Benjamin Grosvenor
Grosvenor was born and brought up in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Essex. and studied at the RAM. He is internationally recognized for his sonorous lyricism and understated brilliance at the keyboard. His virtuosic interpretations are underpinned by a unique balance of technical mastery and intense musicality. Grosvenor is regarded as one of the most important pianists to emerge in several decades, with Gramophone recently acknowledging him as one of the top 50 pianists ever on record.
In the summer of 2011, he made his debut at the BBC Proms as the youngest-ever soloist on opening night,[8] playing Liszt's Second Piano Concerto, and Britten's Piano Concerto later in the series with the National Youth Orchestra. He has since played at the Proms numerous times, and in 2015 performed at the Last Night of the festival. Judith Weir composed her solo piano work Day Break Shadows Flee for Grosvenor, who gave its world premiere in September 2014.[9] In 2016, he became the inaugural recipient of The Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize with the New York Philharmonic. His 2020 recording of the Chopin Piano Concerti won both a Gramophone award in the Concerto category, and a 'Diapason d'Or de l'année' from the French magazine Diapason with Diapason's critic declaring that the recording is “a version to rank among the best, and confirmation of an extraordinary artist.”