Llŷr Williams

Llŷr Williams – pianist

Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams is widely admired for his profound musical intelligence, and for the expressive and communicative nature of his interpretations. An acclaimed performer of Beethoven, he has several complete sonata cycles under his belt, including at Wigmore Hall and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He has also performed multi-recital series of the music of Schubert and Chopin. He regularly appears at all major UK recital venues and Festivals, including Wigmore Hall and the Edinburgh Festival, and with the major UK orchestras; he has a particular relationship with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he has in recent seasons performed concertos ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Bartók and Mathias.

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The 2021-22 season sees return engagements with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as Llŷr Williams’ return to North America, with recitals for the Capital Region Classical series at Union College, Schenectady and Salle Bourgie in Montreal following highly successful debuts in both series in 2019. The season also includes Williams’ debut in Madrid at the Fundación Juan March, and the continuation of a 6-recital Chopin series at the Royal Welsh college of Music and Drama.

Despite the global pandemic which restricted live performance in 2020-21, Llŷr Williams performed a number of recitals for streaming and broadcast. In May 2020 a planned full Beethoven cycle at the Festival Cultural de Mayo in Guadalajara, Mexico was recorded as live by Signum Records from his home in Wrexham and streamed by the festival in eight broadcasts. In 2020-21 he also returned to Wigmore Hall for two streamed recitals, and he also recorded a number of performances for BBC Radio 3, both solo and with the BBC National orchestra of Wales.

Llŷr Williams’ discography reflects his long association with Signum Records; November 2020 saw the release of an 8-disc box-set ‘A Schubert Journey’. His previous release, the 12-disc ‘Beethoven Unbound’, was BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Recording of the Month’ in August 2018. Other recordings by Williams on Signum include a ‘Wagner Without Words’ double album (2014) and highlights from Liszt’s ‘Années de pèlerinage ‘(2012). He has also recorded William Mathias’ second Piano Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as works by Welsh composers for the Tŷ Cerdd label.

A former BBC New Generation Artist and Borletti-Buitoni Trust award winner, Llŷr Williams was born in Pentrebychan, North Wales, and read music at The Queen’s College, Oxford before taking up a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and in 2017 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Wales. He is also currently Artist-in-Association at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

November 2021

Contact:
Nicolas Papageorgiou (Director)
Aude-Marie Auphan (Director)

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Videos

Schubert: Fantasy Sonata in G, D894 & Sonata in C minor, D958
(Wigmore Hall, February 2021)

Mozart: Sonata in B-flat, K.333
(East Neuk Festival 2021)

Debussy: Reflets dans l’eau
(East Neuk Festival 2021)

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Concert Dates

April to June 2022

Date & Time	Venue	Details
Sunday, 3rd April 15:00	Wigmore Hall London, UK	Recital with Andrei Kymach, baritone
Sunday, 24th April 15:00	Union College Memorial Chapel Schenectady, United States	SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in A major, D.959 CHOPIN: Ballade no.1 in G minor, op.23 CHOPIN: Nocturne in D-flat major, op.27 no.2 CHOPIN: Waltz in A flat major op.34 no.1 CHOPIN: Waltz in A minor, op.34 no.2 CHOPIN: Ballade No.3 in A-flat major, op.47 CHOPIN: Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor, op.31
Tuesday, 26th April 19:30	Salle Bourgie Montreal, Canada	SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in A major, D.959 CHOPIN: Ballade no.1 in G minor, op.23 CHOPIN: Nocturne in D-flat major, op.27 no.2 CHOPIN: Waltz in A flat major op.34 no.1 CHOPIN: Waltz in A minor, op.34 no.2 CHOPIN: Ballade No.3 in A-flat major, op.47 CHOPIN: Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor, op.31
Sunday, 1st May 15:00	Wigmore Hall London, UK	Recital with Angharad Lyddon mezzo-soprano
Saturday, 7th May 19:30	Rhosygilwen Pembrokeshire, UK	CHOPIN: Ballade No.4 in F minor, op.52 CHOPIN: Impromptu no.2 in F-sharp major, op.36 CHOPIN: Impromptu no.3 in G-flat major, op.51 CHOPIN: 3 Mazurkas, op.56 CHOPIN: Scherzo No.4 in E major, op.54 CHOPIN: Nocturne in F minor, op.55 no.1 CHOPIN: Nocturne in E-flat major, op.55 no.2 CHOPIN: Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, Op.58
Sunday, 8th May 19:30	Rhosygilwen Pembrokeshire, UK	Performing with Tim Hugh (cello), Katerina Nazarova (violin) BRAHMS: Piano Trio no. 1 in B Major, op.8 SCHUMANN: Five Pieces in Folk Style, op.102 BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata no.7 in C minor, op.30 no.2
Thursday, 12th May 19:30	Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Cardiff, UK	CHOPIN: Ballade No.4 in F minor, op.52 CHOPIN: Impromptu no.2 in F-sharp major, op.36 CHOPIN: Impromptu no.3 in G-flat major, op.51 CHOPIN: 3 Mazurkas, op.56 CHOPIN: Scherzo No.4 in E major, op.54 CHOPIN: Nocturne in F minor, op.55 no.1 CHOPIN: Nocturne in E-flat major, op.55 no.2 CHOPIN: Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, Op.58
Friday, 20th May TBC	Grand Auditorium, Couvent des Jacobins Rennes, France	RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G major
Saturday, 28th May 12:00	Fundación Juan March Madrid, Spain	BEETHOVEN: 33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, op.120