James Brawn

James Brawn is an international concert pianist, recording artist and pedagogue. Currently based in Shanghai, Mr. Brawn is on the piano faculty at the FaceArt Institute of Music. Previously, he held positions in Oxford, Melbourne and Cambridge. His students have gained entry to the most respected music schools and have performed in New York’s Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Salzburg’s Mozarteum and Vienna’s Musikverein.

Born in England in 1971, Mr. Brawn studied piano in New Zealand, Australia, USA and the UK. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1992, having studied with Christopher Elton and Frank Wibaut. He can trace his teachers’ lineages back to Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Clara Schumann.

Recording for MSR Classics (USA) since 2012, Mr. Brawn has released ten albums in his Beethoven Sonata cycle and Recital series (www.msrcd.com). He records at Potton Hall in Suffolk with the esteemed production team of Jeremy Hayes and Ben Connellan.

From 2016, Beethoven concerto (1,3,4,5) appearances have been with the English Symphony Orchestra, Surrey Mozart Players and Capriol Chamber Orchestra. Radio broadcasts have included his Shanghai Concert Hall debut, RTHK Hong Kong, ABC Classic FM and NPR stations across the USA. On 16 December 2020, Mr. Brawn performed for the 250th Beethoven Birthday Concert, broadcast live around the world for Shanghai’s SMG Radio and Steinway Spirio.

During 2015, Mr. Brawn became a Steinway Artist. He is a Life Member of the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe and has given masterclasses for international schools, music conservatories and universities worldwide.