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Garrick Ohlsson Biography
GARRICK OHLSSON | PIANO
Since his triumph as winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, pianist Garrick Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. Although long regarded as one of the world’s leading exponents of the music of Frédéric Chopin, Mr. Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire, which ranges over the entire piano literature. A student of the late Claudio Arrau, Mr. Ohlsson has come to be noted for his masterly performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, as well as the Romantic repertoire. To date he has at his command more than 80 concertos, ranging from Haydn and Mozart to works of the 21st century, many commissioned for him. In the 18/19 season he launched an ambitious project spread over multiple seasons exploring the complete solo piano works of Brahms in four programs to be heard in New York, San Francisco, Montreal, Los Angeles, London and a number of cities across North America. In concerto repertoire ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Brahms and Barber, he returned to the Nashville, Oregon, Dallas Symphonies, Washington Kennedy Center with Melbourne Symphony and internationally with orchestras in Seoul, Helsinki, Zagreb, Tallinn, Manchester and London.
In February 2020 he accomplished a seven city recital tour across Australia just prior to the closure of the concert world due to Covid-19. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Ohlsson has collaborated with the Cleveland, Emerson, Tokyo and Takacs string quartets, including most recently Boston Chamber Players on tour in Europe. Together with violinist Jorja Fleezanis and cellist Michael Grebanier, he is a founding member of the San Franciscobased FOG Trio. Passionate about singing and singers, Mr. Ohlsson has appeared in recital with such legendary artists as Magda Olivero, Jessye Norman, and Ewa Podleś.
Mr. Ohlsson’s ten-disc set of the complete Beethoven Sonatas, for Bridge Records, has garnered critical acclaim, including a GRAMMY® for Vol. 3. The latest CDs in his ongoing association with Bridge Records are the Complete Scriabin Sonatas, “Close Connections,” a recital of 20th-Century pieces, and two CDs of works by Liszt. A native of White Plains, N.Y., Garrick Ohlsson began his piano studies at the age of 8, at the Westchester Conservatory of Music; at 13 he entered The Juilliard School, in New York City. His musical development has been influenced in completely di erent ways by a succession of distinguished teachers, most notably Claudio Arrau, Olga Barabini, Tom Lishman, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Rosina Lhévinne and Irma Wolpe. Mr. Ohlsson was awarded First Prizes at the 1966 Busoni Competition in Italy and the 1968 Montréal Piano Competition, the Avery Fisher Prize in 1994 and received the 1998 University Musical Society Distinguished Artist Award in Ann Arbor, MI. He is the 2014 recipient of the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, and in August 2018 the Polish Deputy Culture Minister awarded him with the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for cultural merit. He is a Steinway Artist and makes his home in San Francisco.
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ENDOWMENT GIVING
The Century Society
We gratefully acknowledge our Century Society members. These donors have committed $100,000 or more to the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s endowment, outright and/or through their estates.
Carla and Fernando Alvarado Diane Ballweg Chuck Bauer & Chuck Beckwith Barbara and Norman Berven Rosemarie and Fred Blancke Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Foundation Jim and Cathie Burgess Margaret Christy Pat and Dan Cornwell James F. Crow The Evjue Foundation, Inc. Linda I. Garrity George Gay George and Candy Gialamas Tyrone and Janet Greive Terry Haller Carl M. Hudig Dr. Stanley and Shirley Inhorn Patricia Kokotailo and R. Lawrence DeRoo Arno and Hazel Kurth Myrna Larson James Victor Lathers Peter Livingston and Sharon Stark Madison Symphony Orchestra League Nicholas and Elaine Mischler David and Kato Perlman John L. Peterson The Reuhl Family Pleasant T. Rowland Harry D. Sage JoAnn Six Gareth L. Steen Harry and Evelyn C. Steenbock Steinhauer Charitable Trust Thomas E. Terry Marilynn Thompson Katherine and Thomas Voight William and Joyce Wartmann Elyn L. Williams Margaret C. Winston Six Anonymous Friends
As we approach the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s centennial in 2025, our hope is to acknowledge 100 Century Society members for their endowment commitments of $100,000 or more.
We invite you to join these distinguished donors in helping the Madison Symphony Orchestra realize its vision to be a leader in classical music performance, education, community engagement, and artistic innovation for generations to come. Endowment gifts may be made for general or specific purposes. For information about minimum gift levels and naming requirements, contact Casey Oelkers, Director of Development, (608) 260-8680 x228. All inquiries will be kept confidential.
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