Joseph Banowetz

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Joseph Banowetz (Born: USA) American-born pianist, pedagogue, author and editor, currently teaching at the University of North Texas. Joseph Banowetz has been described by Fanfare Record Review (USA) as "a giant among keyboard artists of our time", by Russia's News (Moscow) as "a magnificent virtuoso, who amazed the public by his deep understanding of the composer's spirit", and by Ruch Muzyczny (Warsaw) as "a virtuoso in the noblest sense of the word." In 1992, he was awarded the Liszt Medal by the Hungarian Liszt Society in Budapest, in recognition of his outstanding performances of F. Liszt and the Romantic literature and is acknowledged as one of the greatest living experts on the music of the Russian Romantic Composer, Anton Rubinstein. Joseph Banowetz is an official Steinway Artist.

1 1. Biography:
2 2. Publications and Editions:
3 3. Distinguished Jurist and Teacher:
4 4. Activities in China:
5 5. Recordings:
6 6. External Links:

[edit] 1. Biography:

The American pianist, Joseph Banowetz, studied first in in New York City with Carl Friedberg, a pupil of Clara Schumann. He continued his studies at the Vienna Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, where György Sándor, a pupil of Béla Bartók, was among his teachers. He graduated with a First Prize in piano performance, then being sent by the Austrian government on an extended European concert tour.

Joseph Banowetz has been heard as recitalist and orchestral soloist on five continents, with performances in recent seasons with such orchestras as the St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) Philharmonic, the Moscow State Symphony, the Prague and Bratislava Radio Orchestras, the Budapest Symphony, the New Zealand Symphony (on a twelve-concert national tour), the Beijing Central Philharmonic, Barcelona Concert Society Orchestra, and the Shanghai Symphony in addition to several recitals in New Delhi and Mumbai India.

In December 2007, Banowetz, along with pianist and UNT alumnus Alton Chung Ming Chan, received the nomination for Best Chamber Music Performance for "30 Songs of the Russian People" on the album "Balakirev and Russian Folksong (available on Toccata Classics Toccata Classics TOCC 0018).

[edit] 2. Publications and Editions:

Joseph Banowetz is also internationally recognized as an author and editor. His book The Pianist's Guide to Pedaling (Indiana University Press, USA) has to date been printed in five languages and is universally recognized as the authoritative reference on the history and art of piano pedaling. Many of his piano editions have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Japanese and include:

1. The Pianist's Book of Early Contemporary Treasures (published by Neil A. Kjos)

2. Franz Liszt: An Introduction to the Composer and His Music (published by Neil A. Kjos)

3. Johann Sebastian Bach: An Introduction to the Composer and his Music (published by Neil A. Kjos)

4. Mily Balakirev: Islamy and Other Favorite Russian Piano Works (published by Dover)

5. Leopold Godowsky: Miniatures (for Piano, Four Hands - with Alton Chung Ming Chan) (3 volumes - published by Alfred Music) as well as editions of music by Chopin, Rubinstein, Schumann, Rachmaninoff and Debussy

[edit] 3. Distinguished Jurist and Teacher:

Banowetz has served on major piano juries such as the Arthur Rubinstein Master Piano Competition (Israel), the Scottish International Piano Competition (Glasgow), the Belarussian International Piano Competition (Minsk), the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition (USA), the 2001 World Piano Competition (USA) and the Antonin Dvorak International Piano Competition (Czech Republic). Banowetz has been invited to teach and lecture at many schools, including the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the Juilliard in New York City, London's Royal College and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Artmúsic Escola de Música I Dansa of Barcelona , the Chopin Academy of Warsaw, Hong Kong's Academy for Performing Arts, and the national conservatories of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. To date, he has concertized in 30 countries worldwide, with most recent performances at festivals in the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

Students of Joseph Banowetz have been awarded important national and international competition prizes, including first prizes at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (U.S.), Shreveport Symphony International Piano Competition (U.S.), Missouri Southern International Piano Competition (U.S.), Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, and McMahan International Piano Competition (U.S.). Other awards have been received at such competitions as the Minsk (Belarus) International Piano Competition, the Varna (Bulgaria) International Orchestral Soloist Competition, and the Louisiana International Piano Competition (U.S.). Several of his students have been recorded on internationally distributed commercial compact disc recordings. His former student, Petronel Malan, received a Grammy nomination from the Recording Academy (U.S.) for her recording "Transfigured Bach" on the Hänssler Classic label.

[edit] 4. Activities in China:

Following his first concerts in Asia in 1981, Banowetz's tours there have received ever-increasing enthusiastic response. In 1984, he was honored with being the first foreign artist ever to be invited by the Chinese Ministry of Culture both to record and to give world première performances of a contemporary Chinese piano concerto (Piano Concerto, Op. 25b by Huang An-lun). Banowetz has recorded with the CSR Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the China Central Opera Orchestra of Beijing. Banowetz has visited the People's Republic of China 11 times since 1983 both to perform and for master-classes. He has been soloist with such orchestras in China as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Beijing Central Philharmonic, the Beijing Central Opera Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony, and the Guangzhou Philharmonic. In 1985 Banowetz was honored once again by the Shenyang Conservatory in being named "Permanent Visiting Professor". His book on pedaling (See above) has been translated into Chinese and published by the Shanghai Music Publishing House and is scheduled for its second Chinese edition.

[edit] 5. Recordings:

Joseph Banowetz has recorded twenty-five compact discs for the Naxos, Marco Polo, Toccata Classics, Warner Brothers, and Altarus labels, these including the the Grammy Nominated recording of Balakirev's "Thirty Songs of the Russian People" (with Alton Chung Ming Chan), Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1, Franz Liszt Concertos and Totentanz, d'Albert Concertos, world-premiere recordings of all eight of the Anton Rubinstein piano and orchestra works, and solo repertory of J.S. Bach, Ferruccio Busoni, Balakirev, Chopin, Debussy, Leopold Godowsky, F. Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, Schumann, Rubinstein and Stevenson. His recordings of the Rubinstein orchestra and piano series was named by Fanfare Record Review (USA) as an outstanding international release for 1993, and a similar citation was given in 1987 by the German Music Critics Association for his world-premiere recording of works by Balakirev. Recently, Naxos has released Banowetz's recordings of the complete F. Liszt transcriptions of lieder by Robert and Clara Schumann, Chopin and F. Mendelssohn, Rubinstein's 24 Kamennoy-ostrow, and both piano concertos of Eugen d'Albert with the Moscow Symphony.