David Mason (7)

Pianist - singer Born in 1960 in Wigan, Greater Manchester, U.K. Died on 22.December 2018 in Madrid. Studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Gordon Green and Marjorie Clementi and with two experts in classical repertoire, Charles Rosen and William Glock. He began a career as a pianist and singing teacher. He collaborated with composers such as Harrison Birtwistle, Jonathon Harvey, Michael Finnisy and Judith Weir, among others. In 1983 he won the Third Pianoforte Prize in the international competition of the Antiqua Music Festival in Bruges. He was also awarded at the Freiburg Piano Contest. He recorded on numerous occasions for the BBC. Among his numerous recordings are the cycles of Messaien, 'La Serva Padrona' by Pergolesi and the 'Petite Messe Solennelle' by Rossini (directing from the fortepiano), works by Harvey with the soprano Jane Manning and Judith Weir's 'Missa del Cid', voted CD of the year by the BBC. After settling in Madrid, he collaborated with the best performers of ancient music in Spain. He was a member of the Ritornello Quintet (winds and pianoforte). He formed Medio Concertato, a group specialized in the repertoire from Corelli to Monteverdi and Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann. He worked regularly at the Academy of Ancient Music of the University of Salamanca, as a singing teacher and performer. He was vocal advisor to numerous choirs and directed the Camerata de Madrid. He had written in the Historical Performance Practice for Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, regularly publishing articles in 'The Singer' and 'Opera Now'.