Charles Owen (born 1971) is a British classical pianist.
Biography
Charles Owen was born in Cambridge and grew up in Hampshire and Worcestershire. The eldest of four children, his father is a Church of England clergyman and his mother a school teacher and archivist. He is the brother of John Owen, the Chief Designer of the Mercedes Formula 1 team.[1]
After lessons from his first teacher, a pianist in his father's congregation, he won a scholarship to the Yehudi Menuhin School where he studied under Seta Tanyel and collaborated with many fellow students, including Katharine Gowers and Paul Watkins.[2]
Owen went on to study with the distinguished Russian pianist Irina Zaritskaya at the Royal College of Music, where he won the Chappell Gold Medal. This was followed by further studies with leading British pianist Imogen Cooper. Owen credits these two pianists as a major influence on shaping his own approach to the piano and music-making in general.[3]
Owen won the silver medal at the Scottish International Piano Competition in 1995, the Parkhouse Award in 1997 and was a finalist in the Piano Section of BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1988.[4][5]
In 2011, Owen entered into a civil partnership with his long-term Australian partner Jason Groves.
Owen's solo recordings comprise discs of piano music by J.S. Bach, Brahms, Fauré, Janáček and Poulenc. He has recorded chamber music with Natalie Clein and Katya Apekisheva.
Owen is the co-Artistic Director of the London Piano Festival, an annual celebration of the piano held at Kings Place, with his regular duo partner Katya Apekisheva.[10][11]