Draft:Melanie Spanswick (British Pianist and Author)
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Melanie Spanswick (born 31 May 1969) is a British pianist, author, writer, and composer. Her piano textbooks and sheet music form part of the standard piano literature[1] and are regularly featured on examination board syllabuses[2], in music festival programmes, concert halls, and commercial recordings.[3]
Education
[edit]Spanswick was born in Berkshire, United Kingdom. She graduated from the Royal College of Music in London in 1993 with a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance Studies. During her studies, she was awarded several scholarships and prizes, including recognition as the most "outstanding postgraduate pianist." Her piano teachers included Patricia Carroll[4], Tatiana Sarkissova, and John Lill.
Career
[edit]Spanswick performed regularly as a solo pianist, chamber musician, and accompanist, appearing at music festivals and concert halls in over ten countries. She has broadcast on Classic FM, BBC Radio, CBC Radio, and Swedish and Spanish television[5]. She also recorded at Wigmore Hall in London for the Opera Omnia label[6].
She taught piano at Reading University and the Royal College of Music Junior Department, and served as an examiner for the ABRSM. Her current teaching positions include the Guildhall School of Music and Drama[7], Eton College, and the Tom Lee Academy in Hong Kong[8]. She is also a frequent tutor on various piano courses.
At age 40, Spanswick was diagnosed with cancer. Following her recovery, she transitioned into teaching, writing, and composing. She launched a blog and a video interview series titled "Classical Conversations,"[9] featuring interviews with 40 renowned pianists and teachers. Spanswick curated, filmed, and edited the series, which was published on her YouTube channel[10]. It was the first series of its kind and featured notable pianists such as Stephen Kovacevich, Angela Hewitt, Paul Lewis, Valentina Lisitsa, Boris Giltburg, Federico Colli, Artur Pizarro, Andrei Gavrilov, and Cyprien Katsaris.
Books and Publications
[edit]Spanswick has written for leading music publishers around the world. In 2014, Faber Music invited her to compile the "Faber Music Piano Anthology."[11] In 2015, she rewrote a previously self-published book, So You Want To Play The Piano?, for Alfred Music[12].
That same year, Schott Music invited her to write a series of piano books for adult learners[13]. The result was Play it again: PIANO, published in 2017, 2019, and 2025. This four-book series has become one of Schott's best-selling titles, available in over 100 countries and popular with students of all ages. In 2024, the series was included in RSL Awards’ Classical Piano exam syllabus[14].
In 2022, Spanswick published Women Composers – A Graded Anthology For Piano, a three-book educational collection highlighting music by female composers. It was the first graded piano series of its kind and won a Presto Music Award for "New Series of the Year." She followed it with a collection of study scores in the Schott Student Edition, also dedicated to female composers.
Other publications include compiling, editing, and writing the London College of Music Examinations' 2021–2025 Pre-Grade One syllabus. She also authored First Repertoire For Little Pianists for Willis Music and composed Snapchats, a four-book duet and trio collection published by 80 Days Publishing, founded by composer Christopher Norton[15].
Her original piano compositions, several of which are published in the Edition Schott Series, have been recorded on the Quartz and Orchid Classics labels.
Since 2014, Spanswick has written a regular column for Pianist Magazine, contributing an elementary composition and a tutorial article to each issue[16]. She has also written extensively about music and piano for various other publications and websites.
Workshops and Presentations
[edit]Spanswick has delivered workshops and presentations around the world, including in the Far East, Italy, Germany, Dubai, Oman, the USA, and Australia. Notable events include a lecture and workshop at the 2017 USCI University Piano Pedagogy Conference in Kuala Lumpur, a keynote address at the 2024 Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference in Melbourne, and workshops at the 2019 Frankfurt Musikmesse and the 2025 Music and Drama Education Expo in London.
Awards
[edit]- Presto Music Award for "New Series of the Year" for Women Composers – A Graded Anthology For Piano (Schott), 2022[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Teach your children music with a touch of pianissimo". The Telegraph. 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Melanie Spanswick | Guildhall School of Music & Drama". www.gsmd.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Melanie Spanswick". www.schott-music.com. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Patricia Carroll". www.thetimes.com. 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Women Composers: an interview with pianist, author, pedagogue, and composer Melanie Spanswick — No Dead Guys | New piano music, living composers, and thoughts on the intersection of music and life. Rhonda Rizzo, writer". No Dead Guys. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Wigmore Hall". www.wigmore-hall.org.uk. 2025-04-08. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Melanie Spanswick | Guildhall School of Music & Drama". www.gsmd.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Our Teachers – Tom Lee Music Academy | 通利音樂中心". Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Interview Series". melaniespanswick.com. 2012-11-24. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Melanie Spanswick". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "The Faber Music Piano Anthology | Faber Music". www.fabermusic.com. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "So You Want To Play The Piano?". www.alfred.com. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Melanie Spanswick". www.schott-music.com. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Homepage". RSL Awards. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Snapchats - Melanie Spanswick". 80 Days Publishing. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ Pianist Magazine. "Our Writers: Melanie Spanswick". www.pianistmagazine.com.
- ^ "Sheet Music Publications of the Year - Winners 2022". Presto Music. Retrieved 2025-04-08.