Musicians to Know

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Musicians to Know
By David Darling Music 102 930-1045AM TU
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Emmanuel Ax

• American pianist of Polish Origin
• Born 1949
• Won the first Arthur Rubinstein International
  Piano Competition in Tel Aviv
  
• Has since performed in the worlds leading
  symphony orchestras and foremost concert halls of
  the world.
  
• Especially noted for his elegant and powerful
  interpretations of Chopin and Schumann.

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Victor Borge

• American pianist and humorist of Danish origin.
• Born 1909.
• Pupil of Franz Liszt.
• Emigrated to US in 1940 to escape the Nazi
  occupation of Denmark, embarked on career as a
  keyboard comedian
  
• Appeared on radio, TV, films
• Continued performing well into his 80s

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Yefim Bronfman

• American pianist of Russian origin.
• Born in 1958.
• Studied music from early childhood parents
  emigrated from the Soviet Union to Israel in
  1973.
  
• Auditioned for Zubin Mehta, led to his
  international debut with the Montreal Symphony
  under Mehta.
  
• Appeared with formost Orchestras such as the
  Israel Philaharmonic.
  
• Is a celebrated performer of chamber music.
• Has won international praise for his solo,
  chamber, and orchestral recordings.

5
Chee-Yun

• Is an award-winning Korean violinist, one of the
  worlds most gifted.
  
• Born in 1970.
• Has received the Avery Fisher Career Grant
  (1994), the Young Concert Artists International
  Auditions (1989), and was a nominee for Best
  Debut in the first annual Cannes Classical Awards
  at the MIDEM international music convention
  (1994).
• Made her debut at the age of eight after winning
  the Grand Prize of the Korean Times Competition.
  
• Came to the US at age 13.

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Van Cliburn

• Is an American pianist.
• Born in 1934.
• Appeared first as a soloist with the New York
  Philaharmonic in 1954.
  
• Won the first International Tchaikovsky
  Competetition in Moscow at the height of the
  Cold War.
  
• Has had thousands of concert appearances and
  numerous recordings, has been instrumental in
  popularizing classical appearances.

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Alicia de Larrocha

• Spanish pianist.
• Born in 1923.
• Debuted at age 12 with the Madrid Symphony. Made
  British and American debuts in 1953 and 1955
  respectively and went on to international
  acclaim.
• Her perfomances of Mozart and Romantic pieces are
  characterized by a lively attack and subtle,
  poetic shading.
  
• Her performances of Spanish composers
  (especiallly Granados and Albeniz) are
  unsurpassed.

8
James Galway

• Irish flutist.
• Born in 1939.
• Began playing in 1975, dazzles audiences with his
  spectacular technique.
  
• Trademark 14-carat gold flute.
• Has appeared all over the world in recitals,
  concerto performances, chamber music engagements,
  popular music concerts, and master classes.
  
• Award-winning recordings reflect his varied
  repertoire and singular style.

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Evgeny Kissin

• Russian pianist.
• Born in 1971 in Moscow.
• Began to play and improvise on the piano at age
  2.
  
• Entered the Moscow Gnessin School of Music for
  Gifted Children at age 6, began studying with
  Anna Pavlovna Kantor, who remains his teacher
  today.
• Gave his first solo recital at age 11 in Moscow.
• Performed throughout the Soviet Union with the
  Leningrad Philaharmonic, the Orchestra of Soviet
  TV and Radio, and the State Symphony of the
  U.S.S.R.
• First appeared outside Russia in 1985, when he
  perfomed in Budapest and East Berlin.
  
• In the fall of 1990 he performed the two Chopin
  concerti with the New York Philaharmonic under
  Zubin Mehta, and gave the first recital of
  Carnegie Halls centenary season.
• Has performed with some of the greatest
  conductors of our time.
  
• Had telecasts in 1988 and 1991 with the Berlin
  Philaharmonic.
  

10
Louis Lortie

• French-Canadian pianist.
• Born in 1959.
• Canadas most celebrated pianist, one of the most
  remarkable music personalities of his
  generation.
  
• Debuted in Toronto, performed as a guest soloist
  with the Toronto Symphony during its historic
  tour o the Peoples Republic of China and Japan.
  
• Has appeared with many major orchestras often
  perfoms at the most prestigious festivals, and is
  involved in several chamber music projects. His
  discography reflects his extensive repertoire and
  his amazing virtuosity.

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Yo-Yo Ma

• American cellist of Chinese heritage.
• Born in 1955.
• One of the most sought-after performers.
• Has appeared with eminent conductors and
  orchestras in all the music capitals of the
  world. In addition to his career as a soloist, he
  is active in chamber music concerts, and his
  long-standing partnership with Emmanuel Ax is one
  of the most successful collaborations in
  Classical Music.
• Also performs works by contemporary composers and
  works with young musicians.

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Wynton Marsalis

• African-American trumpet virtuoso.
• Born in 1961.
• Trained as a classical musician.
• Joined Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers in 1980,
  toured with his own quintet, and worked with
  Miles Davis.
  
• Won Grammys in both jazz and classical
  categories in 1984.
  
• His discography includes several (best-selling)
  recordings in Classical and Jazz music.
  

13
Midori

• Japanese-American violinist.
• Born in 1971.
• Debuted with the New York Philaharmonic in 1982
  at age 10.
  
• Has shared the stage with prestigious artists
  such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Ashenknazy
  and others, and performed with some of the
  worlds most distinguished orchestras.
• Made several highly acclaimed tours of North
  America and Europe. In 1992, she established the
  Midori Foundation, dedicated to bringing
  classical music to children.

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Garrick Ohlsson

• American pianist.
• Born in 1948.
• Was the first American to win Warsaws
  International Chopin Competition in 1970.
  
• Unsurpassed Chopin interpreter, hailed for his
  big, brilliant, American technique and unique
  style.
  
• He premiered Liszts recently discovered Walse
  in A major.
  
• Repertoire included Beethoven and Haydn as well
  as the Romantics.
  
• Has appeared worldwide in solo concerts as well
  as with orchestras and ensembles to enormous
  acclaim.
  

15
Murray Perahia

• American pianist.
• Born in 1947.
• First American to win the Leeds Piano
  Competition, then began his international
  career.
  
• Regularly appears in concerts and recitals in all
  of the music capitals of the world.
  
• Has performed with the most renowned orchestras.
• Noted for his stylistic delicacy and sensitivity,
  notably in Chopin and Schumann.
  
• Has recorded all of Motzarts concertos,
  directing from the keyboard.
  

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Itzhak Perlman

• Israeli violinist.
• Born in 1945.
• One of the greatest violinists of our time.
• Made his formal debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963.
• By 1965 was an internationally acclaimed
  virtuoso, praised for his peerless technique.
  
• Has recorded virtually every major violin work
  and has teamed with other prestigious artists
  such as Isaac Stern and Yo-Yo Ma.
  

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Maria Joao Pires

• Pianist.
• Returned to the concert stage after an
  interruption in her early career due to ill
  health.
  
• Now regarded as one of the most intriguing and
  remarkable artists of the day.
  
• A mature and eloquent performer of the great
  classical repertoire- Mozart, Beethoven,
  Schubert, Schumann, and Chopin.

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Awadigan Pratt

• American pianist.
• Born in Pittsburg.
• Began music lessons at age 6 in Normal,
  Illinois.
  
• Described as astonishing, acclaimed for
  physicality and virtuosity as well as his depth
  of feeling and uniquely personal style.
  
• Won the the Namburg International Piano
  Competition in 1992, followed by the Avery Fisher
  Career Grant in 1994.
  
• Since then he has performed at recitals
  throughout the US.
  

19
Jean-Pierre Rampal

• He is a French flutist.
• He was born in 1922.
• In his first position he was a solo flutist with
  the Vichy Opera from 1946-1950
  
• Also did recitals concurrently
• Performances for the Opera were broadcast on the
  radio and led to international fame.
  
• He has since toured the world as a virtuoso, with
  the foremost orchestras and in recital.
  
• Many composers have written pieces for him.
• Has done more to bring the flute into the
  mainstream of music than any other flutist.

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Sviatoslav Richter

• Is a Russian pianist.
• He was born in 1915.
• He is one of the greatest pianists of the
  century.
  
• Was largely self-taught.
• Received acclaim for his performances Prokofiev.
• Most known for Schubert and Schumann.

21
Peter Schickele

• He is an American composer and musical humorist.
• Became famous in 1965 with the Town Hall debut of
  his mythical character P.D.Q. Bach.

22
Peter Serkin

• He is an American pianist.
• He was born in 1947.
• He was born into a musical family (his father was
  the famous pianist Rudolf Serkin).
  
• Interests range from Bach to Mozart, his
  recordings of Mozart are highly acclaimed.
  
• He has performed in collaboration with many
  distinguished artists.
  
• Was the first pianist to be awarded Premio
  Internazionale Musicale Chigana in recognition of
  his outstanding musical achievement.
  

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Isaac Stern

• American violinist of Russian origin.
• He was born in 1920.
• He is one of the most renowned violinists of the
  century.
  
• Made his recital debut at age 13 in San
  Francisco.
  
• Made his orchestral debut with the San Francisco
  Symphony in a concert that was broadcast
  nationally.
  
• Has an extremely prestigious solo career.
• Recent collaborations include a partnership with
  Yefim Brofman, Emmanuel Ax, and Yo-Yo Ma.
  
• Is a champion of contemporary music as well as
  performing the classics, has premiered works by
  many famous 20th century composers.
  
• Has played an invaluable role in furthering the
  careers of young musicians.
  

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Krystian Zimerman

• Polish pianist.
• Born in 1956.
• Won first prize in the Chopin Competition in
  1975, as well as a special Gold Medal for his
  performances of Chopins Mazurkas and
  Polonaises.
• Has performed with Europes major orchestras as
  well as in solo recital.
  
• He prefers live recordings as opposed to studio,
  enabling fans to recreate his spectacular
  performances at home.

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Pinchas Zukerman

• He is an Israeli violinist, violist, and
  conductor.
  
• He was born in 1948.
• Came to study in the US in 1962 under the
  guidance of Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals.
  
• Embarked on his solo career in 1967.
• His discography includes more than 90 releases,
  encompassing the violin and the viola.
  
• Has performed solo and also collaborated with
  some of the worlds top musicians in chamber
  music.
  
• Has conducted some of the worlds top orchestras
  since 1970.