Decorated 25-Year-Old Pianist To Make Princeton University Debut

PRINCETON, NJ — New York Philharmonic Ackman Prizewinner Benjamin Grosvenor will make his Princeton University Concerts debut next month. Grosvenor will make his debut in a piano recital featuring works by J.S. Bach, Johannes Brahms, Brett Dean, Claude Debussy, Alan Berg, and Maurice Ravel on Nov. 9 in Richardson Auditorium, 8 p.m.

At 25 years old, the pianist is the youngest British musician to have signed to Decca Records in the label’s history. He has appeared with dozens of major orchestras on five continents and has quickly become one of the world’s most decorated and respected young pianists, the university said in its announcement of his debut.

“The British pianist is internationally recognized for his electrifying performances and insightful interpretations,” according to the release. “His virtuosic command over the most strenuous technical complexities underpins the remarkable depth and understanding of his musicianship. Grosvenor is renowned for his distinctive sound, described as ‘poetic and gently ironic, brilliant yet clear-minded, intelligent but not without humour, all translated through a beautifully clear and singing touch’ (The Independent), and making him one of the most sought-after young pianists in the world.”

He began playing the piano when he was six years old, and came to prominence when he won the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of 11. He was invited to perform with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the First Night of the 2011 BBC Proms when he was 19. Since then, Grosvenor — the youngest of five brothers — has become an internationally regarded pianist and was announced in 2016 as the inaugural recipient of The Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize with the New York Philharmonic.

He has also received Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year and Instrumental Awards, a Classic Brits Critics’ Award, UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent and a Diapason d’Or Jeune Talent Award. He has been featured in two BBC television documentaries, as well as in CNN’s Human to Hero series.
He studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton and Daniel-Ben Pienaar, where he graduated in 2012 with the ‘Queen’s Commendation for Excellence’ and in 2016 was awarded a Fellowship.

Ruth Ochs, of the Princeton University Department of Music, will offer illuminating thoughts on the evening’s program in a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. The talk is free to all ticket-holders. General admission tickets are $25-50, and tickets for students are $10. All tickets are available online at princetonuniversityconcerts.org, or by calling 609-258-9220.

Other upcoming Princeton University Concert performances include pianists Jonathan Biss, Sir András Schiff and Behzod Abduraimov. For a full listing, visit princetonuniversityconcerts.org.

The attached image of Benjamin Grosvenor was provided by Princeton University