Keval Shah

Keval Shah is internationally recognised for his artistry as a pianist and for his innovative approach to cross-cultural programming. Born into a Gujarati family from East Africa and raised on the outskirts of London, Shah grew up in a musically rich environment, surrounded by the sounds of Bollywood film scores, ghazals, Hindustani classical music, and devotional bhajans. He began playing the piano aged seven, but his first formative encounter with Western classical music came at twelve, singing Mozart in his school choir.

He went on to read Music as a cholar scholar at the Cambridge University where he discovered the world of song—a genre that synthesised his passions for the piano, the voice, languages, and poetry. This discovery then lead him to postgraduate studies as a collaborative pianist at the Royal Academy of Music, where his teachers included Michael Dussek, Audrey Hyland, and Malcolm Martineau.

In 2019, Shah was appointed Lecturer of Lied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki at the age of 25, becoming the youngest professor in the institution’s history. His career rapidly expanded from this base: he has since performed in major European concert halls and festivals, collaborated with singers including Karita Mattila and Roderick Williams, and achieved success in international competitions with his regular duo partner, Theodore Platt.

Shah’s early years in Finland also prompted an important artistic reorientation. Living at a geographical and cultural distance from his roots, he began to reconnect with his Indian heritage, a process from which a new creative outlook has emerged. His artistic vision now integrates the language of Western classical music with traditions from South Asia and beyond, through creative curation and through commissioning new music from composers who work between cultural worlds. His projects often transcend style and genre boundaries, building musical landscapes which contain the blueprints of multiple peoples and places.

Recent highlights include the European premiere of a song cycle by Shawn Okpebholo, which blends gospel and jazz within a contemporary classical framework, juxtaposed with works by Schumann and Poulenc; and Eternity in an Hour, created with contralto Jess Dandy, which interweaves a newly commissioned Sanskrit cycle by Reena Esmail setting texts from the Bhagavad Gita with songs from the Western canon. This project, praised by The Times as “profound… in its spiritual depth and intellectual curiosity’, is typical of Shah’s curatorial approach. In 2025, again in collaboration with Reena Esmail, Shah devised his first solo concert, weaving elements of Hindustani classical, Gujarati folk, and Hindu devotional traditions with Western classical idioms. This project premiered at Finland’s Flow Festival, in an eclectic line-up alongside artists including Charli XCX, Hermeto Pascoal and Ganavya.

In addition to his creative projects, Shah maintains a distinguished career in the core classical tradition. With Theodore Platt he recently released his first recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, and he is regularly invited to teach at institutions including the Juilliard School and the Royal Academy of Music. He serves on the artistic team of Helsinki Seriös, Finland’s leading international chamber music series, and has sat on the jury of several international competitions.

A committed communicator, Shah also works as broadcaster, presenting programmes for the BBC and hosting the Siba Talks interview series. His life and work are the subject of a forthcoming documentary film by Antti Vuori, scheduled for release in 2026.

Updated September 2025