Biographical Info

” …… that co-existence of a high musical intellect with elegance, wit and unashamedly
joyful showmanship, marks out Philip Fowke among his own generation of pianists …… ”  The Times

Philip Fowke is respected and admired worldwide as one of Britain’s most distinguished pianists. His frequent appearances and broadcasts with leading orchestras in the UK and his many recordings also see him performing abroad where he in recent seasons he has toured in the USA, Canada, Scandinavia, South America, Germany, Italy and New Zealand.

His outstanding musicianship is reflected by many of the conductors he has worked with who include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Neeme Jarvi, Tadaaki Otaka, Sir Simon Rattle, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Yuri Temirkanov, Klaus Tennstedt, Vernon Handley and Barry Wordsworth. Philip Fowke is known for his performances of British repertoire as well as standard works of the concert platform. The concertos of Arnell, Britten, Bliss, Delius, Ireland, Leighton, Rawsthorne and Tippett as well as Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Schumann testify to his broad range of repertoire whilst, to name but a few, he also performs the concertos of Dohnanyi, Gershwin, Lambert, Poulenc, Richard Strauss and Weber. A similar range exists in his recital and chamber music work as well as in his many broadcasts as both performer and contributor to discussion programmes for BBC Radio 3.

Highlights of recent seasons have included a return to London’s Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, appearances with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a tour with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, an invitation to Hamptons in the USA to perform at the festival dedicated to the memory of Benno Moiseiwitsch, a recital at the Wigmore Hall in celebration of his 50th Birthday and two BBC Proms in London where he played Constant Lambert’s Piano Concerto in one and Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto in the other, the last being broadcast live on BBC Television as well as on Radio 3.

Philip Fowke’s impressive discography includes concertos by Rachmaninov, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Finzi, the Chopin Waltzes and Sonatas for EMI on CFP’s “Silver Doubles” label, “Virtuoso Piano Transcriptions” on CRD, the Piano Concerto of Sir Arthur Bliss issued on Unicorn in celebration of the composer’s centenary, Delius’ Piano Concerto, a recital of music by Bliss on Chandos, Alun Hoddinott’s First Piano Concerto for Lyrita and a CD featuring music written for piano and orchestra from classic film scores for Naxos. Philip Fowke gives regular masterclasses world-wide and is often invited to adjudicate on panels for international competitions. He is Senior Fellow of Keyboard at the Trinity College of Music in London.