Jonathan Powell, the British pianist, musicologist and music editor, died on December 27, 2025, aged 56.
Born in Lancashire in 1969, he was also a self-taught composer who wrote piano sonatas, string quartets and other chamber music. As a performer and scholar, he focused on music from Russia and Eastern Europe around 1900, including Alexander Scriabin, whose biography he contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
He recorded rarely played works by Georgi Conus, Konstantin Eiges, Alexander Goldenweiser, Egon Kornauth, Joseph Marx and Leonid Sabaneyev, as well as piano concertos by Hans Winterberg and Xaver Scharwenka.
Jonathan Powell (12 November 1969 – 27 December 2025) was a British pianist, musicologist, music editor and self-taught composer. He wrote piano sonatas and string quartets, among other chamber music. As a player and musicologist, he focused on music from Russia and Eastern Europe around 1900, such as Alexander Scriabin’s whose biography he contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He recorded rarely played music from the period, piano solo works by Georgi Conus, Konstantin Eiges, Alexander Goldenweiser, Egon Kornauth, Joseph Marx and Leonid Sabaneyev, among others, and piano concertos by Hans Winterberg and Xaver Scharwenka.