Photo: Quincena Musical / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What strikes me about Stephen Hough is how rare it is for one person to be a top-tier concert pianist, a composer, and a working writer all at once. Born in Heswall in 1961 and trained at the Royal Northern College of Music, he became the first classical musician handed a MacArthur "genius" Fellowship back in 2001, which tells you the establishment saw him as more than a virtuoso. The CBE in 2014 only confirmed it. To me he reads as a true polymath: someone who treats the piano as just one of several outlets, and I find that breadth genuinely refreshing in a field that often rewards narrow specialization.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Stephen Hough
- Name (Japanese)
- スティーヴン・ハフ
- Reading
- すてぃーゔん・はふ
- Born
- November 22, 1961 (age 64)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Ox
- Origin
- Heswall, United Kingdom
- Occupation
- composer / music educator / pianist / singer-songwriter / editor
2. Background
- University
- Royal Northern College of Music
Awards & achievements
- 2001 MacArthur Fellows Program
- 2014 Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Classic Brit Awards
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Stephen Hough born?
Born November 22, 1961 (age 64).
Where is Stephen Hough from?
Stephen Hough is from Heswall, United Kingdom.
What does Stephen Hough do?
Stephen Hough works as composer, music educator, pianist, singer-songwriter, editor.
Composer — see all → · Music educator — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.