


Stephen Kovacevich
Pianist
Stephen Kovacevich is widely recognized as one of the most revered artists of his generation. With an international career spanning more than six decades, he has long been one of the most admired interpreters of works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Schubert. Kovacevich made his European debut at Wigmore Hall in 1961. Since then, he has performed with the world's finest orchestras and conductors, including Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur, Simon Rattle and Colin Davis. As a dedicated chamber musician, Stephen Kovacevich has worked with such legendary artists as Jacqueline du Pré and Josef Suk, as well as the Amadeus and Cleveland Quartets. Today he collaborates with violinists Nicola Benedetti, Renaud Capuçon and Alina Ibragimova, cellists Gautier Capuçon, Steven Isserlis and Truls Mørk, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, the Belcea Quartet and the distinguished duo with Martha Argerich.
Contact
Monika Wiktorowicz
ARTIST MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE
monika@amworldwide.co.uk
+44 (0) 7535 267 557

Legendary pianist Stephen Kovacevich will perform a recital at esteemed Koerner Hall of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto on October 5th 2025. As part of the venue’s 2025/26 season’s extraordinary line up of piano recitals, Stephen Kovacevich will play his beloved piano sonatas by Beethoven, Schubert and Berg. “A musician who is totally […]

Stephen Kovacevich joins Martha Argerich & Friends Festival in Lucerne performing Berg’s Piano Sonata Op.1 and Bartok’s Out of Doors No. 4 The Night’s Music on 14th of January 2025 accompanied by a film of the same title by Stephanie Argerich at the renowned KKL-Luzern. Launched in 2022 by the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Le Piano Symphonique is […]

Legendary pianist Stephen Kovacevich returns to China for a series of recitals and masterclasses this month. Stephen Kovacevich will perform a programme of late works by Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms in Chengdu City Concert Hall on Dec.8th, Shenzhen Mountain View Theatre on Dec.13th and Guangzhou Opera House on Dec.15th. “The simple unity of this recital programme […]

Distinguished pianist Stephen Kovacevich picks up his baton and returns to work as conductor and pianist with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra on 22nd of November at the Lisinsky Hall in Zagreb. Stephen Kovacevich will lead the orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No 6 “Pastoral” as well as Wagner’s Siegfried’s idyll while returning between the two orchestral […]
A musician who is totally immersed in his craft, his interpretations are like no one else's and always come straight from the heart: musical messages of wisdom, peace, resignation and hope.
The Washington Post
Stephen Kovacevich is a master to be admired; faithful to the spirit of the music yet always individual, his pianistic artistry reside in his sculpted sound, risk-taking, utmost focus and uniquely attractive, variegated touch.
International Piano
… a temperamental, almost explosive approach that resonates with rhythmic and nervous energy but also leaves room for elegance, wit and introspection. Kovacevich’s journey is always engrossing and never less than Beethovenian.
The Financial Times
Stephen Kovacevich is widely recognized as one of the most revered artists of his generation. With an international career spanning more than six decades, he has long been one of the most sought-after performers: “A musician who is totally immersed in his craft, his interpretations are like no one else's and always come straight from the heart: musical messages of wisdom, peace, resignation and hope” (The Washington Post).
Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Kovacevich laid the foundation for his career as a concert pianist at the age of eleven. After moving to England to study with Dame Myra Hess, he made his European debut at Wigmore Hall in 1961. Since then he has performed with the world's finest orchestras and conductors, including Hans Graf, Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Simon Rattle and Georg Solti.
Stephen Kovacevich is a dedicated chamber musician who has worked with legendary artists such as Lynn Harrell, Jacqueline du Pré and Josef Suk, as well as the Amadeus and Cleveland Quartets over the course of his long career. Today Kovacevich gives concerts with violinists Nicola Benedetti, Renaud Capuçon and Alina Ibragimova, cellists Gautier Capuçon, Steven Isserlis and Truls Mørk, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, the Belcea Quartet and Martha Argerich.
Stephen Kovacevich has enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with the record labels Philips and EMI. To celebrate his 75th birthday, Decca released a limited edition 25-CD box set containing all of his work recorded for Philips. In 2008 he re-recorded Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, exactly 40 years after his first recording of this work. This Onyx recording earned him the Classic FM Gramophone Editor's Choice Award (2009) and Gramophone Magazine Top Choice Award (2015), writing: "His seasoned yet fearless command reveals something new with every listen...".
Season 2024/25
Released to celebrate his 75th Birthday, this 25CD Limited Edition encompasses the complete recorded legacy of Stephen Kovacevich for the Philips label. It includes his acclaimed interpretations of works by Beethoven, Bartók, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Dvorák, Grieg, Mozart, Schumann and Stravinsky. Every album is presented with original covers and programming.
“Nobody plays this music more authoritatively and eloquently,” wrote London’s Sunday Times of Stephen Kovacevich in Beethoven.
“He is in his element, responding wholeheartedly to the extreme physicality that Beethoven brought to music … but the wit and delicacy of the playing are also remarkable.” Kovacevich himself has spoken of his love for the “fun and virtuosity” of the composer’s early sonatas, while in the often challenging later works he sees a “subtext of radiance and some sort of inherent faith in life.”