Kathryn Stott (born 10 December 1958)^[1] is an English classical pianist who performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Her specialities include the English and French classical repertoire, contemporary classical music and the tango. She is a professor at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and has organised several music festivals and concert series.

Grove Music Online describes Stott's playing as "marked by a vivid sense of immediacy and personal communication."^[1] A review of her fiftieth birthday gala concert in The Times describes her as "one of the most versatile pianists on the circuit".^[2]

Early life and education

Stott was born in Nelson, Lancashire.^[1] Her mother was a piano teacher and she began to learn the piano at the age of five.^[3] She attended the Yehudi Menuhin School, where her teachers included Nadia Boulanger, Marcel Ciampi, and Vlado Perlemuter. She then studied at the Royal College of Music with Kendall Taylor.^[1][3][4]

Performance and recording career

Stott's career as a soloist was launched after she gained fifth place in the Leeds International Piano Competition in 1978.^[5] Her London début was at the Purcell Room the same year.^[1] She has since toured throughout Europe, Asia, America and Australia with a concert repertoire that encompasses concertos, solo piano music and chamber music.^[1][4] She is unusual in always performing from a score.^[3] Her output for the BBC over the years has been vast, performing not only in solo recital but also with all the BBC orchestras including 10 'Proms' at the Royal Albert Hall.

Stott has a particular affinity with English music and a keen interest in contemporary music with many works written especially for her. Her series of recordings of works by Frank Bridge, George Lloyd, John Ireland and William Walton is described as "distinguished" in Grove.^[1] She is also known for her love of French music, particularly the works of Gabriel Fauré, whose complete piano works she has recorded to critical acclaim.^[1] Contemporary classical music is another of Stott's specialities. She has given the first performances of many works, including a concerto by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Michael Nyman's The Piano Concerto and Graham Fitkin's Circuit (with Noriko Ogawa).^[4][6] Her close musical relationship with Fitkin has led to 8 World premieres. Since the mid-1990s, she has also been interested in tango and other Latin dance music, which she describes as "primitive music, hard to place, both abrasive and tender".^[7]

Stott first met her long-time collaborator, the noted American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, in 1978 when she "discovered a Chinese man playing the cello" in her flat after returning from holiday. (Ma had rented the flat from Stott's flat-mate, violinist Nigel Kennedy, without realising that it was shared.^[7]) Stott and Ma have worked together since 1985; the pair frequently tours together and has made several joint recordings, including Soul of the Tango and Obrigado Brazil, which received Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2004.^[7] In 2020, Stott curated their album Songs of Comfort and Hope as a musical response to the impact of the pandemic. She also has long-standing collaborations with cellist Christian Poltéra, trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth and pianist Noriko Ogawa.^[4][8]

Artistic direction

Stott has been the artistic director of several major festivals and concert series. In 1995 she organised a Fauré festival in Manchester to mark the composer's 150th anniversary.^[1][3] According to the Independent, the event was "transformed by her enthusiasm and her own sumptuous performances of this neglected composer's works."^[3] The success of the festival led to her appointment as Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.^[9]

She directed two major piano festivals at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester in 2000 and 2003, establishing her reputation as an astute programmer.^[9] As Stott considers "It's very important at an event like this that we should let people play", both festivals featured Steinway grand pianos that the public were allowed to try, as well as a variety of novelty pianos including a red "Ferrari" Steinway, an "exploded" piano revealing the internal workings, a grove of woven pianos, and a concert grand fitted with a pool which played a variety of watery sounds.^[3][10]

In 1998, Stott directed a concert series "Out of the Shadows" with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, featuring two neglected female composers, Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn.^[9] She also directed the series "Chopin: The Music and the Legacy" at Leeds College of Music (2004–05) and "Paris" at the Sheffield Crucible (2006).^[9] She was appointed as musical director of the Manchester Chamber Concerts Society^[9] (2009-14) and was Guest Artistic Director of Incontri in Terra di Siena in 2010 and 2011. Kathryn curated two concert series for Leeds International Concerts and relished her role as Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music 2018-20.^[11] Her work here involved programming over 100 works each festival, instigating commissions and bringing together 45 musicians from Australia and the international community.

Teaching

Kathryn Stott is Professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.^[12]

Also

Kathryn Stott lives in Manchester,^[13] has a daughter, Lucy, and enjoys being in the countryside with her working cocker spaniel, Archie. www.kathrynstott.com

Partial discography

Most recent recordings include:

2020 Songs of Comfort and Hope Various Yo-Yo Ma SONY Classical 19439822372

2020 Schumann and Brahms Christian Poltera BIS 2167

2015 Arc of Life Bach, Debussy, Sollima Yo-Yo Ma SONY 8875-10316-2

2015 Solitaires Ravel, Messiaen etc BIS 2148

2013 Tine Various Tine Thing-Helseth EMI 50999 416471 2

2013 Barber Cello Concerto Christian Poltera BIS 1827

2012 Korngold Piano Quintet Doric String Quartet CHAN 10707

References

External links

• Kathryn Stott's official website