Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams is widely admired for his profound musical intelligence and for the expressive and communicative nature of his interpretations. He has performed with all the major UK orchestras under conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Jiří Bělohlávek, Carlo Rizzi, Vasily Petrenko, Jaime Martín, Osmo Vänskä, Joseph Swensen, Grant Llewellyn and Jac Van Steen; he has a particularly longstanding relationship with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with which he has in recent seasons performed concertos ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Bartók and Mathias.
As a recitalist, Llŷr Williams regularly performs at venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, Perth Concert Hall, the St David’s and Dora Stoutzker Halls in Cardiff, and the Edinburgh and East Neuk Festivals. His long association with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama has included acclaimed multi-recital cycles of Beethoven, Schubert, and Chopin. He has also made repeat appearances at the Festival Cultural de Mayo in Guadalajara, including a complete Beethoven Sonata cycle, as well as the Capital Region Classical series in Schenectady, USA, and Salle Bourgie in Montreal. The 2025-26 season includes returns to Wigmore Hall, Capital Region Classical and the East Neuk Festival as well as a 3-recital series at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama featuring the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues and the piano music of Britten and his contemporaries
Llŷr Williams has performed as a chamber musician alongside artists including Bryn Terfel, Natalie Clein, Tim Hugh, Katarina Nazarova, Maria Włoszczowska and Jamie Barton. Collaborations of the 2025-26 season include tenor Sungho Kim and a four-hands duo with Simon Lepper. His particular interest in song repertoire is reflected in his 20-year association as one of the two official pianists of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
The discography of Llŷr Williams reflects his long-standing partnership with Signum Records. His latest recording, of works by Brahms, was released in November 2024 to great critical acclaim, while his first volume of works by Schumann from January 2024 was both BBC Radio 3’s ‘Record of the Week’ and ‘Disque du jour’ on France Musique. The second volume of the series will be released in 2026. Previous albums include the 8-disc box-set ‘A Schubert Journey’ (2020), the 12-volume ‘Beethoven Unbound’ (2018), a ‘Wagner Without Words’ double-CD (2014) and highlights from Liszt’s ‘Années de pèlerinage‘ (2012). He has also recorded William Mathias’ second Piano Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as works by Welsh composers for the Tŷ Cerdd label. November 2024 sees the release of his next recording for Signum Records, this time featuring Brahms’ early and late works.
A former BBC New Generation Artist and Borletti-Buitoni Trust award recipient, Llŷr Williams was born in Pentrebychan, North Wales, and read music at The Queen’s College, Oxford before taking up a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and in 2017 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Wales. He is also currently Artist-in-Association at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, a patron of the Gower Festival, and Associate Artist at the Cowbridge Festival.
September 2025
