The sound of the zither gradually fades away and the "hermit" returns.
"The brilliant sound that Blackshaw produces on the keys is a miracle in itself."
- Financial Times
"Blackshaw prefers to regard these sonatas of Mozart as a 'miniature opera'. He is one of the few contemporary pianists who knows how to make the notes flowing from his fingers sing and dance without actually using a song or a dance." - Gramophone
Magazine
Christian Blackshaw is a reclusive pianist and an authority on Mozart. A soulful and sensitive pianist, Blackshaw is renowned for his unrivalled musical talent, combining deep emotion with profound musical understanding. His Schubert and Mozart performances have won him unstinting praise from critics.
This year, Blackshaw will return to the Guangzhou Opera House with his "collection of treasures" - Mozart piano sonatas, as well as beautiful poems by Schumann and Schubert, and Liszt's only piano sonata, presenting the beauty of quiet and romantic music.
Blackshaw studied with Gordon Green at the Manchester Royal Academy and the Royal Academy in London, winning gold medals at both academies, and then became the first British pianist to study with Moise Halfing at the Leningrad Conservatory. Later, he also worked closely with Sir Clifford Curzon in London. He has performed as soloist in theatres and festivals around the world with conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Giandrea Noseda, Sir Donald Rownicle, Herbert Blomstead, Trevor Pinnock, Neeme Järvi and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and was founding director of the Helens Festival, which was founded in 2013.
His four-disc recording series of Mozart Piano Sonatas at London’s Wigmore Hall has been released to rave reviews. Critics have consistently described these “landmark” recordings as “enchanting”, “magical” and “masterful”, with the fourth volume named one of the “Best Classical Recordings of 2015” by The New York Times and one of the “50 Greatest Mozart Recordings” by Gramophone magazine.
Blackshaw's recent performances include Mozart concerts in Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Montreal and Snape, England, as well as his first collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, at the Schwetzingen Festival, the Vilavertran Schubert Festival in Spain, the Lerici Festival, and the Edinburgh International Festival. In
the 2019 New Year's Honours List, Blackshaw was awarded the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his contribution to music. In 2023-2024, his performances will be held at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Oxford International Piano Festival in the UK, the Tbilisi International Music Festival, the Salle de Bugey in Montreal, the Palais de la Música Catalana in Spain, and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.