Solomon was born in
Cape Town, the youngest of seven children of a family from
Lithuania. At the age of six he showed an interest in
boogie-woogie and
jazz. After winning a musical scholarship, and receiving support from
Kendall Taylor, he studied at the
University of Cape Town, graduating with distinction in both music and psychology. He continued his studies with Dame
Myra Hess,
Guido Agosti and
Charles Rosen. He won several major piano competitions, including the
Harriet Cohen Beethoven Medal. He made his
Wigmore Hall debut in
London in 1963 with
Bach's
Goldberg Variations—which became his "calling card"—and
Chopin's
24 Preludes. Shortly after this, he accompanied
Mstislav Rostropovich in recital. He played duo recitals with many other leading musicians throughout his career. While Solomon was renowned for his interpretations of the music of
Debussy,
Ravel,
Albéniz,
Granados,
Janáček and Chopin, his repertoire extended from Bach and
Beethoven through to contemporary composers. He gave the first performance of
Richard Rodney Bennett's
Five Studies (1964),
Wilfred Josephs's
Piano Studies and his Piano Concerto (both 1967) and
Usko Merilaainen's Piano Sonata No. 2 (1967). He was the first pianist in recent years to receive permission from
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji to perform and record his music. In 1976, he played several of Sorabji's pieces in London. His recital featuring three of Sorabji's
100 Transcendental Studies (1940–44) at the
Wigmore Hall in 1980 was praised for its "effortless handling of explosive textures" and "brilliance without sacrifice". He recorded Sorabji's
Le jardin parfumé. In 1990, he formed the Solomon Trio with the violinist
Rodney Friend and the cellist
Timothy Hugh. Between 1990 and 1994, they performed in
Milan,
Geneva,
Birmingham, and London, as well as in Germany and Spain. They made a recording for Pickwick of the
Tchaikovsky and
Arensky piano trios. He also recorded for Decca, Philips,
Altarus Records, Carlton, BBC, and other labels. Solomon worked as musical advisor on television and several films. He gave 300 hours of tuition to
Navin Chowdhry to mime playing a musical prodigy in
Madame Sousatzka (1988). His playing of works by Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Schubert, and his own "Beethoven to Boogie" could also be heard in the film. He coached
Hugh Grant in
Impromptu (1991), in which Grant portrayed Frédéric Chopin. He was a Fellow of the
Royal College of Music, where he was Professor of Piano. He was also a professor at
Trinity College of Music and President of the Alkan Society. He gave charity concerts, including ones for Jewish charities. In January 2008, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and he died in London in September. He was survived by his partner, Rowan Meyer. ==References==