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I'm looking forward to this:
Program:
Beethoven: Sonata in E minor, Op. 90
Liszt: Sonata in B minor
Szymanowski: Three Masks, Op. 34
Prokofiev: Sonata No. 7, Op. 83





Versatile pianist Garrick Ohlsson performs a solo recital as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's Colburn Celebrity series on Friday, April 27, 2007, at 8 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The concert's program features Beethoven's Sonata No. 27 in E Minor, Op. 90; Liszt's Sonata in B Minor; Szymanowski's Three Masks, Op. 34; and Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7, Op. 83.

Ohlsson has developed a reputation for his commanding performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, as well as the Romantic repertoire. His repertoire is unusually wide and eclectic - ranging from Haydn and Mozart to works of the 21st century - and to date he has at his command some 80 concertos. A prolific recording artist, Ohlsson can be heard on the Arabesque, RCA Victor Red Seal, Angel, Bridge BMG, Delos, Hänssler, Nonesuch, Telarc and Virgin Classic labels.

The Colburn Celebrity series offers virtuoso performances by world-renowned artists. Remaining recitals this season include Chanticleer (May 3, 2007); and Hélène Grimaud, piano (June 17, 2007).

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 he has long been regarded as one of the world's leading exponents of the music of Frédéric Chopin, Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire, which ranges over the entire piano literature. A student of the late Claudio Arrau, Ohlsson has come to be noted for his masterly performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, as well as the Romantic repertoire. His concerto repertoire alone is unusually wide and eclectic - ranging from Haydn and Mozart to works of the 21st century - and to date he has at his command some 80 concertos.

Ohlsson opened the 2006/07 season with the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York in a live, nationally televised performance. He will also appear in North America and Canada with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Montreal, New Jersey, Oregon, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Utah. A series of recitals in Anchorage, Boston, Cleveland, Florida, Los Angeles, Ottawa, and San Francisco will culminate in three recitals of Beethoven sonatas at Lincoln Center (New York), and a performance of Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. In Europe, he will perform at the BBC Proms with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, at the Warsaw Chopin Festival, with the Czech Philharmonic, with the BBC Philharmonic, and in recital in Spain and Italy.

In the 2005/06 season, Ohlsson performed in North America with the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Berkeley, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, DC; and the National Arts Centre, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. Special projects included a tour with the Takács Quartet and appearances at the Bonn Beethovenfest in Germany. In the summer of 2006, he presented the complete cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas in both the Ravinia and Tanglewood festivals, a cycle he performed for the first time in the summer of 2005 at Switzerland's Verbier Festival.

Ohlsson is an avid chamber musician and has collaborated with the Cleveland, Emerson, Takács, and Tokyo string quartets, among other ensembles. Together with violinist Jorja Fleezanis and cellist Michael Grebanier, he is a founding member of the San Francisco-based FOG Trio.

A prolific recording artist, Ohlsson can be heard on the Arabesque, RCA Victor Red Seal, Angel, Bridge, BMG, Delos, Hänssler, Nonesuch, Telarc, and Virgin Classics labels. For Arabesque he has recorded the complete solo works of Chopin and four volumes of Beethoven sonatas.

A native of White Plains, New York, Ohlsson began his piano studies at the age of 8. He attended the Westchester Conservatory of Music and at 13 entered the Juilliard School in New York City. 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. Although he won First Prizes at the 1966 Busoni Competition in Italy and the 1968 Montréal Piano Competition, it was his 1970 triumph at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, where he won the Gold Medal, that brought him worldwide recognition as one of the finest pianists of his generation. Since then he has made nearly a dozen tours of Poland, where he retains immense personal popularity. Ohlsson was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 1994 and received the 1998 University Musical Society Distinguished Artist Award in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He makes his home in San Francisco

Man am I jealous! Enjoy the concert and let us poor souls that couldn't attend know how it was!

Awesome! Amazingly, Ohlssohn is one pianist I have never heard, owning not one recording by him. Of course I have heard of him, but just never got around to giving him a listen. Time to switch over to Amazon and do some shopping. Anyone in PW got a favorite disc of his to recommend?

He played the same program in SF a while back...

Thank heavens he did not use that godawful Fazioli...I think he lives down the Peninsula.

Astonishing, incredible.
At one point I actually caught myself weeping, catching my breath at another.

Ohlsson is perfect.

I'm basking in the afterglow.
I feel like I just had the best sex of my life.

More later.
Good night.

No Faz - it was a S&S NY D.

I had a chance to hear Garrick perform the Chopin F minor concerto last fall, and was completely impressed with his playing. It beat the two CDs I own of the piece 'hands down'.

:rolleyes:

What, no Chopin? Maybe for an encore?

Waiting for the full report....

Three encores, all Chopin Waltzes. yummm

Guess who I met during intermission. My piano teacher.
He loves Ohlsson.
Now I see why.
He really finds the music within the music.
It never felt like he was just playing it.
It was like it was happening for the first time.

Don't pass up a chance to see this guy.
He's 59 now.

The recital was SUBLIME. I teared through at least half of that Liszt... the most beautiful Liszt I have EVER heard in my entire life.

What an artist. Truly astonishing.

The three Chopin Waltzes for encore rolled out of his fingers so naturally... UNBELIEVABLE.

I have spent some time with Garrick. In addition to being a great artist, he is also unbelievably well grounded and easy to speak with. He is a definite independent thinker when it comes to performing, music, and instruments.

At Cunningham, we hosted a "meet the artist" reception with him after his Philly orchestra performance last year. He nicely signed a photo for me to display in our showroom and signed it:

Dear Rich,

I wish I could sing like you.

full disclosure = He has never heard me sing. He was just being a nice guy.

Garrick has established himself as one of our best! I met him recently at an airport--we stay in touch from time to time. The first time I met Garrick, was at Juilliard. I played the orchestra part for his Prokofieff Third Concerto during a meeting he had with several of us as students at the time. I dare say, sightreading that orchestra part was a challenge--it goes by so fast!

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Doesn't the body begin to decline at age 19 or so?

One night coming home from the opera, I heard Garrick Ohlsson play Chopin's Valse opus 70, No. 3 on the radio. It was such a wonderful experience, and I was inspired to add it to my own repertoire. It took me a year to learn it from memory, but it is now one of my most beloved pieces.

Good Lord, where does that leave me at 58??

Sightly off topic, but...

is that thing in the background a pipe organ?!

I've never been to Disney Hall but it does look like there's an organ console below the pipes.

I have to say it's a pretty cool looking hall. For those that were there (or have been in the past) what are the acoustics like for orchestra and/or piano recitals?

C7 Player,

The acoustics are great; all you could ask for. I attended a concert Thursday night of a small baroque group from Italy (they were fabulous) and my seats were behind the stage, but I could hear everything very clearly, even the recorder (well, the lute was a little hard to hear). Having sung with my choir on the stage itself, I can tell you it's quite an experience performing there as well.

And yes, that is an organ in the background.

If you ever visit L.A., you should be sure to make a stop at the music center and even try to catch a concert there.

Abe