Christopher Glynn
‘fine pianist Christopher Glynn showed what real performance is all about, not just accuracy and technical command, but imaginative daring’ - Musical Opinion
400 word biography
Christopher Glynn is a Grammy award-winning pianist and accompanist, working with leading singers, instrumentalists and ensembles in concerts, broadcasts and recordings throughout the world. He is also Artistic Director of the Ryedale Festival, programming around 60 events each year in the many beautiful and historic venues of Ryedale, North Yorkshire.
Described by The Times as having ‘beauties and insights aplenty’ and praised in Gramophone for his 'breathtaking sensitivity’, Chris has performed with singers including Sir Thomas Allen, John Mark Ainsley, Sophie Bevan, Claire Booth, Susan Bullock, Allan Clayton, Sophie Daneman, Bernarda Fink, Michael George, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Christiane Karg, Jonas Kaufmann, Yvonne Kenny, Dame Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, Mark Padmore, Joan Rodgers, Kate Royal, Kathryn Rudge, Toby Spence, Bryn Terfel, Sir John Tomlinson, Robin Tritschler, Ailish Tynan, Roderick Williams, Elizabeth Watts and many others.
He has also performed with instrumentalists including Julian Bliss, Andrej Bielow, Adrian Brendel, Michael Collins, Nicholas Daniel, David Garrett, Tine Thing Helseth, Daniel Hope and Steven Isserlis; with ensembles including the Elias, Heath, Fitzwilliam and Szymanowski Quartets; and with choirs including The Sixteen.
Chris was born in Leicester and read music as organ scholar at New College, Oxford, before studying piano with John Streets in France and Malcolm Martineau at the Royal Academy of Music. His many awards include the accompaniment prize in the 2001 Kathleen Ferrier competition, the 2003 Gerald Moore award and the 2002 Geoffrey Parsons award.
Since making his debut at Wigmore Hall in 2001, Chris has performed in major concert venues and festivals throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and made over 20 CD recordings, as well as many studio recordings and live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3. He is a Professor at the Royal College of Music, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and a course leader for the Samling Foundation.
Future plans include a series of concerts entitled Songbooks that he will curate for Wigmore Hall, Winterreise with Mark Padmore at the Endellion Festival, and forthcoming CDs of Grainger songs and piano pieces with Claire Booth, and the little known songs of Donald Swann. Chris will also join Toby Spence, Roderick Williams and Sir John Tomlinson for the first performances of new English translations he has commissioned from Jeremy Sams of Schubert’s song cycles.