In recent seasons, McCawley has given notable recitals at the Lincoln Center and Frick Collection in New York, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Philharmonie and Konzerthaus in Berlin, Rudolfinum in Prague and the Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls in London. His CD recordings have impressed critics far and wide, achieving such accolades as “Editor's Choice” and “Critic's Choice” in Gramophone and a Diapason d'Or for his set of the Complete Mozart Piano Sonatas.

As a concerto soloist, McCawley performs with many of the leading British orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Academy of St Martin-in-the Fields, Hallé and Ulster Orchestras. He made his fifth appearance at the BBC Proms in July 2009. Further afield, McCawley has made concerto appearances with, amongst others, Adelaide Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Vienna Symphony and worked with conductors such as Mark Elder, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Andrew Litton, Kurt Masur, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo and Simon Rattle.

A keen chamber musician, he has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with a range of ensembles and musicians at many prestigious concert venues such as BBC Proms Chamber Series, BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Series at the Wigmore Hall and Aldeburgh, Brighton, Cheltenham and Edinburgh festivals. He can be frequently heard on BBC Radio 3 both in performance and interview.

In 1993, at the age of only nineteen, Leon McCawley won First Prize in the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and Second Prize in the Leeds International Competition, building on his earlier success in 1990 as the winner of the Piano Section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year. McCawley studied with Heather Slade-Lipkin at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester and Eleanor Sokoloff at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. He also worked closely with Nina Milkina in London.

Leon McCawley is professor of piano at London’s Royal College of Music.