John Reid

John Reid‘s career to date has shown him to be a pianist of notable versatility and range, with wide experience as an outstanding chamber musician, song accompanist, soloist and exponent of new music. Increasingly in demand as a teacher, he is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

In 2017 he made his concerto debut in Germany with the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck (Brahms No. 1) and he has extended his repertoire with orchestra in recent seasons to include Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie and Tippett’s Concerto. He has been principal pianist with Aurora Orchestra since 2007, appearing as a soloist with the group at the Aldeburgh Festival and as part of a complete Mozart concerto cycle at Kings Place in London. He also plays regularly with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

Much in demand as a guest pianist with a number of other leading ensembles, he has performed recently with London Conchord Ensemble, Archangelo, Ensemble Court-circuit, London Haydn Project (Mozart concertos K.271, K.595 and K.453), Edington Ensemble and The Sixteen (a Schumann and Brahms series in London, Manchester and Bruges). He was invited to programme a concert series for the Britten centenary at Kings Place, which incorporated new works by Simon Holt, Jonathan Dove and Martin Suckling; and he has performed regularly at The Sage Gateshead, both as a guest of the Royal Northern Sinfonia chamber music programme and as a Samling Artist.

Over the course of fifteen years, John has partnered many of the UK’s leading singers and instrumentalists. In recent seasons he has given recitals with singers Iestyn Davies, Anna Dennis, Nicholas Mulroy and Diana Moore, clarinettist Tim Orpen and violist Brett Dean; he also continues exploring repertoire on both modern and period instruments with violinist-violist John Crockatt. A parallel interest in cross-arts collaboration has led, in recent seasons, to concerts with Poet in the City, writer John Hegley, the flamenco dance group Dot Dot Dot (in the first performances of Los Nacimientos by Tom Randle at the Buxton Festival) and artist William Lindley.

Recordings include the complete songs of William Busch with Diana Moore, Robin Tritschler and Roderick Williams (Lyrita: 2022), trumpeter Matilda Lloyd’s debut recital album (Orchid Classics: 2018); Brahms Horn Trio and other repertoire with Etienne Cutajar and Carmine Lauri (Divine Art: 2019); trios with the Emanuel Ensemble (Champs Hill Records) and premiere recordings of music by Emily Hall (Befalling, and Life Cycle, both with Oliver Coates and Mara Carlyle), York Bowen (works for two pianos, with Michael Dussek for Dutton Epoch), Clifford Benson and Rhian Samuel. He has recorded numerous times for BBC Radio 3.

John Reid studied at Clare College, Cambridge and at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Dussek. His teachers have also included Christine Croshaw, Malcolm Martineau and Rudolf Jansen. He was a recipient of the 2004 Gerald Moore Award and the 2003 Kathleen Ferrier and Maggie Teyte Pianist Prizes, and he is now an Associate of the RAM.

Updated September 2024