James Rhodes records new album on Warner

Pianist James Rhodes has recorded his first album on Warner Bros Records. He told Classic FM “it’s a concert that I’ve been dying to do for ages”.

Rhodes’ new album will include some very rare pieces, a couple of which have only been recorded once or twice before.

Rhodes’ first two albums were on Signum Classics but the rising star signed to Warner in March. The new album will be quite different from the first two, but Rhodes told us “I can’t really tell you too much what’s on it yet - major labels are a little funny like that, they like to keep their cards pretty close to their chest!”

James Rhodes is a rather unusual figure in the classical music world. He has made it his mission to introduce more people to classical music, and to this end he performs in venues not normally associated with classical music, like the E4 Udderbelly and Latitude Festival. But he’s quick to stress that his repertoire is still core classical and not crossover, he simply strives to present it in new surroundings.

James Rhodes had a remarkable route to becoming a professional pianist. Abused in his childhood, he suffered mental health issues in his teens and early twenties, and gave up the piano for ten years. It was a meeting with the agent of Russian pianist Grigori Sokolov that finally got him on track. Listen to our interview with him here.