Part of the Pianists of the World Series
Programme
John Knowles Paine – Romance Op 39
John Knowles Paine – Nocturne Op 45
John Knowles Paine – Four Characteristic Pieces Op 25
Barber – Sonata for Piano Op 26
Christopher Atzinger Piano
Performer
Praised in Gramophone for his “abundant energy, powerful fingers, big sound and natural musicality,” and in the San Francisco Chronicle for his “fervency and panache”, pianist Christopher Atzinger has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America, highlighted by recital performances at Carnegie Hall (New York), Salle Cortot (Paris), St. Martin-in-the-Fields (London), National Concert Hall (Dublin), American Academy (Rome), Liszt Museum (Budapest), Barocco Cultural Arts (Valletta), the Smithsonian Gallery of American Art and the Phillips Collection (Washington), and the Dame Myra Hess Series (Chicago). In addition to live performances broadcast on WFMT (Chicago), WJR (Detroit), KPAC (San Antonio), WXEL (West Palm Beach), WUOL (Louisville), WGTE (Toledo) and WFCR (New England), his artistry has been heard on American Public Media’s Performance Today, and on Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Vermont Public Radio. Mr. Atzinger has performed at the Banff, Brevard, Chautauqua, Mendocino and Bridge music festivals, lectured at the Juilliard School and Berklee College of Music, and has given masterclasses across the United States.
As a medalist of the New Orleans, San Antonio, Cincinnati, Shreveport, and Seattle International Piano Competitions, Atzinger has been praised by critics for his “personal interpretive vision” and “virtuoso aplomb”. He is also winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs Artist Competition, the Simone Belsky Piano Competition, and the Premio Città di Ispica prize at the IBLA Grand Prize Competition in Ragusa-Ibla, Italy in addition to receiving a McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists. He has recorded for Naxos, Centaur, and MSR Classics, and his sixth commercial recording, featuring piano works of John Knowles Paine, will be released in 2019 on the Delos label. Mr. Atzinger earned degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and University of Michigan, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Among his principal teachers he counts Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Anton Nel, David Renner and Carolyn Lipp.
More information at christopheratzinger.com.