Edward Auer (born December 7, 1941 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) is an American classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. In 1965, he became the first American to win a prize in the

VII International Chopin Piano Competition The VII International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, VII Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 21 February to 16 March 1965 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Martha Argerich of Argentina, becoming the fir ...

. Due to his frequent and subsequent touring in Poland, Mr. Auer is recognized worldwide as one of the leading interpreters of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

. Auer has also displayed his consummate skill and broad repertoire—from Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann to Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and others—while touring the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He is currently a Professor of Piano at the

Jacobs School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

of Indiana University in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

Early life

While growing up in

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, Auer studied piano under Aube Tzerko and composition with

Leonard Stein Leonard David Stein (December 1, 1916 – June 24, 2004) was a musicologist, pianist, conductor, university teacher, and influential in promoting contemporary music on the American West Coast. He was for years Arnold Schoenberg's assistant, mu ...

. Auer continued his studies at the

Juilliard School of Music 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 elit ...

under the tutelage of

Rosina Lhévinne Rosina Lhévinne (née Bessie; March 29, 1880 – November 9, 1976) was a Russian pianist and famed pedagogue born in Kyiv, Russian Empire. Early life, education and family Rosina Bessie was the younger of two daughters of Maria (née Katz) and ...

and for two years in Paris on a Fulbright Study Grant under

Julius Katchen Julius Katchen (August 15, 1926 – April 29, 1969) was an American concert pianist, possibly best known for his recordings of Johannes Brahms's solo piano works. Early career Katchen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and debuted at age ...

. Cummings, Robert. "Edward Auer: Biography." Allmusic/ref>

Career

Auer won the

Young Concert Artists International Auditions Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...

in 1964 and was a prize winner at the prestigious

in 1965. He was the first American to win a prize at the latter competition. According to Robert Cummings at Allmusic, "The mid-'60s were a pivotal time for the young pianist: in 1964 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions; the following year he finished fifth in the Chopin Competition (Warsaw) and second in the Vienna-based Beethoven; he captured fifth in the 1966 Tchaikovsky (Moscow) and first in the 1967 Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris. In the midst of these successes, Auer made his debut at Carnegie Hall (1964) playing the Chopin Second Piano Concerto and launched his first U.S./Canadian tour (1965–1966), giving recitals and appearing with major orchestras like the Los Angeles Philharmonic." Since his 1964 New York debut in

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

under the auspices of

Young Concert Artists Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...

, Auer has spent his career playing extensively throughout the

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, and

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, performing solo recitals and concerts in 30 countries, including the United States, Europe, Japan, Israel, and Australia. Since 1965, Auer has performed more than twenty tours in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

alone. According to his website, Auer has performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the Detroit, Atlanta, and Baltimore symphonies; NHK Tokyo; RIAS Orchestra Berlin; Orchestre National Paris; and many others.

Style

Auer is known to perform with a stoic demeanor. Herald Times music critic Peter Jacobi captures the essence of an Auer performance, "He plays with enviable force and clarity. The show of emotion so absent in his demeanor floods from his fingers."Jacobi, Peter. "A no-nonsense, almost combative approach of a master." ''Bloomington Herald-Times'' 2 Jul. 2008.

Recordings

Edward Auer has recorded for RCA Japan,

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Whe ...

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...

, Camerata, TownHall, and other labels. In November 2008, Auer released his latest recording ''Chopin Nocturnes vol. 1'' on his privately owned and independent label, Culture Demain Recordings. Auer's first recording has received praise from classical music critic Harris Goldsmith, who says of ''Chopin Nocturnes vol. 1'', "Auer’s eloquence and technical powers have deepened and attained additional communicative and interpretative mastery, but this new anthology undoubtedly takes an honored place alongside the greatest extant editions of these copiously recorded masterpieces, e.g. Rubinstein’s c. 1938 versions, Ivan Moravec’s, and Tamas Vasary’s—to name my few favorites."Goldsmith, Harris. "NY Concert Review of Nocturnes Vol. 1." ''New York Concert Review'' Dec. 2008. In multiple interviews, Auer has stated that ''Chopin Nocturnes vol. 1'' is the first of eight volumes that he will release in celebration of

's life. He has also said that the Chopin project is purposely timed to coincide with the bicentennial celebration of Chopin's birth in 2010.

Selected discography

* ''Chopin: Two Piano Concertos'', 2010, Bloomington, IN: Culture/Demain Recordings; with

Shanghai Quartet The Shanghai Quartet is a string quartet that formed in 1983. The quartet is made up of: first violinist Weigang Li, second violinist Angelo Xiang Yu, violist Honggang Li, and cellist Nicholas Tzavaras. On November 20, 2020 the ensemble announ ...

* ''Chopin: Nocturnes vol. 2 and Four Scherzi'', 2008, Bloomington, IN: Culture/Demain Recordings * ''Chopin: Nocturnes vol. 1'', 2007, Bloomington, IN: Culture/Demain Recordings * ''Chopin: The Complete Waltzes (19 Waltzes)'', 1999, New York: Camerata Tokyo * ''Chopin: Four Ballades'', 1989, New York: Camerata Tokyo

Notes

External links

* * Edward Auer at Allmusic
Edward Auer's biography at the Fryderyk Chopin Institute

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auer, Edward 1941 births 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male classical pianists American music educators Jacobs School of Music faculty Juilliard School alumni Living people Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners Musicians from New York City Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Pupils of Leonard Stein