Jonathan Powell (musician)

For other people of the same name, see Jonathan Powell (disambiguation).

Jonathan Powell performing in Kirovohrad at the Neuhaus Museum

Jonathan Powell (born 1969) is a British pianist and composer. He was a student of Denis Matthews and Sulamita Aronovsky. He made his performing debut at the age of 20 in the Purcell Room in London.

His repertoire is broad and ranges from Bach to many contemporary works (he is associated with composers as varied as Michael Finnissy, John White, Ambrosini, Staud and Sirodeau). He specialises in the late Romantic era, and made his first acquaintance with Sorabji's music, with which he has since become strongly associated, in 1984 through the radio broadcasts of Yonty Solomon and through the scores that were then still published and available through Curwen. He was encouraged to contact the composer, and obtained copies of several later works which he premiered starting in 1990, and has been recording and performing regularly.

He has played Sorabji's complete Opus clavicembalisticum (1929–30) at several concerts and both performed and premiered other works by Sorabji, including the substantial Fourth Piano Sonata (1928–29) and the 7-hour Sequentia cyclica super "Dies irae" ex Missa pro defunctis (1948–49). He has also recorded CDs, of Sorabji's music and of others', for the Altarus, Largo, Toccata, ASV and Danacord labels, including works by Alexander Goldenweiser, Joseph Marx, Alexander Krein, and others.

Powell has also contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Sources

• Jonathan Powell's home page

External links

• Powell's Violin Sonata (2010) given its premiere by the composer and its dedicatee Sonia Suldina (violin) at the 2010 Indian Summer in Levoca Festival (YouTube)
• Powell playing Pars prima of Opus clavicembalisticum by Sorabji
• Sonata No. 1 by Arnold Bax played by Powell (YouTube)
• Little Suite and Passacaglia by Eugen Suchoň played by Powell (YouTube)
• Etudes-Tableaux Op. 33 No. 1 by Sergei Rachmaninoff played by Powell (YouTube)
• Symphony for Piano Solo, 3rd movement (Menuet) by Charles-Valentin Alkan played by Powell (YouTube)