Known for her ‘supreme chamber-musical responsiveness’ – The Arts Desk, pianist Sophia Rahman frequently champions the work of under-represented composers. Sophia made the first UK recording of Florence Price’s piano concerto, for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She has made several discs of the work of female composers such as Rebecca Clarke and Dorothy Howell, her recordings of Howell’s works featuring in several episodes of BBC Radio 3’s Composer of the Week. Together with duo partner Andres Kaljuste, Sophia is committed to performing newly commissioned and undiscovered Estonian repertoire alongside the music of the celebrated Arvo Pärt, with whom the duo has enjoyed a long working association. The duo’s first disc of violin and piano music of Pärt’s composition teacher Heino Eller, recorded at the Arvo Pärt Centre, was released in 2024 to critical acclaim, and they have premiered a cluster of viola and
piano works written/arranged especially for them, notably by Tõnu Kõrvits, Rasmus Puur and Mingo Rajandi.

Sophia has toured extensively, appearing at top festivals like Gstaad, IMS Prussia Cove, Kuhmo and Pärnu, and collaborating with world-class musicians including Klaus Mäkelä, Augustin Hadelich and Steven Isserlis. As Artistic Director of Whittington Music Festival Sophia has worked with distinguished singers Mark Padmore and Roderick Williams and mentored some of the brightest instrumental and vocal talents of the new generation

Sophia has played for Steven Isserlis’ class at IMS Prussia Cove since 2011, where she has also worked with Atar Arad, Kim Kashkashian, Thomas Riebl, Hartmut Rohde and Steven Doane. Her interest in this work originated as a class pianist for the legendary cellist and teacher William Pleeth at the BrittenPears School. After attending the Yehudi Menuhin School, Sophia took a firstclass honours degree in English from King’s College, London, completing postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music and winning the Royal Overseas League’s collaborative and chamber music piano awards in consecutive years. ‘the best Bartok Contrasts I ever expect to hear’ David Nice in I’ll Think of Something Later.