Philip Fowke

Philip Fowke (born 28 June 1950) is an English pianist.

Biography Philip Francis Fowke studied at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) with Gordon Green, a pupil of Egon Petri. In 1974 he made his London debut with a recital at the Wigmore Hall (Beethoven, Schumann, Bartók and Liszt). That year he won joint second place at the BBC Piano Competition (first place was not awarded). This led to broadcasts on BBC radio in a performance of Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

In 1977, he was 5th placed finalist in the inaugural Sydney International Piano Competition. He entered the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow but was not a finalist. Fowke made his Proms debut in 1979 with a performance of John Ireland’s Piano Concerto in E-flat major, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle. He played Sir Arthur Bliss's Piano Concerto at his United States debut in San Diego in 1982. His recitals of traditional repertoire often end with lighter pieces such as Adolf Schulz-Evler’s Arabesques on themes from "An der schönen blauen Donau".

Discography and repertoire Philip Fowke's discography includes concertos and other works by: Arthur Bliss: Piano Sonata Benjamin Britten: Scottish Ballade Alan Bush: Cello Sonata Frédéric Chopin: Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3; Waltzes Franz Danzi: Horn Sonata, with Michael Thompson Frederick Delius Gerald Finzi: Fantasy and Toccata Alun Hoddinott Sergei Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Maurice Ravel: Concerto in G; Piano Concerto for the Left Hand; Valses nobles et sentimentales Camille Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals with Peter Katin Cyril Scott: Piano Quartet; Piano Quintet Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Concertos Nos. 1 and 3 "Virtuoso Piano Transcriptions": pieces by Ferruccio Busoni, Mikhail Glinka (transcribed by Mily Balakirev), Rachmaninoff, Carl Tausig, and Adolf Schulz-Evler (Arabesques on themes from "An der schönen blauen Donau", described by one reviewer as "one of the best modern recordings of this piece") "Piano Concertos from the Movies": pieces by Richard Addinsell, Hubert Bath, Jack Beaver, Richard Rodney Bennett, Bernard Herrmann, Leonard Pennario, Nino Rota, Miklós Rózsa and Charles Williams

Other composers in his repertoire include Richard Arnell, Bartók, Beethoven, Dohnányi, Gershwin, Grieg, John Ireland, Constant Lambert, Kenneth Leighton, Liszt, Poulenc, Alan Rawsthorne, Schumann, Richard Strauss, Tippett and Weber.