Kathryn Stott facts for kids
Kathryn Stott is a famous English classical pianist, born on December 10, 1958. She plays the piano in many ways: as a solo performer with orchestras, in solo concerts, and with small groups of musicians. She is especially good at playing English and French classical music, new music written today, and tango music. Kathryn is also a professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. She has helped organize many music festivals and concert series.
Grove Music Online, a well-known music dictionary, says that Kathryn Stott's playing feels "immediate and personal." A review in The Times newspaper called her "one of the most versatile pianists" around. This means she can play many different styles of music very well.
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Early Life and Learning Music
Kathryn Stott was born in Nelson, Lancashire, England. Her mother was a piano teacher, so Kathryn started learning piano when she was just five years old. She went to the Yehudi Menuhin School, a special music school. There, she learned from famous teachers like Nadia Boulanger and Vlado Perlemuter. Later, she studied at the Royal College of Music with Kendall Taylor.
Kathryn's Music Career
Kathryn Stott's career as a solo pianist began after she placed fifth in the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in 1978. Her first big concert in London was at the Purcell Room that same year. Since then, she has traveled all over Europe, Asia, America, and Australia. She plays many different types of music, including concertos with orchestras, solo piano pieces, and chamber music (music for small groups). She always performs using the written music score, which is unusual for some performers. She has played many times for the BBC, including 10 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.
Playing English and French Music
Kathryn loves English music and is very interested in new music. Many composers have even written pieces just for her. Her recordings of music by Frank Bridge, George Lloyd, John Ireland, and William Walton are considered excellent. She also loves French music, especially the works of Gabriel Fauré. She has recorded all of Fauré's piano music, and critics have praised her performances.
New Music and Tango
Playing contemporary classical music is another of Kathryn's specialties. She has performed many new pieces for the very first time. These include a concerto by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Michael Nyman's The Piano Concerto, and Graham Fitkin's Circuit. She has worked closely with Graham Fitkin, performing eight of his new pieces for the first time. Since the mid-1990s, she has also enjoyed playing tango and other Latin dance music. She describes tango as "primitive music, hard to place, both abrasive and tender."
Working with Yo-Yo Ma
Kathryn first met the famous American cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1978. She found him playing the cello in her apartment after she returned from a holiday! (He had rented the apartment from her flat-mate, violinist Nigel Kennedy, without knowing it was shared). Kathryn and Yo-Yo Ma have worked together since 1985. They often tour together and have made several recordings. Their albums Soul of the Tango and Obrigado Brazil both won Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2004. In 2020, Kathryn helped create their album Songs of Comfort and Hope. This album was a musical response to the challenges of the pandemic. She also works often with cellist Christian Poltéra, trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth, and pianist Noriko Ogawa.
Organizing Music Events
Kathryn Stott has been the artistic director for several big music festivals and concert series. An artistic director helps plan and organize all the performances and events.
Festivals and Public Pianos
In 1995, she organized a Fauré festival in Manchester to celebrate the composer's 150th birthday. The Independent newspaper said her excitement and wonderful performances made the event special. Because of the festival's success, the French government gave her a special award called Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
She also directed two big piano festivals at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester in 2000 and 2003. She is known for being a smart planner. Kathryn believes it's important to let people play at these events. So, both festivals had Steinway grand pianos that the public could try. There were also fun, unusual pianos, like a red "Ferrari" Steinway, a piano that showed its inside parts, and a concert grand piano with a pool that made watery sounds!
Other Concert Series
In 1998, Kathryn directed a concert series called "Out of the Shadows" with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. This series featured music by two talented but often overlooked female composers, Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn. She also directed "Chopin: The Music and the Legacy" at Leeds College of Music (2004–05) and "Paris" at the Sheffield Crucible (2006). She was the musical director of the Manchester Chamber Concerts Society from 2009 to 2014. She was also a Guest Artistic Director for Incontri in Terra di Siena in 2010 and 2011. Kathryn organized two concert series for Leeds International Concerts. She also enjoyed being the Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music from 2018 to 2020. In this role, she planned over 100 musical pieces for each festival. She also helped new music be written and brought together 45 musicians from Australia and around the world.
Teaching Music
Kathryn Stott is a Professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. She helps teach and guide young musicians there.
Personal Life
Kathryn Stott lives in Manchester. She has a daughter named Lucy. She also enjoys spending time in the countryside with her working cocker spaniel dog, Archie. You can find more information on her website, www.kathrynstott.com.
Recent Recordings
Here are some of Kathryn Stott's more recent recordings:
- 2020: Songs of Comfort and Hope with Yo-Yo Ma (SONY Classical)
- 2020: Schumann and Brahms with Christian Poltéra (BIS)
- 2015: Arc of Life (Bach, Debussy, Sollima) with Yo-Yo Ma (SONY)
- 2015: Solitaires (Ravel, Messiaen etc.) (BIS)
- 2013: Tine with Tine Thing-Helseth (EMI)
- 2013: Barber Cello Concerto with Christian Poltéra (BIS)
- 2012: Korngold Piano Quintet with Doric String Quartet (CHAN)
