by Ben Hogwood Photo: David Thompson/EMI Classics

Earlier this week we learned of the sad news that leading pianist Stephen Kovacevich had passed away at the age of 86.

A truly great pianist, Kovacevich was in later years an insightful conductor too. I was very fortunate to meet him at his house back in 2015, where he gave an interview full of insight, humour and generous detail. His generosity and geniality shone through at that meeting, but so did a fierce creative intensity running through his finest recordings.

I have put together a Tidal playlist which you can access by clicking here

Published post no.3,062 – Thursday 29 October 2026