Sara Davis Buechner (born David Buechner; 1959)" Allmusic: David Buechner > overview, retrieved February 25, 2007. is an American concert pianist and educator currently based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania.

Career

Buechner was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where she studied with Veronika Wolf Cohen, Reynaldo Reyes, and Mieczyslaw Münz. She attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

as a pupil of Czech pianist Rudolf Firkusny and later worked with both

Byron Janis Byron Janis (born March 24, 1928) is an American classical pianist. He made several recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury Records, and occupies two volumes of the Philips series ''Great Pianists of the 20th Century''. His discography covers rep ...

and Paul Badura-Skoda. In her twenties, she won major prizes at the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Piano Competition (1983), the Leeds International Piano Competition (1984), the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition (6th prize, bronze medal 1986), and the

Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and is the second largest piano competition in the United States. The competition has three age categories: the International Artists Competition for pianists age ...

(1984, gold medal). Her 1984, debut at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

in New York City received a glowing review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and she has had an active performance career since that time. Buechner has been on the piano faculty at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

since 2016, and had previously served on the faculties of the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

,Sara Davis Buechner - About Sara
, retrieved February 25, 2007. the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

.Sara Davis Buechner - US Pianist
", retrieved February 25, 2007. She was also an honorary Professor of the

University of Shanghai University of Shanghai, also known as Shanghai College and Hujiang University (), was a university established by the American Baptist Missionary Union and the Southern Baptist Convention in Shanghai. It was the predecessor of University of Sh ...

from 2013 to 2016. She has edited books and music scores for

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

, where she was chief music editor from 2009 to 2012. Buechner is

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

, and has given talks and written about her experience as a role model for the LGBTQ community.Alexander Varty,
Beyond the standards
, ''Georgia Straight'', August 2, 2007. Buechner wrote about her life experiences in a 2013 article in ''The New York Times''. Buechner has performed with different orchestras with an active repertoire of more than 100 concertos, and has given master classes on four continents.
, retrieved February 25, 2007. Buechner is a

Yamaha Artist A Yamaha Artist is a designation bestowed by Yamaha, by invitation, to musical artists, considered to be critically acclaimed in their instruments or genres. Acceptance as a Yamaha Artist is tantamount to a reciprocal endorsement by Yamaha. Like ot ...

, and has made many recordings for the Disklavier player system.

Discography

* ''Mujeres Españolas – Piano Works of Joaquin Turina'' (1992) * ''The American Flute'' (1993) (with flutist Robert Stallman) * ''Henry Martin: Preludes and Fugues (1990–92)'' (1994) * ''Mozart: Piano Sonatas'' (1995) * ''The Paradine Case – Hollywood Piano Concertos'' (1995) * ''Bach-Busoni "Goldberg" Variations'' (1997) * ''Miklos Rozsa: Complete Works for Solo Piano'' (1999) * ''Stephen Foster: Complete Piano Works'' (2002) * ''Rudolf Friml: Piano Music'' (2003) * ''Bygone Days – Music for Violin and Piano by Rudolf Friml'' (2006) (with violinist

Stephanie Chase Stephanie Ann Chase (born ) is an American classical violinist. Life and career Chase was born in Evanston, Illinois. She is the daughter of two musicians, the noted arranger and composer Bruce Chase and violinist Fannie (Paschell) Chase. She ...

) * ''George Gershwin – Original Works and Transcriptions for Solo Piano'' (2005) * ''Nineteen Rags of Joseph Lamb'' * ''Variations and Other Works of Brahms and Dvorak'' * ''Works of Busoni and Stravinsky'' * ''Gershwin: Second Rhapsody/Addinsell: "Warsaw" Concerto'' * ''Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 23''

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buechner, Sara Davis 1959 births Living people LGBT people from Maryland Manhattan School of Music alumni Manhattan School of Music faculty Musicians from Baltimore Transgender women musicians Prize-winners of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition Prize-winners of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition University of British Columbia faculty 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists Women music educators 21st-century American women pianists Transgender academics American women academics Transgender musicians