Garrick Ohlsson

Last updated
Garrick Ohlsson
Garrick Ohlsson.jpg
Garrick Ohlsson in 2010
Background information
Born (1948-04-03) April 3, 1948 (age 76)
Bronxville, New York
GenresClassical
InstrumentPiano
Website garrickohlsson.com

Garrick Olaf Ohlsson (born April 3, 1948) is an American classical pianist. [1] In 1970 Ohlsson became the first, and remains the only, competitor from the United States to win the gold medal awarded by the International Chopin Piano Competition, at the VIII competition. [2] He also won first prize at the Busoni Competition in Bolzano, Italy [3] and the Montreal Piano Competition in Canada. He was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 1994 [4] and received the 1998 University Musical Society Distinguished Artist Award in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ohlsson has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning one in 2008.

Contents

In 2018, in Warsaw, Ohlsson received the Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture, conferred by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. [5]

Early life

Born in Bronxville, New York as the only child of a Swedish father, Alvar Ohlsson, who emigrated from Sweden after World War II, and Sicilian-American mother, Paulyne (Rosta), born in New York City, Ohlsson grew up in White Plains, New York. He began formal piano lessons at the Westchester Conservatory of Music with Tom Lishman at age eight. [6] At the age of 13 he began studying with Sascha Gorodnitzki at the Juilliard School, and later with Rosina Lhévinne. His musical development has been influenced in completely different ways by a succession of distinguished teachers, most notably Claudio Arrau, Olga Barabini and Irma Wolpe. [7]

Although Ohlsson is especially noted for his performances of the works of Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt and Schubert, his range of repertoire is broad, extending from Bach and Busoni to Copland, Griffes, Debussy, Scriabin, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, and contemporary composers who have written new works for him, such as Justin Dello Joio. Writing in The New York Times , music critic Allan Kozinn has characterized Ohlsson's repertory as "huge." [8] His repertoire includes no fewer than 80 concertos. He is also known for his exceptional keyboard stretch (a 12th in the left hand and an 11th in the right). [9]

Career

Ohlsson has performed in North America with symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Houston, Detroit, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Berkeley, among others, at the National Arts Center, with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and with the London Philharmonic at Lincoln Center in New York. He has also accompanied violinist Hilary Hahn and contralto Ewa Podles. [10]

Ohlsson is an avid chamber musician, having collaborated with the Cleveland, Emerson, Takács and Tokyo string quartets, in addition to other ensembles. In 2005–2006, he toured with the Takács Quartet. He is also a founding member of San Francisco's FOG Trio, together with violinist Jorja Fleezanis and cellist Michael Grebanier. [11]

In 2006–2007, he played the opening concert at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. He has also performed at the BBC Proms with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Among his many recordings, Ohlsson [12] performed Chopin's entire musical output on Hyperion Records including the complete solo piano music, chamber music, works for piano and orchestra, and songs. In 1989, he recorded Busoni's five-movement Piano Concerto in C major, Op. 39 with the Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi. [13] He has also recorded all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas for Bridge Records. [14]

Shortly after his Chopin competition victory in 1970, he appeared as performing guest on ABC's The Dick Cavett Show on 25 February 1971. The show also featured actor/singer Sammy Davis Jr., and young Family Affair actress Anissa Jones.

Personal life

Garrick Ohlsson January 1978 Garrick Ohlsson jan 1978.jpg
Garrick Ohlsson January 1978

Since 1996 Garrick Ohlsson has lived in San Francisco with his husband, historic preservationist Robert Guter. He is a member of the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. [15] [16]

Prizes

Discography

Ohlsson has recorded with the following labels:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Argerich</span> Argentine pianist (born 1941)

Martha Argerich is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of eight before receiving further piano training in Europe. At an early age, she won several competitions, including the VII International Chopin Piano Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni Competition and has since recorded numerous albums and performed with leading orchestras worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Brendel</span> Austrian composer and pianist (born 1931)

Alfred Brendel is a Czech-born Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is noted for his performances of Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudio Arrau</span> Chilean and American pianist (1903–1991)

Claudio Arrau León was a Chilean and American pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krystian Zimerman</span> Polish classical pianist (born 1956)

Krystian Zimerman is a Polish concert pianist, conductor and pedagogue who has been described as one of the greatest pianists of his generation. In 1975, he won the IX International Chopin Piano Competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli</span> Italian pianist

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. According to The New York Times, he was perhaps the most reclusive, enigmatic and obsessive among the handful of the world's legendary pianists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsuko Uchida</span> Japanese-English classical pianist and conductor.

Dame Mitsuko Uchida, is a Japanese-English classical pianist and conductor. Born in Japan and naturalised in England, she is particularly notable for her interpretations of Mozart and Schubert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Perahia</span> American pianist and conductor

Murray David Perahia is an American pianist and conductor. He has been considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Known as a leading interpreter of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, among other composers, Perahia has won numerous awards, including three Grammy Awards from a total of 18 nominations, and 9 Gramophone Awards in addition to its first and only "Piano Award".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yundi</span> Chinese pianist (born 1982)

Yundi Li, also known mononymously as Yundi, is a Chinese classical concert pianist. Yundi is especially known for his interpretation of Chopin, Liszt and Prokofiev. He is also referred as a Master in Chopin and considered one of the greatest contemporary interpreters of Chopin.

Nikolai Demidenko is a Russian-born classical pianist.

Nelson José Pinto Freire was a Brazilian classical pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, he was noted for his "decorous piano playing" and "interpretive depth". His extensive discography for labels such as Sony Classical, Teldec, Philips, and Decca has garnered awards including the Gramophone Award and Diapason d'Or. Freire appeared as soloist with the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He played and recorded piano duo music with Martha Argerich, a long-time musical and personal friend.

Sergei Babayan is an Armenian-American pianist. Described by Le Devoir as a "genius", Babayan won many international competitions, including the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in 1989 and the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in 1991. He appears as soloist with leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester, London Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, under such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, Tugan Sokhiev, Neeme Järvi, Rafael Payare, and David Robertson. He served as artist-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1992 to 2024 and currently teaches at both The Juilliard School and Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Reyes</span>

Alberto Reyes is a Uruguayan classical pianist, and a former United Nations translator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf Buchbinder</span> Austrian classical pianist

Rudolf Buchbinder is an Austrian classical pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Lisiecki</span> Musical artist

Jan Lisiecki is a Canadian-born classical pianist of Polish ancestry. Lisiecki performs over a hundred concerts annually and has worked closely with the world's leading orchestras and conductors, in a career at the top of the international concert scene spanning over a decade. He has been a recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon since the age of fifteen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Đặng Thái Sơn</span> Vietnamese classical pianist

Đặng Thái Sơn is a Vietnamese-Canadian classical pianist. In 1980, he won the X International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, becoming the first pianist from Asia to do so. He has received particular acclaim for the sonority and poetry in his interpretations of Chopin and the French repertoire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfredo Perl</span>

Alfredo Perl is a Chilean-German classical pianist and conductor, best known for his recitals of Beethoven's sonatas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Beth Briggs</span> British classical pianist

Sarah Beth Briggs is a British classical pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Bellucci</span> Italian pianist

Giovanni Bellucci is an Italian pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Richard-Hamelin</span> Musical artist

Charles Richard-Hamelin is a Canadian concert pianist from Joliette, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Lu</span> American pianist (Born 1997)

Eric Lu is an American classical pianist. The recipient of the gold medal at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018, he has performed with many of the world's major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, and on tour with the Orchestre national de Lille. He records for Warner Classics under an exclusive contract, and has released critically acclaimed recordings of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Schubert, and Schumann on the label.

References

  1. "Garrick Ohlsson". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  2. "VIII Competition — 1970". The International Chopin Competition. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  3. "List of Winners 1961-1970". International Busoni Competition. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  4. "Winners". Avery Fisher Prize. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Lista laureatów Medalu Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis - Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego - Portal Gov.pl". Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  6. Stępień-Kutera, Kamila (2021). The Pianist, Conversations with Garrick Ohlsson. Fryderyk Chopin Institute. p. 16. ISBN   9788396120984.
  7. Horowitz, Joseph (1992). Conversations with Arrau. Limelight Editions. pp.  333. ISBN   0879100133.
  8. Kozinn, Allan (13 January 2012). "Garrick Ohlsson, Chopin expert sets his sights on Liszt". The New York Times . Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  9. Dubal, David (1984). Reflections from the Keyboard. New York: Summit Books. p.  253. ISBN   978-0-671-49240-3.
  10. "Garrick Ohlsson- Bio, Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music". Naxos.com. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  11. "FOG Trio Artist Profile". St. Paul Sunday. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  12. Jean-Pierre Thiollet, 88 notes pour piano solo, Neva Editions, 2015, « Solo nec plus ultra », p. 52. ISBN   978-2-3505-5192-0
  13. "Garrick Ohlsson Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  14. "Marathon Men – Two Complete Beethoven Sonatas Projects to Achieve Completion during 2009 | Piano Street's Classical Piano News". Pianostreet.com. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  15. Oestreich, James R. (12 January 2003). "MUSIC; Combining Brain and Brawn to Serve a Demanding Master". The New York Times .
  16. "Artists on the Bench: This Week With Garrick Ohlsson". Sfcv.org. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  17. Huot, Cécile. "Montreal International Music Competition/Concours international de musique de Montréal". Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  18. "Garrick Ohlsson". Grammy.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  19. "Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2021". Gramophone. Retrieved 2024-01-10.