Hyperion Records

Renowned concert pianist Leslie Howard has given recitals and concerto performances all over the world. His repertoire embraces the whole gamut of the piano literature from the time of the instrument’s inception to the music of the present day. As a soloist, and in chamber music and song, Leslie Howard is a familiar figure at numerous international festivals. With a vast array of more than 80 concertos, he has played with many of the world’s great orchestras, working with many distinguished conductors. The recital programmes that Leslie Howard gives on his extensive travels throughout the world are always noted for their communication of his personal joy in musical discovery, and his playing for its combination of intellectual command and pianistic spontaneity.

Leslie Howard's gramophone recordings include music by Franck, Grainger, Grieg, Granados, Rakhmaninov, Rubinstein, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and, most important of all, Liszt. For fourteen years he was engaged on the largest recording project ever undertaken by a solo pianist: the complete solo piano music of Ferenc Liszt—a project which was completed in a total of 94 compact discs on the Hyperion label. The publication of the series was completed in the autumn of 1999. The importance of the Liszt project cannot be overemphasized: it encompasses world première recordings, including much music prepared by Dr Howard from Liszt’s still unpublished manuscripts, and works unheard since Liszt's lifetime. Leslie Howard has been awarded the Grand Prix du Disque on five occasions, and a further Special Grand Prix du Disque was awarded upon the completion of the Liszt series. He is currently the President of the British Liszt Society, and he holds numerous international awards for his dedication to Liszt's music. In 2000 he was honoured by Hungary with the Pro Cultura Hungarica award.

Leslie Howard’s work as a composer encompasses opera, orchestral music, chamber music, sacred music and songs, and his facility in completing unfinished works has resulted in commissions as diverse as a new realisation of Bach's Musical Offering and completions of works by composers such as Mozart, Liszt and Tchaikovsky. He is also a regular writer on music and broadcaster on radio and television.

Leslie Howard was born in Australia, educated there, in Italy and in England, and he has made his home in London for many years. He gives regular masterclasses in tandem with his performances around the world. He is a member of The London Beethoven Trio with violinist Catherine Manson and cellist Thomas Carroll.

In the 1999 Queen’s Birthday Honours Leslie Howard was appointed a Member in the Order of Australia [AM] “for service to the arts as a musicologist, composer, piano soloist and mentor to young musicians”.