John Browning (pianist)

John Browning (23 May 1933, Denver, Colorado - 26 January 2003, Sister Bay, Wisconsin), ["Boston Globe", obituary, by Richard Dyer, January 30, 2003, pg. C.14] was an American pianist known for his reserved, elegant style and sophisticated interpretations of Bach and Scarlatti, and for his collaboration with the American composer Samuel Barber.

Browning was born to musical parents in Denver in 1933. He studied piano from age 5 with his mother from childhood and was accepted as a student by Rosina Lhevinne at age 10. [cite book | last = Slonimsky | first = Nicolas | authorlink = | coauthors = Theodore Baker | title = Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Eighth Edition | publisher = Schirmer Books | date = 1992 | location = New York, New York | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = ] He appeared as a soloist with the Denver Symphony the same year. In 1945 his family moved to Los Angeles. He spent two years at Occidental College there. He began his studies at Juilliard with Rosina Lhévinne in 1950. He won the Leventritt Competition in New York City in 1955, and made his professional orchestral debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1956. ["New York Times", obituary, "John Browning, 69, Pianist With Reserved, Elegant Style", by James Oestreich, January 28, 2003, pg. C.15]

In 1962 he gave the premiere of Samuel Barber's Pulitzer Prize-winning Piano Concerto, which was written for him, in connection with the opening of Lincoln Center. His second recording of the work, with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony in 1991 for RCA Victor, won a Grammy for best instrumental soloist with orchestra. Browning won a second Grammy in 1993 with a disc of Barber's solo works on MusicMasters. ["New York Times", obituary, "John Browning, 69, Pianist With Reserved, Elegant Style", by James Oestreich, January 28, 2003, pg. C.15] He continued to follow the works of contemporary American composers but found relatively few to his liking.

Despite the competition from Van Cliburn and other virtuoso American pianists of the same generation, Browning developed a busy career, giving some 100 concerts a season.

He eased his schedule in the 1970s, explaining later that he had grown ragged from overwork. In the 1990s, his career had something of a renaissance. His last public appearance was at the National Gallery of Art in Washington in April 2002. ["New York Times", obituary, "John Browning, 69, Pianist With Reserved, Elegant Style", by James Oestreich, January 28, 2003, pg. C.15] But his last performance of all was to an invited audience at the United States Supreme Court in May 2002. ["Boston Globe", obituary, by Richard Dyer, January 30, 2003, pg. C.14]

John Browning is remembered for his penetrating, intellectual interpretations of Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Domenico Scarlatti, among others, and for his many fine recordings of the works of these and other composers. Browning recorded for RCA, Delos and Music Masters labels.

References

External links

* [http://www.musicaltimes.co.uk/archive/obits/200301browning.html Obituary from The Musical Times]
* [http://www.sonybmgmasterworks.com/artists/johnbrowning/ Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks]
* [http://www.npr.org/programs/pt/4a/browning.html Live performance by John Browning in May 2002 for National Public Radio]

Interviews

* [ http://www.bruceduffie.com/browning.html John Browning interview] by Bruce Duffie