Since his triumph as winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, 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.
Read Full BioRobert A. and Patricia K. Hanson Symphonic Arts Center
Davenport, IA, United States
Tulsa Performing Arts Center
Tulsa, OK, United States
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas, TX, United States
92nd Street Y
New York, NY, United States
On October 2, Garrick Ohlsson joins the Quad City Symphony Orchestra in the opening to their 107th season. He will play Samuel Barber’s passionate powerhouse Piano Concerto, preceded by Dudley Buck’s rousing Festival Overture on the American National Air and followed with Antonín Dvořák’s beloved “New World Symphony.” He then joins the Tulsa Symphony on October 9 to perform…
On September 9, Garrick Ohlsson stars at the Season Opening Weekend of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, a work full of magnificent flourishes with smashing chords, and regal bearing from one of the all-time greatest composers. Also on the program that evening is Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which might be the most famous symphony…
Garrick Ohlsson embarks on a tour of Korea with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, starting at the Seoul Arts Center on August 26. He then goes on to give a recital at the Incheon Seo-gu Cultural Center on August 27, and the orchestra rejoins him for another two concerts at the Chuncheon Cultural Center on August 29 and the GS CaltexYeulmaru Grand Theater on September 1.
Garrick Ohlsson returned to The Conrad in downtown La Jolla Saturday, November 9, to play another all-Brahms piano recital. With his evident affection for the repertory, his superlative technique, and his insight into what makes Brahms’ piano music distinctive, his recital also turned into a graduate level master class for anyone who plays piano or has ever studied the instrument.
“From Brahms’ early Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 5, and the Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35, Book II, to the mature Op. 79 Rhapsodies and the Op. 116 Fantasies, Ohlsson’s every phrase illuminated important aspects of this rich body of piano music, amplifying the sheer joy of experiencing Brahms played with such command and panache.” San Diego Story
Ohlsson used his pianistic soft power — a commanding technical arsenal deployed with judicious restraint — in the service of Beethoven’s penchant for insistence, pushing the first movement’s boil of trills and passagework to the foreground, making the slow movement’s pleas hushed and voluble by turn.
“Ohlsson used his pianistic soft power — a commanding technical arsenal deployed with judicious restraint — in the service of Beethoven’s penchant for insistence, pushing the first movement’s boil of trills and passagework to the foreground, making the slow movement’s pleas hushed and voluble by turn. By the rambunctious finale, ensemble and soloist were on the same quirky page,…