Biography

Daniel Becker has received great acclaim for his insightful interpretations of standard and contemporary repertoire. He was first prizewinner at the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2003, where he also won the Sonic Arts Network Prize for his performance of Jonathan Harvey's Tombeau de Messiaen. As a result of the competition he is preparing to record a CD of works by Horatiu Radulescu for Metier Records. Daniel was a prizewinner at the 2002 Ibla Grand Prize International Competition in Sicily, winning a special mention for his performances of Busoni. Daniel’s performance at the Orléans 20th-Century Piano Competition resulted in the award of the Prix de composition Chevillion-Bonnaud for Kenneth Hesketh’s Three Japanese Miniatures.

Daniel performs regularly in the UK and abroad as a solo recitalist and chamber musician. He gave his debut performance at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York, in March 2003, while taking part in the Ibla prizewinners’ tour. In January 2004 he gave his Purcell Room debut with a solo recital for the Park Lane Group Young Artists New Year Series. Of the latter concert, the Evening Standard wrote: “Becker dazzles with brilliant Boulez ... Becker performed [Incises] with a rare sense of freedom, and brought similar skills to everything he played”. He made his Wigmore Hall debut in June 2005 and his Paris debut in May 2005 at the Salle Cortot. In November 2005 Daniel gave the London premiere with the Elias Quartet of Alexander Goehr’s Piano Quintet at the Conway Hall. He returned to the Purcell Room in March 2006 to give a recital in the Fresh series, of which Musical Pointers said: "a recital to remember and a name to mark for future appearances."

Daniel’s playing has been heard frequently on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. He has worked closely with many composers, and has given world or UK premieres of works by Edward Cowie, Alexander Goehr, Helen Grime, Kenneth Hesketh, Arlene Sierra, Eric Tanguy and Paul Whitmarsh. Daniel has recently recorded a CD of Alexander Goehr’s chamber music for Meridian Records, which will be released in December 2007.

Much in demand as a chamber and ensemble pianist, Daniel has recently performed with Endymion Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia, Composers' Ensemble (at the Aldeburgh Festival) and Orchestra of the Swan. He was also invited to join the six-piano ensemble Many Hands, performing at the FUSE Festival, Leeds in May 2006. Future plans include a series of two piano concerts with Huw Watkins.

Born in London in 1977, Daniel began his keyboard studies at the Junior Guildhall School of Music. He read Music at King’s College, Cambridge, during which time he studied piano with Jeremy Siepmann. Daniel then attended the Royal Academy of Music, working with James Lisney, where his studies were supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. Daniel has taken part in numerous masterclasses both in the UK and abroad. Those he has played to include Boris Berezovsky, Stephen Kovacevich, Dominique Merlet, Richard Goode, and György Sebok, the latter while attending the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove.