| Piano Portraits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 13 January 2017 | |||
| Recorded | July–August 2016 | |||
| Studio | The Old Granary Studio, Norfolk, England | |||
| Genre | Classical piano | |||
| Length | 61:10 | |||
| Label | Universal Music Group | |||
| Producer | Rick Wakeman | |||
| Rick Wakeman chronology | ||||
| ||||
Piano Portraits is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 13 January 2017 on Universal Music Group. The album was made following the positive reception to Wakeman's live radio performance of his piano arrangement of "Life on Mars?" by David Bowie following the singer's death in January 2016, and a subsequent single of the track released in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support released in 2016. After Wakeman received offers from several music labels to produce an album of piano arrangements, he chose Universal and chose songs that were his favourites: songs he had played on as a session musician, as a member of Yes, classical music pieces, and one original composition.
Piano Portraits was first released on CD and as a digital download. A double vinyl followed on 3 February 2017. The album reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Wakeman's highest charting album in the UK since 1975. Wakeman supported the album with a tour of the UK from May to November 2017. In June 2017, Piano Portraits was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry for 60,000 copies sold. A follow-up album, Piano Odyssey, was released in October 2018.