Redevelopment of Norris University Center’s East Lawn to begin this summer
April 5, 2024
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University will welcome world-renowned pianist and 2014 Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance winner Garrick Ohlsson to campus for two master classes and a Q&A session.
Ohlsson’s campus visit will be hosted by Northwestern’s Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music.
The Bienen School’s Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance honors pianists who have achieved the highest levels of national and international recognition. It is made possible by a generous gift from Jean Gimbel Lane and the late Honorable Laurence W. Lane Jr. Jean Gimbel Lane is a 1952 graduate of Northwestern University who majored in art history. Ohlsson received a $50,000 cash reward and will spend two to three non-consecutive weeks in residency at the Bienen School.
During the first portion of Ohlsson’s residency this March, the Bienen School will host the following events. All three programs are free and open to the public. They will take place at Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place, on Northwestern’s Evanston campus.
Garrick Ohlsson Events
• 7 p.m. Monday, March 2 -- Ohlsson will lead a piano master class featuring Bienen School student pianists. Sean Yeh will perform Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasie; Jialiang Wu will perform Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 106, movements I and II; and EunAe Lee will play Chopin’s Ballade No. 4.
• 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 -- Ohlsson will lead a chamber music master class. He will coach accomplished students from the Bienen School who will perform Beethoven’s Trio, Op. 70, Nos. 1 (first movement) and 2.
• Noon, Wednesday, March 4 -- Ohlsson will hold a Q&A session for Bienen School students that will be moderated by faculty member James Giles, associate professor of piano and director of music performance graduate studies. Possible discussion topics will include Ohlsson’s practice regimen, maintaining different repertoire simultaneously, repertoire choices, technical work done in student years and early artistic influences.
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson
Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a leader in technical and interpretive piano since becoming the only American to ever win the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition. Since then, he has performed all-Chopin programs at the Ravinia and Tanglewood festivals, and appeared on stages in Taipei, Beijing, Melbourne and Sydney.
Ohlsson also was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 1994. He also received the 1998 University Musical Society Distinguished Artist Award and a 2008 Grammy Award. He is known for his performances of classical works by Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, along with later Romantic repertoire.
For more information, call the Bienen School of Music Concert Management Office at 847- 491-5441 or visit www.pickstaiger.org.
Arts Circle Drive
Northwestern’s Arts Circle Drive has reopened for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The road, drive-up handicap access to Arts Circle Drive venues, the pedestrian path at the lakefront and all sidewalks are now open for public use. New improvements to the South Beach Garage have also eliminated the need to use the stairways since both levels of the two-story parking structure are now accessible to persons with disabilities for easy access to Bienen School of Music venues. Additional parking is also available in the new Segal Visitors Center at 1841 Sheridan Road. For more information, call 847-491-5441 or visit www.pickstaiger.org.
