Daniel Pollack
Encyclopedia
Daniel Pollack is an internationally renowned American pianist recognized for his signature colors in sound and over-the-edge thrilling virtuosity. Critics worldwide acclaim about "his astonishing pianism," Washington Post; "his dramatic tension, poignant lyricism," Diapason Magazine, Paris, France; and "his torrents of sound that turned feathery flurries of delicate sounds," Los Angeles Times.
at the age of nine, performing the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1
. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School
from the class of the legendary Rosina Lhévinne
. He also studied with Ethel Leginska and Lillian Steuber in Los Angeles. Pollack continued his graduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna
under a Fulbright scholarship with Bruno Seidlhofer, at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana
in Siena
, Italy with Guido Agosti
, and was selected as one of 12 pianists internationally to participate in a special Beethoven Master Class with the late Wilhelm Kempff
in Positano, Italy. While in Italy, he also attended masterclasses with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
.
in Moscow 1958. He subsequently concertized throughout the former Soviet Union and became the first American to record there for Melodiya
. Some of these recordings have been re-issued in Europe and the U.S. under several different labels.
Pollack's concert career has taken him across five continents – North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Highlight appearances as soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. include the New York Philharmonic
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
, Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra
, San Francisco Symphony
; and worldwide, Moscow State Philharmonic, St. Petersburg, Russia, London's Royal Philharmonic, Bergen Symphony, Norway, Seoul Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Bogotá, Colombia, Montevideo Symphony, among others.
Pollack has performed solo recitals in all the major music centers of the world including London's Royal Festival Hall
, Vienna's Musikverein, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw
, Buenos Aires' Teatro Colón, Seoul's Arts Center, Moscow's Bolshoi Zal, New York's Carnegie Hall
, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Los Angeles' Music Center. Additional highlights of Pollack's career include guest appearances at Tchaikovsky's home in Kline, Russia, performing on the composer's piano and at a joint session of the United States Congress in honor of President Harry Truman's Centennial.
He has also served on international competition juries including the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow as well as on the Queen Elizabeth in Brussels, the Maria Callas International Piano Competition in Athens, Greece; the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
, Salt Lake City; the Hamamatsu, and Sonoda Competitions in Japan; the UNISA in Pretoria, South Africa; the Prokofiev in St. Petersburg; and the Rachmaninoff Competition in Moscow.
Pollack has held visiting artist faculty positions including The Juilliard School, Columbia University
and the Yale School of Music
. Pollack is a Professor of Music at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California
.
and Liszt
and was met with critical acclaim. Pollack's CD "The Legendary Moscow Recordings of 1958 and 1961," released in 2002 on the Cambria label, feature Pollack's early performances drawn from the archived tapes of the Russian record label Melodya – records that sold in the millions throughout the former Soviet Union over several decades.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Pollack began his studies at the age of four and made his debut with the New York PhilharmonicNew York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
at the age of nine, performing the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Chopin)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, is a piano concerto written by Frédéric Chopin in 1830. It was first performed on 11 October of that year, in Warsaw, with the composer as soloist, during one of his "farewell" concerts before leaving Poland....
. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
from the class of the legendary Rosina Lhévinne
Rosina Lhévinne
Rosina Bessie Lhévinne was a Russian American pianist and famed pedagogue....
. He also studied with Ethel Leginska and Lillian Steuber in Los Angeles. Pollack continued his graduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
under a Fulbright scholarship with Bruno Seidlhofer, at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Classes in the major musical instruments as well as singing, conducting and composition...
in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, Italy with Guido Agosti
Guido Agosti
Guido Agosti was an Italian pianist and piano teacher.Agosti was born in Forlì in 1901. He studied piano with Ferruccio Busoni, Bruno Mugellini and Filippo Ivaldi, earning his diploma at age 13. He studied counterpoint under Benvenuti and literature at Bologna University. He commenced his...
, and was selected as one of 12 pianists internationally to participate in a special Beethoven Master Class with the late Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertory included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, both of whose complete sonatas he also...
in Positano, Italy. While in Italy, he also attended masterclasses with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was a virtuoso Italian classical pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, as well as one of the most important Italian pianists along with Ferruccio Busoni and Maurizio Pollini.-Biography:Born in Brescia, Italy, he began...
.
Career
Pollack won the bronze medal in the historic International Tchaikovsky CompetitionInternational Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
in Moscow 1958. He subsequently concertized throughout the former Soviet Union and became the first American to record there for Melodiya
Melodiya
Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...
. Some of these recordings have been re-issued in Europe and the U.S. under several different labels.
Pollack's concert career has taken him across five continents – North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Highlight appearances as soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. include the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
, San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
; and worldwide, Moscow State Philharmonic, St. Petersburg, Russia, London's Royal Philharmonic, Bergen Symphony, Norway, Seoul Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Bogotá, Colombia, Montevideo Symphony, among others.
Pollack has performed solo recitals in all the major music centers of the world including London's Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, Vienna's Musikverein, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
, Buenos Aires' Teatro Colón, Seoul's Arts Center, Moscow's Bolshoi Zal, New York's Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Los Angeles' Music Center. Additional highlights of Pollack's career include guest appearances at Tchaikovsky's home in Kline, Russia, performing on the composer's piano and at a joint session of the United States Congress in honor of President Harry Truman's Centennial.
He has also served on international competition juries including the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow as well as on the Queen Elizabeth in Brussels, the Maria Callas International Piano Competition in Athens, Greece; the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and is the second largest piano competition in the United States....
, Salt Lake City; the Hamamatsu, and Sonoda Competitions in Japan; the UNISA in Pretoria, South Africa; the Prokofiev in St. Petersburg; and the Rachmaninoff Competition in Moscow.
Pollack has held visiting artist faculty positions including The Juilliard School, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the Yale School of Music
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music is one of the twelve professional schools at Yale University and one of the premier music conservatories in the world....
. Pollack is a Professor of Music at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Discography
- RCM: COLORS: Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann
- Cambria Records, 1958 & 1961: Legendary Moscow Recordings
- NAXOS, Complete Piano Solo CD - Samuel Barber - Grammy Nomination
- Infinity Digital Sony Music Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 Nocturnes/Ballade
- FOUR WINDS, First Kiss - Romantic Piano Music for Love and Passion
- FOUR WINDS, Passionate Kiss - Romantic Piano Music
- MCA, "The Competition" film score: Prokofiev Concerto No. 3
Reception
Colors was released in 2007, and featured works by SchumannRobert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
and Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
and was met with critical acclaim. Pollack's CD "The Legendary Moscow Recordings of 1958 and 1961," released in 2002 on the Cambria label, feature Pollack's early performances drawn from the archived tapes of the Russian record label Melodya – records that sold in the millions throughout the former Soviet Union over several decades.