Simon Mulligan

Appointed Fall 2024

British pianist Simon Mulligan has been described by The Times of London as ‘the most abundantly gifted of pianists’, by Yehudi Menuhin as ‘one of the finest pianists I have ever had the pleasure of performing with,’ and by Herbie Hancock as  ‘phenomenal’. 

Following his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Mulligan has  performed and recorded with the BBC Symphony, Detroit Symphony (under Slatkin),  English Symphony Orchestra (Boughton), Warsaw Sinfonia (Menuhin), Hong Kong  Philharmonic (Atherton), Malaysian Philharmonic and the Royal National Scottish Orchestra (Serebrier) to name a few. 

Mulligan recorded his first compact disc aged nineteen under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin, which led to a seven-year collaboration and friendship, culminating with  Lord Menuhin's final concert in Düsseldorf. Mulligan has gone on to record albums  for Sony, Universal, Decca, Nimbus, Naxos, and fourteen solo releases for the  Steinway label. 

As a chamber musician, Mulligan collaborates with many notable artists. While a  student at London’s Royal Academy of Music, he began worldwide recital tours with  cellist Lynn Harrell. He soon began touring with violinist Joshua Bell, performing at  every major international venue, including live broadcasts from Lincoln Center and at  the Grammy Awards. Mulligan has performed for three US Presidents, Her Majesty  Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family, and has enjoyed collaborations with Dame Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Van Morrison and Sting. 

Alongside an extensive solo repertoire and almost sixty concertos, Mulligan’s focus  on contemporary music has led to first performances of works by Hans Werner  Henze, James MacMillan, Paul Moravec, Tobias Picker, Mark Anthony Turnage and  Alexis Weissenberg. Mulligan’s passion for paraphrases and improvisation has been  featured in Downbeat, Billboard, JazzTimes, International Pianist and Gramophone.  Mulligan enjoyed a close friendship with film composer Michael Kamen, featuring on  several of Kamen’s scores, most notably the HBO television series Band of Brothers,  produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. As a jazz pianist, Mulligan has  performed at festivals in Europe, Asia, South America and Barbados. The Simon  Mulligan Quartet comprises saxophonist Frank Walden, drummer Justin Woodward and Andy Hamill on bass. His US-based trio The Simon Alliance features bassist Gene Perla and drummer Adam Nussbaum. Mulligan is the most prolific Steinway  Artist, having recorded in all genres and advised in the development of the Steinway Spirio piano since its inception in 2014. 

A music scholar of St Paul's School in London, Mulligan began his studies with  Bobbie Howlett and Andrew Pledge. At the age of thirteen he received a scholarship  to study with Alexander Kelly at the Royal Academy of Music, leading to classes with  Jacques Rouvier in Paris and Alexander Satz in Austria. Mulligan also studied  Beethoven in London at the personal invitation of Alfred Brendel. Mulligan was awarded a further scholarship to the International Piano Academy at Italy’s Lake Como where he began private study with Alexis Weissenberg. He additionally counts among his mentors Charles Rosen and Murray Perahia. 

Mr. Mulligan holds the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music and is Artist-in Residence at the University of Maryland. 

‘The world’s most versatile pianist’ – Steinway & Sons