Joseph Havlat is a pianist and composer from Hobart, Australia, based in London. Working as a soloist and chamber musician across repertoire that ranges from the very old to the very new, he has performed in major concert venues throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia.

As a soloist, Joseph is recognized as a leading interpreter of modern and contemporary music, having collaborated with composers including Hans Abrahamsen, John Adams, Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Brett Dean, Michael Finnissy, Isabella Gellis, Thomas Larcher, and Cassandra Miller. Committed to the promotion and development of new music, he has given more than 120 second performances and curates Points of Departure, an intimate London concert series at the 1901 Arts Club devoted to contextualized contemporary music.

A highly sought-after chamber musician, Joseph performs regularly with many distinguished artists, while maintaining particularly close collaborations with mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean and violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux. He has also worked extensively with the Colin Currie Group, with whom he recorded an album of music by Steve Reich, and with the London Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble, appearing on an LSO Live recording that includes the premiere recording of John Adams’s two-piano work Roll Over Beethoven.

As a composer, Joseph’s music frequently explores the sounds and landscapes of the natural world, often set against the sharper contours of contemporary life, with a particular focus on his native Tasmania. His compositions range from works for solo voice to large ensemble and include music written for Ensemble x.y, of which he was a founding member.

Recent recordings include an album of Michael Finnissy’s vocal works on Divine Art Métier with Lotte Betts-Dean, Les Adieux for Linn Records featuring music by Janáček, Prokofiev, and Martinů, and Isabella Gellis’s The Dissolute Society Comprised of All Sorts for Flung.

Joseph studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Professor Joanna MacGregor from 2012 to 2018, earning both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees with distinction. Since 2019, he has taught piano and composition at the Academy and was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2020.

Outside of music, he enjoys watching cricket and cultivating ferns.