Slatkin and the SLSO look back, in the best way
Ohlsson towers over Slatkin, and there was never any trouble hearing the piano over the orchestra when he was playing the Chopin concerto. He’s muscular and assertive but can be lyrical and delicate when it’s called for. Sarah Bryan Miller – Saint-Louis Today
World-renowned classical pianist Garrick Ohlsson was the first American to win the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1970
To date, he has mastered more than 80 concertos, performing with acclaimed orchestras around the world. In addition to being one of the leading exponents of the music of Chopin, he is also noted for his masterly performances of works by Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. Ohlsson gives a motivating and impactful master class for Orange County School of the Arts students from the Instrumental Music…
Garrick Ohlsson has lived with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 for 50 years.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 is 240 years old, and much about its creation remains a mystery, but pianist Garrick Ohlsson has no doubt that the 21-year-old composer was inspired by the same thing that motivates so many young men: a girl. “Whoever she was, she must have been a very special pianist – and lady,” said Ohlsson, 69, who will perform the work this week with the Pacific Symphony…
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson joined us for music and conversation at a special Performance Today event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last month.
Ohlsson is thoughtful and poetic when it comes to talking about music, and as a pianist, he’s a virtuoso and a master on the lyrical side of the keyboard. On Friday’s Performance Today, Garrick Ohlsson plays four pieces by Alexander Scriabin, in concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival. Listen to the playlist on Your Classical
Within two weeks of starting piano at the age of 8, playing was all Garrick Ohlsson wanted to do. “I wasn’t practicing,” he said, speaking from the Tanglewood Festival in western Massachusetts. “It was play. It was something I wanted to do, something I was good at. Success excited me.”
Youthful enthusiasm led to an international career that, after 50 years, shows no sign of fading. Ohlsson returns to the Grand Teton Music Festival for four nights of performances, including a solo recital tonight and performances of Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 9 on Friday and Saturday, the closing weekend for the Festival Orchestra, with Music Director Donald Runnicles conducting. “We have…
Last night, Ohlsson simply seemed to be having so much fun playing, he didn't want to leave the stage. He was like a kid, excited to share his enthusiasm and love for music with everyone there. It was quite touching.
Over the weekend, Ohlsson played both Chopin piano concertos to perfection on Friday and Saturday night. Last night, Ohlsson played a superb solo concert in Tanglewood’s intimate Ozawa Hall. Last weekend, Ohlsson played one encore each for both Chopin concerts – Chopin’s Nocturne in F Sharp Major, Number 2 on Friday night, Chopin’s Nocturne in C Sharp Minor, Number 27 on…