Hi PSC Family,
Our delving into the history of Peoples' Symphony Concerts, as we are about to celebrate our 125th season, has yielded memorable stories and generational connections about the legendary artists who have played for us in the past. Today we look at the instrument that is many peoples' favorite - the piano.
Among the pianists who played for us in the early years was the Polish pianist Mieczyslaw Munz, a student of Ferruccio Busoni. A sought-after soloist into the 1940s, he appeared with the “Big Five” regularly, under such conductors as Koussevitsky, Walter, Reiner, until a hand injury ended his performing career.
His career and influence continued as a teacher. Some 50 years after Munz played with PSC, his student Emanuel Ax made his own PSC debut. And the legacy continued 40 years later still, when in 2019 Ax’s student Shai Wosner became our invaluable Resident Artist.
Since 2019, Wosner has performed captivating concerts at PSC, including two remarkable commissioning projects. He returns to the Salomon Series in the 24-25 season, in recital with the great lieder singer Benjamin Appl, in a program of Schubert and a new work by David Lang to celebrate the centenary of the iconic Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Many of the best pianists of their day played for PSC and you can check out a list of them here!