Julian Hellaby, PhD, MMus, BMus, LRAM, ARAM, studied piano with the distinguished pianist Denis Matthews and later at London’s Royal Academy of Music. He has performed as a solo pianist, concerto soloist, accompanist and chamber musician in continental Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and throughout the UK, including recitals in the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room. More recent two-piano work with pianist Peter Noke has featured performances in the UK, Hong Kong and China. Julian is an examiner, moderator and public presenter for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) as well as a former mentor for the ABRSM’s Certificate of Teaching course. He has taught academic music at Coventry University and London College of Music, and has extensive experience of piano teaching and adjudicating, including work for the European Piano Teachers’ Association (EPTA). He has released several CDs, written journal articles and contributed to ABRSM’s Piano Teaching Notes. His first book, Reading Musical Interpretation, was published by Ashgate in 2009.
The Mid-Twentieth-Century Concert Pianist is a very informative, well-written book, accessible and engaging to anyone interested in music and piano, as well as an excellent guide to someone wanting to become a concert pianist or looking to sustain a successful career as such. Margarida Mota-Bull, MusicWeb This book is a detailed study of English piano playing in the mid-twentieth century based around six case studies of six English pianists at the beginning and development of their performing careers...I would fully recommend this book to anyone with the curiosity to delve into the worlds of six very celebrated English pianists and the significant pianistic era in which they were active. Melvyn Cooper, Piano Professional Julian Hellaby's book is a fascinating study which explores the period c19ll5-70 and the careers of six leading performers: Malcolm Binns, Peter Katin, Moura Lympany, Denis Matthews ValerieTyron and David Wilde. ln addition to examining the ways in which this magnificent half dozen developed their careers through recitals, concertos, broadcasts and commercial recordings, Hellaby does pioneering research that convincingly manages to find an authentic 'English voice', an approach to music-making that separates English players from their contemporaries in mainland Europe and America. Murray McLachlan, International Piano