ABOUT
melody - rhythm - feeling
Steve Law is an English composer with a distcinct popular crossover style and gift for beautiful and memorable melodies. His music combines classical, jazz and pop influences with depth and substance.
He is a published arranger and known as one of the most accurate transcribers of piano recordings into sheet music.
Steve grew up in London and now lives with his wife in East Sussex. He studied music at Bristol University under Raymond Warren and Wyndham Thomas, receiving a Master’s degree in composition for his jazzy three act opera ‘Heaven on Earth’ which was described as ‘a significant contribution to the genre’.
Steve’s beautiful new Piano Concerto was recorded by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the pianist Joseph Havlat and conductor David Watkin. It received an award from the Oppenheim-John Memorial Trust and is included in Symphonic Chronicles Vol.1 (2023) on the Navona label (distributed by Naxos). BBC Music Magazine as described it as ‘A likeable collection of modern, robustly tonal orchestral music’ in it’s four-star review.
In 2018 Steve’s songs ‘3 Poems by Lorna Law’ were performed in London by Ferrier Award winning baritone Gareth Brynmor John.
His Violin Concerto received it’s orchestral premier in Scotland in 2017 by Mark Wilson with Paul Wood conducting Ayr Camerata.
Steve has composed and recorded seven CD albums.
Music Web International reviewed his first CD of piano music as having ‘kaleidoscopically varied works… impressionistic atmosphere… engagement with melody… jazzy syncopation… slowly burning passion.’
Other compositions include an opera, piano works (including 2 sonatas and ‘Pop Preludes’), songs, chamber pieces, an ‘80s Symphony‘.
Steve is also known as one of the most accurate note for note transcribers of piano music from original recordings. His meticulous transcriptions of Dudley Moore’s album ‘Song Without Words’ is published by Faber. He has made many arrangements (piano, instrumental and orchestral), for musicians such as Rena Fruchter, Jack Gibbons (Fats Waller), and the late Brian Dallow and BBC Broadcaster Geoffrey Stern which have been performed in the UK and America. Steve has also transcribed much music by George Gershwin and is working on a volume for the Gershwin Critical Edition overseen by the Gershwin Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Steve is a versatile pianist and has a long association with the music of Gershwin, Billy Mayerl and Scott Joplin. He has often performed his compositions and arrangements along with favourite composers such as Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy and Prokofiev. He has performed works by contemporaries Lionel Sainsbury, Kapustin and Geoffrey Stern and accompanied singers in jazz, pop and classical music.
In 2012-13 Steve played a series of unique musical tribute concerts, starting at St. James’ Piccadilly, recreating the music and jazz playing of Dudley Moore. Steve was invited by Dudley to meet in London in 1999 after Steve dedicated a piano transcription to Dudley of his music for the film Bedazzled. Steve’s song ‘It Isn’t Even If’ from ‘Heaven on Earth’ was also dedicated to Dudley.
Steve performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for it’s 100th year anniversary in 2024, making a specially arranged pre-recorded orchestral accompanimnet. He will be doing to same for Gershwin’s Concerto in F in 2025, another work closest to his heart from his teenage years.
Steve has performed throughout the UK and in London at St James Piccadilly, for ‘Classical Partners‘, ‘The Halo Project’, St. George’s Bloomsbury, The Royal National Hotel, St. George’s Pinner, St. Paul’s Hammersmith, the Harrow Museum and St. John’s Harrow. He co-founded Harrow Summer Music in 2014 with pianist-composer Neil Crossland where Steve also performs.
Selected Compositions
Bagatelle for clarinet and piano (1990)
3 Preludes for piano – in C major; A major; D major (1989-1990)
Elegy for piano (1993)
Trio for flute, bass clarinet and piano (1993)
Children’s Scherzo for bassoon and piano (1994)
Songs of Mary (poems by John Clare) for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1994)
Little Red Riding Hood – for jazz trio and flute (1997)
Heaven on Earth – Opera in 3 Acts (1994-98)
Happy Birthday for piano (2003)
2 Piano pieces – In Memoriam and Waltz (2003)
Russian Prelude for piano (2005)
Another Story (2005) for piano
Theme for an American Movie for piano (2004)
3 Preludes for piano A minor; B flat minor, A flat. (2005)
80s Symphony (2005)
Groove for strings, vibraphone and marimba (2006)
3 Jazz studies for piano
Piano Sonata No.1 in four movements (2007)
Prelude ‘Reverie’ in G minor for piano (1990-2007)
Study (Prelude) in B major for piano (2007)
Prelude in F sharp major for piano (2007)
70s TV for piano (2008)
Samba for 2 pianos (2009)
Themes for Film Album (2010) :
Berlin Train, Traveller, Himalaya, Tamboura, Manhattan Chase, Reunion, Take Me Home.
Resonance Album (2011)
And I Will Be There, You’ve Got To Have Something New, Is It Something I Said?, Liberty, For the Record, Forgiveness, Tenderly, Off the Rails, Celine, Remember Me, I Don’t Need Your Lies, Good-bye, And if I Could, Groovily.
Piano Sonata No.2 (2012)
Sunset for piano (2013)
12 Pop Preludes for piano (2013)
Violin Concerto (2014)
Merry Christmas (2014)
From Me to You (2016)
Wedding Bells (2017)
3 Poems by Lorna Law (2018)
Three Pieces for Small Ensemble (2019-2020)
Night Trains and The Universe is Big (2019)
Piano Concerto (2021)
To Vangelis (2022)
Uncouth Boogie-Woogie for piano (2022)
Groovy Rhythm for piano (2024)
6 Contrasts for piano and duet (2024)
Pop Sketchbook for piano (ongoing)
Classical Sketchbook (ongoing)
String Quartet (in progress)
5 Pieces for String Quartet (in progress)