Peter Donohoe
Piano
At a glance
Peter Donohoe
Piano
I cannot imagine a living pianist capable of improving upon Donohoe’s outstanding artistry.Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion
Since his success as joint winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Peter has gained international renown as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique.
Biography —
Peter Donohoe was born in Manchester in 1953. He studied at Chetham’s School of Music for seven years, graduated in music at Leeds University, and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique.
In recent seasons Donohoe has appeared with Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonia, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has undertaken a UK tour with the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as giving concerts in many South American and European countries, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Russia, and USA. Other past and future engagements include performances of all three MacMillian piano concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; a ‘marathon’ recital of Scriabin’s complete piano sonatas at Milton Court; an all-Mozart series at Perth Concert Hall; concertos with the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra, St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall; and a residency at the Buxton International Festival.
Donohoe is also in high demand as a jury member for international competitions. He has recently served on the juries at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow (2011 and 2015), Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (2016), Georges Enescu Competition in Bucharest (2016), Hong Kong International Piano Competition (2016), Harbin Competition (2017 and 2018), Artur Rubenstein Piano Master Competition (2017), Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition and Festival (2017), Alaska International e-Competition (2018), Concours de Geneve Competition (2018), Ferrol Piano Competition (2022), and Hong Kong International Piano Competition (2022), along with many national competitions both within the UK and abroad.
Donohoe’s most recent discs include Taneyev & Schumann: Piano Quintets with Signum, Granados & Albeniz with Chandos, and a selection of waltzes of Ravel, Schumann, Debussy & Chopin with SOMM. Other recent recordings include six volumes of Mozart Piano Sonatas (SOMM), Haydn Keyboard Works Volume 1 (Signum), Grieg Lyric Pieces Volume 1 (Chandos), Dora Pejacevic Piano Concerto (Chandos), Brahms and Schumann viola sonatas with Philip Dukes (Chandos), and Busoni: Elegies and Toccata (Chandos), which was nominated for BBC Music Magazine Award.
Donohoe has performed with all the major London orchestras, as well as orchestras from across the world: the Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Symphony and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras. He has also played with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Sir Simon Rattle’s opening concerts as Music Director. He made his twenty-second appearance at the BBC Proms in 2012 and has appeared at many other festivals including six consecutive visits to the Edinburgh Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron in France, and at the Ruhr and Schleswig Holstein Festivals in Germany.
The 23/24 season kicked off with Peter Donohoe performing as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra and Simon Rattle with four performances of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie in London, Edinburgh, and Bucharest. Following a March 2024 South American tour, recent and upcoming highlights of the 2024/25 season include performances with the Symphony Orchestra of India, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra in Bucharest, and Vox Ama Deus in Philadelphia, US.
News —
Peter Donohoe performs with Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Peter Donohoe steps in for Bruce Liu Read more
Busoni disc reviews for Peter Donohoe
Reviews for Peter Donohoe's new Busoni disc in Gramophone and Yorkshire Times Read more
Busoni recording released by Peter Donohoe
New recording released on Chandos of music by Busoni Read more
“Donohoe’s Indian debut is poised to be a landmark cultural event”
India Today previews Peter Donohoe's concerts at the Tata Theatre, Mumbai later this month Read more
5* reviews for Peter Donohoe’s Waltzes
A round up of reviews for Peter Donohoe's latest release Read more
Photos —
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Reviews —
...jaw droppingly virtuosi stuff - the sheer finger-memory involved is awesome... Donohoe was self-effacingly magisterial in this marathon.
Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post
I cannot imagine a living pianist capable of improving upon Donohoe’s outstanding artistry.
Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion, January 2017
Donohoe achieves what must be a perfect realisation of Prokofiev’s emotions, style and state of mind.
Quarterly Review on Peter's Prokofiev Sonatas disc (Volume 2)
Donohoe was the complete virtuoso in this celebrated concerto, his incomparable delicacy of touch and beauty of tone especially noticeable in the composed cadenza of the first movement
Cambridge News on Peter's performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
Donohoe’s performance was monumental, rhythmically charged, beautifully nuanced and utterly compelling
Ken Walton, The Scotsman
Donohoe was finely attuned to Prokofiev’s expressive lyricism and humour… here he appears to have regained a fluency and unselfconscious approach to this music, bringing its expression to full bloom.
BBC Music Magazine, 5*, on Peter's Prokofiev Sonatas disc (Volume 2)
One of our greatest home grown performers
Petroc Trelawny, BBC Radio 3
Donohoe gave one of those performances, unfortunately rare in the concert hall, with which it was impossible to find fault.
Seen and Heard International
Peter Donohoe played as if visited by the spirit of Rachmaninov…The fire and passion of the closing part of the last movement brought the performance to a magnificent climax. Not surprisingly, the audience erupted
Rian Evans, The Guardian
Ravel's music was brought to life with delicacy, clarity and dazzling virtuosity. I was struck by the maturity and masterly precision so audible in his playing, alongside the brilliance and imagination that always were there in abundance.
Robert Beale, Manchester Evening News
Donohoe’s delivery of the solo part was formidable, crisply articulated, dynamics beautifully judged.
Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post
Donohoe always sets the right tone, sometimes – most befittingly – with a wink.
Bachtrack
Donohoe is very special. He's a lion of the keyboard, but he's also a poet. From Donohoe you will experience thunder and steel; but you will also experience exquisite lyricism and sensitivity. There's something about his playing that suggests him as the man for this mission…Expect insights galore.
Michael Tumelty, The Herald, Scotland
...an atmosphere of Mozartian delicacy, simplicity and beauty prevailed, was convincingly communicated by Donohoe.
Bachtrack
Selected Discography —
Busoni: Fantasia contrappuntistica, Chopin Variations, Sonatina prima & seconda
Ravel, Schumann, Debussy & Chopin: Waltzes
BBC Music MagazineDonohoe’s reputation for such pianistic heavyweights as Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Prokofiev can obscure a brand of musical honesty that lends him authority across a much wider repertoire. This release is a reminder of this, focused on the outwardly lighter genre of the waltz but brimming with intelligent depth
Peter Donohoe Plays Granados & Albeniz
BBC Music MagazinePeter Donohoe may, by his own admission, have come to this repertoire relatively late, but informed by his experience as a player of Debussy and Ravel, these fine renditions are convincingly idiomatic throughout. His performance of ‘Evocación’ is a perfect introduction, drawing the listener into the narrative with magical control of timing and rubato.
Taneyev & Schumann: Piano Quintets
GramophoneAll five musicians play with requisite intensity and do a terrific job in ratcheting up the tension over long paragraphs...If you’re obsessed with the Taneyev Quintet, as I am, this beautifully engineered Signum recording is certainly worth hearing.
Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Chopin & Chopin Sonatas Nos 2 & 3
BBC Music MagazineThroughout, Donohoe’s approach has a robust honesty and an appealing straightforward feel, with an instinct for the emotional rises and falls
Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words Vol.2
GramophoneThe pianist’s straightforward temperament and respect for the text emphasise truth over charm...Donohoe’s cogent and articulate annotations bring welcome personal and musical perspectives to this repertoire. In all, a fine and well-engineered release.
Live at the British Library
Mozart Piano Sonatas Vol. 6
BBC Music Magazinesurely only a dedicated ideologue would deny that Donohoe has here found a playing style that feels exactly right for the idiom of the music itself.
Felix Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words (lieder Ohne Worte) Vol. 1
BBC Music MagazineTechnically, of course, Donohoe is absolutely secure, as well as generously displaying the love of this music that he mentions in his note.
Haydn: Keyboard Works Volume 1
Slipped Disc“An arresting start to Peter Donohoe’s new series of Haydn’s complete keybard works on Signum Records…It’s a stunner”
Mozart Piano Sonatas Vol. 5
GramophonePotential takers who fancy a punt need not fear that Mozart and Donohoe are ever at loggerheads. The unforced brilliance of his playing falls very happily on the ear.
Grieg Lyric Pieces Volume One
BBC Music MagazineDonohoe, with a devotion to Grieg’s music dating back to his early years, clearly has the measure of this repertoire. He gets inside the gentler pieces, such as ‘Melancholy’ and ‘Summer Evening’, with beautifully poised playing. Grieg in his more overtly national mood, as in the famous and virtuoso ‘Halling’, is presented with infectious enjoyment and the simpler pieces are never patronised.
Dora Pejacevic: Piano Concerto / Symphony
BBC Music Magazine[The Piano Concerto] boasts attractive melodies, warmly lush orchestration and technically demanding piano writing. Peter Donohoe revels in its manifold opportunities for virtuosic display...
Mozart Piano Sonatas Vol. 4
Brahms/Schumann - Viola Sonatas etc
GramophoneDukes’s powerful tone, with its mixture of sweetness and sinew, reminds me of Primrose’s…The chiselled clarity of Peter Donohoe’s playing proves an excellent foil for Dukes’s robust lyricism.
Busoni: Elegien, etc.
The Sunday TimesDonohoe, always musically convincing, overcomes all technical challenges with apparent and disarming ease.
Mozart Piano Sonatas Vol. 3
BBC Music MagazineK576 stands at the centre of this enormously satisfying third volume of Donohoe’s Mozart cycle….Donohoe invests this music with a real sense of pathos and world-weariness, extracting a wealth of startling colours and varied dynamics from his Bechstein piano.
Tchaikovsky: Solo Piano Works
BBC Music MagazineDonohoe, while never underplaying the Sonata’s moments of explosive rhetoric, finds a more poetic, Chopinesque poise…Instead of being rushed off its feet, the final possesses a glorious, Lisztian integrity…Even when Tchaikovsky’s Russianness becomes unmistakeable, Donohoe wisely leans more towards the cosmopolitan than overplaying the nationalist card.
Mozart Piano Sonatas Vol. 2
Musicweb InternationalHis sensitivity to Mozart’s music and identification of its quality is multifaceted... More than that, Donohoe’s Mozart is well considered and satisfying.
Mozart Piano Sonatas Vol. 1
Classical EarImmediately apparent in Peter Donohoe’s all too belated engagement with Mozart on disc is a light, liquescent lyricism shot through with moments of fragile, lambent beauty
Mozart: Piano Concertos for One, Two and Three Pianos
Classical Music[Valerie Tyron] modifies the composer’s Sturm und Drang in his D minor Concerto K466 with all of her impeccable taste and musicianship. Closer to Clara Haskil’s sobriety than to Argerich’s tempest-tossed recording, her clear and unaffected playing rises above the orchestra’s seething unrest in the opening Allegro and achieves a true sense of drama in the Romance’s central downpour.
Stravinsky: Music for Solo Piano and Piano and Orchestra
International Piano MagazineAdmirers of the angular Stravinsky have plenty to engage with in the Piano-Rag-Music and the Tango as well as the three concertante works. These- The Concerto, Capriccio and serial Movements-are winningly performed. A splendid and engrossing issue.
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos and Piano Sonatas
The ScotsmanDonohoe’s needle-sharp articulation and firmness of tone set the nerves appropriately on edge, carving out the music’s contours with glacial insistence.
Shostakovich 24 Preludes and Fugues
The GuardianDonohoe treats these piano miniatures with utmost sincerity. His new recording of the complete set isn’t introspective or showy; it isn’t overly reverent or sensationalist. Above all his playing is frank, sometimes to the point of plainness...there is immense dignity and power in Donohoe’s directness.
Musorgsky: Pictures from an exhibition; Ravel: Miroirs; Messiaen: Cantéyodjayâ
GramophoneMessiaen’s exotic-experimental Cantéyodjayâ is a perfect musical realisation of an abstract mosaic, not least in Donohoe’s brightly faceted interpretation, whose chiselled textures and sharply defined lines make this, for me, by some distance the highlight of the disc.
Scriabin’s Ten Piano Sonatas
Musical OpinionThere are fine sets available of the ten piano sonatas of Alexander Scriabin , but none better than this. This is a most distinguished issue
Witold Maliszewski: Piano Concerto in B flat minor
Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Vol. 3
Pianist MagazinePeter Donohoe is a pianistic superman. The British pianist chews through repertoire like most people eat handfuls of peanuts, and his technical level is truly awe-inspiring
Arnold: Symphony No. 7, Philharmonic Concerto & Fantasy on a theme of John Field
GramophoneThis useful anthology brings together three of Malcolm Arnold's most powerfully distinctive and deeply personal works...[Donohoe] plays with coruscating aplomb, his partnership with Yates and the RSNO evincing a wealth of character, valiant emotional scope and sense of danger that compel from start to finish.
Sergei Prokofiev Piano Sonatas (Volume 2)
BBC Music MagazineBig-boned and unwieldy, Mignone’s Piano Concerto leans a little too heavily on Rachmaninov, but the sultry Albeniz is worth getting to know. Passionate performances of both.
Sergei Prokofiev Piano Sonatas 1-5 (Volume 1)
Musicweb InternationalDonohoe’s unerring instincts for the shape and colour of these scores - their topography, if you will - is what sets him apart from all his rivals...Top-notch Prokofiev, commandingly played; this is as good as it gets.
Alan Bush: Africa Piano Concerto, Symphony No. 2 & Fantasia on Soviet Themes
Cyril Scott: Piano Concerto in D & Cello Concerto
GramophoneThis is an ecstatic outpouring of unknown music...Donohoe's stunning performance makes the best possible case for this to become a repertoire piece.
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1
Bartók: Piano & Violin Concertos
George Gershwin
Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F major, Rhapsody in Blue
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23, etc.
John Gardner: Piano Concerto No. 1
The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical MusicThis coupling of two of John Gardner's major works, plus a sparkling comedy overture, could not be more welcome...By rights this disc will bring renewed attention to the music of a most attractive composer.
Berg: Drei Orchesterstücke, Op. 6, etc.
Rachmaninov - Music for Two Pianos
Foulds: Dynamic Triptych
GramophonePeter Donohoe... gives a superb performance. This is a really first-rate programme, a worthy follow-up to Oramo's first Foulds CD (A/04) and a revealing window onto an unusual and innovative area of English music.
Hamilton Harty: Piano Concerto
GramophoneDonohoe's bravura is frequently jaw-dropping and there's no lack of enthusiasm or sensitivity about the orchestral support. A refreshing and instructive display.
Tippett: Piano Sonata No. 1 'Fantasy Sonata', etc.
BBC Music MagazinePeter Donohoe presents dynamically muscular yet thoughtful and affectionate readings of the first three of Tippett's four piano sonatas, in first-rate recorded sound…
Thomas Pitfield: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
BBC Music MagazineThe First Concerto has a highly resourceful second movement, but Concerto No. 2 (1958), all over in 11 minutes, is even more remarkable for its concentrated invention, bonhomie and expert craftsmanship. First-rate performances from both soloists, who clearly relish every note...
Alwyn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Gramophone Classical Music GuideAlwyn (whose centenary year fell in 2005) is a composer of strong communicative gifts and the best of his music exhibits a disarming emotional candour, generous lyricism, powerful sense of argument...
Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphony, Quatuor pour la fin du temps & Le merle noir
GramophoneSimon Rattle's 1986 account with the City of Birmingham Symphony never had the field to itself but is set an interpretative standard yet to be surpassed. Not only is the placing of piano (Peter Donohoe) and ondes martenot (Tristan Murail) ideal but the reading balances insight with a firm grasp of the formal interplay between movements.
Howard Ferguson & Roberto Gerhard: Piano Concertos
Simon Rattle - Americana
Bliss: Piano Concerto
BBC Music MagazineConcerto for Two pianos is the most lively, attractive work on the disc, full of quick, spiky wit and delight on colour, all well brought out by Donohoe and Roscoe
Bliss - Chamber Music Volume 2
Gramophone Classical Music GuideThe Maggini Quartet and Peter Donohoe give a commanding performance of the Piano Quartet, locating an underlying toughness of argument and urgency of expression in both outer movements to make..
Rawsthorne: Piano Concertos 1 & 2
Gramophone Classical Music GuideDonohoe's brilliant solo contribution has all the sparkle you could want...
Volans - Music for Wind Ensemble
Finzi: Cello Concerto, Eclogue & Grand Fantasia & Toccata
The Romantic Piano Concerto 26 - Litolff
Gramophone Classical Music GuideLitolff's dauntingly ambitious structures accommodate every possible style, looking forwards and backwards Janus-style, yet reaching out in the strange almost Alkanesque oddity of the Fifth...
Walton: Piano Quartet (1921) & String Quartet (1947)
Gramophone Classical Music GuidePeter Donohoe a powerful and incisive presence, and the Maggini Quartet again playing most persuasively, the early Piano Quartet is also given a performance of high contrasts, enhanced by a refined recording which conveys genuine pianissimos that are free from highlighting.
Rattle conducts Britten
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Six Pieces
Walton: Selected Orchestral Works
Gramophone Classical Music GuideAs soloist Peter Donohoe plays with power and flamboyance, brought home the more when the piano is very forwardly balanced...
Debussy Preludes, Book 1 & Ravel Miroirs
Rachmaninov: The Complete Preludes
Henze, H: Undine
The Penguin Guide of Recorded Classical MusicThe DG version of the score is given with sensitivity and authority by Oliver Knussen, one of Henze's most eloquent interpreters...it is the product of Knussen's enthusiasm for the music, and this shows throughout. It is superbly realized by these fine musicians
The Romantic Piano Concerto 14 - Litolff
Elgar: String Quartet and Piano Quintet
Gramophone Magazinethe Maggini Quartet impress with the luminous refinement and beguiling tonal beauty of their music-making
Shostakovich: Piano concerto No. 2
Beethoven: Quintet, Octet & Symphony No. 7 arr. for winds
Messiaen: Works for Wind Ensemble
Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Peter Donohoe – Sonatas
Peter Donohoe: Rachmaninov 24 Preludes
Beethoven: Piano Sonata Op. 101 & Diabelli Variations
Peter Donohoe: Chopin
Bartok: Piano Concertos • Klavierkonzerte • Concertos Pour Piano 1-2-3
Prokofiev Sonatas 6, 7, & 8
The Academy Collection: Rachmaninov - Thirteen Preludes Op.32, Debussy - Images Ire Serie pour Piano
Busoni Piano Concerto, Live at the 1988 BBC Proms
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 / 6 Piano Pieces
Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos No 2 & 3
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Minor / Piano Concerto No. 3 In E Flat
Peter Donohoe: Liszt, Berg, Bartók – Piano Sonatas
PETER DONOHOE - MULDOWNEY Piano Concerto, Saxophone Concerto
The Jazz Album (A Tribute To The Jazz Age)
Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphonie / Quatuor Pour La Fin Du Temps
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 2
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 3
Peter Donohoe plays Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov
Britten: Young Apollo / Canadian Carnival / Four French Songs / Scottish Ballad
Related Media —
John Ogdon: A Musical Tribute
Peter Donohoe plays Schumann's Arabeske in C major, Op. 18 in a BBC production celebrating the life of John Ogdon View on YouTubeJohn Ogdon: A Musical Tribute (2)
Peter Donohoe plays Shostakovich Four Preludes and Fugues No. 21 in Bb major Op. 18 in a BBC production celebrating the life of John Ogdon View on YouTubeBusoni - Piano Concerto in C Major Opus 39
Peter Donohoe, soloist - BBC Symphony Orchestra Mark Elder conducting View on YouTubeLitolff Concerto Symphonique no. 2 [Op. 22] - I. Maestoso Part 2
Henry Charles Litollf (1818-1891) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Andrew Litton Piano: Peter Donohoe View on YouTubePeter Donohoe: Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 1
Peter Donohoe performs Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 1 View on YouTubeIn Tune: Peter Donohoe performs Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse
In Tune's Springtime Special, May 2012 View on YouTubeDownloads —
Contact —
Name
- Fernando Morales