Nicolas Hodges

Nicolas Hodges was born in London in 1970. One of the most exciting performers of his generation, Hodges has successfully carried forward a career encompassing interpretations of classical, romantic, twentieth century and contemporary repertoire which have proved fascinating to audiences worldwide, leading the London Guardian to comment "Hodges's recitals always boldly go where few other pianists dare ... with an energy that sometimes defies belief."

Hodges's concerto engagements have included performances with the Chicago Symphony, the MET Orchestra, the St Louis Symphony, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Philharmonia of London, City of Birmingham Symphony, Bamberger Symphoniker, WDR Symphony, SWR Symphony Freiburg/Baden-Baden, Helsinki Philharmonic, Stockholm Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Basel Sinfonietta, and ASKO/Schoenberg Ensemble Amsterdam, under conductors such as Barenboim, Brabbins, Graf, Knussen, Levine, Masson, Nott, Robertson, Rophé, Rundel, Saraste, Slatkin, Otaka, Valade and Zender. He has been featured in many European festivals such as Witten, Darmstadt, Berlin, Luzern, Paris (Festival d'Automne), Innsbruck (Klangspuren), Brussels (Ars Musica), Zurich (Tage für Neue Musik) and Vienna (Wien Modern); at all the major UK festivals, including the BBC PROMS; in Scandinavia, Japan (Suntory Hall), and the US, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Orchestra Hall, Chicago.

As well as the standard repertoire, exemplified both in concerto performances (such as his recently acclaimed Beethoven 1st Concerto with BBC Scottish Symphony) and mixed recital programmes (such as his programme of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata paired with 20th Century works), Hodges' commitment to contemporary music is second to none. Elliott Carter recently wrote his concerto Dialogues for Hodges, commissioned by the BBC. The premiere took place in January 2004, with the London Sinfonietta under Oliver Knussen, and was immediately followed by a recording of the work with the same artists for Bridge Records. He subsequently gave the US premiere with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim and returned to give the New York premiere with the MET Chamber Ensemble under James Levine (followed the next season by a repeat with the MET Orchestra and Levine at Carnegie Hall). His many other performances of the work, with numerous orchestras and conductors, have included the French, Japan, Spanish, Portuguese and Netherlands premieres. As the London Financial Times put it, "Hodges virtually owns the piece."

Other composers who have composed works for him include Harrison Birtwistle, Wolfgang Rihm, Salvatore Sciarrino and Beat Furrer, and he also has close working relationships with Adams, Ferneyhough, Harvey, Kagel, Knussen, Lachenmann, Neuwirth, Nørgård and the late Karlheinz Stockhausen. A committed teacher, he educates young pianists particularly in the relationship between the performance of standard repertoire and contemporary works, constantly resisting the specialisation of his students in one or other direction; this goes hand in hand with his work with young composers, attempting to demystify the complexities of writing for the piano.

An energetic recording artist, he has released more than 20 CDs, including Adams on Nonesuch, Carter on Bridge and Gershwin on Metronome. His performance of Thomas Adès' In Seven Days features on the second release in the London Sinfonietta's Signum Records series. Many of his discs showcase composers he is committed to, and his missionary zeal in this area has been rewarded by critical acclaim.

Future plans include concertos with the WDR Symphony, SWR Symphony Freiburg/Baden-Baden, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, ÖRF Symphony Vienna, St Louis Symphony, Lucerne Symphony and Remix Orchestra Porto. In celebration of Elliott Carter's 100th Birthday he will be giving further performances of Dialogues including at Tanglewood with Levine, at the Concertgebouw with Knussen, and at the Berlin Philharmonic with Daniel Barenboim. He will be premiering Thomas Adès's Concerto In Seven Days at the Royal Festival Hall in London, subsequently performing it in the LA Phil's "Green Umbrella" series and with the Netherlands Radio Symphony, all under the composer's direction. He gives recitals at the Salzburger Festspiele, the Wigmore Hall London, in Berlin, Huddersfield, and for IRCAM in Paris.