“ Becker dazzles with brilliant Boulez ... with a rare sense of freedom ”
Daniel Becker has received great acclaim for his insightful interpretations of standard and contemporary repertoire. He was first prizewinner at the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2003, where he also won the Sonic Arts Network Prize for his performance of Jonathan Harvey's Tombeau de Messiaen. As a result of the competition he is preparing to record a CD of works by Horatiu Radulescu for Metier Records. Daniel was prizewinner at the 2002 Ibla Grand Prize International Competition in Sicily, winning a special mention for his performances of Busoni. Daniel’s performance at the Orléans 20th-Century Piano Competition won him the Prix de composition Chevillion-Bonnaud for Kenneth Hesketh’s Three Japanese Miniatures.
Daniel performs regularly in the UK and abroad as a solo recitalist and chamber musician. He gave his debut performance at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York, in March 2003. In 2004 he gave his Purcell Room debut with a solo recital for the Park Lane Group Young Artists New Year Series. Of the latter concert, the Evening Standard wrote: “Becker dazzles with brilliant Boulez ... Becker performed [Incises] with a rare sense of freedom, and brought similar skills to everything he played”. He made his Paris debut in May 2005 at the Salle Cortot and his Wigmore Hall debut in June 2005. In November 2005 Daniel gave the London premiere with the Elias Quartet of Alexander Goehr’s Piano Quintet at the Conway Hall. He returned to the Purcell Room in March 2006 to give a recital in the Fresh series, of which Musical Pointers said: "a recital to remember and a name to mark for future appearances." Recent recitals include the Fuse Leeds Festival and the Cheltenham Festival in a programme of Charles Ives and John Adams.
Daniel’s playing has been heard frequently on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. He has worked closely with many composers, and has given world or UK premieres of works by Edward Cowie, Alexander Goehr, Helen Grime, Kenneth Hesketh, Arlene Sierra, Howard Skempton, Eric Tanguy and Paul Whitmarsh. He was invited to perform at Alexander Goehr’s 75th Birthday concert at the Wigmore Hall in November 2007, performing Goehr’s Piano Quintet with the Elias String Quartet and two piano works with Huw Watkins.
Much in demand as a chamber and ensemble pianist, Daniel has recently performed with Endymion Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia, Composers' Ensemble (at the Aldeburgh Festival) and Orchestra of the Swan. Future plans include a series of two piano concerts, including an appearance in the Cutting Edge series, with Huw Watkins.
Born in London in 1977, Daniel began his keyboard studies at the Junior Guildhall School of Music. He read Music at King’s College, Cambridge, studying piano with Jeremy Siepmann. Daniel then attended the Royal Academy of Music, working with James Lisney, where his studies were supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. Daniel has taken part in numerous masterclasses both in the UK and abroad. Those he has played to include Boris Berezovsky, Stephen Kovacevich, Dominique Merlet, Richard Goode, and György Sebok, the latter while attending the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove.
Forthcoming CD releases will be a disc of Alexander Goehr’s chamber music for Meridian Records, music by Howard Skempton for Black Box and a cd of Beethoven Sonatas and Fantasias.
… a recital to remember and a name to mark for future appearances …
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Date : October 2007