Lawrence Power stands among the rare violists to attain worldwide acclaim in the era following William Primrose, appearing regularly both in concerto settings and within chamber ensembles. Born in 1977, he took up the viola at eight years old, selecting it instead of the violin on account of his height and never pursuing violin studies at any stage. He entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at eleven, where Mark Knight served as his instructor and introduced him to the Alexander Technique. At eighteen he spent a year at the Juilliard School in New York; upon returning to England the next year he began entering competitions, culminating in first prize at the William Primrose International Viola Competition in 1999. Designation as a BBC New Generation Artist for the 2001–2003 period provided further impetus, and in 2002 he issued his debut recording, Lawrence Power, Viola, on Harmonia Mundi.
He declined an offer to become first violist of the Berlin Philharmonic in order to pursue solo engagements, which opened with the Philharmonia Orchestra and later included the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. In 2006, at Maxim Vengerov’s invitation, he performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra in E flat major, K. 364, at the BBC Proms and has appeared there repeatedly since. His recording activity has remained extensive, encompassing solo projects as well as collaborations with the Nash Ensemble and the Leopold String Trio. In 2005 he moved to Hyperion to record the premiere of York Bowen’s concerto and has remained with the label; 2016 brought the release of Fin-de-siècle Viola Music, featuring frequent partner Simon Crawford-Phillips at the piano. In 2018 he joined recorder player Genevieve Lacey for an album of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s music on Ondine. Additional Hyperion sessions followed, and in the early 2020s he appeared on two BIS releases: Voices of Angels in 2020 and, in 2023, Schumann’s early Piano Quartet in C minor with the Kungsbacka Piano Trio.
