about
Oliver Tom Franks (2000) is a Dutch-British pianist born in Utrecht, The Netherlands. He started piano lessons at the age of five, and from the age of nine was tutored by Ton Hartsuiker, the retired director of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, who saw him win third prize in a local competition for adults.
In 2013, Oliver was admitted with a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music in London, where he studied for four years with Emily Jeffrey and Jianing Kong. During his time at the Purcell School, he performed throughout Europe, with particular highlights including a solo recital of Bach and Debussy at the Barbican Centre, (after winning the Purcell School’s internal Freddy Morgan piano competition) and performances of Debussy and Prokofiev at the Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile. At the age of sixteen Oliver relocated back to the Netherlands, where he took lessons with Bas Verheijden and with Frank Peters at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Since 2019, Oliver has worked largely independently. For several years he lived once again in England, combining his pianistic studies with a degree in Arabic and Classics at the University of Oxford. He made his French début in 2022 where he was praised by local media in the Pyrénées-Orientales as “a young pianist not to be missed” after performing a programme of Albeniz, Debussy and Deodat de Sévérac. In 2023 he started teaching in Leiden, The Netherlands. That same year he was invited by Angela Hewitt to her masterclass in Perugia, working on Bach’s Aria variata, and attended classes with Igor Roma at the Accademia Pianistica in Imola.
In 2024 Oliver moved to rural Sweden in order to devote himself entirely to his work. He lives there with his fiancée, Margot. As of 2025, he is mentored by Jianing Kong.