Kathryn Stott
pianist
biography (full version)
Introduction
Kathryn Stott is recognised internationally as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative musicians and among today's most engaging pianists. Her curiosity and wide-ranging interests have taken her in many different directions, forging a unique career and establishing a rare reputation. A modest and natural collaborator, she is in demand for a wide variety of chamber music alliances, playing with some of the world’s leading instrumentalists, as well as appearing on major international concert platforms in recitals and concerto performances. She has also directed several distinctive concert series and festivals and has developed an extensive and exceptionally varied catalogue of recordings.
Background
Born in Lancashire, she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Vlado Perlemuter and Nadia Boulanger then at the Royal College of Music in London with Kendall Taylor. In 1978 she attracted critical attention as an outstanding young prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition. In addition to her busy career as a performer worldwide, she is visiting professor at both the Royal Academy of Music, London and Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester.
Concertos and chamber music collaborations
As a concerto soloist Kathryn Stott enjoys associations with major orchestras in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan. It says much about her as an artist and colleague that she is a favoured partner of many leading musicians, This season she celebrates a fruitful quarter-of-a-century partnership with Yo-Yo Ma, in concerts, on tours and on recordings. Other cellists with whom she works regularly include Truls Mørk, Christian Poltéra, Guy Johnston and Natalie Clein. She appears with violinist Janine Jansen and pianist Noriko Ogawa, while future collaborations include projects with violinists Henning Kraggerud, Valeriy Sokolov, Alina Ibragimova; violist Maxim Rysanov; cellist Torleif Thedeen; clarinettist Martin Fröst; oboist Christoph Hartmann; and baritone Audun Iverson. She has developed shared musical interests with an eclectic group of performers including the guitar-playing Assad Brothers, bandoneonist Nestor Marconi, double-bassist Edgar Meyer, and clarinettist Paquito d’Rivera. A close involvement with many leading string quartets has led to regular guest appearances with the Belcea, Skampa and Endellion Quartets, as well as with the Lindsays. In addition to this she has made nearly a dozen appearances at the BBC Proms.
New directions
Kathryn Stott has a keen interest in contemporary music. Concertos by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Michael Nyman head the impressive list of major world premieres she has given. With Noriko Ogawa she gave the world premiere of Graham Fitkin’s 'Circuit' for two pianos and orchestra in Manchester, with subsequent performances in Japan, and has also recorded the work. Her constantly expanding horizons have led her to become a remarkable exponent of tango and other Latin dance music, reflected particularly in her CD 'La Habanera: the Piano Music of Ernesto Lecuona' and in her collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and leading South American musicians on the Grammy Award-winning Sony CD ‘Soul of the Tango’ and its successor ‘Obrigado Brazil’.
On disc
In the recording studio she has created a large and eclectic body of work including concertos and solo repertoire on a wide variety of labels including the complete solo piano music of Fauré; solo pieces by Koechlin, Foulds, Schulhoff and Smetana; a solo piano disc, ‘Dance’; chamber music CDs with YoYo Ma, Truls Mørk, Christian Poltéra, the Hermitage Piano Trio and, most recently, with cellist Guy Johnston (‘Milo’/Orchid Classics). Current and forthcoming recordings include three discs with the Doric String Quartet.
Festival director and creator
Kathryn Stott has been the artistic vision behind several major festivals and concert series, in which she has played a dual role as director/performer. ‘Piano 2000’ and ‘Piano 2003’ ( Bridgewater Hall, Manchester) established her reputation as an astute programmer; and following the earlier ‘Fauré and the French Connection’ she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Government. In 2008 she was appointed Artistic Director of the Manchester Chamber Concerts Society. She is Guest Artistic Director, 2010 and 2011, of the chamber festival, Incontri in Terra di Siena.
Future plans
Current and future plans include tours of the United States and Japan with Yo-Yo Ma, and a tour of the USA with the Assad Brothers while her busy schedule takes her to a range of international flagship festivals including Este (Italy), Storioni (Holland), Vinterfest (Sweden’s winter music festival on ice), Oxford, Hardanger and Risør (both Norway) and Kharkov (Ukraine) as well as Salzburg.
In short
Kathryn (Kathy) Stott has a daughter, Lucy, and lives with her partner, Huw, a landscape architect, in the small West Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge. Away from the concert platform and rehearsal studio, she collects black-and-white Italian photographs, enjoys hill-walking and trekking and is on the Board of the Hallé Concerts Society. In 2008 she celebrated her 50th birthday with 25 musician friends in a charity gala concert at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, raising £30k for HIV research and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy of whose fundraising committee she is a member. As her range of engagements and activities illustrates, Kathryn Stott’s diverse career remains truly international as she continues to captivate audiences worldwide with her eloquent musicianship and outgoing personality.
more information at: www.kathrynstott.com
November 2010
900 words
Please note that this biography/profile may be used without headings and is also suitable for use in house magazines and newsletters as well as in concert programmes.
Please contact Jane Ward for latest version.
biography (short version)
Kathryn Stott is recognised internationally as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative musicians and among today's most engaging pianists. She is in demand for a wide variety of chamber music alliances, playing with some of the world’s leading instrumentalists, as well as appearing on major international concert platforms in recitals and concerto performances. She has also directed several distinctive concert series and festivals and has developed an extensive and exceptionally varied catalogue of recordings.
Born in Lancashire, she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music and was a prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition 1978. In addition to her busy career as a performer worldwide, she is visiting professor at both the Royal Academy of Music, London and Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester.
She enjoys associations with many orchestras and is a favoured partner of many distinguished chamber musicians, This season she celebrates a fruitful quarter-of-a-century partnership with Yo-Yo Ma, in concerts, on tours and on recordings. She has developed shared musical interests with an eclectic group of performers and has a close involvement with many leading string quartets. She has made nearly a dozen appearances at the BBC Proms to which she returns next summer.
A particular interest in contemporary music has led to several world premieres. She is a remarkable exponent of tango and other Latin dance music, reflected in her collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and leading South American musicians on the Grammy Award-winning Sony CD ‘Soul of the Tango’ and its successor ‘Obrigado Brazil’. In the recording studio she has created a large and eclectic body of work including concertos and solo repertoire on a wide variety of labels including many discs of solo pieces; chamber music CDs with Yo-Yo Ma, Truls Mørk, Christian Poltéra, the Hermitage Piano Trio and, most recently, with cellist Guy Johnston, (‘Milo’/Orchid Classics). Current and forthcoming recordings include three discs with the Doric String Quartet.
Kathryn Stott has been the artistic vision behind several major festivals and concert series. ‘Piano 2000’ and ‘Piano 2003’ ( Bridgewater Hall, Manchester) established her reputation as an astute programmer; and following the earlier ‘Fauré and the French Connection’ she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Government. In 2008 she was appointed Artistic Director of the Manchester Chamber Concerts Society. She is Guest Artistic Director, 2010 and 2011, of the chamber festival, Incontri in Terra di Siena.
Current and future plans include tours of the United States and Japan with Yo-Yo Ma, and a tour of the USA with the Assad Brothers, while her busy schedule takes her to a range of international flagship festivals including Este (Italy), Storioni (Holland), Vinterfest (Sweden), Oxford, Hardanger and Risør (both Norway) and Kharkov (Ukraine) as well as Salzburg.
Kathryn (Kathy) Stott has a daughter, Lucy, and lives with her partner, Huw, a landscape architect, in Hebden Bridge. In 2008 she celebrated her 50th birthday with 25 musician friends raising £30k for HIV research and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy of whose fundraising committee she is a member. She also is on the Board of the Hallé Concerts Society. As her range of engagements and activities illustrates, Kathryn Stott’s diverse career remains truly international as she continues to captivate audiences worldwide with her eloquent musicianship and outgoing personality.
more information at: www.kathrynstott.com
November 2010
600 words
Please note that the longer version of this biography may be used in any publicity and promotional material.
For use in the 2008/09 season only. Please contact Jane Ward for an updated version.
