Simon Callaghan
With several recordings for the boutique label Somm, English pianist Simon Callaghan has gained a reputation for high-quality, intimate performances. His interest in neglected repertory has also led to his appearance in the Hyperion label's popular Romantic Piano Concertos series, dedicated to the revival of forgotten works.
Callaghan was born in 1983 in Stoke-on-Trent and took an interest in the piano early on. He enrolled at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester in 2000, studying with Bernard Roberts, and went on to the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with Yonty Solomon, a student of Dame Myra Hess. Callaghan was a finalist at the Bromsgrove International Young Musician's Platform in 2002. Signed as a Steinway artist, he has given concerts all over the world. Under Steinway's auspices, he has performed around Britain at major halls, including Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Bridgewater and Stoller Halls in Manchester. Abroad, he has crisscrossed Europe, traveled to the Banff Centre in Canada, and performed in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand. Callaghan has also toured as a chamber musician as half of the Parnassus Duo with Hiro Takenouchi and has performed at the Highgate, Husum, and Cervo Chamber Music Festivals. In 2012, he made his recording debut (with Takenouchi) in an album of music by Delius arranged for two pianos on the Somm label.
Callaghan's discography most clearly shows his orientation toward lesser-known music. He has issued several albums devoted to Roger Sacheverell Coke. One of these was on Hyperion, featuring three of Coke's piano concertos, and was issued as part of that label's Romantic Piano Concertos series; another album in that series, featuring concertos by Joseph Rheinberger and Bernhard Scholz, appeared in 2018. That year also saw Callaghan perform Nikolai Medtner's Piano Concerto No. 3 in E minor, Op. 60, a work of which he had given the first British performance since 1946. Callaghan maintains a busy performing schedule with recital partners, including Raphael Wallfisch, Adrian Brendel, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. He remained busy during the COVID-19 pandemic, issuing five albums in the year 2020 alone and two more in 2021; one of those, Josef Holbrooke: Late Piano Music, was on the Lyrita label, with which he has had an ongoing relationship. In 2022, Callaghan (with Adrian Farmer) returned on Nimbus with an album of duo piano works by Schubert. He also backed violinist Coco Tomita on her album Origins that year and released five more albums, three of them on Lyrita. His Romantic Piano Concerto album devoted to Carl Reinecke was slated for release on Hyperion in 2023.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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White Christmas (Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano)
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Roger S. Coke : 24 Preludes - 15 Variations & Finale
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Poulenc: The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant, FP 129 (Narrated in English)
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Fantasie in F Minor, D. 940: III. Allegro vivace. Trio (Single)
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Delius: Orchestral Music Arranged for 2 Pianos, Vol. 2
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Colours of the Heart
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Chamber Music - Released by MusiKaleido on 13 Oct 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Warp & Weft
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Delius: Orchestral Music Music for 2 Pianos, Vol. 1
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Dorothy Howell: Spindrift (Single)
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Madeleine Dring: Danza Gaya (Single)
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Reinecke & Sauer: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 87)
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Entente musicale
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Sauer: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor: IV. Allegro deciso, assai moderato
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reinecke: Piano Concertos Nos, 1, 2 & 4 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 85)
Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, Simon Callaghan, Modestas Pitrenas
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 6 Jan 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Variations for Piano & Orchestra: III. L'Istesso Tempo - Lento sostenuto (Single)
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Gordon Jacob: Piano Concerto No. 2 in E flat Major: III. Allegro con brio (Single)
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Madeleine Dring: Three Fantastic Variations on 'Lilliburlero' II. Andante (Single)
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