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SIMON MULLIGAN
Simon Mulligan was 19 when he celebrated his début at London's Barbican Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; a month later he recorded his first compact disc under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin. This led to a seven-year collaboration and friendship, culminating in what was to be Lord Menuhin's final concert in Dusseldorf, March 1999.
Born in London, Simon performs and records internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. He recently signed an exclusive multi-album deal with Sony Classical. His first Sony disc “Piano” has been successfully launched throughout Europe, South America and the Far East, featuring in various television, radio, and internet campaigns. Simon has recorded more than fifteen discs, including performances of Martinu's Triple Concerto (conducted by Menuhin) for Supraphon, Rosza's Spellbound concerto with the BBC Symphony conducted by Slatkin, Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition , his own Suite for Piano and Orchestra , and the Nocturnes of Chopin. He has recorded four discs for the Nimbus label, including a première recording of music by pianist Alexis Weissenberg. Simon's love of improvisation has led to articles in several jazz and classical music publications, including Downbeat , JazzTimes and Gramophone magazines. The Weissenberg disc was awarded ‘Instrumental CD of the Month' in BBC Music Magazine and Germany's Fonoforum magazine as well as the Barnes and Noble and Amazon websites.
As a chamber musician, Simon has collaborated with many notable artists. He gave recital tours with Lynn Harrell for five years. Since 1998, he has given worldwide recital tours with Joshua Bell. Their most recent tour included performances at New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall and Hamburg's Musikhalle. Simon has supported Van Morrison and Dame Shirley Bassey on tour, and was invited to perform for HM The Queen's “Remembrance Day” concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. A devotee of contemporary music, Simon has given first performances of works by Hans Werner Henze, James Macmillan, Tobias Picker, Alexis Weissenberg, Mark Anthony Turnage and Paul Moravec, (winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Music). He has recently been invited to give the premier performances for works of Bernard Herrmann and Peter Racine Fricker.
A keen composer, Simon writes for film, television and for his jazz quartet. Collaborations with film composer Michael Kamen include The New Moon In The Old Moon's Arms recorded for Decca, conducted by Leonard Slatkin with the BBC Symphony. Simon features on the soundtrack to Kamen's score for Band of Brothers – the award-winning HBO television series produced by Spielberg and Tom Hanks. As an arranger, his commissions include the re-scoring of Copland's "Old American Songs", Kurt Weill's songs from the "Threepenny Opera" and several notable film scores. Simon's playing of Beethoven's ‘Moonlight' sonata features in the film “The Piano Player”, starring Christopher Lambert and Dennis Hopper. He recently provided the score to the theatre production “Full Circle”, starring Joan Collins. As a jazz pianist, he has led his own quartet since he was 13, performing at festivals throughout the UK, Europe, Shanghai and Barbados.
Concerts this season include performances in the US, Europe, and the Far East. A new album with the jazz quartet is due for release in February.
A Music Scholar of St Paul's School, London, Simon studied under Alexander Kelly at the Royal Academy of Music and Jaques Rouvier at the Paris Conservatoire. Alfred Brendel invited Simon to study the works of Beethoven before winning a scholarship to the Fondazione per il Pianoforte at Lake Como , Italy . There, his mentors included Charles Rosen, Alexis Weissenberg and Murray Perahia.