Peter Donohoe was born in Manchester in 1953. He studied at Chetham’s School of Music for seven years, graduated in music at Leeds University, and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique.

In recent seasons Donohoe has appeared with Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and RTE National Symphony Orchestra. He has undertaken a UK tour with the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra,as well as giving concerts in many South American and European countries, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Russia, and USA.

Donohoe is in high demand as a jury member for international competitions. He has recently served on the juries at the Concours de Geneve Competition (2018), Ferrol Piano Competition (2022), and Hong Kong International Piano Competition (2022), along with many national competitions both within the UK and abroad.

Donohoe’s most recent discs include Bacewicz: Orchestral Works Vol. 2 and an exploration of Busoni’s solo piano works with Chandos, Taneyev & Schumann: Piano Quintets with Signum, Granados & Albeniz with Chandos, and a selection of waltzes of Ravel, Schumann, Debussy & Chopin with SOMM.

He has performed with all the major London orchestras. Across the European continent, orchestras include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Münchner Philharmoniker, and Berliner Philharmoniker. In the United States, he has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and more.

Notable performances in the 2025/26 season included concerts with Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá and Vox Ama Deus in Philadelphia. The season also featured recitals at the Svetislav Stancic International Piano Competition in Croatia, Hrvatski Dom Split and at various UK festivals including the Ludlow Piano Festival and North Wales International Pianos Series.