COMPOSITIONS AND ARRANGEMENTS
John has orchestrated and arranged for many prominent artists most recently for Lang Lang, Nicola Benedetti, Yuja Wang, and in lighter vein, for Maksim Mrvirca, Sarah Brightman and Michael Ball.
Sony Classics commissioned John to arrange a CD of Christmas Carols for the mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager which was recorded in Vienna in 2008.
John Lenehan began composing at a very early age but his career as a performer gave little opportunity to develop it further until his involvement in playing for silent films encouraged him to write a series of scores for his ensemble Sounds for Silents. Nigel Kennedy asked John to orchestrate for the album Classic Kennedy with the English Chamber Orchestra in 1998.
John has collaborated with Maksim Mrvirca for many years, shaping his unique performing career with virtuoso piano arrangements of everything from Dvorak to Abba. These have been heard worldwide, especially in China which he describes as his second home, regularly performing there for several months each year.
John has also written educational music for Faber Music and Schotts, library music for TV and film and collaborated with Emma Johnson and Tasmin Little to produce virtuosic arrangements for their recitals together. His arrangements of Piazzolla have been performed on TV at the 2021 Last Night of the Proms (BBCSO/Oramo), in Paris during the Bastille Day celebrations under the Eifel Tower (Orchestre de Paris/Young) and in 2025 at the Festival Hall (LPO/Alsop).
However, an opportunity to work on a bigger scale presented itself during lockdown when he was asked to write a piano concerto. The Legend of Maritime Silk Road, commissioned by the Silk Road International Arts Centre, was premiered in China in 2023. This 25-minute work incorporates folk songs from Southeast Asia and is in five movements. Here’s an excerpt from the fourth movement (based on a folksong from Myanmar) performed by Claudia Yang and the China National Symphony Orchestra.
John Lenehan has, in recent years, developed a following on streaming platforms with dozens of calm piano tracks issued to date. These regularly achieve in excess of one million streams every month. Here are playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.