Stephen Hough
Named by The Economist as one of Twenty Living Polymaths, Sir Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career of a concert pianist with those of a composer and writer. In recognition of his contribution to cultural life, he became the first classical performer to be given a MacArthur Fellowship, and was awarded a Knighthood for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022.
In a career spanning over 40 years, Stephen Hough has played regularly with most of the world’s leading orchestras. He began his 2024/25 concert season with his 30th appearance at the BBC Proms, performing at Last Night of the Proms to a live audience of 6,000 and a televised audience of 3.5 million. Throughout the rest of the season, Hough performs over 80 concerts on four continents. In January 2024, he premiered his own Piano Concerto, The World of Yesterday.
As a composer, Hough’ s songs, choral andinstrumental works have been commissioned by Musee du Louvre, Westminster Abbey, and Wigmore Hall, amongst many others. As an author, he has written a memoir (Enough: Scenes from Childhood), a collection of essays (Rough Ideas: Reflections on Music and More), and a novel (The Final Retreat).
Hough’s discography of 70 recordings has garnered awards including the Diapason d’Orde l’ Annee, several Grammy nominations, and eight Gramophone Awards including Record of the Year and the Gold Disc. Hough is the International Chair of Piano Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, and is on the faculty of The Juilliard School in New York.
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