Heralded for performances of “spectacular musicianship and
technical brilliance” (The Scotsman), “evangelizing urgency”
(International Record Review) and “freshness and lucidity” (The
Herald), James Willshire performs internationally as soloist and
chamber musician. He appears regularly at the major UK concert
halls, including the Bridgewater Hall, Barbican, Glasgow City
Halls, and Royal Festival Hall, and has broadcast live on BBC Radio
3. James’ recordings of contemporary British piano music have been
reviewed extensively, receiving universal acclaim.
Festival appearances include performances
given by James at the 2015 The Piano Festival at Glasgow Royal
Concert Halls, the Lichfield, Cheltenham and Winchester Festivals,
the Hebden Bridge Piano Festival, the Kilkenny Arts Festival, the
Cantilena Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, the Roman River Festival,
‘Il Festival di Londra’, the Victoria International Arts Festival
and the Paxos International Festival.
A regular performer of contemporary music,
James has given world premiere performances of works by Ronald
Stevenson, John McLeod, Rory Boyle, Nicola LeFanu, Robin Holloway,
Errollyn Wallen, Thomas Simaku and Jay Capperauld. James’s debut
recording on Delphian Records featured the complete piano music by
Boyle; it was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, including a
five-star review from The Scotsman. In October 2013 his recording
of piano music by Ronald Stevenson was released. The CD was
reviewed by BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, received a five-star
review in Classical Music magazine, and was awarded an IRR
Outstanding by International Record Review. His recording of piano
music by David Jennings was chosen as one of MusicWeb
International’s Recordings of the Year 2013.
Current and future concerts include the
Debussy 2018 project, where James will be performing the
complete solo piano music by Debussy throughout the year. These
concerts, described as “an unmissable opportunity to hear these
demanding pieces live” by The Herald, include complete cycles in
Glasgow and Edinburgh, and individual concerts in the Leeds
International Concert Season and at Chetham’s School of Music. Also
in 2018 James performed concerts dedicated to the music of
Scottish-French composer Henry Litolff, with performances in
London, Edinburgh and Cheltenham.
James maintains a strong interest in music
education and combines his role as piano teacher at the Royal Welsh
College of Music & Drama with similar posts at the Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland and St Mary’s Music School.