He was a classical pianist born in Buffalo, New York, but raised in Los Angeles, California.
His musical abilities became noticed when he was 13 and was asked to perform Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra when they urgently needed a replacement pianist.
Since then he has appeared with every major orchestra in America and became known for his interpretations of Gershwin whose works he has performed at several festivals as well as at the 50th anniversary of his death at the Lincoln Center in 1987.
During the 1980s he made several international tours to Europe and the Far East appearing with orchestras including the Berlin, Vienna and Royal Philharmonics, the Tonhalle Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has made over 60 recordings and his most celebrated are Chopin Polonaises and Waltzes, Rozsa’s Concerto for Pantheon and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E flat, Op. 70, No. 2.
After having a career that spanned over 60 years, he retired from performing and recording in the late 1990s.
He died in 2008 in La Jolla, California, from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Recordings
Warsaw Concerto (Richard Addinsell)
EMI 63661 (CD: Concertos Under the Stars)
Conductor – Carmen Dragon
Piano – Leonard Pennario
Sources: