John Flinders discovered his love of ensemble playing whilst at school, and he was inspired to specialise in the art of accompaniment by his studies with Dorothea Law at the University of York, and Mary Peppin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Recently John has performed Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos K.365 with duo partner Rebecca Holt, and his CD of Peter Dickinson’s Five Forgeries for piano duet, which he recorded with the composer, has just been released. He now has a busy and wide-ranging musical career; he has appeared on BBC TV, Radio 3 and Classic FM, and has performed in Japan, Turkey, Croatia and South America; in London he has played at the Barbican Centre, the Purcell Room, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and St. John’s, Smith Square. He is particularly noted for his performances of the clarinet repertoire and has worked with many of this country’s leading clarinettists, including Margaret Archibald, David Campbell, Roger Heaton, Antony Pay, Gervase de Peyer, Ian Scott, Victoria Soames Samek and Michael Whight. In recital he has also partnered Piers Adams, John Anderson, William Bennett, Jill Gomez (in a Mozart concert aria conducted by Martyn Brabbins), Paul Goodey, Neil Jenkins, Ian Partridge, Laurence Perkins and Adrian Thompson, and has accompanied monologues recited by the actress Patricia Hodge. He has performed in masterclasses led by Robert Cohen, Philippa Davies, Sir James Galway, Rivka Golani, Alan Hacker, Susan Milan, Raphael Wallfisch and Richard Edgar Wilson. His recording with the English Romantics Trio of works for clarinet, bassoon and piano by William Hurlstone and Charles Lloyd was acclaimed by BBC Music Magazine and the American Record Guide, and his CD of English clarinet music with Victoria Soames Samek was highly recommended by the Sunday Times and Gramophone. Their latest CD on the Clarinet Classics label features rare French virtuoso works for clarinet and piano, most of which are première recordings.
John is the Assistant Musical Director of the early opera group Opera Restor’d, for whom he prepared a translation of D. Scarlatti’s La Dirindina which was praised by Opera magazine for its ‘blend of innuendo and ribald humour’; as harpsichordist he has directed several of their performances. Contemporary music has also featured in his performing career, and works have been dedicated to him by Michael Finnissy, Edmund Jolliffe and David Sawer. In 2006 John made his conducting début, in a performance of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.