Joseph Havlat

Joseph is a leading interpreter of new music, having collaborated personally with a range of composers across the full spectrum of contemporary aesthetic, including John Adams, Gerald Barry, Cassandra Miller, Brett Dean and Sir Harrison Birtwistle. He has developed close relationships with: Thomas Adès, under whom he has played In Seven Days with the LSO and premiered Növények at Wigmore Hall; Hans Abrahamsen, with whom he has worked to produce and record a definitive edition of 10 Studies for Piano; and Michael Finnissy, whose work Joseph performs regularly, including a BBC Radio 3 recording of Piano Concerto no.2, and debut recordings of vocal works for Divine Art Metier.

Joseph’s broad musical interests inform and shape his performance of canonical repertoire. Aside from solo recitals at King’s Place and Wigmore Hall, he is a prolific collaborative pianist and has performed with William Bennett, James Ehnes, Steven Isserlis, Katalin Károlyi and Jack Liebeck, alongside regular duo partners Lotte Betts-Dean, Tim Posner and also violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux, with whom he has recorded an all-Schubert CD for Delphian Records. He regularly plays as orchestral pianist in the LSO, as part of which he has toured the USA and Australia under Sir Simon Rattle. He is also a member of the LSO percussion ensemble, with whom he has released a CD featuring the premiere recording of John Adams’ two-piano work Roll Over Beethoven on the LSO Live label.

As a composer his music often explores the sounds of the natural world, imbued with the harsher shapes of human modernity. He has written music spanning from solo voice to large ensemble, including for Ensemble x.y, of which he was a founding member. Alongside composers Elischa Kaminer and Alex Paxton, he has worked as an improviser in projects concerning both music and theatre.