‘Powell has the energy of a nuclear reactor.’
‘His piano playing is characterised by enormous sonority and precisely differentiated dynamics; even in the loudest passages’
‘No wonder that this technically almost unbeatable artist immediately enchants the listener here.’
Jonathan Powell’s recent activities include the world première recording of rediscovered Jewish Czech composer Hans Winterberg’s 1st Piano Concerto, with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Johannes Kalitzke, which appeared on the Capriccio label in 2022; they performed this work also at the Berlin Funkhaus in concert in December 2023. Other Winterberg projects include the world première of his 4th Concerto with the Beethoven-Philharmonie under Thomas Rösner in February 2024 (with the Liszt-Schubert Wanderer Fantaisie in the same programme), a series of recitals dedicated to Winterberg in Germany and Austria, and the editing (for Boosey and Hawkes) and subsequent recording of his complete piano works in Berlin. In 2024 Powell will also perform Paderewski’s Fantaisie Polonaise with the Mainz Symphony and the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra (in Poznań) under Anna Duczmal-Mroz. His recording of Scharwenka’s 1st Piano Concerto, with the Poznań Philharmonic under Łukasz Borowicz, is due to appear on the CPO label. His ongoing collaboration with the NEO Quartet (Gdańsk) include concerts in Paris, London, Oxford and Gdańsk, featuring music by Xenakis, Jakub Rataj, and the world première of a quintet by Martyn Harry.
Previous projects include tours of Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus and Albeniz’ Iberia. In 2015 he gave numerous performances of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier sonata and Reger’s Bach Variations. Following years saw a tour of the complete piano works of Xenakis and, in 2017, Liszt’s Sonata, and Stockhausen’s Klavierstücke. In 2018 he gave six performances of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues. Solo recitals taken him to the Festival Radio France Montpellier, the sold-out Kammersaal of the Elbphilharmonie, the Raritäten der Klaviermusik am Schloss vor Husum, Vredenburg Muziekcentrum in Utrecht, across the US, Musica Sacra in Maastricht, Klaver Fest in Tallinn, and the Fundación BBVA series in Bilbao. In 2016 he played Bent Sørensen’s 2nd Piano Concerto in the Contempuls Festival with the Prague Philharmonia under Marian Lejava. In recent years, he has broadcast for Radio France, Radio Netherlands, Radio Deutschland Kultur, the BBC and Czech Radio. His recording of Sorabji’s Sequentia cyclia over seven discs, on Piano Classics was received rapturously by critics and was awarded the German Critics’ Disc Prize (Preis der Deutschen Schallplatenkritiken); he was invited by pianist Igor Levit to perform the work at the 2022 Heidelberger Frühling.
He has lectured on a wide variety of subjects and given masterclasses at Oxford University, The Royal Academy of Music (London), Tallinn Academy of Music, The Vītols Academy in Riga, the Musikhochschule Darmstadt, JAMU in Brno, HAMU in Prague, Bristol University, Szymanowski Academy in Katowice etc.
