Mark Bebbington
The critical plaudits which have greeted Mark Bebbington’s performances and recordings have singled him out as a British pianist of the rarest refinement and maturity ("Bebbington is without doubt one of Britain's finest pianists" wrote Michel Fleury recently in Classica). Internationally recognised in particular as a champion of British music, Mark has recorded extensively for SOMM “New Horizons” label to unanimous critical acclaim. He has the enviable record of having been awarded no fewer than seven five-star reviews in BBC Music Magazine in a row.

His most recent CDs include three British Piano Concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, an all-Gershwin album with Leon Botstein and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ("Recording of the Month" from MusicWeb International) and the completion of his Bliss complete piano music traversal.

His premiere recordings include one of Arnold Bax’s Piano Concertino coupled with John Ireland’s Piano Concerto and Legend, and premieres of Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia and William Mathias’s first two Piano Concertos (Ulster Orchestra).

In addition to concerto recordings, Mark completed his John Ireland and Frank Bridge solo piano series and released a CD of William Alwyn’s piano works in 2015. As well as his BBC Music Magazine success, he has won Gramophone Magazine's "Editor’s Choice", International Record Review's "Outstanding" accolade and many others. International Piano Magazine wrote of him, “Bebbington’s revivals of British piano music are second to none; he could well be dubbed the concert pianists’ Richard Hickox. Bebbington has almost single-handedly demonstrated that 20th-century British piano scores have an exciting role to play in the concert hall and recording studio”.

Over recent seasons Mark has toured throughout Central and Northern Europe and in the United States (both as recitalist and as soloist with some of the world’s leading orchestras), as well as the Far East and North Africa. He recently played Richard Strauss's little-known left-handed piano concerto at Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra, and gave a masterclass and recital on British music at Bard College. Within the UK, he has appeared in concertos with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, Flanders Symphony Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, Orchestra of the Swan and BBC Concert Orchestra. He has featured both as soloist and recitalist on BBC Television and Radio and also on major European Television and Radio networks.

Mark studied at the Royal College of Music where he was a recipient of numerous international awards and prizes, including a Leverhulme Scholarship, a Winston Churchill Fellowship and the Ivan Sutton Recording Prize – the latter awarded to the one outstanding graduate of the combined London Music Colleges. He later studied in Italy with the legendary Aldo Ciccolini.

Mark’s programming demonstrates a commitment to the music of our time and he regularly includes contemporary composers as diverse as Takemitsu, Julian Anderson, John McCabe, David Matthews, Pierre Boulez and Elliot Carter in his recital series.

Forthcoming projects include continuing releases for the Somm label, appearances in major concert series and festivals both in the UK and throughout Europe and, closer to home, concerto performances with the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. He recently completed a two-week tour with the Czech National Orchestra and Libor Pesek and returned to the USA for concerts with the Buffalo Philharmonic. In July 2017 Mark made his Israel debut tour with the Israel Camerata.