"An extraordinarily sympathetic Schubertian with his crystalline sonority and wonderful tiny rubatos that release avenues of expression even in the simpler moments." (Gramophone)
Daniel Tong enjoys a diverse musical life and is regarded as one of Britain's most respected and probing artists. He lives in London with his wife Sara, daughter Evangeline and Celia the cat. Practising is always more straightforward when there is not a cricket match to follow, particularly if it involves Somerset, where he grew up. Daniel performs as soloist and chamber musician, and directs two chamber music festivals, as well as teaching and writing. Born in Cornwall, Daniel first came to prominence as piano finalist in the BBC Young Musicians competition (more years ago than he cares to remember) and his life has subsequently embraced a rich variety of musical experience, from concerto performances at Kings Place and St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, chamber concerts at the Wigmore Hall and frequent broadcasts on BBC Radio, to a current role as Head of Piano in Chamber Music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He released his first solo CD of works by Schubert for the Quartz label in 2012 and has recently released the three Op. 10 Piano Sonatas by Beethoven for Resonus Classics. He has also recorded piano works by Brahms for the same label, on a Blüthner instrument chosen by the composer from the Leipzig showroom in the 1890s. This material is due for release in 2023. Daniel also recorded short solo works by Frank Bridge for Dutton as part of a London Bridge Ensemble disc and broadcast Janacek’s piano sonata live on BBC Radio 3. He has appeared as concerto soloist at St Martin-in-the-Fields and King's Place in London.
He has performed at many of the foremost British venues and festivals – Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, St Georges Bristol, Birmingham Town Hall, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh as well as the Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, 3 Choirs and Edinburgh Festivals. He has also performed in many other parts of Europe including festivals in St. Mere, Ponte de Lima, La Loingtaine, Resonances and Cucagnan, as well as concert venues in Paris, Brussels, Stockholm, Antwerp and Lyon. He is frequently heard on BBC Radio and his performances have been broadcast throughout Europe and beyond. His project ‘Music Discovery Live’, in collaboration with musicologist Richard Wigmore, has seen a series of lecture-recital weekends on Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann piano works. It continues throughout 2019 and 2020 in Oxford, Canterbury and other beautiful places. He has been invited to curate mini-festivals around the music of Elgar and Dvorak at King's Place in London and also presented lecture-recitals on Beethoven piano sonatas at St Georges.
His London Bridge Trio has established itself as an exciting presence on the UK music scene. Their CD featuring the two Dvorak piano quartets with violist Gary Pomeroy was met with great acclaim, The Guardian writing that they "capture perfectly the diverse qualities of these wonderful pieces" and BBC Music Magazine awarding the release 5 stars. They have also recorded two CDs of works by Frank Bridge for Dutton (the most recent of which was shortlisted for the Gramophone Chamber Music Award) as well as Schumann and Fauré for Sonimage. The ensemble recently gave performances at the Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London. Prior to lockdown they completed a residency at St John’s, Smith Square in London and recorded works by Robert and Clara Schumann, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn for SOMM Recordings, the first two discs of which were released to glowing reviews. In 2023 they look forward to appearances at Sage Gateshead, Cambridge, Truro and a tour of Scotland.
Daniel has collaborated with the Elias, Navarra, Sacconi, Dante, Allegri, Carducci and Heath quartets. He has a regular duo with baritone Ivan Ludlow. Each year Daniel plays with an array of wonderful individual artists, often at his own chamber festivals, in Winchester and also in the Wye Valley. Founded in 2000, the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival attracts many of the most exciting chamber musicians of the younger generation to spend ten days making music in an area of outstanding natural beauty. The Festival has become a well-established and treasured event in the region’s cultural life, also gaining national attention for its creative spirit and artistic vibrancy. They were to celebrate their twentieth birthday at the Wigmore Hall in March 2020, before the Covid pandemic intervened; watch this space for news of rescheduling. Daniel also established the Birmingham International Piano Chamber Music Festival in 2018, the second edition of which recently took place in November 2022 at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
In 2015, Daniel teamed up with violinist Krysia Osostowicz for Beethoven Plus, presenting the ten sonatas by Beethoven for violin and piano alongside ten new pieces, each written by a different composer as their reaction to one of the Beethoven works. The opening cycle took place at Kings Place in London before travelling to St Georges Bristol, Sheffield, Cambridge and Aberdeen for further complete runs. They record the series throughout 2017 for SOMM Records. Daniel also recorded the Brahms Cello Sonatas with Robin Michael in 2017 for Resonus Classics (The Guardian commenting on "masterly pianism") and works by David Matthews and Faure with violinist Sara Trickey for Deux-Elles (which Gramophone described as "definitive"). Daniel and Robin released the complete Beethoven works for cello and piano last year to celebrate the composer's 250th anniversary. Daniel also looks forward to more collaborations with his brother, Joseph, in the highly attractive and rewarding repertoire for piano duet. Recently they played at St George’s Bristol and St David’s Hall in Cardiff.
