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, most recently at Wigmore Hall and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, as well as a Concerto cycle with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. His acclaimed Beethoven cycle from Wigmore Hall was released as a 12-CD Box set, Beethoven Unbound on Signum Records in 2017

Highlights of 2018-19 include the continuation of a 5-recital exploration of the late works of Schubert in Cardiff, return invitations to Wigmore Hall and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the opening recital of the Southbank Centre’s International Piano Series and Williams’ Canadian debut at Salle Bourgie in Montreal

click for full biography

Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams is widely admired for his profound musical intelligence and the expressive and communicative nature of his interpretations. He has worked with orchestras including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Phiharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra, Sinfonia Cymru, I Pomeriggi Musicali, Meininger Hofkapelle, Berner Kammerorchester, and the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg. A regular performer in the Wigmore Hall’s main piano series, Williams has also appeared at the BBC Proms in London, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in the USA, Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse and the Edinburgh International Festival. He is a regular performer at the East Neuk Festival in Scotland, and is currently Artist-in-Association at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Artist-in-Residence at the Cowbridge Festival in Wales.

Williams is an acclaimed performer of Beethoven with several complete piano sonata cycles under his belt. Following a successful first cycle in Perth, Williams subsequently performed a complete cycle during an epic two-week marathon in Edinburgh that won him the prestigious South Bank Show Award. He later completed two cycles as a nine-recital project at the Wigmore Hall and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff between 2014 and 2017. In January 2017 he completed a successful collaboration with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in performances of all five Beethoven piano concerti.

The 2017-18 season included US debuts at the Union College Concert Series and the Friends of Chamber Music, Kansas City, as well as his Russian debut in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The season also included Williams’ return to the Newbury Spring and Swansea Festivals and marked the start of a five-recital exploration of late Schubert works at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The 2018-19 season sees Llŷr Williams opening the Southbank Centre’s International Piano Series, return invitations to Wigmore Hall and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as his Canadian debut at the Salle Bourgie in Montreal.

Llŷr Williams’ eclectic taste is reflected in his discography. April 2018 saw the release of ‘Beethoven Unbound’, a 12-CD Box set of the Wigmore Hall Beethoven cycle, on Signum Records, which was BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Recording of the Month’ in August 2018. His previous critically acclaimed CD, Wagner Without Words (Signum, August 2014) reflects Williams’ intimate relationship with operatic music. Other recordings by Williams include two solo albums for Signum, as well as William Mathias’ second Piano Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on Welsh label Tŷ Cerdd.

Born in Pentrebychan, North Wales, Llŷr Williams read music at The Queen’s College, Oxford and went on to take up a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music where he won every available prize and award. He is also 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 was an active member of the Live Music Now! scheme for several years, was selected for the Young Concert Artists Trust in 2002. From 2003-2005 he was a BBC New Generation Artist and in 2004 received a Borletti- Buitoni Trust award.

July 2018

For full press pack, contact
Nicolas Papageorgiou (Artist Manager)

Contact:
Victoria Rowsell (Managing Director)
Nicolas Papageorgiou (Artist Manager)

Go to top

Videos

Beethoven: Piano Sonata no.32, in C minor, op.111
(RWCMD, May 2017)
00:00 Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
09:20 Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Beethoven: Piano Sonata no.31, in A flat major, op.110
(RWCMD, May 2017)
00:00 Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo
07:20 Allegro molto
09:48 Adagio, ma non troppo

Beethoven: Piano Sonata no.30, in E major, op.109
(RWCMD, May 2017)
00:00 Vivace ma non troppo
04:10 Prestissimo
06:50 Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo

Liszt/Verdi
(St Gerorge’s Hall Liverpool, 2013)
00:00 Rigoletto: Paraphrase de concert S434/R267
08:10 Il Trovatore: Miserere S433/R266

Go to top

Reviews

Links to reviews in the press

Seen and Heard International, 28 June 2017

Oregon Arts Watch, 17 April 2017

Washington Post, 30 October 2016

The Independent, 12 October 2016

Classical Source, 11 October 2016

The Guardian, 25 March 2016

Go to top

Concert Dates

June - December 2018

Date & Time	Venue	Details
Sunday, 17 June 15:30 & 19:30	Civic Centre Mold, UK	*15:30* SCHUBERT: Four Impromptus (Set II), D.935 (op.posth.142) SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in B major, D.575 *19:30* SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in G major, D.894 SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in C minor, D.958
Sunday, 24 June 10:45	Beethoven-Haus Bonn Bonn, Germany	BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata no.18, in E flat Major, op.31 no.3 ‘The Hunt’ BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata no.30, in E major, op.109 BEETHOVEN: 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80 BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata no.21, in C major, op.53 ‘Waldstein’
Friday, 13 July 19:30	Saint Andrew’s Church Naunton, Gloucestershire, UK	BRAHMS: Theme and Variations in D minor, op.18b SCHUBERT: Four Impromptus (Set II), D.935 (op.posth.142) CHOPIN: Waltz in A flat major op.34 no.1 CHOPIN: Nocturne in D-flat major, op.27 no.2 CHOPIN: Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, Op.58
Thursday, 19 July 19:30	Kings Lynn, UK	BRAHMS: Theme and Variations in D minor, op.18b SCHUMANN: Humoreske in B flat major, op.20 CHOPIN: Waltz in A flat major op.34 no.1 CHOPIN: Nocturne in D-flat major, op.27 no.2 CHOPIN: Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, Op.58
Saturday, 29 September 15:00	Galeri Caernarfon UK	BEETHOVEN : 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80 SCHUMANN : Humoreske in B flat major, op.20 BRAHMS : Theme and Variations in D minor, op.18b BRAHMS : Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, op.5
Wednesday, 3 October 19:30	Queen Elizabeth Hall London, UK	BEETHOVEN : 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80 SCHUMANN : Humoreske in B flat major, op.20 BRAHMS : Theme and Variations in D minor, op.18b BRAHMS : Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, op.5
Thursday, 11 October 19:30	Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Cardiff, UK	SCHUBERT : Fantasie in C major, D.760 (op.15) ‘Wanderer’ SCHUBERT : Piano Sonata in A major, D.664 SCHUBERT : Piano Sonata in A minor, D.784 SCHUBERT : Four Impromptus (Set I), D.899 (op.90)
27-28 October	Rhosygilwen Pembrokeshire, UK	*Rhosygilwen Schubertiade*
Sunday, 11 November 15:00	Huntingdon Hall Worcester, UK	BEETHOVEN : 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80 SCHUMANN : Humoreske in B flat major, op.20 BRAHMS : Theme and Variations in D minor, op.18b BRAHMS : Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, op.5
Saturday 15th December 19:30	Westmorland Hall Kendal, UK	BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto no.5 in E flat major, op.73 ‘Emperor’ *Lakeland Sinfonia* conductor: Wyn Davies