Biography

Edward Cohen was born in Kent, England in 1986, and began playing the piano at the age of six. He commenced studies at the Royal College of Music when he was ten, and is a first class graduate of the Royal Academy of Music where he was a student of Kathryn Stott. Additionally, he studied at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with André Watts where he was also a studio accompanist for the legendary ‘cellist János Starker. Recently Edward has benefited greatly from additional tuition by acclaimed musicians including Arnaldo Cohen, Rustem Hayroudinoff, Rolf Hind, Yevgeny Sudbin, Martino Tirimo, and Lilya Zilberstein, in addition to studying improvisation with Norman Beedie and Anto Pett. He is currently completing his Master's degree at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he studies with Aaron Shorr and John Thwaites. Additionally, Edward collaborates frequently with dancers and has recently been working extensively with Scottish Ballet.

Since being awarded the prestigious Sheila Mossman Memorial Prize by the ABRSM at the age of fourteen (for achieving the best mark worldwide in a grade eight examination), Edward has received top honours and the highest praise in numerous competitions. Beyond his native Europe, his recital activity has taken him to the Far East numerous times and across the USA, including a performance in the presence of HM The Queen. He recently returned to the USA at the invitation of the Chopin Symposium in Boston.

In October 2009 Edward was the only solo performer throughout the eleven concerts in Scotland celebrating the 75th birthday of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, and he received favourable reviews from both the national press and the composer himself. He will appear as a soloist and in ensemble at the 2010 BBC Proms in a concert featuring the music of James Dillon. A keen chamber musician, his recent duo recitals include with the world's leading marimba player, Eric Sammut, and with three-time international prize-winning American flautist Amy Porter. He has performed under the baton of conductors including Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Hilary Davan Wetton, and appeared as soloist in Richard Strauss’ piano concerto ‘Burleske’ with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and David Danzmayr in June 2010. Edward has recorded numerous CDs (including a disc of works for piano and electronics by composer Jim Perkins) and has been interviewed and broadcast several times on BBC and the USA’s National Public Radio. His playing was featured in the recent short film “Furnace Four”.

Edward’s musical interests are extremely diverse, and he has an extensive repertoire of solo works, chamber music and concertos, with a special emphasis on the neglected, alongside the standard classical repertoire.