{"id":29196,"date":"2023-06-07T15:55:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T13:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=3020"},"modified":"2023-06-08T12:40:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T10:40:01","slug":"who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Paul Lewis? All you need to know about the British pianist, including his best recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

We profile the acclaimed British pianist Paul Lewis, who performs at the 2023 First Night of the Proms, and choose some of his finest recordings <\/p>

By BBC Music Magazine\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 07 June 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

He\u2019ll be performing at the 2023 First Night of the Proms<\/a>, giving us a rendition of the Grieg Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Dalia Stasevska<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

BBC Proms 2023: full schedule<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
But who is Paul Lewis and what are his greatest recordings?<\/p>\n\n<h3>Who is Paul Lewis?<\/h3>\n<p>Paul Lewis is one of the most acclaimed pianists recording today. He\u2019s admired especially for his interpretations of the sonatas of <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/ludwig-van-beethoven\/"\"><strong>Beethoven<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/franz-schubert\/"\"><strong>Schubert<\/strong><\/a>, although he has also turned his hand to the piano works of <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/dmitri-shostakovich\/"\"><strong>Shostakovich<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/franz-liszt\/"\"><strong>Liszt<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/johannes-brahms\/"\"><strong>Brahms<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/gabriel-faure\/"\"><strong>Faur\u00e9<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/claude-debussy\/"\"><strong>Debussy<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/igor-stravinsky\/"\"><strong>Stravinsky<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul><li><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/paul-lewis-performs-brahmss-piano-concerto-no-1-and-ballades\/"\"><strong>Review: Paul Lewis performs Brahms\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Ballades<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><h3>When was Paul Lewis born?<\/h3>\n<p>Lewis was born on 20 May 1972, in Liverpool.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Paul\" lewis=\"\" franz=\"\" schubert=\"\" moments=\"\" musicaux=\"\" no.=\"\" d780=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KlxIqsCEMLE?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Where did he grow up?<\/h3>\n<p>Lewis grew up in Liverpool, where his father worked at the city docks. His mother worked for the city council. Interestingly, There were no musicians in Lewis\u2019 family.<\/p>\n<h3>Where did Paul Lewis study?<\/h3>\n<p>Also intriguingly, Lewis didn\u2019t start out as a pianist. Instead, he began by playing the cello, as that was the only instrument for which he could have lessons at his school.<\/p>\n<ul><li><strong><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/jacqueline-du-pre\/"\">Jacqueline du Pre: the woman who made Elgar\u2019s cello concerto a household name<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/abel-selaocoe-on-the-pieces-of-music-every-cellist-should-play\/"\">Abel Selaocoe on the pieces of music every cellist should play<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It didn\u2019t take long, though, for the young Lewis to discover his love and aptitude for the piano. At the age of 14 he got a place at <strong><a title=\""Chetham's\" school=\"\" of=\"\" music=\"\" href=\""https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chetham%27s_School_of_Music"\">Chetham\u2019s School of Music<\/a><\/strong>, where he made great strides with the instrument. His teachers at Chetham\u2019s included the great pianist\u00a0<a title=\""Alfred\" brendel=\"\" href=\""https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alfred_Brendel"\"><strong>Alfred Brendel<\/strong><\/a>, who was an important mentor for the young Lewis.<sup id=\""cite_ref-Guardian_Lewis_2-0"\" class=\""reference"\"\/><\/p>\n<ul><li><strong><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/20-greatest-pianists-all-time\/"\">The 20 greatest pianists of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/pianist-imogen-cooper-shares-the-music-that-has-shaped-her\/"\">Pianist Imogen Cooper shares the music that has shaped her<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Paul Lewis: best recordings<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Beethoven: Diabelli Variations\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>David Cairns of <em>The Sunday Times<\/em> once said that there is nothing more exhilarating than a good performance of the <em>Diabelli Variations<\/em>, and Paul Lewis\u2019s is nothing short of outstanding. Dynamic and sensitive, his playing throughout maintains its vibrant energy, which delivers the quite unmissable recording that earned him the accolade of <em>BBC Music Magazine <\/em>Recording of the Month in July 2011.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.classical-music.com\/review\/beethoven-diabelli-variations"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\"><strong>Click here for disc details and a full review.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Spotify\" embed:=\"\" beethoven:=\"\" diabelli=\"\" variations=\"\" style=\""border-radius:\" width=\""100%"\" height=\""352"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\""autoplay;\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" loading=\""lazy"\" src=\""https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/0us4zAnvnsqwFpcjsAefAK?si=IGiEc8hoQPysy3j6MzqQWw&utm_source=oembed"\"\/>\n<h3><strong>Complete Beethoven Sonatas<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Essential when getting to grips with Lewis\u2019s recordings, this award-winning collection of recordings (released initially in four volumes) was consistently given four or five stars by our critics, one of whom said: \u2018Paul Lewis is a serious artist, and the quality of his playing, beautifully captured by Harmonia Mundi\u2019s engineers, is of a very high standard throughout.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.classical-music.com\/review\/beethoven-550"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\"><strong>Click here for a review of the fourth volume of this set<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<ul><li><strong><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/five-best-recordings-beethovens-sonata-cycles\/"\">Five of the best recordings of Beethoven\u2019s sonata cycles<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-beethovens-moonlight-sonata\/"\">The best recordings of Beethoven\u2019s Moonlight Sonata<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\""Spotify\" embed:=\"\" beethoven:=\"\" piano=\"\" sonatas=\"\" vol.1=\"\" style=\""border-radius:\" width=\""100%"\" height=\""352"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\""autoplay;\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" loading=\""lazy"\" src=\""https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/4XLYoTAOBjZMJAhqwyGduJ?si=ndcLqBtoR5K31ZgV60sb0w&utm_source=oembed"\"\/>\n<h3><strong>Schubert: Piano Sonata in A, D959; Piano Sonata in B flat, D960<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>After embarking on a two year project in 2011 to perform all the mature piano works from the last 6 years of Schubert\u2019s life across the globe, it is fair to say Lewis is a leading interpreter of the composer\u2019s piano sonatas. Our critic said of this disc: \u2018Lewis\u2019s playing is remarkable, both for technical control and depth of understanding\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.classical-music.com\/review\/schubert-286"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\"><strong>Click here for a full review.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Spotify\" embed:=\"\" schubert:=\"\" the=\"\" late=\"\" piano=\"\" sonatas=\"\" nos.=\"\" style=\""border-radius:\" width=\""100%"\" height=\""352"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\""autoplay;\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" loading=\""lazy"\" src=\""https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/2xHPNjt3EfTpEmbD5mjdMD?si=fBbJTGCYRIqI7uUjS8nj8Q&utm_source=oembed"\"\/>\n<h3><strong>Schubert: Piano Sonatas D840, D850, D894 & Impromptus D899<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In this recording Lewis further demonstrates his affinity with Schubert\u2019s late sonatas on Nos 15, 17 and 18 with the addition of Four Impromptus and the Klavierst\u00fccke. Our critic said: \u2018I enjoyed every moment of these two superbly recorded discs\u2026These are model accounts, in which Lewis, clearly a modest man, is intent on keeping himself out of the picture\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.prestomusic.com\/classical\/products\/8003429--schubert-piano-sonatas-d840-850-894-impromptus-d899"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\"><strong>Click here for disc details<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Spotify\" embed:=\"\" schubert:=\"\" piano=\"\" sonatas=\"\" d.840=\"\" style=\""border-radius:\" width=\""100%"\" height=\""352"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\""autoplay;\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" loading=\""lazy"\" src=\""https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/7BHEyfEpERuf7OBNOunKTL?si=9oBEDKQySA6UoD3gPmw2hA&utm_source=oembed"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos (BBC Symphony Orchestra)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Lewis\u2019s performance of the complete concertos at the 2010 Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and this subsequent recording brought him widespread acclaim. Anthony Tommasini of <em>The New York Times <\/em>wrote: \u2018Though the catalogue of Beethoven concerto recordings is crowded, this new set is an exciting addition.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Here Lewis demonstrates a fascinating ability to display his spotless technique while remaining modest in his approach to virtuosity.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.classical-music.com\/review\/beethoven-piano-concertos-nos-1-5-complete"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\"><strong>Click here for a full review.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Spotify\" embed:=\"\" beethoven:=\"\" complete=\"\" piano=\"\" concertos=\"\" style=\""border-radius:\" width=\""100%"\" height=\""352"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\""autoplay;\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" loading=\""lazy"\" src=\""https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/2hRc6PoqD046cyS8QTFKkQ?si=zBwEHwjNTc2c18VhcdH5MQ&utm_source=oembed"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Concert\" pianist=\"\" paul=\"\" lewis=\"\" on=\"\" beethoven=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_XcVpHlWx8w?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p><em>Polly Bartlett<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> We profile the acclaimed British pianist Paul Lewis, who performs at the 2023 First Night of the Proms, and choose some of his finest recordings <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":29197,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/06\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings.jpg",365,365,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/06\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/06\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/06\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings.jpg",365,365,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/06\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings.jpg",365,365,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/06\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings.jpg",365,365,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/06\/who-is-paul-lewis-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-british-pianist-including-his-best-recordings.jpg",365,365,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"We profile the acclaimed British pianist Paul Lewis, who performs at the 2023 First Night of the Proms, and choose some of his finest recordings","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/29196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}