Stephen Coombs

Stephen Coombs is among the leading British pianists of his generation, active not merely like a soloist and recitalist but like a chamber participant and duo pianist. While his repertory contains mainstream compositions by Mendelssohn, Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, while others, he is becoming particularly popular for his interpretations of functions by lesser-known late-Romantic composers, such as for example Arensky, Bortkiewicz, Glazunov, Reynaldo Hahn, and many more. Coombs has accomplished acclaim for his recordings in the substantial Hyperion series The Intimate Piano Concerto, wherein he offers performed with differentiation concertos by both familiar (Mendelssohn) and new composers (Alexander Goedike, et al.). Coombs was created in Birkenhead (near Liverpool), Britain, on July 11, 1960. He exhibited skill early on, taking second reward at England’s Country wide Piano Competition when he was 13. His 1st serious studies had been in the Royal North University of Music, Junior College, and he studied in the Royal University of Music. His educators included Joan Slade, Heather Slade-Lipkin, and Gordon Green. Through the entire 1980s Coombs gradually built his profession, both in the home and overseas, appearing like a recitalist and soloist with main orchestras. But he created his parallel profession like a chamber music performer and duo pianist right now, aswell. In 1989 he documented a disk of Debussy functions for just two pianos with Christopher Scott for the Hyperion label. 3 years later on he produced the to begin four recordings for the same label in its Intimate Piano Concerto series, using the F small Piano Concerto by Arensky as well as the Initial Piano Concerto of Bortkiewicz. Coombs adopted having a string of assorted recordings for Hyperion, including a string, started in 1994, specialized in the complete single piano music of Glazunov. Further discs including different rarities quickly adopted, with the essential consensus regularly positive. In 1998 and 1999, Coombs offered both as celebration director and creative movie director of Pianoworks — the International Piano Celebration, kept in London. In the first 2000s he became a member of the chamber group Room-Music, which produced two recordings for Hyperion, the initial containing chamber functions by Hahn (2003) as well as the last mentioned with music by Catoire (2004). Room-Music was selected as ensemble in home for the 2004-2005 period at St. John’s, Smith Square, London. Among latest recordings by Coombs was the 2006 Compact disc of single piano functions of Glazunov on Helios (Hyperion), the 4th and final quantity in the series.