Murray Perahia
From child prodigy to seasoned veteran: an in-sight into a master pianist
Personal life
Born in the Bronx, New York to a Jewish family on the 19th of April, 1947, Murray David Perahia’s groundbreaking skill at the piano earned him a reputation as one of the greatest pianists in history.
Perahia began learning the piano when he was only four. However, even from such an early age he considered his teaching “very limiting”. His teacher made the young boy repeat a piece of music until total perfection was achieved. Eventually, Perahia’s musical interests would expand as he turned 15. He explains this as the watershed moment where he began to practice and master his instrument seriously.
Two years later, Perahia attended the Mannes School of Music (formerly Mannes College) in Manhattan. While there, he studied keyboard, composition, and conducting under the watchful eye of Mieczysław Horszowski, who he considered a mentor. Perhaia’s incredible skill and talent would win him the top prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1965, helping build his reputation early on. But perhaps his greatest achievement was in 1972, when he became the first North American to top all contestants at the prestigious Leeds Piano Competition in England.
Career
A year after this award, Perahia would present his first concert at the Aldeburgh Festival, working closely with legendary composers Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears—accompanying the latter in a number of lieder recitals throughout his career. Due to his dedication to the craft, Perahia would eventually serve as co-artistic director of the Festival, a position he held from 1981 to 1989.
Perahia’s discography is as wide-spanning as his skill. Among the most notable was a limited box set edition released by Sony Classical featuring many of his most acclaimed recordings, titled The First 40 Years. He also recorded Brahms Händel Variations, a piece that helped him win a Gramophone Award in 2011. Furthermore, Perahia recorded his own versions of Chopin, Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, opp 14, 26, and 28, and Bach’s Partitas Nos. 1, 5, and 6. As a result of these prolific records, he has two Grammy Awards and multiple nominations to his name.
Due to his reputation as one of the world’s leading pianists, Perahia was invited to teach at the International Piano Academy Theo Lieven (formerly the International Piano Foundation Lake Como) to a select number of students. As a teacher, he has also given masterclasses at prestigious institutions like the Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, and Stanford University. Even today, he still conducts frequent masterclasses whenever he can…
