Increasingly sought-after as a recitalist of ‘deep understanding’, prize-winning pianist George Needham performs regularly throughout the UK and Europe.

Aside from frequent recital appearances in solo, chamber music and song settings, he has enjoyed collaborations as a concerto soloist with orchestras such as the Norddeutsche Philharmonie. He also nurtures an ongoing relationship with the Cumbria Opera Festival, where he regularly gives song recitals and premieres specially-commissioned pieces.

Competitive successes and participation in young artist programmes have afforded George Needham an increasingly broad range of performance opportunities in recent years. He is a laureate of the AESS Courtney Kenny Song Competition, and the International Verfemte Musik Competition, the latter allowing him to champion the music of composers ostracised under National Socialism in the twentieth century. He was named a Young Artist of the Leeds Lieder Festival, and a Britten-Pears Young Artist.

After graduating with first-class honours from Oxford University, he continued his pianistic studies with Helen Krizos at the Royal Northern College of Music, graduating with first-class honours and prizes. After this his training continued in Germany, where significant mentors included Matthias Kirschnereit and Wolfram Rieger. His musical and intellectual horizons were further broadened through study of the poetry and performance of the German Lied at the Franz-Schubert-Institut, near Vienna.

He has worked in masterclass settings with such musicians as Stephen Kovacevich, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Lars Vogt, Pascal Rogé, Roger Vignoles, Julius Drake, Helmut Deutsch and Malcolm Martineau.