Gary Graffman Collection

"One of the greatest living pianists." So stated Newsweek about Gary Graffman. Accolades such as this have followed Graffman throughout his professional career, a career that has encompassed over 30 years and made him a worldwide celebrity.

Born in New York City on October 14, 1928, Graffman showed a natural talent for the piano, beginning lessons at age three. When he was seven, Graffman was accepted by the all-scholarship Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. For the next 10 years, he studied with the well-known pedagogue Madame Isabelle Vengerova. Following his graduation from Curtis, he studied for several years with Vladimir Horowitz and, during summers, with Rudolf Serkin. In 1947, Graffman made his debut with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. Two years later, he won the prestigious Leventritt Award, which led to his debut with the New York Philharmonic, directed by Leonard Bernstein. During 1950, he studied in Europe as a Fulbright Scholar.

Until 1979, Gary Graffman maintained a professional career as a concert pianist, appearing with every major orchestra in the United States and recording for RCA and Columbia. His schedule of concerts and recitals, which numbered as many as 100 per year, found him traversing North America, Central and South America, Europe, the U.S.S.R., Australia and Asia.

In 1979, an ailment to his right hand interrupted Graffman's intense performance schedule. He has subsequently limited his performing to repertoire composed exclusively for the left hand. In addition, he has written his autobiography, "I Really Should Be Practicing" (1981, Doubleday).

During the summer of 1986, Graffman became the Artistic Director of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Prior to this appointment, he was on the Curtis faculty as well as that of the Manhattan School of Music in New York.