Stephen Hough
With an artistic vision that transcends musical fashions and trends, Stephen Hough is
widely regarded as one of the most important and distinctive pianists of his generation. In
recognition of his achievements, he was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2001,
joining prominent scientists, writers, and others who have made unique contributions to
contemporary life. He received the 2008 Northwestern University School of Music's Jean
Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance, and was the 2010 winner of the Royal Philharmonic
Society Instrumentalist Award.
Mr. Hough has appeared with most of the major American and European orchestras, and plays
recitals regularly in the important halls and concert series around the world. Recent
engagements include recitals in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Sydney, Chicago, and San
Francisco; performances with the New York, Los Angeles, and Czech philharmonics; the London
Philharmonic Orchestra; the Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Toronto symphony orchestras; the San
Francisco and St. Louis symphonies; and the Cleveland, Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Russian
National orchestras; and a televised performance with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir
Simon Rattle.
Mr. Hough is a regular guest at festivals such as Salzburg, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Blossom,
Hollywood Bowl, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, and the BBC Proms, where he has made more than 20
appearances. In the summer of 2009, he played all of the works for piano and orchestra of
Tchaikovsky over four Prom concerts, three of which were broadcast live on BBC Television.
During the summer of 2012, he returned to the Aspen, Grand Teton, and Lincoln Center's
Mostly Mozart festivals.
Highlights of Mr. Hough's 2012-2013 season include return engagements with the Boston and
Baltimore symphony orchestras, the San Francisco and Houston symphonies, and the Hong Kong
Philharmonic and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, as well as solo recitals in
Vancouver, St. Paul, and at London's Barbican Centre. He will also be the
artist-in-residence with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London.
Mr. Hough's catalogue of over 50 CDs has garnered numerous international prizes, including
the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, Diapason d'Or, Monde de la musique, four Grammy
nominations, and eight Gramophone Awards, including Record of the Year in 1996 and 2003,
and the Gramophone "Gold Disc" Award in 2008. His most recent recordings are the Grieg and
Liszt concertos for Hyperion and a disc of his own compositions for BIS Records. He
recorded the two Brahms concertos with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra in January
2013.
As a composer, Mr. Hough has been commissioned by the musicians of the Berliner
Philharmoniker, London's National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, Wigmore Hall, Musée du
Louvre, and Musica Viva Australia, among other organizations. He premiered his Sonata for
Piano, "Broken Branches," at Wigmore Hall in June 2011, and the world premiere of his
Missa Mirabilis, commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, took place
in April 2012. Mr. Hough's numerous compositions for solo piano, chamber ensembles,
orchestra, and voice are published by Josef Weinberger Ltd.
A resident of London, Mr. Hough is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in
London and holds the International Chair of Piano Studies at his alma mater, the Royal
Northern College of Music in Manchester. Please visit stephenhough.com for more
information.