Lawrence Power Viola
"Power [has an] ability to transform the most commonplace phrase into something magically eloquent and memorable." (The Guardian)
Lawrence Power is one of the leading violists of our time, in demand worldwide both as a soloist and as a chamber music partner. He is particularly passionate about new music and, with the help of the Viola Commissioning Circle, which he founded, he is constantly expanding the repertoire for viola to include works by important contemporary composers. Power has premiered viola concertos by David Philip Hefti, Anders Hillborg, Magnus Lindberg, James MacMillan, Cassandra Miller and Ryan Wigglesworth as well as works by Thomas Adès, Garth Knox, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Mark-Anthony Turnage, among others.
In the 2023/24 season, Power performs the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg's Viola Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nick Collon, Hindemith's Schwanendreher with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under Christian Thielemann, Sofia Gubaidulina's Viola Concerto in Munich and Frankfurt, and he opens the Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele with Cassandra Miller's Viola Concerto. In the upcoming seasons, Power’s orchestra debuts in Berlin and Hamburg are planned with the Konzerthausorchester under the direction of Ivan Fischer and with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester under Alan Gilbert.
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Power [has an] ability to transform the most commonplace phrase into something magically eloquent and memorable.
The Guardian
Lawrence Power is one of the leading violists of our time, in demand worldwide both as a soloist and as a chamber music partner. He is particularly passionate about new music and, with the help of the Viola Commissioning Circle, which he founded, he is constantly expanding the repertoire for viola to include works by important contemporary composers. Power has premiered viola concertos by David Philip Hefti, Anders Hillborg, Magnus Lindberg, James MacMillan, Cassandra Miller and Ryan Wigglesworth as well as works by Thomas Adès, Garth Knox, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Mark-Anthony Turnage, among others.
During the pandemic, Lawrence Power commissioned short solo works, the Lockdown Commissions, from Huw Watkins, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Martyn Brabbins and Garth Knox, among others. Video recordings of the works were filmed in iconic concert halls that were abandoned during the pandemic or in unusual locations in the UK and published on social media. The project was shortlisted for the South Bank Awards 2021 (Classical category). Following this success, Power co-founded Âme Productions with filmmaker Jessie Rodger to create films that explore the boundaries between music and other art forms. Âme Productions then presented Fathom, a concert experience combining early and new music, live performance, cinematic projection and complex 360-degree sound design, at the Southbank Centre in December 2022.
In the 2023/24 season, Power performs the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg's Viola Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nick Collon, Hindemith's Schwanendreher with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under Christian Thielemann, Sofia Gubaidulina's Viola Concerto in Munich and Frankfurt, and he opens the Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele with Cassandra Miller's Viola Concerto. In the upcoming seasons, Power’s orchestra debuts in Berlin and Hamburg are planned with the Konzerthausorchester under the direction of Ivan Fischer and with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester under Alan Gilbert.
Power maintains a regular collaboration with top-tier international ensembles, ranging from the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras to the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with conductors such as such as Osmo Vänska, Lahav Shani, Parvo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Andrew Manze, Ilan Volkov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Leading 'play & lead' programs – as seen recently with the Australian National Academy of Music, the Camerata Zürich, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, or his own Chamber Orchestra Collegium founded in 2018 – Power directs not only as a violist but also from the violin. As a chamber musician, he regularly collaborates with Steven Isserlis, Nicholas Altstaedt, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Antti Siirala, Vilde Frang, Maxim Vengerov, or Joshua Bell, and he is a member of the Nash Ensemble.
Power has been Artist in Residence with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Turner Sims Southampton. He has appeared as a guest artist at the BBC Proms twelve times. Due to his dramaturgically well-crafted and innovative programme design, Power is regularly invited by concert halls and festivals as a curator, including for a concert series at London's Kings Place. Last but not least, Power is the founder and artistic director of the West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2021.
In recognition of the outstanding quality and scope of his work as a solo artist, Lawrence Power was honoured with the Instrumentalist Award by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2020. In 2021, he has been appointed Associate Artist of the Wigmore Hall in London for a five-year term.
Lawrence Power also holds a professorship at the Zurich University of the Arts and gives masterclasses worldwide, including at the Verbier Festival. He plays a rare viola by Antonio Brenzi (Bologna, ca. 1590) and a viola by the Amati brothers from 1580, on loan from the Karolina Blaberg Foundation.