Canadian pianist Jason Cutmore has performed solo recitals and collaborative concerts throughout North America, Europe and India, winning critical praise for his “brilliant technical finesse” and “deep emotional penetration” (Offenbach-Post, Germany), and for the “charismatic generosity of communication in his music.” (The Telegraph, India).

In 2008, Mr. Cutmore’s debut commercial CD, an album of piano music by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla on Centaur Records, was released to critical acclaim.  Gramophone magazine praised his “warm, generous sonority and natural feel for the idiom” and raved that “this pianist’s gorgeously variegated legato makes a sexy and inviting recital.”

Mr. Cutmore made his Chicago recital debut in the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in 2005 with an all-Liszt programme that was broadcast live on WFMT radio, and shown on Chicago Cable TV 25.  Since then he has appeared in Canada’s Colours of Music Festival, the Elora Festival, the University of Calgary’s Celebrity Series, as well as at venues in Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, and elsewhere in North America. His concert performances, and an ardent interest in foreign travel, have frequently taken him abroad to Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, and India. These have included appearances at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Mumbai), the Alliance Francaise (Bangalore), and the India International Centre (New Delhi), as well as at the Franz Liszt Museum in Budapest, and Bartok Hall in Szombathely, Hungary.

Upcoming concert engagements in the 2009-10 season will include a piano recital in the “Sundays Live,” series in Los Angeles, a return to the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, and concerts for the Edmonton Recital Society and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society in Canada, among others.

In addition to his avid interest in art song and traditional chamber music repertoire, Mr. Cutmore collaborated with concert organist Daniel Sullivan in 2006 to form the New York Piano-Organ Duo, an ensemble dedicated to performing and augmenting the wide-ranging concert repertoire for this unique instrumental combination.  Their upcoming concerts, which include original works for piano-organ duo by Franck, Langlais, and McCune, as well as their own arrangements of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, will take them to venues in Canada and the United States in the 2009-10 season.

Jason Cutmore holds degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and the SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music in New York.  His major teachers have included Robert Shannon, Stephanie Brown, and Michael Massey.  Originally from Edmonton, Canada, Mr. Cutmore now resides in a suburb of New York City.

what they're saying:

"Pianist Jason Cutmore proves as splendid an interpreter as he is a programme-builder and booklet-annotator. His warm, generous sonority and natural feel for the [Spanish] idiom inform each selection."

“Jason Cutmore's idiomatic musicianship and excellent technique consistently delight… his artistic excellence here ought not go unnoticed. A first-rate release.”

“A top caliber pianist who deserves to be known internationally."

"Cutmore possesses a charismatic generosity of communication in his music… masterly technique and sensitive interpretation…”                                           

“Jason Cutmore comes across as… a powerful virtuoso, clearly in love with Spanish music and sincerely sharing this love with us. One gem after another is played brilliantly. This disc should be sold with the "Repeat All" button attached.”                 

“The large audience was attentive and appreciative to the final standing ovation.  Cutmore’s playing was compelling and harmonically poetic… [his] technique was flawless… and his sensitivity to the inner voices of the music was both personal and controlled.”                  

“Cutmore played Schubert’s Sonata in B-flat… without any pretension.  He managed to create depth without dragging the music down…  In his deep emotional penetration, he does not lose sight of structure.”

“He has an ease with the music that can make it pensive or dreamy without giving into an overuse of rubato, keeping it moving, yet not rushing it either. He breezes through the more virtuosic passages in the "Ritual Fire Dance" and the "Fantasía Baetica," with a very capable technique that can make an impression… which also makes sure notes are clear without sacrificing phrasing and shaping.”

“He is an amazing talent, performing with great technical proficiency.  Our very knowledgeable audience gave him a standing ovation midway through the recital!  We would welcome Mr. Cutmore’s return to the Art Complex Museum anytime.”