STEPHEN KOVACEVICH was born in Los Angeles and made his debut at the age of 11. At 18 he moved to England, where he now lives, to study with Dame Myra Hess. He has had a long and distinguished career as a concert pianist and is particularly renowned for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms.
Kovacevich’s recent and upcoming engagements in North America include concerts with the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Montreal, and Detroit symphonies, and recitals in Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver and Philadelphia. In Europe, he appears regularly with major orchestras and at the most prestigious festivals including Verbier, Edinburgh and the Proms in London. Recent and forthcoming international projects include tours to Australia and Japan and appearances with the Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony, and Camerata Academica Salzburg.

His 2000/01 season has focused on a six-concert project “Kovacevich, Beethoven and the Piano,” in collaboration with the Harrods International Piano Series, the London Philharmonic, and the South Bank Centre, and includes performances of the Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with Kurt Masur and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the UK and Germany, and Beethoven recitals in the Royal Festival Hall.

Kovacevich records exclusively for EMI International and is currently recording the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas. The Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with the London Philharmonic and Wolfgang Sawallisch was nominated for a Grammy Award and won the 1993 Gramophone Award and the Stereo Review Record of the Year. His recording of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, also with the London Philharmonic and Sawallisch, won the Diapason d’Or and his recordings of Beethoven Sonatas Opp. 53, 78 and 110 and Sonatas Opp. 13, 14, and 22 were nominated for the instrumental category of the 1994 and 1999 Gramophone Awards. He also has four discs included in Philips’ Great Pianists of the 20th Century series.