An active repertoire that encompasses such composers as Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Debussy, Schubert and Stravinsky reinforces pianist Nicolas Hodges’ special prowess in contemporary music. As Tempo magazine has written: “Hodges is a refreshing artist; he plays the classics as if they were written yesterday, and what was written yesterday as if it were already a classic.” Born in London, and now based in Germany, where he is a professor at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart, Hodges approaches the works of Classical, Romantic, 20th century and contemporary composers with the same questing spirit, leading the Guardian to comment that: “Hodges' recitals always boldly go where few other pianists dare ... with an energy that sometimes defies belief.” As a concerto soloist, Nicolas Hodges past and imminent engagements include performances with US orchestras such as the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, MET Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, St Louis Symphony, and with European orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, City of Birmingham Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, London Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Melbourne Symphony, ÖRF Symphony Vienna, Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, Philharmonia, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, and ensembles such as ASKO/Schoenberg Ensemble Amsterdam, Basel Sinfonietta, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Ensemble Kontraste Hamburg, Contrechamps Geneva, International Contemporary Ensemble Chicago and the Remix Ensemble in Porto. Among the distinguished conductors with whom Nicolas Hodges has collaborated are Thomas Adès, Marin Alsop, Daniel Barenboim, George Benjamin, Martyn Brabbins, Hans Graf, Oliver Knussen, James Levine, Susanna Mälkki, Jonathan Nott, Tadaaki Otaka, Emilio Pomarico, David Robertson, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leonard Slatkin, Ilan Volkov and Ryan Wigglesworth. In recent seasons, Hodges has become especially closely associated with the piano concertos of Elliott Carter (in 2004), Beat Furrer and Thomas Adès, with Hodges giving the premiere of the British Composer’s In Seven Days in London in April 2008. Other recent premieres include concerti written especially for Hodges by Georges Aperghis, Francisco Coll, Hugues Dufourt, Pascal Dusapin, Isabel Mundry, Brice Pauset, Rolf Riehm, Rebecca Saunders, Salvatore Sciarrino and Miroslav Srnka. As a recitalist, he has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall (New York), IRCAM (Paris), Wigmore Hall (London) and his festival appearances have included the BBC Proms, Berlin’s Ultraschall Festival, Brussels’ Ars Musica, Cologne’s Acht Brücken, Hamburg’s Ostertoene, Lucerne Festival, Madrid (INAEM), Melbourne International Arts Festival, New York’s Mostly Mozart, Paris’ Festival d’ Automne, Salzburg Festival and Biennale, Schwaz’ Klangspuren, Strasbourg’s Musica, Stuttgart’s Eclat, Tanglewood, Tokyo, Vienna’s Wien Modern and Zurich’s Tage für Neue Musik. In chamber music Nicolas collaborates regularly with the Arditti Quartet, Adrian Brendel, Colin Currie, Ilya Gringolts, Anssi Karttunen and as a member of the Trio Accanto.
Highlights of the current season are the premieres of Gerald Barry’s Piano Concerto at the Herkulessaal Munich as part of Musica Viva Munich with the Sinfonieorchester des BR and Peter Rundel and later on at Symphony Hall in Birmingham and at the Aldeburgh Festival, both with the City of Birmingham Symphony and Thomas Adès and the premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Piano Concerto at the Casa da Musica in Porto with the Orquestra Sinfonica do Porto and Jonathan Stockhammer. Nicolas Hodges will give his debuts as a soloist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxemburg and Juraj Valcuha (Shostakovich), Iceland Symphony and George Benjamin (Ligeti), Sydney Symphony and David Robertson (Ligeti) and return engagements with BBC Symphony and Ilan Volkov (Dufourt) and with the BBC Scottish Symphony and Ryan Wigglesworth (Carter). In recital and chamber music he will appear at the Philharmonie Cologne, Glasgow, Helsinki, South Bank London, Luxemburg, Prague, Stuttgart and at the Arcana, Acht Brücken Cologne and Huddersfield Festivals.
Future plans include return concerto engagements to New York Philharmonic and David Robertson (Turangalila), SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden and Freiburg (Steen Andersen) and debuts with Finnish Radio Symphony and Jukka-Pekka Saraste (Lindberg), Stuttgart Opera and Sylvain Cambreling (Carter) as well as recitals and chamber music in Berkeley (Cal Performances), Cologne, Glasgow, Helsinki, London (Wigmore Hall) and Melbourne.
Nicolas Hodges’ discography includes solo and concertante works by Adams, Adès, Birtwistle, Carter, Finnissy, Ferneyhough, Furrer and Rolf Riehm. Future CD releases include discs of Brian Ferneyhough on Neos, Walter Zimmermann on Mode and Harrison Birtwistle on Metronome.