Lawrence Power Viola
Biography
Lawrence Power is one of the foremost violists today and in 2011 was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist Award. He is regularly invited to perform with some of the world’s greatest orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Stockholm Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic and the Bergen Philharmonic.
Recent Engagements
Recent engagements have included Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder and also with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra; the Bartok Concerto with the Real Filharmonia de Galicia, Bergen Philharmonic and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Markus Stenz; Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall, Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood Music Festival, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic; the York Bowen Concerto with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester in Mainz; Takemitsu’s concerto, ‘A String Around Autumn’, with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, and the Rozsa Concerto with BBC Scottish Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestras. The 2009-2010 season included the UK premiere of Betty Olivero’s Neharot, Neharot as part of the BBC Proms chamber season at Cadogan Hall in London as well as appearances with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. During 2011 he performed Penderecki’s Viola Concerto in a series of concerts with Camerata Salzburg conducted by the composer and Turnage’s On Opened Ground with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Markus Stenz. He also made critically-acclaimed orchestral debuts in Australia.
Recordings
His world premiere recordings of concertos by Cecil Forsyth and York Bowen (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins) for Hyperion Records was widely praised and chosen by Gramophone magazine as one of the best hundred CDs of 2005. Other recordings include Brahms Viola Sonatas, the Walton and Rubbra Viola Concerti, which was nominated for a 2008 Gramophone Award, York Bowen’s complete works for viola and piano with Simon Crawford-Phillips (all for Hyperion), and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Maxim Vengerov and the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (EMI). A recording of Hindemith’s Sonatas for Viola and Piano with Simon Crawford-Phillips was released in June 2009 and his recording of the Bartok and Rozsa Concertos was released in October 2010 to rave reviews. His three-disc Hindemith survey for Hyperion has become a benchmark in recording this repertoire on disc. Current releases for Hyperion include a Shostakovich disc and the Britten double concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as well as a disc of Vaughan Williams and McEwan with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Orchestral Work
Lawrence Power was Artist in Residence with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2011/2012 season, which included various projects and a tour of Spain. He enjoys a continuing relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, performing the Walton Viola Concerto conducted by Valdimir Jurwoski and Strauss Don Quixote conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. There will be a new commission by James Macmillan in 2014.
Lawrence Power plays a rare viola by the Bolognese maker Antonio Brensi from c.1610.
He is International Professor of Viola at the Zurich Hochschule der Kunst.
He is founder and Artistic Director of the West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival www.westwycombechambermusic.org.uk