Nicolas Hodges
Piano
An active and ever-growing repertoire that encompasses such composers as Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Debussy, Schubert and Stravinsky reinforces pianist Nicolas Hodges’ superior prowess in contemporary music.
︎ Marco Borggreve
As Tempo magazine has written: “Hodges is a refreshing artist; he plays the classics as if they were written yesterday, and what was written yesterday as if it were already a classic.”
Born in London and based in Germany, where he is a professor at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart, Hodges approaches the works of Classical, Romantic, 20th century and contemporary composers with the same questing spirit, leading the Guardian to comment: “Hodges' recitals always boldly go where few other pianists dare... with an energy that sometimes defies belief.”
Nicolas Hodges’ virtuosity and innate musicianship give him an assured command over the most strenuous technical complexities, making him a firm favourite among many of today’s most prestigious contemporary composers. Collaborating closely with such contrasting figures as John Adams, Helmut Lachenmann and the late Karlheinz Stockhausen is central to Hodges’ career, and many of the world’s most revered composers have written works for him, including Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry, Elliott Carter, James Clarke, Francisco Coll, Hugues Dufourt, Pascal Dusapin, Beat Furrer, Isabel Mundry, Brice Pauset, Wolfgang Rihm and Miroslav Srnka. Hodges enjoyed a particularly close relationship with the late Sir Harrison Birtwistle, who once described him as “becoming like my Peter Pears.”
Recent performance highlights for Nicolas Hodges have included the premiere of Simon Steen-Andersen’s award-winning Piano Concerto; the premiere of Rebecca Saunders’ Roche commission, the piano concerto to an utterance at Lucerne Festival in 2021 under Enno Poppe, and its German premiere at the Elbphilharmonie under Sylvain Cambreling; as well as the world premiere of Variations from the Golden Mountains by Sir Harrison Birtwistle at London's Wigmore Hall. Hodges also gave the world premiere of Gerald Barry’s Piano Concerto, with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Peter Rundel, and the UK premiere with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Adès. He also performed the world premiere of Thomas Adès' own piano concerto In Seven Days with the London Sinfonietta, followed by further performances of the work with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Further performance highlights for Hodges have included the world premiere performance of Elliott Carter's Dialogues for piano and orchestra, with the London Sinfonietta and Oliver Knussen, as well as the US and Berlin premieres of the work, with the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras respectively – both conducted by Daniel Barenboim – and the New York premiere at Carnegie Hall with the MET Orchestra. Hodges has performed a variety of works at the BBC Proms, notably Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles... with Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, having performed the Ligeti Piano Concerto with the orchestra earlier in the same season, and the UK premiere of Michael Finnissy’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Britten Sinfonia.
Hodges has established successful relationships with many of today’s leading orchestras and ensembles, and engagements include regular performances with orchestras such as the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony, MET Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Philharmonia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, St Louis Symphony, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne, and ensembles such as ASKO/Schoenberg, Amsterdam, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Contrechamps Geneva, International Contemporary Ensemble New York and the Remix Ensemble Casa da Música, Porto.
Further performance highlights for Hodges have included the world premiere performance of Elliott Carter's Dialogues for piano and orchestra, with the London Sinfonietta and Oliver Knussen, as well as the US and Berlin premieres of the work, with the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras respectively – both conducted by Daniel Barenboim – and the New York premiere at Carnegie Hall with the MET Orchestra. Hodges has performed a variety of works at the BBC Proms, notably Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles... with Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, having performed the Ligeti Piano Concerto with the orchestra earlier in the same season, and the UK premiere of Michael Finnissy’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Britten Sinfonia.
“Hodges… is one of the leading performers of advanced European music… He makes seemingly unintelligible music speak for itself… And is a pianist with a flabbergasting technique and instantly engaging musicality”.
LA Times, Mark Swed
LA Times, Mark Swed
Hodges has established successful relationships with many of today’s leading orchestras and ensembles, and engagements include regular performances with orchestras such as the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony, MET Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Philharmonia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, St Louis Symphony, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne, and ensembles such as ASKO/Schoenberg, Amsterdam, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Contrechamps Geneva, International Contemporary Ensemble New York and the Remix Ensemble Casa da Música, Porto.
︎ Eric Richmond
Among the distinguished conductors with whom Nicolas Hodges collaborates are Thomas Adès, Daniel Barenboim, George Benjamin, Martyn Brabbins, Sylvain Cambreling, James Levine, Susanna Mälkki, Cornelius Meister, Jonathan Nott, Emilio Pomarico, David Robertson, Pascal Rophé, François- Xavier Roth, Peter Rundel, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Pierre-André Valade, Ilan Volkov and Ryan Wigglesworth.
Also an avid chamber musician, Hodges has performed in Berlin (Musikfest), Brussels (Ars Musica), Hamburg (Ostertoene), Helsinki (Musica Nova), London (Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre and the BBC Proms), Lucerne (Festival), Madrid (INAEM), Melbourne International Arts Festival, New York (Carnegie Hall and Mostly Mozart), Paris (IRCAM and Festival d’ Automne), Rome (IUC), Salzburg (Festival and Biennale), Strasbourg (Musica), Stuttgart (Eclat), Tanglewood (Festival), Tokyo, Vienna (Wien Modern) and Zurich (Tage für Neue Musik). He also collaborates regularly with the Arditti Quartet, Adrian Brendel, Colin Currie, Ilya Gringolts, Anssi Karttunen, Michael Wendeberg, Carolin Widmann, and was a member of Trio Accanto from 2013 - 2025.
Nicolas Hodges’ vast and varied discography includes Thomas Adès’ piano concerto In Seven Days, with the London Sinfonietta and Thomas Adès (Signum Classics); two discs of works by Harrison Birtwistle; and a live recording of Luca Francesconi's Piano Concerto with the Orquestra Sinfónica Casa da Musica. On the Wergo label, Hodges has released four solo albums including works by Walter Zimmermann, Brice Pauset, Rolf Riehm and Harrison Birtwistle – the last coupled with Beethoven and including the first recording of the prize-winning Gigue Machine – as well as four albums with Trio Accanto. On Bastille Musique, he has released recordings of Boulez’ two-piano works with Michael Wendeberg; Dufourt; and a recital of Boucourechliev, Saunders, Clarke, and Riehm, which won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Besides his final outing on CD with Trio Accanto (music by Furrer, Pauset, Mochizuki and Saunders), forthcoming solo releases include albums of Finnissy (with Carl Rosman), Betsy Jolas (with Anssi Karttunen), and Bill Hopkins’ solo works.
Real Arts represents Nicolas Hodges worldwide as General Management, and in collaboration with Sarah Trelawny Ford from Cambridge Creative Management managing all UK engagements: ︎ Management | Nicolas Hodges
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