Richard to release CD after beating illness

Jan 24 2008 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A YOUNG pianist who overcame a deadly disease has recorded his first CD.

Richard Uttley, 20, from Birkby, releases Burning Up in March.

In 2002 he nearly died after contracting meningitis B and septicaemia.

But he beat the illness and won a recording deal after triumphing in the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2006.

Burning Up includes pieces by contemporary artists Robin Holloway, Graham Fitkin and Timothy Jackson.

Chris Willis, a friend of Richard, has also written a piece for the album, which is released by UH Recordings.

Richard, an undergraduate at Cambridge, said: “Contemporary music is what I’ve done for a while.

“I would have felt out of my depth recording, for instance, Beethoven when so many greats have already done it.”