Kathryn Stott

Kathryn Stott is internationally recognised as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative musicians and among today’s most engaging pianists. She is in demand for a wide variety of chamber music alliances, playing with some of the world’s leading instrumentalists, as well as appearing on major international concert platforms in recitals and concerto performances. Kathryn has also directed several distinctive concert series and festivals and has developed an extensive and exceptionally varied catalogue of recordings.

Born in Lancashire, she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music and was a prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition 1978. Her teachers included Nadia Boulanger, Vlado Perlemuter and Kendall Taylor. In addition to her busy career as a performer, she is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was recently made an Honorary Member.

Kathryn has been performing and recording with Yo-Yo Ma for nearly 30 years and together they regularly tour Europe, the USA, South America and the Far East. She has developed shared musical interests with an amazing array of performers and has always enjoyed collaborations with other musicians. With a vast repertoire, Kathryn has maintained a keen interest in contemporary music and has had many works written especially for her. In particular, her close musical relationship with the composer Graham Fitkin has led to 7 World premieres. She is a remarkable exponent of Tango and other Latin dance music, reflected in her collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and leading South American musicians on the Grammy Award-winning Sony CD ‘Soul of the Tango’ and its successor ‘Obrigado Brazil’. In the recording studio she has created a large and eclectic body of work including concertos and solo repertoire; of particular note is her recording for Hyperion of the complete solo works by Fauré and the complete Kabalevsky Concertos for Chandos. Apart from her CDs with Yo-Yo Ma, she has also recorded with Truls Mørk, Christian Poltéra, the Hermitage String Trio, Guy Johnston, the Doric string quartet, Noriko Ogawa and Tine Thing Helseth.

Kathryn Stott has been the artistic vision behind several major festivals and concert series. ‘Piano 2000’ and ‘Piano 2003’ ( Bridgewater Hall, Manchester) established her reputation as an astute programmer; and following the earlier ‘Fauré and the French Connection’ she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Government. From 2009 – 2014 she is Artistic Director of the Manchester Chamber Concerts Society and was Guest Artistic Director of Incontri in Terra di Siena in 2010 and 2011. Kathryn curated a series of 6 concerts called ‘Dance!’ for Leeds International Concerts in 2014.

A regular visitor to international festivals both as soloist and chamber musician, Kathryn has recently performed at the Kennedy Centre, Washington DC, Tonhalle, Zurich and made a welcome return to the BBC Proms performing with the BBC Concerto Orchestra. This season, she will be on tour with cellist Giovanni Sollima in the UK and Italy and performing for the first time with JP Jofre and his Hard Tango Chamber Band in New York.  She is also particularly excited to be making her first visit to New Zealand and touring again in Australia and the Far East.

In 2008 Kathryn celebrated her 50th birthday with 25 musician friends raising £30k for HIV research and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. She has been on the Board of the Hallé Orchestra for 5 years and continues to enjoy participating in the life of the orchestra. Kathryn (Kathy) Stott has a daughter, Lucy, and lives in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. A keen walker, she enjoys being out in the countryside and spending time with her working cocker spaniel, Archie.