Born in Cornwall in August 1916, Moura Lympany made her début at the age of… Read Full Bio ↴Born in Cornwall in August 1916, Moura Lympany made her début at the age of twelve playing Mendelssohn's G minor Concerto in Harrogate, England. At thirteen, she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in Russia.

Dame Moura gave the first performance outside Russia of the Khachaturian Piano Concerto and she later performed the Concerto under the composer himself at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She was the first Western pianist to visit the Soviet Union after the War.

Dame Moura has made more than fifty records. She was the first pianist to record the complete Rachmaninov Preludes (on nine 78's) during the composer's lifetime and she has since recorded many solo and concerto discs.

Throughout her career, Dame Moura has refused to specialise and has more than sixty concertos in her repertoire. She has always been a significant and staunch champion of British composers including Richard Arnell, Benjamin Britten, she has premiered their works all over the world.

In 1992 Moura Lympany was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire by Her Majesty The Queen in recognition of her services to music. In the same year Dame Moura was also honoured with the medal of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French Government and in 1995 was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in London.