social media platforms […]

NEW CD RELEASE!

November 20th, 2020|

Leon is very happy to announce the new CD release of Haydn Sonatas Volume 3 on SOMM Recordings, now available online HERE. This is Leon’s ninth disc on the enterprising SOMM label and continues […]

LEON McCAWLEY’s YOUTUBE CHANNEL

July 7th, 2020|

Leon’s YouTube channel has expanded considerably during the lockdown and you can now find over 60 videos of his live concert performances there for easy viewing. Please take a look and subscribe to […]

LEON PERFORMS AT BBC PROMS 2019

April 17th, 2019|

Leon will make his sixth appearance at the BBC Proms on 31st August, performing John Ireland’s Piano Concerto with BBC Concert Orchestra/Bramwell Tovey in a special tribute concert to Sir Henry Wood. The concert will be recorded […]

5 STAR REVIEW FOR SCHUBERT

March 15th, 2019|

Leon has received a terrific 5 star review in France’s Classica Magazine for his Schubert disc on SOMM: ‘Leon McCawley seduces the listener by a spontaneous performance devoid of any sense of narcissism. Here […]

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK on BBC RADIO 3 IN TUNE

July 23rd, 2017|

Leon’s performance of Ravel’s Oiseaux Tristes on July 19th was Suzy Klein’s Highlight of the Week on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. He was interviewed on the programme in advance of his upcoming UK summer festival performances […]

EXCELLENT REVIEWS FOR ‘NATURAL CONNECTION’

May 15th, 2024|

Leon has received some excellent reviews for his latest CD ‘Natural Connection’ on SOMM Recordings:

‘This scintillatingly varied recital combines sensuous virtuosity, compelling charm and musical probity. Highly recommended.’ Gramophone

‘a recital of enormous pictorial charm’ Pianist Magazine

‘The fluidity and freedom of his playing benefits from excellent sound’ Diapason

‘The main element that unites this series of 21 small piano pieces by ten composers is that they are all miniature […]

‘ELEGANCE AND VIRTUOSITY’ IN MEXICO

October 10th, 2023|

Leon has returned from a highly successful recital tour in Mexico making his debuts at the En Blanco y Negro Festival in Mexico City, the Festival Internacional de Piano Sala Beethoven in Monterrey and Festival Internacional de Piano in Torreón. Monterrey’s El Norte praised the ‘elegance and virtuosity’ of his pianism together with his ‘deeply emotional interpretation’ drawing ‘bravos from the public’. ‘The audience gave him a […]

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 world including works by composers such as Bartók, Debussy, Grieg, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Tchaikovsky. The disc is due to be released in January 2024 so watch this space!

‘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 ‘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 […]

‘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 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. […]

NEW RELEASE!

November 28th, 2021|

Leon’s fourth volume of Haydn Piano Sonatas has recently been released on SOMM Recordings and has already been lauded as “one of McCawley’s finest discs to date” by International Piano Magazine. See the whole review HERE.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE AT WIGMORE HALL FOR 21/22 SEASON

August 23rd, 2021|

Leon will be one of Wigmore Hall’s Artists in Residence during the 2021/22 season. He begins his series of four concerts performing late works by Haydn, Mozart and Schubert on 30th September and further recitals will take place on 1st December 2021, 9th March 2022 and 29th June 2022.

 

LIVESTREAM RECITAL ON MARCH 19TH AT WIGMORE HALL

March 7th, 2021|

Leon is so pleased to be giving another livestream recital at Wigmore Hall on March 19th, performing works by Schubert, Grieg and Schumann. This will be available to watch on all of Wigmore Hall’s social media platforms for 90 days. Click HERE to watch the full performance.

NEW CD RELEASE!

November 20th, 2020|

Leon is very happy to announce the new CD release of Haydn Sonatas Volume 3 on SOMM Recordings, now available online HERE. This is Leon’s ninth disc on the enterprising SOMM label and continues his exploration of Haydn’s rich and varied sonatas following on from highly acclaimed Volumes 1 and 2. Look out for Volume 4 next year!

‘PURE POETRY’: EXCELLENT REVIEW OF WIGMORE HALL RECITAL

October 19th, 2020|

Leon has received an excellent review in Seen and Heard International of his solo recital and livestream at Wigmore Hall on 10th October: “He displayed enormous sensitivity and tenderness while also breathing life into the more dramatic elements of the work [Schubert Sonata D664] and the strong dynamic contrasts. McCawley’s playing [in Janáčeks’ On an Overgrown Path] was nuanced and insightful, crystallising the very […]

LEON McCAWLEY’s YOUTUBE CHANNEL

July 7th, 2020|

Leon’s YouTube channel has expanded considerably during the lockdown and you can now find over 60 videos of his live concert performances there for easy viewing. Please take a look and subscribe to the channel HERE. Let the music play!

LEON IS TELEVISION GUEST ON BBC YOUNG MUSICIAN 2020

May 6th, 2020|

Leon was invited to be the Television Guest on the recent BBC4 TV broadcast of the BBC Young Musician 2020 Keyboard Final and joined presenter Anna Lapwood to offer his expert opinion on the five selected pianists. The programme is available to watch on BBC iPlayer throughout May.

‘SPELLBINDING’ BEETHOVEN WITH ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

February 20th, 2020|

Leon’s recent performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Domingo Hindoyan has received a wonderful review in the Cambridge Independent:

“McCawley gave a spellbinding performance of this concerto…[he] was superlative in the first movement’s lengthy cadenza (one of three Beethoven wrote for the concerto), and in the expansive and serene Largo where, towards the end, […]

‘SPARKLING’ BBC RADIO 3 RECORD REVIEW FOR HAYDN SONATAS VOLUME II

September 14th, 2019|

Leon’s latest release of Haydn’s Sonatas Volume II for SOMM Recordings was featured today on Andrew McGregor’s BBC Record Review (listen from 4:00 into the broadcast- available on the BBC iPlayer until 13th October):

“First some sparkling Haydn from Leon McCawley…this makes for an excellent opening. McCawley is a persuasive advocate for, as the booklet notes say, Haydn’s ‘airy charm’, […]

LEON PERFORMS AT BBC PROMS 2019

April 17th, 2019|

Leon will make his sixth appearance at the BBC Proms on 31st August, performing John Ireland’s Piano Concerto with BBC Concert Orchestra/Bramwell Tovey in a special tribute concert to Sir Henry Wood. The concert will be recorded and broadcast on BBC4 TV on 1st September. Book tickets here!

5 STAR REVIEW FOR SCHUBERT

March 15th, 2019|

Leon has received a terrific 5 star review in France’s Classica Magazine for his Schubert disc on SOMM: ‘Leon McCawley seduces the listener by a spontaneous performance devoid of any sense of narcissism. Here is an album communicated with such tenderness, naturalness and sincerity’. For the full review and all the latest reviews of Leon’s Schubert disc click here.

 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK on BBC RADIO 3 IN TUNE

July 23rd, 2017|

Leon’s performance of Ravel’s Oiseaux Tristes on July 19th was Suzy Klein’s Highlight of the Week on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. He was interviewed on the programme in advance of his upcoming UK summer festival performances at Ribble Valley International Piano Week, Petworth, Manchester, Belfast and Machynlleth. Click here to listen to the performance.