A pianist for all possible worlds, Huddersfield-born Richard Uttley has worked as a soloist, in chamber groups and as a recording artist, playing contemporary music and classical music with equal authority. He has firmly established himself as one of the most in-demand interpreters working today, forming tight relationships with composers and their music. Talking eloquently about the scores he’s presented with, Uttley is an empathetic listener; he has recently undertaken projects including Naomi Pinnock’s Lines and Spaces and Kate Whitley’s The Bells, giving them the thought and care they deserve.
Uttley’s appearances at hcmf// have been revelatory; he appeared at the 2009 festival as part of hcmf// shorts, before returning in 2015 and wowing opening-weekend audiences with renditions of Michael Cutting’s slight La Mandragore and Tristan Murail’s virtuosic This is Not a Faux Wood Keyboard. He returned as part of the 2016 International Showcase programme with new works from Cutting and Eric Wubbels, as well as music from Georg Freidrich Haas and 2019’s Composer in Residence Chaya Czernowin.