Described by Gramophone Magazine as a ‘thoroughbred who possesses the enviable gift to turn almost anything he plays into pure gold’, Ashley Wass is firmly established as one of the leading performers of his generation. Only the second British pianist in 20 years to reach the finals of the Leeds Piano Competition (2000), he is also the only British pianist to have won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition (1997). He appeared in the ‘Rising Stars’ series at the 2001 Ravinia Festival and is also a former BBC New Generation Artist. He made his BBC Prom debut with the BBC Philharmonic in August 2008.

His recording of Beethoven 3rd Piano Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic was issued as a BBC Music Magazine cover CD and his performance of Brahms 1st Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra Of Wales was voted "Best of 2004 - BBC Radio 3 Performance". He made his debut recording in 1999 with a solo recital disc of works by César Franck for Naxos. Diapason commented: 'The quality and height of inspiration of his playing makes this disc a revelation.' Ashley’s recent surveys of piano music by Frank Bridge and Arnold Bax have been heralded as 'remarkable' and 'the yardstick against which all future recordings will be judged'. Selected as an 'Editor's Choice' CD in Gramophone and later nominated in the 'Best Instrumental Disc' category of the Gramophone Awards, Volume One of his Bax series was hailed as 'without a shadow of a doubt the best recorded and best played Bax piano CD to come before the public', while Volume Two is described as 'unmissable at any price'. He has also recorded Frédéric Chopin for an EMI disc ‘In Tune with the Piano'. As Naxos' first exclusively contracted solo artist, Wass' current and future recordings include recitals of Sir Edward Elgar and William Alwyn, Franz Liszt's 'Album d'un Voyager', and the arrangement for two pianos of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (with Leon McCawley).

Ashley Wass has given recitals at most of the UK’s major venues including Wigmore Hall, Symphony Hall, Purcell Room, LSO St. Luke's, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall, The Sage, Bridgewater Hall, St. David’s Hall, and at the festivals of Bath, Cheltenham, Brighton and the City of London. His concerto performances have included Beethoven and Brahms with the Philharmonia, Mendelssohn and Beethoven with the Orchestre National de Lille and Mozart with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra at the Vienna Konzerthaus. He has also worked with Sir Simon Rattle and the CBSO, Sinfonia Viva, the London Mozart Players and all the BBC Orchestras. He recorded the Poulenc Piano Concerto with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Beethoven 3rd Piano Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic and Vassily Sinaisky.

In June 2002 he appeared in a gala concert at Buckingham Palace to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, a performance broadcast live to millions of viewers around the world. Other notable engagements have included several return visits to the BBC Scottish Symphony and the Philharmonia, successful debuts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and acclaimed debuts in Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Israel, Germany, Switzerland, the USA and Cuba.

Ashley is also much in demand as a chamber musician and in 2007 toured the USA and Europe with violinist Sarah Chang, appearing at venues such as Philadelphia's Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall in New York. He spent three summers as a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, playing chamber music with musicians such as Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode and members of the Guarneri Quartet and Beaux Arts Trio.

Ashley Wass studied at Chethams Music School and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music to study with Christopher Elton and Hamish Milne. In 2002 he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. He joined the piano faculty of the Royal College of Music in September 2008.

In April 2007, Ashley was appointed Artistic Director of the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival.

Future engagements include recitals in Cyprus, Germany, France, Istanbul and Chicago and three performances at the BBC Proms: the world premiere of a new work for piano by John McCabe; Stravinsky Rite of Spring for two pianos with Simon Crawford-Phillips and Stravinsky Les Noces with the London Sinfonietta conducted by Edward Gardner. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.