Winner of the First Prize at the 2002 Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona, Viv McLean has performed at all the major halls in the UK, as well as in France, Spain, Germany, Scandinavia, Israel, Japan, Australia and the USA. 

Viv McLean's concerto work in the UK includes appearances with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Phil- harmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, the Hallé, Sinfonia Viva and the National Musician's Symphony Orchestra.  Recent highlights include performances of Mozart K467 with the English Chamber Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, the Grieg Concerto with the London Philharmonic and a USA tour with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. This season, McLean performs Rachmaninov's 3rd Concerto with the RPO in Cambridge, Gershwin and Bernstein with the Hallé at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall.

As a chamber musician, McLean has worked with leading ensembles including the Ysaye and Sacconi String Quartets and the Leopold String Trio, and has collaborated with such artists as Natalie Clein, Wayne Marshall, Lawrence Power, Marianne Thorsen, Daniel Hope, Guy Johnston, Richard Dubugnon, Matthew Sharp, Kate Gould, Carl Davis, Christopher Warren-Green, Owain Arwell Hughes and Marvin Hamlisch. 

Viv McLean has performed at festivals including the Cheltenham International Festival and Harrogate Festival in the UK; the International Beethoven Festival, the Mecklenburg Festival and the Kultur Kreis Festival in Germany; the Melle Festival and Festival de Saintes in France; and the Vinterfestspill i Bergstaden in Norway.

McLean studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Hamish Milne where he held the Hodgson Fellowship and was made an Associate of the Royal Academy in 2005. He made his Wigmore Hall recital debut after winning the Friends of the Royal Academy Wigmore Award.  During his studies, Viv was the Piano Winner of the Royal Over-seas League Music Competition, and was selected as one of three winners of the National Federation of Music Societies' Young Artists Competition, leading to various recitals and concerto appearances throughout Great Britain. 

Viv McLean has recorded regularly for BBC Radio 3 since making his recital debut through the BBC Radio 3 Young Artists Forum scheme, and has also recorded recitals for Classic FM, the WDR, Radio France, the ABC in Australia, Norway's NRK and for the Sky Arts television channel. His commercial releases include recordings for such labels as Sony Classical Japan and Naxos, as well as for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's own label.