Leon McCawley
Leon McCawley came to international attention in 1993 when he won first prize in the Ninth International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and second prize in the Leeds International Competition. Known for his deeply committed performances and engaging musicality, Mr. McCawley is active as a concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and recording artist.

Mr. McCawley performs frequently with the leading British orchestras and at the BBC Proms and is regularly broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Recent engagements included concerts with the Adelaide Symphony, Vienna Symphony and Vienna Chamber Orchestra and in the United States with the symphony orchestras of Dallas and Minnesota. Among the conductors he has worked with are Mark Elder, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Andrew Litton, Kurt Masur and Simon Rattle.

A highly praised recitalist, Mr. McCawley has performed in London, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Prague and at the Kennedy Center. He has made four recordings, including Barber’s Music for Solo Piano for EMI/Virgin, a double disc of Schumann’s piano music for Avie Records, and the world premiere recording of the complete piano works of Hans Gál, also for Avie. Both the Schumann and Gál recordings were named an “Editor’s Choice” in Gramophone Magazine. Future releases on the Avie label include Mozart’s complete piano sonatas.

Born in 1973, Leon McCawley studied at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, England with Heather Slade-Lipkin before moving to the United States. He continued his studies at the Curtis Institute with Eleanor Sokoloff.