Every year, a new crop of young classical musicians start to make a stamp on the industry, whether it's with concert performances, opera roles or dazzling new recordings. In every issue of BBC Music Magazine, we highlight a few young classical musicians and rising stars from the classical music industry. Here are some of the names to watch this year...
The rising stars of classical music
Ian Niederhoffer Conductor
Born: New York, US
Career highlights: Winning three prizes in the 2021 Khachaturian conducting competition in Yerevan, Armenia was life-changing. Performing with musicians who had just undergone such national tragedy [the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] made me a true believer in music’s capacity to heal.
Musical hero: Leonard Bernstein. He didn’t just make the audience listen, he taught them how to listen.
Dream concert: Performing Britten’s War Requiem. I gravitate towards repertoire that intersects with historical memory, and this piece is a powerful example of music’s ability to make the past come alive.
undefinedLucy Colquhoun Pianist
Born: London, UK
Career highlights: Playing for baritone Thomas Allen. The extent of his experience and the artists with whom he worked closely must be almost totally unrivalled.
Musical heroes: As a teenager I adored pianist Martha Argerich (who we named as one of the best pianists of all time). Nowadays I admire a melting pot of many artists, in particular pianist Murray Perahia. I have also felt hugely inspired by many teachers, and by the playing of other musicians alongside me.
Dream concert: Somewhere that truly appreciates song – Wigmore Hall, perhaps – with repertoire and singers I love. A curated and themed series of recitals would be the ultimate dream!
Lunga Eric Hallam Tenor
Born: Cape Town, South Africa
Career highlights: Performing Count Almaviva in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville with Pittsburgh Opera, as well as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Musical heroes: Two operatic tenors, Franco Corelli (who we named as one of the best tenors of all time) and Rockwell Blake. They are from two very different musical eras, but their technical work has inspired me to become the singer that I am.
Dream concert: A solo recital at the BBC Proms or the Royal Opera House. My repertoire would encompass John Ireland songs, bel canto aria repertoire – Donizetti, Rossini and Bellini – some pieces of Baroque music and some of my native folk songs.
Tiffany Poon Pianist
Born: Hong Kong
Career highlight: Pentatone releasing my debut album Diaries: Schumann; playing to a sold-out palace at Dresden Musikfestspiele; and Deutsche Welle filming a documentary about my journey with music.
Musical hero: Pianist Vladimir Horowitz, for his ability to speak directly to your heart; and my musician friends, for their enthusiasm in promoting culture and education beyond the stage. And birds!
Dream concert: My parents have sacrificed a lot for my piano career. I’d love to play at the BBC Proms with them in the audience.
Michael Mofidian Bass-baritone
Born: Glasgow, UK
Career highlight: Returning to Covent Garden to sing Colline in Puccini’s La bohème felt very significant. I’m lucky enough to be doing it again there this season.
Musical heroes: Samuel Ramey, Nicolai Ghiaurov and (especially) Cesare Siepi – three very different bass voices, each blessed with great musicianship and star charisma. And tenor Jon Vickers: the epitome of a singing actor, which we all must aspire to be.
Dream concert: Mahler’s Rückert Lieder, paired with a new work by George Benjamin, featuring something for me to sing! Benjamin’s Written on Skin was one of the moments that inspired me to pursue this career.
Anastasia Kobekina Cellist
Born: Yekaterinburg, Russia
Career highlight: It’s always hard to pick just one. However, playing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto (which we named as one of the best cello concertos of all time) with the Tonhalle Orchestra and Paavo Järvi at the opening night of the Dvořák Festival in Prague felt truly special. Both the venue and my musical partners were perfect matches for this masterpiece.
Musical heroes: Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and violinist/conductor/composer Pekka Kuusisto – for their fearless and true music-making, and their ability to create, not merely recreate.
Dream concert: I would love to play something with Jonny Greenwood – or something written by him. I’m such a fan of his music in all its forms.
Lucy Fitz Gibbon Soprano
Born: Davis, CA, US
Career highlight: My summers at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. This unique event creates an idealised environment in which to explore music, share communal meals and Shakespeare readings, and wander through the glorious woods.
Musical hero: Contralto Marian Anderson broke down barriers and highlighted injustices – all while singing a wide array of repertoire, from Bach to Britten, with deep personal conviction and beauty.
Dream concert: I love introducing audiences to new music. A dream programme would pair long-ignored British composer Adela Maddison’s Cinq mélodies with new song cycles being written for me by American composers Elizabeth Ogonek and Tyson Gholston Davis.
Fergus McCreadie Pianist
Born: Inverness, Scotland
Career highlight: Winning the Scottish Album of the Year award for Forest Floor – the first jazz album to win it. In reality, though, the best thing for me happens every time I step on stage with my trio.
Musical hero: I’m so inspired by pianist Keith Jarrett’s approach to improvising and playing. He likens an improvised concert to picking up a blank canvas. You keep all options open.
Dream concert: I’d love to play the Village Vanguard in New York. It’s such a seminal jazz venue, where so many great albums have been recorded.
Jonian Kadesha Violinist
Born: Athens, Greece
Career highlight: Performing as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under the baton of
András Schiff.
Musical heroes: Cellist Steven Isserlis, pianist and conductor András Schiff, violinist Gidon Kremer and composer György Kurtág all have common qualities that inspire me: dignity, vulnerability, honesty, passion, musical intelligence and a measure of wildness.
Dream concert: The more the time passes, the less I care about this. For me, a ‘dream concert’ is like happiness: you seek it, and it may or may not happen.
Will Duerden Double-bassist
Born: Haywards Heath, UK
Career highlight: The Young Classical Artists Trust finals in June 2023 were special. Performing in one of my favourite halls (the Wigmore) with pianist Svitlana Kosenko, a dear friend, and being surrounded by friends and family is an evening I won’t forget anytime soon.
Musical hero: The violinist SongHa Choi, one of my closest friends, has taught me more than I could imagine over the years. Not from lessons or teaching – just growing up and performing together!
Dream concert: I’d love to perform Tubin’s Double Bass Concerto with the LSO at the Albert Hall, as well as Bottesini’s Gran Duo with SongHa and some Edgar Meyer with violinist Claire Wells, another friend.
Aaron Pilsan Pianist
Born: Dornbirn, Austria
Career highlight: Recording Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 with Alpha Classics, because Bach is the reason I’m a musician today.
Musical heroes: All the composers I perform, and the teachers and mentors I’ve had. They’ve supported me and taught me how to express myself in music.
Dream concert: I want to reach people in very different settings, as we did in the ‘Bachathon for Ukraine’, a charity event last year for victims of the war. As for repertoire, it would again be the Well-Tempered Clavier, which achieves perfect harmony across all its different tonalities and emotions.
Nikola Hillebrand Soprano
Born: Munich, Germany
Career highlight: In opera, singing Sophie in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier alongside the legends Camilla Nylund, Sophie Koch and Peter Rose. In Lieder, singing Strauss at the Vienna Musikverein.
Musical heroes: Lucia Popp and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: technical masters with a sheer beauty of timbre, who have made the most iconic recordings of my repertoire. Both make me cry when listening to them!
Dream concert: After last summer singing a Mozart programme in Salzburg, I would love to do a Mozart role in a new production at the Salzburger Festspiele. There’s something magical about Mozart in Salzburg.
Xiaowen Shang Pianist
Born: Beijing, China
Career highlight:
April 2024 is set to be the highlight of my career – it sees the release of my debut album Music of Silence and I will also be performing twice at Wigmore Hall, as pianist and harpsichordist.
Musical hero: JS Bach, who motivates me to explore the musical world; and Brahms, whose music comforts and calms me down.
Dream concert: I would love to perform at the National Gallery – pianist Myra Hess’s performances there during World War II remind me what artists can do.
Laure Chan Violinist
Born: London, UK
Career highlight: Recording my latest concerto album at Abbey Road Studios, and making my solo debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York in December 2023.
Musical heroes: At nine years old, I heard Maxim Vengerov at the Barbican. I was mesmerised by his virtuosity and charisma – that was when I decided to become a violinist. Among composers, Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Brahms have always deeply moved and inspired me.
Dream concert: I’d love to play at Wigmore Hall, in a diverse programme including original compositions and music inspired by my cultural roots and featuring both Western classical and Chinese folk instruments.
Christian Reif Conductor
Born: Rosenheim, Germany
Career highlight: Working with artists and ensembles that I love always results in natural, special music-making. One example was Julia Bullock’s Walking In The Dark, for which I conducted and played piano. It was a reflection of the intense times in which we lived during 2020/21, so the Grammy Award was a nice recognition.
Musical heroes: Various, but always with the same qualities: living with genuine curiosity, communicating with warmth and bringing out the best in people.
Dream concert: A programme that touches and inspires audience members. And the venue? As long as it has good acoustics, it could be anywhere!
Tim Posner Cellist
Born: London
Career highlight: Recording my debut concerto CD with Katharina Müllner and the Bern Symphony. It was a really special experience to make my first solo recording with this fantastic orchestra. A particular highlight was recording Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo, a work I've always adored.
Musical heroes: Steven Isserlis and Leonid Gorokhov – both incredible musicians and constant sources of inspiration.
- We named Steven Isserlis as one of the greatest cellists of all time
Dream concert: I’ve performed at Wigmore Hall a number of times – but never a recital with piano, which I’d love to do. And performing as soloist in the Concertgebouw, probably my favourite hall, would definitely be a dream.
Christopher Lowrey Countertenor
Born: Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Career highlight: Probably making my debut at the Metropolitan Opera. As an artist who, like many others, struck out and took a sometimes winding path, coming ‘home’ and feeling celebrated and valued meant a lot.
Musical heroes: Renée Fleming, for her extraordinary vocalism; Sandrine Piau, for her exquisite taste; and Stephen Layton, for his unrivalled musicianship.
- Renée Fleming features in our list of best American singers
Dream concert: A fantastically over-the-top affair featuring all of my dearest musical colleagues and idols. I imagine the Tallis Scholars chiselling Renaissance motets, the Berlin Phil pouring forth Strauss… with some space for me to sing some Handel arias with a sh*t-hot period band.
Lea Shaw mezzo-soprano
Born: Denver, USA
Career highlight: Becoming part of the Scottish Opera family as an emerging artist; and winning the Northern Aldborough Festival New Voices Competition. Music has made my life so beautiful, and any opportunity to share that beauty with others is a highlight.
Musical heroes: Composer Julius Eastman, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and pianist Yvonne Loriod are all figures I admire for their unapologetic excellence – and for their raw creativity, vulnerability, and collaborative skill.
Dream concert: To perform Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Medium at Orkney’s St Magnus Festival. It’s a magical place, and a life-changing piece.
Olivia Warburton soprano
Born: Lincolnshire, UK
Career highlight: Performing the title role in a new production of Grigori Frid’s Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank, for solo soprano and orchestra – undoubtedly my most challenging yet rewarding role to date.
Musical heroes: I have always been inspired by mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter’s ability to adapt to so many different roles and styles whilst staying true to herself. I’m also a huge fan of singer and songwriter Jacob Collier, who shows such uninhibited freedom in his music making.
Dream concert: I would love to have a role written for my voice by a contemporary opera composer. Being involved in creating something brand new would be so exciting.
Curtis Stewart Violinist/composer
Born: Helsinki, Finland
Career highlight: Premiering a movement from my new violin concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Center. It is the first work of its kind for me, and that venue is so storied and gorgeous. This experience inches above performing at the Grammys!
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra are one of the USA's Big Five orchestras, as well as one of the best orchestras in the world
Musical heroes: Both of my parents! My mum, Elektra Kurtis, was a Greek/Polish/American violinist and I get my sense of constant experimentation from her. My dad, Bob Stewart, is a virtuoso tuba player and has played with the great jazz musicians, from Dizzy Gillespie to McCoy Tyner.
Dream concert: I’ve always dreamed of playing at the BBC Proms!
Alexandra Whittingham Guitarist
Born: Manchester, UK
Career highlight: Last year I was invited to play at the Cayman Arts Festival in the Cayman Islands – such an incredibly beautiful place to perform.
Musical heroes: Guitarist Julian Bream was always my reference for the kind of sound I wanted to create. Elsewhere, the bands that made me want to play the guitar when I was younger were Def Leppard and Scorpions (these were also the first live gigs I ever went to!).
Dream concert: Basically, anywhere warm – my hands are always cold! – with a great acoustic and, ideally, playing with an orchestra. Nothing beats this feeling!
Find out more about the rising stars of classical music by looking at our Artists hub.