Ian Pace

Ian Pace

The British pianist Ian Pace is internationally renowned as a performer of contemporary and other piano music, known for his transcendental virtuosity, vastness of repertoire, and uncompromisingly modernistic approach. He has played at most of the major European music festivals and given over 100 world premieres, by a wide range of composers including Pascal Dusapin, Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, Frederic Rzewski and Howard Skempton. He performs regularly with the Arditti Quartet; amongst quintets that they have premiered are works by Richard Barrett, Beat Furrer and Walter Zimmermann. He is also a writer and musicologist, having written and lectured widely on such diverse subjects as contemporary composers, 19th century performance practice and music and politics. He co-authored Uncommon Ground: The Music of Michael Finnissy, published by Ashgate, and is currently working on a volume of interviews with contemporary composers and performers and a volume of essays called Performance as Ideology.