Graham Johnson

Biography

British isles pianist Graham Johnson has generated a reputation as a respected accompanist through his collaborations using the world’s main vocal artists. Created in Rhodesia, Johnson went to the Royal Academy of Music in London. There he fulfilled accompanist Gerald Moore, whose impact was instrumental to Johnson’s personal profession. After graduation Johnson pursued further research with Geoffrey Parsons, another well known figure in the wonderful world of vocal accompaniment. Refreshing out of college, Johnson received a high-profile profession increase when tenor Peter Pears chosen him because the standard accompanist for his first get better at classes at Pears’ and Benjamin Britten’s annual Aldeburgh Event. During intervals when Britten — Pears’ longtime accompanist — was sick, Pears frequently asked Johnson as an alternative. In 1975 Walter Legge, the impresario and EMI information producer, chosen Johnson to accompany his wife, soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf. By this time around it was very clear that Johnson was on the right track to become probably one of the most prominent numbers in his field. Searching for creative new methods to explore the artwork track repertory, Johnson founded The Songmakers’ Almanac in 1976. Using the authorization and assistance of Gerald Moore, Johnson created the Almanac to search out neglected piano/vocal functions and build recitals incorporating many performers. For over 25 % of a hundred years Johnson prepared and followed over 150 Almanac recitals. Furthermore, he regularly offered summer time recital cycles for the London South Lender and Wigmore Hall series and was asked by Alte Oper of Frankfurt, Germany, to provide a seven-part routine of music on text messages by Goethe. One of is own most frequent companions was his Royal Academy classmate Felicity Lott. He in addition has partnered with a few of the most recognized singers of the next half of the 20th hundred years, including Victoria de la, Peter Schreier, Marjana Lipovsek, Felicity Palmer, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Elly Ameling, Tom Krause, Jessye Norman, Margaret Cost, Arlene Auger, and Brigitte Fassbaender. He’s most widely known internationally for his recordings of Schubert’s total lieder on Hyperion Information with such performers as Janet Baker, Philip Langridge, Stephen Varcoe, Thomas Hampson, Lucia Popp, Thomas Allen, Ian Bostridge, and several his regular collaborators. Johnson’s additional recordings are the tunes of Hahn, Bizet, Britten (including his realizations of Purcell), Gounod, Ireland, and Mendelssohn. His several honors consist of multiple Gramophone Single Vocal Honours. In 2002 he became a chevalier of France’s Purchase of Arts and Characters, and this year 2010 he was presented with an honorary regular membership within the Royal Philharmonic Culture. Johnson appears regularly around the BBC. Furthermore to performing a normal accompanist’s part, he has created and offered as presenter in applications explaining the tunes of Schubert, Poulenc, Liszt, and Shostakovich. He’s teacher of accompaniment at London’s Guildhall College of Music and it is a fellow of Guildhall and of the Royal Academy of Music. He offers given grasp classes in Finland, New Zealand, and america.

Quick Facts