Steinway & Sons welcomes Henry Kramer to its esteemed artist roster at his first faculty recital

Steinway & Sons welcomed Henry Kramer to its esteemed artist roster on February 11, 2019 at his first faculty recital at the Schwob School of Music - Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia

Henry Kramer adds the title of Steinway Artist to an extensive and growing collection of honors, a resume which already includes the 2015 William Petschek Recital Debut Award from The Juilliard School and Second Prize at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition.  Kramer now proudly joins the ranks of Steinway’s esteemed roster alongside such distinguished pianists as Martha Argerich, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Murray Perahia, Mitsuko Uchida, and Yuja Wang, as well as musical legends such as Vladimir Horowitz, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Arthur Rubinstein.

On February 11^th, Kramer performed his first faculty recital as the L. Rexford Whiddon Distinguished Chair of Piano at The Joyce and Henry Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. Showcasing his creative programmatic style and ability to convey a wide variety of colors and moods, the evening’s performance featured Romantic and 20^th-century works by Debussy, Ravel, Schubert, and Scriabin, including Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque (with its iconic movement “Clair de Lune”) and Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, widely considered to be Schubert’s most difficult work for solo piano.

About Henry Kramer

The winner of the 2015 William Petschek Recital Debut Award from The Juilliard School and the Second Prize winner of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition, pianist Henry Kramer’s performances have been praised by critics as “triumphant” and “thrilling” (The New York Times), and “technically effortless” (La Presse, Montreal) and the Philadelphia Inquirer deemed him "…a pianist of enormous talent” after his debut recital in 2018. A Maine native, Mr. Kramer has also earned top prizes in the 2015 Honens International Piano Competition, the 2011 Montreal International Music Competition, and the 6th China Shanghai International Piano Competition. He was also a prizewinner in the 8th National Chopin Competition in Miami and received the 2014 Harvard Musical Association Arthur Foote Award. He is a winner of Astral’s 2014 National Auditions.

Henry has appeared with the National Belgian Orchestra, Bilkent (Turkey) Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain, and the Brussels, Calgary, and Shanghai philharmonics. He has collaborated with conductors Marin Alsop, Stéphane Denève, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Hans Graf. In 2012, Henry gave his European debut in solo recital at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and made an unprecedented appearance in Havana, Cuba, as a cultural ambassador. Festival appearances include Verbier, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, and La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest.  Henry holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale School of Music. He currently serves as the L. Rexford Whiddon Distinguished Chair of Piano at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. Learn more at www.henrykramerpiano.com

About The Joyce and Henry Schwob School of Music:

A conservatory of music within a public university, the Schwob School is a community of artists committed to the highest standards of artistry and integrity within a selective and nurturing learning environment. The dedicated faculty of teaching artists embrace creative approaches to best practices in education, and provide professionally focused experiences preparing individuals to become leaders in the music field. The Jack and JoRhee Pezold Division of Keyboard Studies is a fully endowed program of distinction. Learn more www.music.columbusstate.edu

About Steinway & Sons

Since 1853, Steinway has set an uncompromising standard for sound, touch, and beauty. Because of a dedication to continuous improvement, today’s Steinway remains the choice of 9 out of 10 concert artists, and it is the preferred piano of countless musicians, professional and amateur, throughout the world. For more information, visit www.steinway.com.

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