Andrew Ball (16 June 1950 – 10 July 2022) was a British pianist, best known for his interpretations of

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...

’s piano sonatas, which he studied with the composer. Ball was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and was educated at Barton Peveril Grammar School in

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

. One of his first appearances as a pianist was with the

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...

Chamber Orchestra in 1966. He studied music at

Queen’s College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, w ...

and then at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London with

Kendall Taylor Edgar Kendall Taylor CBE, FRCM, Hon FRAM (27 July 1905 – 5 December 1999) was a British pianist, who had an international career as a solo concert pianist. In the United Kingdom, he was well known for his concerts, which were broadcast on th ...

, Maurice Cole and

David Wilde David Wilde (born 1935 in Manchester) is an English pianist and composer. As a boy he studied with Solomon and his pupil Franz Reizenstein, who had also studied composition with Hindemith and Vaughan Williams. A frequent soloist at the Henry W ...

. He made his professional debut in London on 4 June 1974 at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

, playing Clementi, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy and Prokofiev. After studying the sonatas of Michael Tippett with the composer he frequently performed the works as a complete cycle. He also recorded the complete Tippett song cycles with the tenor

Martyn Hill Martyn Hill (b. 14 Sept 1944) is a British tenor. Life and career Hill was born in Rochester, Kent on September 14, 1944. He studied at King's College, Cambridge, followed by the Royal College of Music. He pursued further vocal training with Audr ...

. Other works in his repertoire included

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (russian: Софи́я Асгáтовна Губaйду́лина, link=no , tt-Cyrl, София Әсгать кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 24 October 1931) is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established ...

's Piano Sonata (British premiere at the Bath Festival in 1987) and

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

's ''Couleurs de la Cite Celeste'' at the BBC Proms in 1995. For BBC Radio he performed

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

's ''Fantasia Contrappuntistica'' in 1988. He played chamber music with the

Villiers Quartet Formed in 2011, the Villiers Quartet are a string quartet based in the United Kingdom. As of 2017, they are the quartet-in-residence at the University of Oxford and Nottingham High School. Background The name of the quartet comes from Villiers ...

, the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

and the

Nash Ensemble The Nash Ensemble of London is an England, English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman and Rodney Slatford in 1964, while they were students at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Regent's Park, N ...

, and also for many years as a duo with violinist

Madeleine Mitchell Madeleine Louise Mitchell MMus, ARCM, GRSM, FRSA is a British violinist who has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in over forty countries.David Campbell, an old school friend.Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 16 August, 2022
/ref> His recordings include the piano music of

Billy Mayerl William Joseph Mayerl (31 May 1902 – 25 March 1959) was an English pianist and composer who built a career in music hall and musical theatre and became an acknowledged master of light music. Best known for his syncopated novelty piano solos, ...

John Casken John Arthur Casken (born 15 July 1949) is an English composer. Casken was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. While at Barnsley Grammar School in the 1960s his music teacher played a recording of Berg's Violin Concerto, which h ...

and (with Julian Jacobson) the two-piano music of

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish Catalan composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' in ''Grove Music Onl ...

. With Detlef Hahn he recorded music for violin and piano by

Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

. His 2010 album ''Out of the Cool'' with flautist

Susan Milan Susan Milan ( ; born 3 September 1947) is an English professor of flute of the Royal College of Music, classical performer, recording artiste, composer, author and entrepreneur. Biography Susan Milan was born in London, the daughter of civil s ...

featured music by British composers, including

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

, Arthur Butterworth, David Heath,

Cecilia McDowall Cecilia McDowall (born 1951 in London, England) is a British composer, particularly known for her choral compositions. Life and career McDowall read music at the University of Edinburgh, continuing her studies at Trinity College of Music, London ...

and

Robert Saxton Robert Saxton (born 8 October 1953 in London) is a British composer. Biography Robert Saxton was born in London and started composing at the age of six. He was educated at Bryanston School. Guidance in early years from Benjamin Britten and El ...

. As a teacher, Ball was initially on the staff at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

before becoming head of keyboard at the Royal College of Music between 1999 and 2005, where he was made a Fellow of the College in 2006 and subsequently stayed on as a professor of piano until 2021. He was also an adjudicator, and gave masterclasses in Germany, China, Japan and the USA. Teaching, rather than performing, became his primary focus after he was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in 2012.Biography, Lewis Eady Charitable Trust
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Andrew 1950 births 2022 deaths British classical pianists Alumni of the Royal College of Music 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century British musicians 20th-century British pianists 21st-century British pianists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century British musicians People associated with the Royal College of Music Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford 20th-century British male musicians