| Benjamin Grosvenor | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | 8 July 1992 |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 2003&ndash |
| Labels | Decca |
| Website | www.benjamingrosvenor.co.uk |
Benjamin Grosvenor (born 8 July 1992) is a classical pianist from the United Kingdom. He won the piano section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2004 competition.[1] In 2010 he joined BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme, which he completes in 2012.
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Grosvenor is the youngest of five brothers. His father is an English and Drama teacher, and his mother, a piano teacher by profession.[2]
Grosvenor began studying the piano with his mother Rebecca at the age of six.[2] He joined Westcliff High School for Boys[2] in 2003. He now also takes lessons from Christopher Elton[2] in London. Grosvenor is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music[3][4].
In May 2003, Grosvenor gave his first full recital at a local church. In the same year, he made his first concerto appearance, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 with the Westcliff Sinfonia.
Since then he has given many high profile recitals in Europe and the United States. Some of the concerts he has played in were at the Royal Albert Hall,[2] St George's, Bristol, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, Usher Hall, Carnegie Hall and Symphony Hall.
Grosvenor has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish String Ensemble, New York Youth Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra[1] and English Chamber Orchestra[5] playing works by Mozart, Grieg, Ravel, Britten and Chopin.
On May 20, 2009, Grosvenor made his debut with the Ulster Orchestra, conductor Kenneth Montgomery, at the National Concert Hall Dublin where he played Rachmaninov, Grieg and Ravel.
At the age of ten, in 2003, he became the youngest ever winner of four competitions- The Southend Young Musician of the Year,The Essex Young Musician of the Year, The Emanuel Trophy and The EPTA Trophy.
Eleven year old Grosvenor was the winner of the keyboard section of the BBC Young musician of the year 2004 award. He played Scarlatti, Schumann, Takemitsu and Chopin- all from memory. The overall winner of this competition was Nicola Benedetti.
Grosvenor has recorded CDs featuring various composers. In July 2005, he appeared in a BBC Documentary as part of the Imagine series.
After a short period under a development agreement with EMI, he signed for Decca in April 2011, the label's first British pianist for over half a century.[6]