Britain Honours Concert Pianist Murray Perahia

Monday, 08 March 2004


The internationally renowned American pianist Murray Perahia has been awarded an honorary KBE by Her Majesty the Queen, in recognition of his outstanding service to music. The award will be presented by the Foreign Secretary at a ceremony on 8 March.

The internationally renowned American pianist Murray Perahia has been awarded an honorary KBE by Her Majesty the Queen, in recognition of his outstanding service to music. The award will be presented by the Foreign Secretary at a ceremony on 8 March.

Mr Perahia made his debut in London in 1972 after winning the Leeds International Piano Competition. He was presented with the 1997 Instrumentalist award by the Royal Philharmonic Society. In 1999 he received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of Leeds, and he is an Honorary Fellow at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. From 1981 – 89 he served as co-artistic director at the Aldeburgh Festival. He has now been awarded an honorary KBE, award which was founded in 1917 and is conferred by the Queen for exceptional achievement.

Commenting on the award, the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said:

“In the 30 years that Murray Perahia has been performing he has made an enormous impact on the international concert world by his extraordinary and sensitive interpretations of the works of many composers including Bach, Chopin and Mozart. It is no exaggeration to describe his work as “beyond praise”. His work with the Aldeburgh Festival led to a collaboration with the composer Benjamin Britten and the singer Peter Pears. Mr Perahia has also found acclaim for his conducting, he is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields here in London”.