Mark Bebbington

The critical plaudits which have greeted Mark Bebbington’s performances and recordings have singled him out as a British pianist of the rarest refinement and maturity. Now internationally recognised as a champion of British music, Mark has given concert and CD premieres of major British composers, including Vaughan Williams, Arnold Bax, John Ireland, Elgar and William Alwyn.

Mark has recorded extensively for Somm label; over thirty CDs to date and his most recent – three British Piano Concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and a solo recording of William Alwyn’s piano works – were released in autumn 2015 and have met with rapturous acclaim.

In addition, Mark has completed his John Ireland and Frank Bridge solo piano series: seven CDs earning him consecutive sets of 5***** in BBC Music Magazine, a Gramophone Magazine ‘Editor’s Choice’, and an International Record Review ‘Outstanding’ accolade, prompting International Piano Magazine to write:

“Bebbington’s revivals of British piano music are second to none; he could well be dubbed the concert pianists’ Richard Hickox. Bebbington has almost single-handedly demonstrated that 20th-century British piano scores have an exciting role to play in the concert hall and recording studio”.

Over recent seasons Mark has toured extensively throughout Central and Northern Europe (both as recitalist and as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras), as well as the Far East and North Africa. Within the UK, he has appeared in concertos with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, the London Mozart Players, Orchestra of the Swan and BBC Concert Orchestra. He has featured both as soloist and recitalist on BBC Television and Radio and regularly on major European Television and Radio networks.

Mark studied at the Royal College of Music where he was a recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including a Leverhulme Scholarship, a Winston Churchill Fellowship and the Ivan Sutton Recording Prize – the latter awarded to the one outstanding graduate of the combined London Music Conservatoires. He later studied in Italy and Paris with the legendary Aldo Ciccolini.

Mark’s programming demonstrates a commitment to the music of our time and he regularly includes contemporary composers as diverse as Takemitsu, Julian Anderson, John McCabe, David Matthews, Pierre Boulez and Elliot Carter in his recital series.

Projects for 2016/17 include continuing releases for the Somm label of both twentieth-century British piano music and further concerto recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; appearances in major concert series and festivals both in the UK and throughout Europe; London concerto performances with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and Flanders Symphony Orchestras; a two-week European tour with the Czech National Orchestra, a two-week tour of Israel with the Israel Camerata, concerto debuts with the Buffalo and San Antonio Symphony Orchestras.

In October last year, Mark made a highly successful Carnegie Hall debut with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra. In May of this year he returns to New York for his recital debut at Alice Tully Hall.