Biography
NEWS - Simon featured on Classic FM's "Songs Without Words" album
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British pianist Simon Mulligan celebrated his début aged 19 at London's Barbican Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; a month later he recorded his first compact disc under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin. This led to a seven-year collaboration and friendship, culminating in what was to be Lord Menuhin's final concert in Dusseldorf, March 1999.
Described by The Times of London as 'the most abundantly gifted of pianists', Simon performs and records internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. His recent recording of Beethoven sonatas will soon be released on Sony Masterworks. His previous solo album for Sony Classical, “Piano” won great acclaim throughout Europe, South America and the Far East, and featured in various television, radio, and internet campaigns. He has recorded more than fifteen discs, including performances of Martinu's Triple Concerto (conducted by Menuhin), Rosza’s Spellbound concerto with the BBC Symphony conducted by Slatkin, Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, his own Suite for Piano and Orchestra, and the Nocturnes of Chopin. He has made four discs for the Nimbus label, including a première recording of music by pianist Alexis Weissenberg. Simon’s performances with orchestra include the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony under Slatkin, Warsaw Sinfonia (Menuhin), Brno Philharmonic (Menuhin), Hong Kong Philharmonic (Atherton), the Hallé, Bournemouth Sinfonia, Malaysian Philharmonic and English Symphony (Boughton). Simon’s love of improvisation has led to articles in various jazz and classical music publications, including Downbeat, JazzTimes, International Pianist and Gramophone magazines.
As a chamber musician, Simon collaborates with many notable artists. He began touring with ‘cellist Lynn Harrell, while a student at London’s Royal Academy of Music. He has also given numerous recital tours worldwide with Joshua Bell, including performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, Hamburg’s Musikhalle, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, the 2002 Grammy Awards, and the DVD “Live from Lincoln Center’. In other fields, Simon has supported Van Morrison, Dame Shirley Bassey and Liza Minelli, and was invited to perform for Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Alongside an extensive solo repertoire and over fifty concertos, Simon is a devotee of contemporary music and has given first performances of works by Hans Werner Henze, James Macmillan, Tobias Picker, Alexis Weissenberg, Mark Anthony Turnage and Paul Moravec, (winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Music). His recording of Ned Rorem’s Piano Concerto No.2 with José Serebrier and the Royal National Scottish Orchestra was recently released on Naxos and was Gramophone magazine’s “Editor’s Choice” for December 2007.
Simon is also a passionate composer and arranger, writing for film, television and his own jazz quartet. He collaborated on several projects with film composer Michael Kamen, including The New Moon In The Old Moon’s Arms recorded for Decca, conducted by Leonard Slatkin with the BBC Symphony. Simon featured as soloist on Kamen's score for Band of Brothers – the award-winning HBO television series produced by Steven Spielberg. Simon’s playing of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ sonata features in the independent film “The Target”, starring Christopher Lambert and Dennis Hopper. He also provided the piano score to the theatre production “Full Circle”, starring Joan Collins. As a jazz pianist, he has led several of his own groups since he was 13, performing at festivals throughout the UK, Europe, Shanghai and Barbados. His new jazz quartet album, “Playlist”, will soon be released by Sony.
A Music Scholar of St Paul's School, London, Simon studied under Alexander Kelly at the Royal Academy of Music and Jaques Rouvier in Paris; he also studied Beethoven at the personal invitation of Alfred Brendel. He was also the recipient of a scholarship to the International Piano Academy on Italy’s Lake Como. There, his mentors included Charles Rosen, Alexis Weissenberg and Murray Perahia. In 2007, Simon was awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music for his musical achievements.
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REPERTOIRE FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Addinsell
Warsaw Concerto
Andriessen
De Volharding
Beethoven
No. 1 – C major
No. 2 – B-flat major
No. 3 – C minor
No. 4 – G major
No. 5 – E-flat major
Triple Concerto
Concerto in D major
Choral Fantasy, Op 80
Bernstein
The Age of Anxiety
Brahms
No.1 – D minor
No.2 – B-flat major
Chopin
No. 1 – E minor
No. 2 - F minor
Franck
Symphonic Variations
Gershwin
Concerto in F major
Rhapsody in Blue
Grieg
Concerto in A minor
Haydn
D major
C major
F major
Kabalevsky
Concerto No. 3, Op. 50
Lambert
Concerto
Liszt
No. 1 in E-flat
No. 2 in A major
Litolff
Scherzo
Mendelssohn
No.1
No.2
Capriccio Brillante
Messiaen
Trois Petites Liturgies
Mozart
K365 - E-flat major
K414 - A major
K453 - G major
K456 - B-flat major
K365 - E-flat major
K414 - A major
K449 – E-flat major
K453 - G major
K456 - B-flat major
K459 - F major
K466 - D minor
K467 - C major
K482 - E-flat major
K491 - C minor
K537 - D major
K595 - B-flat major
Prokofiev
No.3 - C major
Rachmaninov
No. 2 - C minor
No. 3 - D minor
No. 4 - G minor
Paganini Variations
Ravel
Concerto in G major
Concerto for the Left Hand
Rorem
Concerto No.2
Rosza
Spellbound Concerto
Rowley
Concerto in G major
Saint-Saëns
No.2 - G minor
No.3 - E-flat major
Schumann
Concerto in A minor
Shostakovich
No. 1, Op.35
No. 2, Op.102
Tchaikovsky
No. 1 - B-flat minor
No. 2 - G major (original version)
Wagner
Tristan and Isolde Fantasy, arr. Waxman
Weber
Konzertstück
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