Susan Tomes (Piano)

posted by Imogen Smart in Biographies on 1st February 2010

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One of Britain’s foremost pianists, Susan Tomes grew up in Edinburgh and was the first woman to study music at King’s College, Cambridge. She is in demand as a recitalist and concerto soloist, and has recorded over fifty CDs. She is particularly renowned for her achievements in chamber music. For sixteen years she was the pianist of the award-winning group Domus, and since 1993 has been the pianist of the Gaudier Ensemble. In 1995 she co-founded the Florestan Trio, now one of the world’s leading piano trios and one of the most-recorded. The trio won a 1999 Gramophone Award and a Royal Philharmonic Society Award 2000.

Writing about music is an important part of her life. She is the author of three books which give an insight into the performer’s life: Beyond the Notes (2004), A Musician’s Alphabet (2006), and Out of Silence (2010). She writes on music for The Guardian, reviews books for The Guardian and The Independent, and has written and presented programmes on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. She gives masterclasses, sits on competition juries, gives seminars, and writes a blog on her own website, www.susantomes.com. In January 2010 The Times, in a review of writing about music, said “The best writers are often musicians themselves – Robert Schumann in the 19th century, for example, and Susan Tomes in the 21st.”