Stephen Savage

B I O

Stephen Savage was born in England and after early training with Dorothy Hesse, studied with Bruno Seidlhofer at the Wiener Akademie and Cyril Smith at the RCM London where he became his teaching assistant immediately after graduating. Two years later Stephen Savage was appointed the youngest professor of Piano at the RCM at a time when he was also becoming established as a concert pianist, with frequent appearances at the Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth halls and for the BBC including live broadcasts in the prestigious Tuesday Invitation Concerts. He appeared in concerto performances with Sir Adrian Boult, David Atherton and Andrew Davis and became known for his insight into a wide range of music, including new compositions. He is the dedicatee of major works by Justin Connolly and Roger Smalley, whose Accord for 2 pianos he premiered with the composer.  

From 1982, Stephen Savage was based in Australia at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, where he was Head of Keyboard for many years. Under his direction, the School gained a reputation as the most creative and stimulating in the country. He became established as a distinguished teacher and performer in Australia, appearing with most of the leading symphony orchestras and at the festivals of Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. He gave the first local performance of the Lutoslawski concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and also organised and performed a week-long festival of the works of Sir Michael Tippett during the composer’s 1990 visit. This remains the largest event of its kind to be mounted in Australia. He also founded and conducted the Griffith University Ensemble and has been very active in introducing student ensembles to a wide range of the most important music of the last century. He founded the Kawai Keyboard Series in Brisbane in 1998, which became the largest and most comprehensive series in the country, and created the original piano teaching programme of the Australian National Academy of Music.

Stephen Savage toured extensively as recitalist and teacher in many parts of the Far East, appearing as a frequent visitor to leading music schools in China, Korea, Japan and Singapore as well as the UK. He was Visiting Artist to the Hong Kong APA for many years and was appointed Honorary Professor to the Wuhan Conservatory. His recordings include Tippett’s Piano Sonatas, Smalley’s Accord with the composer, works by Andrew Ford and acclaimed CDs of the last 3 Sonatas of Beethoven and of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. He celebrated the Tippett centenary year of 2005 with concerts in London and Manchester and a series within the Queensland Music Festival. 

He returned to the UK in 2006 when he commenced work on his Griffith University PhD studies towards his Thesis, Behind the Text, Beyond the Sound: investigations into processes of musical interpretation, submitted in 2008. The following year he accepted an appointment to the School of Keyboard within the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He has been awarded honorary membership of EPTA UK, and will join the jury of the next Australian National Piano Award.