Grant Johannesen (July 30, 1921 – March 27, 2005) was an American pianist.

Biography

Johannesen was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

and discovered at the age of five by a teacher who lived across the street. He imitated whatever he heard her play, and she did not appreciate it. He studied with

Robert Casadesus Robert Marcel Casadesus (7 April 1899 – 19 September 1972) was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, ...

Egon Petri Egon Petri (23 March 188127 May 1962) was a Dutch pianist. Life and career Petri's family was Dutch. He was born a Dutch citizen but in Hanover, Germany, and grew up in Dresden, where he attended the Kreuzschule. His father, a professional vio ...

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

, and

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

. He made his Manhattan recital debut when he was 23, and won the Concours International when he was 28. He toured extensively, both with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

under

Dmitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

, and as a solo performer. His performances in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

were especially well received. He was once encored 16 times. He was known as an interpreter of French piano music and recorded the complete piano works of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

. He served as director of the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...

from 1974 to 1985. He was a frequent soloist with both the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...

and the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...

. He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, an international professional music fraternity. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of music degree from the Hartt School, University of Hartford in 1993. Johannesen was married to the Juilliard-trained composer

Helen Taylor Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor (''née'' Windsor; born 28 April 1964) is a relative of the British royal family. She is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Katharine, Duchess of Kent, and a great-granddaughter of George V. Early l ...

(whose works for piano were among his recordings) from 1943 until her death in an automobile accident in 1950. He was married to his second wife, the cellist

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(with whom he sometimes performed), from 1963 until their divorce in 1973. From his first marriage, he had a son, David Johannesen. He died in 2005 at the age of 83 in Germany, where he had been visiting friends. The New York Times reported that he died "near Munich" and another source said "near Garmisch in Bavaria." In their obituaries, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Associated Press, citing his lifelong friend Elisabeth von Rummelhoff, reported that he died in Berlin. The Mormon Artists Group (directed by

Glen Nelson Glen Nelson is an American poet, librettist, publisher, writer, and a ghostwriter of several ''New York Times'' nonfiction bestsellers. He wrote the libretto for ''The Book of Gold'', an opera about Joseph Smith publishing the Book of Mormon. He i ...

), with which he was a collaborator, also announced that he died in Berlin. After his death, David Johannesen completed the manuscript of Grant Johannesen's autobiography, wrote its foreword, and worked together with Peter DeLafosse at the

University of Utah Press The University of Utah Press is the independent publishing branch of the University of Utah and is a division of the J. Willard Marriott Library. Founded in 1949 by A. Ray Olpin, it is also the oldest university press in Utah. The mission of th ...

to shepherd the book "Journey of an American Pianist" through its publication in 2007. Johannesen was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Musical Compositions by LDS Composers in NYC Collections
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johannesen, Grant 1921 births 2005 deaths Johannsen, Grant Johannsen, Grant Johannsen, Grant Latter Day Saints from Utah Cleveland Institute of Music faculty Piano pedagogues Pupils of Egon Petri 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians