Since his success at the age of thirteen in the "BBC Young Musician of the Year" and in subsequent international competitions, British pianist Sam Haywood has appeared throughout Europe as soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. He recently gave his Purcell Room solo recital debut and will be giving three further recitals at London's South Bank Centre in February, March and April of this year.
In 1989 Sam Haywood was awarded the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Isserlis Award, which enabled him to study in Vienna with Paul Badura-Skoda. After four years he returned to the United Kingdom, where he continued his musical training with Maria Curcio, the renowned teacher and pupil of Artur Schnabel.
Sam Haywood has now performed to high acclaim in many of the major concert venues in Europe including Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and St John's, Smith Square in London; Konzerthaus, Bösendorfersaal and United Nations, Vienna; Salle d'UNESCO Paris; Mendelssohnhaus, Leipzig and also in Holland, Denmark, Andorra, USA, Turkey and Germany. "His innate virtuosity enabled the level of passion in his playing to rise higher than one could have imagined" - Leipziger Volkszeitung.
He has recorded three solo CDs of works by Chopin, Brahms, Mussorgsky, Liszt and Schubert and a further three chamber music CDs with cellist Martin Storey, clarinettist Katherine Ann Spencer and bassoonist Roger Birnstingl. His numerous broadcasts have included live recitals on Classic FM and BBC Radio 3, an interview on Radio 4's Today programme and an appearance on Israeli State Radio. Recently he was also guest soloist for the launch of the Penguin Classics label - a collaboration between Penguin Books, DECCA, Deutsche Grammophon and Philips. Sam Haywood is also very interested in performing works on the instruments for which they were written, and as a fortepianist has broadcast on Radio 3 as part of their Early Music Festival and was awarded the Croft Early Music Prize at the Royal Academy of Music in 1996.