The pianist on playing to an empty Wigmore Hall, his novel about sex and priests, and being fingerprinted for working visas post-Brexit
Born in Cheshire, Stephen Hough is one of the world’s top pianists. He is also a composer, a published writer and a painter, with a passion for jazz, ballet, hats, perfume and puddings. His recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes is just out. On 1 December he will be the soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and his String Quartet No 1 for the Takács Quartet will receive its European premiere at Wigmore Hall in January. He is 60 tomorrow.
You made news in June 2020 when you played to an empty Wigmore Hall, the first live concert in the
UK since lockdown. It must have been nerve-racking?I always feel nervous, especially with a filmed live relay. But that day, above all, I felt vulnerable. Walking through London was strange and empty. There were still no vaccines, no obvious end to the situation. Everyone was guessing. To an extent we still are… Once I got on stage I let the
music – opening with the Bach-Busoni Chaconne – do what it always does: put its arms, very safely, around everyone listening. It was a reminder of how important a cog music is in life. Don’t take it for granted. Tell our political leaders it’s not just entertainment. Not just icing on the cake. It’s the cake itself. It’s human life.