Garrick Ohlsson

Garrick Olof Ohlsson (born April 3, 1948 in Bronxville, New York) is an American classical pianist.[1] He is the only American to win first prize in the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, in 1970.[2] He also won first prize at the Busoni Competition in 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.

Garrick Ohlsson
Garrick Ohlsson in 2010
Background information
Born (1948-04-03) April 3, 1948
Bronxville, New York
GenresClassical
InstrumentsPiano
Websitegarrickohlsson.com

Early life

Ohlsson was born in 1948 in White Plains, New York, the only child of a Swedish father and Sicilian-American mother. He began his piano studies at the age of eight at the Music Conservatory of Westchester and, at the age of 13, began studying at the Juilliard School. His musical development has been influenced in completely different ways by a succession of distinguished teachers, most notably Claudio Arrau, Olga Barabini, Tom Lishman, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Rosina Lhévinne and Irma Wolpe.[5] 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 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."[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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. In 2010, he visited Australia and gave concerts in Melbourne.

Among his many recordings, Ohlsson[9] 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.[10] He has also recorded all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas for Bridge Records.[11]

His unusually vast repertoire includes no fewer than eighty concertos. He is also known for his exceptional keyboard stretch (a 12th in the left hand and an 11th in the right).[12]

Shortly after his Chopin competition victory in 1970, he appeared as performing guest on ABC's The Dick Cavett Show on November 14, 1971. The show also featured actor/singer Sammy Davis Jr., and young Family Affair actress Anissa Jones.

Personal life

Ohlsson currently lives in San Francisco with his partner, historic preservationist Robert Guter. He is a member of the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.[13][14]

Prizes

Discography

Ohlsson has recorded with the following labels:

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. Horowitz, Joseph (1992). Conversations with Arrau. Limelight Editions. pp. 333. ISBN 0879100133.
  6. Kozinn, Allan. "Garrick Ohlsson, Chopin expert sets his sights on Liszt". New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  7. "GARRICK OHLSSON".
  8. "FOG Trio Artist Profile". St. Paul Sunday. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  9. Jean-Pierre Thiollet, 88 notes pour piano solo, Neva Editions, 2015, « Solo nec plus ultra », p. 52. ISBN 978-2-3505-5192-0
  10. "Garrick Ohlsson Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  11. "Marathon Men – Two Complete Beethoven Sonatas Projects to Achieve Completion during 2009 | Piano Street's Classical Piano News". www.pianostreet.com. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  12. Dubal, David (1984). Reflections from the Keyboard. New York: Summit Books. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-671-49240-3.
  13. Oestreich, James R. "MUSIC; Combining Brain and Brawn to Serve a Demanding Master". The New York Times.
  14. "Artists on the Bench: This Week With Garrick Ohlsson".
  15. Huot, Cécile. "Montreal International Music Competition/Concours international de musique de Montréal".
  16. "Garrick Ohlsson". GRAMMY.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
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