Biography
Chris is a Grammy award-winning artist and one of the UK’s foremost collaborative pianists. Praised for his ‘breathtaking sensitivity’ (Gramophone), ‘irrepressible energy, wit and finesse’ (The Guardian) and ‘revelatory performances’ (BBC Music Magazine), he performs with leading singers, instrumentalists and ensembles throughout the world and has made many acclaimed and ground-breaking recordings.
His recital partners have included Sir Thomas Allen, John Mark Ainsley, Benjamin Appl, Fleur Barron, Sophie Bevan, Julian Bliss, Claire Booth, Ian Bostridge, Allan Clayton, Dame Sarah Connolly, Hugh Cutting, Sophie Daneman, Bernarda Fink, Steven Isserlis, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Christiane Karg, Jonas Kaufmann, Dame Emma Kirkby, Dame Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, Mark Padmore, Ian Partridge, Rowan Pierce, Joan Rodgers, Kate Royal, Kathryn Rudge, Nicky Spence, Bryn Terfel, Sir John Tomlinson, Robin Tritschler, Ailish Tynan, Adam Walker, Elizabeth Watts, Roderick Williams and many others.
Chris also performs with many leading chamber ensembles; with choirs including The Sixteen and VOCES8; and on historic pianos with artists including Rachel Podger, with whom he has recorded Mozart and Beethoven sonatas (‘performances of supreme eloquence and style’ – The Scotsman).
Highlights include performances at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, Royal Opera House, Barbican, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Vienna Konzerthaus and tours to Japan, USA, Canada, Brazil, China and South Asia. Chris has also collaborated with a wide range of organisations, from the Richard Alston Dance Company to Streetwise Opera, and is often heard on Radio 3 and Classic FM.
Recognised by The Times as a ‘visionary’ and ‘inspired programmer’, Chris combines his performing life with the role of Artistic Director at the Ryedale Festival, where he programmes around 70 events every year in beautiful and historic venues across North Yorkshire. He has also been invited to curate several concert series for the Wigmore Hall, and to guest-direct projects at the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy of Music, King’s Place and several international festivals.
In 2015, Chris founded Polyhymnia to bring classical song to a wider audience, initially by commissioning Jeremy Sams to create new English versions of song cycles by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Wolf. These new translations have been performed widely (including on a nationwide schools tour with Roderick Williams) and recorded for Signum Records. The Telegraph described the project as ‘quietly daring yet superbly accomplished’, while The Scotsman praised it for having ‘done more to make music accessible than any number of Arts Council initiatives.’
In 2021, Chris was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. Future plans include the world premiere of a new song cycle by Gavin Higgins, and recitals and recording projects with Roderick Williams, Claire Booth, Eric Whitacre, Hugh Cutting, Harriet Burns, Nick Pritchard, Rowan Pierce, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Mathilde Mildowsky, VOCES8 and Rachel Podger.
