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Viv McLean - Piano
Winner of the First Prize at the 2002 Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona, Viv McLean has performed at all the major venues in the UK as well as throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA.
Viv’s concerto work includes appearances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, Orchestra of the Swan, London Concert Orchestra, Scottish Concert Orchestra and the National Musicians' Symphony Orchestra.
Recent concerto highlights include Mozart K. 467 with the English Chamber Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, Grieg with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican, a tour of the USA with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing Gershwin; Rachmaninov’s 3rd Concerto with the RPO in Cambridge, Rachmaninov’s 2nd Concerto with the London Concert Orchestra at the Barbican; and Beethoven'sEmperorConcerto with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall. Viv McLean has performed regularly with the Hallé over the last few seasons including the Ravel Concerto in G at The Sands, Carlisle and Middlesbrough Town Hall;Gershwin'sRhapsody in Blue attheSage Gateshead; andGershwin, Bernstein andde Falla'sNights in the Gardens ofSpain at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
Upcoming highlights this year include a tour with the London Concert Orchestra at many venues throughout the UK including Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow and the Barbican Hall, London performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and other works.
Viv has performed chamber music with leading groups such as the Ysaye String Quartet, the Sacconi String Quartet, the Galliard Wind Ensemble and the Leopold String Trio and has collaborated with musicians such as Natalie Clein, Marianne Thorsen, Daniel Hope, Lawrence Power, Eijin Nimura, Phillip Dukes, Matthew Sharp, Kate Gould, Guy Johnston, Richard Dubugnon, David Le Page, Wayne Marshall, Christopher Warren-Green, Owain Arwell Hughes, David Charles Abell, Carl Davis and Marvin Hamlisch.
Viv McLean has performed at festivals including the Cheltenham International Festival and Harrogate Festival in the UK, the International Beethoven Festival, the Mecklenburg Festival and the Kultur KreisFestival in Germany, the Melle Festival and Festival de Saintes in France, the Vinterfestspill i Bergstaden in Norway and the Musik vid KattegattFestival in Sweden.
Viv studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Hamish Milne where he held the Hodgson Fellowship and was made an Associate of the Royal Academy in 2005. He made his Wigmore Hall recital debut through winning the Friends of the Royal Academy Wigmore Award. Whilst studying at the Academy, he was the piano winner at the Royal Overseas-League Music Competition and was selected as one of three winners of the National Federation of Music Societies' Young Artists Competition, leading to various recitals and concerto appearances throughout Great Britain.
Viv has recorded regularly for BBC Radio 3 since making his recital debut through the BBC Radio 3 Young Artists Forum scheme and has also recorded recitals for Classic FM, WDR Radio in Germany, Radio France, ABC Radio in Australia, NRK Radio in Norway and for the Sky Arts television channel. His commercial releases include recordings for such labels as Sony Classical Japan, Naxos and the RPO label.
May 2016. Use of any previously dated biographies is not authorised. Please contact Worldwide Artists if you wish to edit this biography in any way.
The pianist Viv McLean seemed exceptional to me; he astonished us with his musical maturity and extraordinary sonority.
Le Monde (Paris)
At the Festival de Melle, Viv McLean revealed extraordinary originality, superb simplicity, and fingers of steel hidden behind muscles of velvet. He is an otherworldly young man - he plays with the genius one finds in those who know how to forget themselves, naturally placing themselves at the right point to meet the music, this mystery of the moment.
Le Monde (Paris)
The pianist Viv McLean never faltered, spewing molten lava.
The Times (London)
The fluent technique and brilliance of the interpreter were impressive, he played with insight and the greatest sensitivity.
General Anzeiger (Bonn)
The listener was struck by the sustained level of technical mastery. Viv McLean performed with his mind as well as his hands.
Malta Sunday Times