Benjamin Grosvenor facts for kids

Benjamin Grosvenor, born on July 8, 1992, is a super talented British classical pianist. He started playing piano at a young age and has performed all over the world!

Becoming a Musician

Benjamin Grosvenor grew up in Westcliff-on-Sea, England. He is the youngest of five brothers. His mom was a piano teacher, and she started teaching him when he was just five years old.

In 2003, Benjamin joined Westcliff High School for Boys. He also took piano lessons from famous teachers like Hilary Coates and Christopher Elton in London. Later, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music. When he graduated in 2012, he received a special award called the Queen's Award for Excellence. This award is given to the best all-around student of the year.

Performing on Stage

Benjamin gave his first full piano concert in a local church in May 2003. He also played the cello! In the same year, he performed with an orchestra for the first time. He played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21.

In 2004, when he was only 11, Benjamin won the keyboard section of the BBC Young Musician competition. He played Ravel's Concerto in G in the final. After that, he started playing in many famous concert halls. These include the Royal Albert Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Benjamin has performed with many top orchestras around the world. These include the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

Special Performances

From 2010 to 2012, Benjamin was part of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme. This program helps young musicians grow their careers.

In 2011, he made his first appearance at the BBC Proms. This is a huge classical music festival in the UK. He was the youngest soloist ever to play on the opening night! He played Liszt's Second Piano Concerto. He has played at the Proms many times since then. In 2015, he even performed at the Last Night of the Proms, which is a very special event.

A composer named Judith Weir wrote a solo piano piece just for Benjamin. He performed it for the first time in 2014. In 2016, he won the first-ever Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize. This was with the New York Philharmonic orchestra.

For the 2020-2021 season, Benjamin was chosen as an Artist-in-Residence. This meant he worked closely with Radio France and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Amazing Awards

Benjamin started winning awards very early in his career.

• At age 10, in 2003, he won four local and national competitions in the UK. He was the youngest person ever to win them!
• At age 11, in 2004, he won the keyboard section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year award.

In 2011, two big newspapers recognized him. The Evening Standard named him one of the "1,000 Most Influential Londoners." The Daily Telegraph chose him as one of its "Top 10 Britons of the Year."

In 2012, Benjamin won two Gramophone Awards for his first album with Decca. He won 'Instrumental Award' and 'Young Artist Award'. This made him the youngest person ever to win two Gramophone awards at once! He also won a Classic Brit 'Critics Choice Award' for his CD.

His 2020 recording of the Chopin Piano Concertos also won a Gramophone award. It also received a 'Diapason d'Or de l'année' from a French music magazine. The magazine said it was "a version to rank among the best."

His Music Recordings

In July 2005, Benjamin was featured in a BBC documentary called "Being a Concert Pianist." It was part of the Imagine TV series.

Benjamin has recorded many CDs featuring different composers. In 2011, he signed with Decca Records. He was the youngest artist ever to sign with them, and the first British pianist in 60 years!

He has released several albums with Decca:

• His first album, Chopin Liszt Ravel (2011), won a Gramophone Award.
• Rhapsody in Blue (2012) featured music by Saint-Saëns, Ravel, and Gershwin.
• Dances (2014) was a solo album with music in dance forms. It was named "Disc of the Month" by BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone.
• His 2016 album Homages also received high praise.
• In 2020, he released Chopin Piano Concertos, which won two major awards.

In September 2012, Benjamin was featured in the CNN series Human to Hero. In 2021, it was announced that he signed a new contract with Decca. His first album under this new deal was dedicated to the music of Liszt.

Discography

• This and That (2009)
• Chopin, Liszt & Ravel (2011)
• Rhapsody in Blue (2012)
• Dances (2014)
• Homages (2016)
• Chopin Piano Concertos (2020)
• Liszt (2021)
• Schumann and Brahms (2023)

See also

In Spanish: Benjamin Grosvenor para niños