Alasdair Beatson

About

Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson works prolifically as soloist and chamber musician. Highlights of the 2019/20 season include performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, a residency at Sage Gateshead, recitals on fortepiano of Beethoven violin sonatas with Viktoria Mullova, and appearances in festivals including the Bath Mozartfest, Edinburgh International, Esbjerg, kamara.hu, and West Cork.

Alasdair is renowned as a sincere musician and intrepid programmer. He champions a wide repertoire with particular areas of interest: Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann; the solo and chamber music of Gabriel Fauré, Bartók and Janáçek; concertos of Bach, Bartók, Britten, Fauré, Hindemith, Messiaen and Mozart; and contemporary works, including the piano quintet of Thomas Adès, George Benjamin’s Shadowlines and Harrison Birtwistle’s Harrison’s Clocks. Future plans include the first performances of a new piano concerto, written for him by Helena Winkelman.

August 2019 saw the release of the complete works for cello and piano of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, recorded on an Erard fortepiano of 1837, with cellist Johannes Moser on Pentatone. This joins a discography of solo and chamber recordings on BIS, Champs Hill, Claves, Evil Penguin and SOMM labels. As chamber musician, Alasdair’s colleagues include Steven Isserlis, Pekka Kuusisto, Viktoria Mullova, Pieter Wispelwey, the Doric, Gringolts and Meta4 string quartets, and the Nash Ensemble.

Alasdair teaches solo piano at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and regularly mentors for the London-based Chamber Studio. From 2012 to 2018 Alasdair was founder and artistic director of Musique à Marsac, and since 2019 is co-artistic director of the Swiss chamber music festival at Ernen.

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