Heather O'Donnell
Encyclopedia
Heather O'Donnell is an American classical pianist
, currently living in Berlin, Germany.
and Peter Serkin
. She also worked closely with Yvonne Loriod
, Emanuel Ax
, and Claude Helffer
. O'Donnell took several courses in Philosophy and Literature at the New School for Social Research and Columbia University
, and was the teaching assistant of philosopher Paul Edwards
at the New School for Social Research.
O'Donnell moved from New York City
to Berlin in November 2002. She lives in Berlin with her husband, composer Oliver Schneller
. She is a Steinway
Artist.
, Charles Ives
's- Concord Sonata, and Maurice Ravel
's Gaspard de la Nuit
). She gave premieres of solo piano works (including pieces by Luciano Berio
, Walter Zimmermann
, James Tenney
, Michael Finnissy
, Frederic Rzewski
, Hauke Harder
, and Oliver Schneller
). She has a strong affinity for the music of American composer Charles Ives
, and has played and recorded his piano works extensively. She was the artistic director of commissioning projects including "Responses to Ives" and "Piano optophonique".
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, currently living in Berlin, Germany.
Life
She began studying piano at the age of five, her most influential teachers were Charles Milgrim, Stephen DruryStephen Drury
Stephen Drury is an American pianist, conductor and electronic musician.Drury has performed and recorded a range of compositions by classical and contemporary composers including Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, John Cage, Frederic Rzewski, and John Zorn...
and Peter Serkin
Peter Serkin
-Biography:He was born in New York City and is the son of pianist Rudolf Serkin, and grandson of the influential violinist Adolf Busch, whose daughter Irene had married Rudolf Serkin...
. She also worked closely with Yvonne Loriod
Yvonne Loriod
Yvonne Loriod was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.-Life:...
, Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
, and Claude Helffer
Claude Helffer
Claude Helffer was a French pianist noted particularly for his advocacy of 20th-century music.-Biography:...
. O'Donnell took several courses in Philosophy and Literature at the New School for Social Research and 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 was the teaching assistant of philosopher Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards (philosopher)
Paul Edwards, born Paul Eisenstein, was an Austrian American moral philosopher.-Life and career:Edwards was born in Vienna in 1923 to assimilated Jewish parents, the youngest of three brothers....
at the New School for Social Research.
O'Donnell moved from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Berlin in November 2002. She lives in Berlin with her husband, composer Oliver Schneller
Oliver Schneller
Oliver Martin Schneller is a German composer and saxophonist.-Life:Schneller grew up in Ireland, Sudan, Belgium and the Philippines...
. She is a Steinway
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
Artist.
Career
O'Donnell plays works from the 18th-21st century, e.g. J.S. Bach's Goldberg VariationsGoldberg Variations
The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form...
, Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
's- Concord Sonata, and Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Gaspard de la Nuit
Gaspard de la nuit
Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand is a piece for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, written in 1908. It has three movements, each based on a poem by Aloysius Bertrand...
). She gave premieres of solo piano works (including pieces by Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
, Walter Zimmermann
Walter Zimmermann
Walter Zimmermann is a German composer.Zimmermann studied composition in Germany with Werner Heider and Mauricio Kagel, the theory of musical intelligence at the Institute of Sonology in Utrecht , and computer music at Colgate University in New York.Zimmerman's works are infused by a personal...
, James Tenney
James Tenney
James Tenney was an American composer and influential music theorist.-Biography:Tenney was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Arizona and Colorado. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School of Music, Bennington College and the University of Illinois...
, Michael Finnissy
Michael Finnissy
Michael Finnissy is an English composer and pianist. His music is characterised by the range of extremes often found in his work; opposing binary structures are found commonly, often seen as juxtaposing textures, register and tempi...
, Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski is an American composer and virtuoso pianist.- Biography :Rzewski began playing piano at age 5. He attended Phillips Academy, Harvard and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt...
, Hauke Harder
Hauke Harder
Hauke Harder is a German composer and experimental physicist.- Life :Harder received a PhD in Chemistry, and works at the Institute for Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.In 1989, he studied with Wolfgang von Schweinitz, a New Simplicity...
, and Oliver Schneller
Oliver Schneller
Oliver Martin Schneller is a German composer and saxophonist.-Life:Schneller grew up in Ireland, Sudan, Belgium and the Philippines...
). She has a strong affinity for the music of American composer Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, and has played and recorded his piano works extensively. She was the artistic director of commissioning projects including "Responses to Ives" and "Piano optophonique".