Krystian Zimerman

Infobox musical artist
Name = Krystian Zimerman


Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Born = birth date and age|1956|12|5
flagicon|POL Zabrze, Poland
Genre = Classical
Occupation = Pianist
Years_active =
URL =

Krystian Zimerman (born December 5, 1956) is a Polish classical pianist.

Biography

Zimerman was born in Zabrze and studied at the Katowice Conservatory under Andrzej Jasinski. His career was launched when he won the 1975 Warsaw International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition. He performed with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan in 1976 and he made his début in the United States with the New York Philharmonic in 1979. He has toured widely and made a number of recordings. Since 1996 he has taught piano at the Academy of Music in Basel, Switzerland.

Zimerman is best known for his interpretations of Romantic music, but has performed a wide variety of classical pieces as well. He has also been a supporter of contemporary music. For example, Witold Lutosławski wrote his piano concerto for Zimerman, who later recorded it. Amongst his best-known recordings are the piano concerti of Edvard Grieg and Robert Schumann with conductor Herbert von Karajan; the Brahms concerti with Leonard Bernstein, the piano concerti of Frédéric Chopin once conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini and a later recording conducted by himself at the keyboard; the piano concerti of Beethoven under Bernstein; the first and second piano concerti of Rachmaninoff; the piano concerti of Franz Liszt with Seiji Ozawa, the piano concerti of Maurice Ravel with Pierre Boulez, and solo piano works by Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy and Franz Schubert. Recently, Zimerman recorded Brahms' "Piano Concerto No. 1" with Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle (DG 477 5413; Limited Edition DG 477 6021).

Awards

* 1975 International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, Warsaw (First prize)
* Léonie Sonning Music Prize (1994; Denmark)

External links

*allmusic|41:61946
* [http://www.internazionale.it/pagine/blognote/zimerman.html Krystian Zimerman discography]
* [http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/KrystianZimerman/ Krystian Zimerman fansite]

Persondata
NAME=Zimerman, Krystian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Polish Classical music pianist
DATE OF BIRTH=December 5, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH=Zabrze, Poland
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=