Martin Katz (born November 27, 1944) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pianist, educator and conductor, primarily known for his work as an accompanist. Over his 30 years as a performer, Mr. Katz has accompanied such stars as

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Handel, Mozart, Rossini and Vivaldi, as well as for her ...

Kathleen Battle Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances ...

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

, Sylvia McNair,

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...

Karita Mattila Karita Marjatta Mattila (born 5 September 1960) is a Finnish operatic soprano. Mattila appears regularly in the major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Bastill ...

, David Daniels,

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...

Samuel Ramey Samuel Edward Ramey (born March 28, 1942) is an American operatic bass. At the height of his career, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique to enable him to sing t ...

, and

Piotr Beczała Piotr Beczała (Polish pronunciation: ); born 28 December 1966) is a Polish operatic tenor with an international career based primarily in Europe and the United States. He has performed in the world's leading opera houses including Metropolitan ...

.Biography from Allmusic, by Joseph Stephenson Editions of Baroque and bel canto operas prepared by Katz have been performed at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, the Houston Grand Opera, and

Opera Lyra Ottawa Opera Lyra Ottawa (OLO) was a non-profit professional opera company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1984 by Canadian soprano Diana Gilchrist after the demise of the National Arts Centre's annual summer opera productions. The co ...

.University of Michigan faculty biography Musical America's "Accompanist of the Year" in 1998, Katz currently teaches collaborative piano at the

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded by Calvin Brainerd ...

. He is the author of the book, ''The Complete Collaborator: The Pianist as Partner.'' From 1966 to 1969, Mr. Katz was in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and was assigned to The

United States Army Band The United States Army Band, also known as "Pershing's Own", is the premier musical organization of the United States Army, founded in 1922. There are currently nine official performing ensembles in the unit: The U.S. Army Concert Band, The U.S. A ...

(Pershing's Own) in Washington, DC. He served as piano soloist and accompanist with the United States Army Chorus. He is a member of

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

, a professional music fraternity that he joined while working towards his undergraduate degree at The

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, where he studied the field of accompanying with its pioneering teacher, Gwendolyn Koldofsky.Delta Omicron
Katz is an alumnus of the

Music Academy of the West The Music Academy is a classical music training program in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California. Overview The academy hosts an annual eight-week summer music festival, highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composer ...

Discography

* ''Frederica von Stade: Song Recital'', Columbia, 1978 * ''Frederica von Stade: Shéhérazade'', Columbia, 1981 * ''Frederica von Stade Live!'', Columbia, 1982 * ''Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song'', RCA Victor Red Seal, 1994 * ''Frederica von Stade: Voyage à Paris '', RCA Victor Red Seal, 1995

References

1945 births American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists Living people Classical accompanists University of Michigan faculty USC Thornton School of Music alumni 20th-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists Music Academy of the West alumni {{US-pianist-stub