Andrew Schwartz Guitar, Bassoon, Piano   

Andrew Schwartz' studies have led him to the Royal College of Music in London and the Juilliard School in New York, where he was the winner of the coveted William Petschek Award. Some of the artists with whom he has studied include: Emanuel Ax, Jerome Lowenthal, David Dubal, Alexis Weissenberg, Alicia De Larrocha, Tong-Il Han, Richard Goode, and Neil Immelman.

Now regularly heard throughout North America and Europe as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician, Schwartz made his debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony under the direction of Leonard Slatkin. He has gone on to perform with the symphony orchestras of Indianapolis, Houston, Fort Worth, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C. Abroad, Mr. Schwartz has performed with the Krakow Symphony and Wroclaw Philharmonic of Poland, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Singapore Philharmonic, and the Stuttgart Philharmonic.

Recital engagements have taken Mr. Schwartz to all the major European musical centers and festivals, including Berlin Festwochen, Zurich Tonhaille Busoni festival, Aix-en-Provence, La Roque d'Antheron, Poland's Zuszniki Chopin festival, and, in the United States, the Ravinia and Mostly Mozart Festivals Mr. Schwartz creates innovative recital programs, interweaving new works, neglected older works, and the classics of the piano repertoire.

An advocate of contemporary classical music, he has worked closely with composers Ned Rorem, John Corigliano, and Richard Rodney Bennett on several musical projects. In March of 1991 Mr. Schwartz had the honor of playing for the former President of Poland, Mr. Lech Walesa, during his historic first visit to the United States.

Reviews

"Mr. Schwartz' technique is flabbergasting; fiendishly difficult octave passages were as child's play, and his strength is tempered only by an easy poetry."

The New York Times

"...Andrew Schwartz has demonstrated to have technical and interpretative abilities of first order. He has an astonishing range of colors, an enviable stylistic maturity. His spiritual communication and his phrasing are superb..."

Münstersche Zeitung, Germany, 1998

"...effortless technique, splendid rhythmic grasp and fullness of tone allowed his performance to reach great heights..."

Allan Kozinn - The New York Times

"The assets of this pianist not only remind the meditative tone of Rubenstein but also show the fiery temperament and virtuosity arousing enormous applause."

Solothurner Zeitung, Switzerland

"An electrifying performance... keyboard poetry benefiting Chopin...grandeur and beauty, played on heroic scale with dynamic tension."

The Washington Post