Roger Vignoles (born 12 July 1945), is a British

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in ...

. He regularly performs with the world's leading singers, including

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy *Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England * ...

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swe ...

Thomas Hampson Thomas Walter Hampson (born June 28, 1955) is an American lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in major opera houses and concert halls and made over 170 musical recordings. Hampson's operatic repertoire spans a range ...

Gitta-Maria Sjöberg Gitta-Maria Sjöberg (born 25.07.1957) is a Swedish operatic soprano who celebrated her 25th anniversary as a soloist with the Royal Danish Theatre in 2013. She has frequently performed outside Denmark, especially in Germany and Sweden as well as ...

, Sarah Walker, Sylvia McNair,

Susan Graham Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano. Life and career Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School o ...

Christine Brewer Christine Brewer (born October 26, 1955) is an American soprano opera singer. Biography Brewer grew up in the Mississippi River town of Grand Tower, Illinois. She attended McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois and concentrated on music educ ...

Felicity Lott Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...

, Stephan Genz,

Monica Groop Gerd Monica Groop née Riska (born 14 April 1958 in Helsinki) is a Finnish operatic mezzo-soprano. After graduating from the Sibelius Academy, she joined the Finnish National Opera in 1986 where she remains a member. She has sung leading roles a ...

, Wolfgang Holzmair,

Bernarda Fink Bernarda Fink (born 29 August 1955) is an Argentine mezzo-soprano. Born in Buenos Aires to Slovene parents who immigrated from Yugoslavia, Fink studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. She won First Prize at th ...

Christine Schäfer Christine Schäfer (born 3 March 1965) is a German operatic soprano. Biography Schäfer was born in Frankfurt. She studied from 1984 until 1991 at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, where her teachers were Ingrid Figur, Aribert Reimann and ...

Brigitte Fassbaender Brigitte Fassbaender (; born 3 July 1939), is a German mezzo-soprano opera singer and a stage director. From 1999 to 2012 she was intendant (managing director) of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, Austria. She holds the title Kammersänge ...

and

Kathleen Battle Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances ...

. He also accompanies instrumentalists such as

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologis ...

Heinrich Schiff Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. Early life Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria. His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers. He ...

, Nobuko Imai and

Ralph Kirshbaum Ralph Henry Kirshbaum (born March 4, 1946) is an American cellist. During his career he has performed as soloist with major orchestras worldwide, won prizes in several international competitions, and recorded extensively. Early life and education ...

, and gives masterclasses around the world. He lists

Gerald Moore Gerald Moore Order of the British Empire, CBE (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an England, English classical music, classical pianist best known for his career as a Collaborative piano, collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. ...

as his inspiration for pursuing a career in accompaniment.Intermusica artist profile
/ref> He read music at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, then joined the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

as a repetiteur before completing his training with

Paul Hamburger Paul Hamburger (3 September 1920, Vienna – 11 April 2004, London) was a British pianist, accompanist, chamber musician, and scholar. Paul Hamburger was born in Vienna in 1920, and studied at the Vienna State Academy before emigrating to Englan ...

. He is widely recorded and generally regarded as one of the foremost piano accompanists alive today. Roger Vignoles has devised and directed several series at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

and

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 ...

in London, most notably Landscape Into Song for the Schubert bicentennial, and since 1998, he is artistic director of the Nagaoka Festival in Japan. His discography contains several recordings which have received international awards. He first studied at

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

(Cambridge) and 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 ...

, where he is now Prince Consort Professor of Piano accompaniment.

Personal

Vignoles was born in Cheltenham, the son of Keith Hutton Vignoles TD (1905-1991) and Phyllis Mary née Pearson (1907-1994); he is the great-great grandson of

Charles Blacker Vignoles Charles Blacker Vignoles (31 May 1793 – 17 November 1875) was an influential British railway engineer, and eponym of the Vignoles rail. Early life He was born at Woodbrook, County Wexford, Ireland in May 1793 the son of Capt. Ch ...

. Roger's son Will Vignoles is a member of the British indie band ''

Cajun Dance Party Cajun Dance Party were a five-piece band based in London, England. They originally consisted of Robbie Stern, Max Bloom, Daniel Blumberg, Will Vignoles, and Vicky Freund. Blumberg and Bloom left the band in 2009 to form the band Yuck, while ot ...

'' on XL records.

Anna Vignoles Anna Frances Vignoles is a British educationalist and economist. She is the Director of the Leverhulme Trust, taking up her position in January 2021. Previously, she was Professor of Education and fellow of Jesus College at the University of ...

is his half-cousin (daughter of his father's half-brother, after his grandfather remarried).

References

British classical pianists Male classical pianists Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Alumni of the Royal College of Music Classical accompanists Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Living people 1945 births 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century British male musicians {{UK-classical-pianist-stub