Murray Perahia

Murray Perahia KBE (born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor.

Murray Perahia was born in New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin.[1] According to the biography on his Mozart piano sonatas CD, his first language was Judaeo-Spanish. The family was from Thessaloniki, Greece. His father moved to the United States in 1935.[1]

In 1965, Perahia won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In 1972, he was the first North American to win first prize at the Leeds Piano Competition.[2]

Awards

Seventh International Schumann Festival

  • 2000 Robert Schumann Society Claudio Arrau Memorial Medal

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance

  • 1989 Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)

  • 2003 Chopin: Études, Opp. 10, 25
  • 1999 Bach: English Suites Nos. 1, 3 and 6

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Expanding the Love of Music
  2. "Previous Winners" Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, Leeds International Piano Competition Official Website, 2006. Accessed June 3, 2007.