Christian Blackshaw

piano

A deeply passionate and sensitive pianist, Christian Blackshaw is celebrated for the incomparable musicianship of his performances. His playing combines tremendous emotional depth with great understanding.

Following studies with Gordon Green at the Royal College Manchester and Royal Academy London, winning the gold medals at each, he was the first British pianist to study at the Leningrad Conservatoire with Moisei Halfin. He later worked closely with Sir Clifford Curzon in London.

He has performed worldwide and in festivals as recitalist and soloist with many renowned conductors and was Founder Director of the Hellensmusic Festival which was established in 2013.
His hugely acclaimed Wigmore Hall complete Mozart Piano Sonatas series was recorded for Wigmore Hall Live and released in four volumes. Critics have been unanimous in their praise, describing these “landmark” recordings as “captivating”, “magical” and “masterful”. Volume 4 was named as one of the Best Classical Recordings of 2015 in the New York Times in addition to Gramophone Magazine’s Top 50 Greatest Mozart Recordings.

Recent notable performances include the Mozart cycle in Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing and debuts at the Schwetzingen and Edinburgh International Festivals. He has been an Artist in Residence at the Wigmore Hall. During 2019/20 he takes the Mozart cycle to Montreal and makes debuts with Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi Milano and Claus Peter Flor and the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nezet-Seguin.

He was awarded an MBE for services to Music in the New Year 2019 Honours List.