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Daniel Becker, born in 1977, began his keyboard studies at the Junior Guildhall School of Music. He read Music at King‚s College, Cambridge, during which time he studied piano with Jeremy Siepmann. Daniel then attended the Royal Academy of Music, working with James Lisney, where his studies were supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. He graduated with distinction from his postgraduate course in 2001.
Daniel was a prizewinner at the 2002 Ibla Grand Prize International Competition in Sicily, winning a special mention for his performances of Busoni. He was first prizewinner at the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2003, where he also won the Sonic Arts Network Prize for his performance of Jonathan Harvey's Tombeau de Messiaen. As a result of the competition he is preparing to record a CD of works by Radulescu for METIER Records. Daniel‚s performance of Kenneth Hesketh‚s Three Japanese Miniatures at the Orléans 20th-Century Piano Competition was awarded the Prix de composition Chevillion-Bonnaud.
Daniel performs regularly in the UK and abroad as a solo recitalist and chamber musician. He gave his debut performance at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York, in March 2003. In January 2004 he gave his Purcell Room debut with a solo recital for the Park Lane Group Young Artists New Year Series. Daniel recently returned to the Purcell Room to give a recital with the violinist Ning Kam. Daniel‚s performance of Stephen Montague‚s Haiku for piano and electronics, recorded at the Sonorities Festival in Belfast, was broadcast on Radio 3‚s Hear and Now programme. Daniel has twice performed live on Radio 3‚s In Tune programme.
Engagements for the 2004-05 season include recitals and concerto appearances across the UK, including a solo debut at Wigmore Hall (June 2005). Plans for the 2005-06 season include touring a programme based around the Goehr Piano Quintet with the Johnston String Quartet, and a series of concerts involving solo piano, duo piano, song and chamber music themed around Chopin and the music of those he inspired. Kenneth Hesketh is writing a major piano piece for Daniel to perform in 2006.
