GARY GRAFFMAN

Gary Graffman has been a major figure in the music world since his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of eighteen. For the next three decades he toured almost constantly, playing the most demanding works in the piano literature. His numerous recordings with the orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland and Chicago under such conductors as Bernstein, Ormandy, Szell and Mehta include concertos by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Brahms, Chopin and Beethoven; they are still regarded as touchstones. In 1979, however, an injury to his right hand limited Mr. Graffman’s concertizing to the small body of music written for the left hand alone, and he joined the faculty of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. In 1986—exactly fifty years after entering Curtis as a seven-year-old student, Mr. Graffman was appointed director of that renowned all-scholarship conservatory, also serving as its president from 1995 to 2006. Now retired from administrative duties, Mr. Graffman remains on the Curtis faculty while continuing his active concert career as a one-handed pianist. In addition to major left-hand concertos by Ravel, Prokofiev, Britten, Strauss and Korngold, Mr. Graffman’s current repertoire includes six new concertos and one chamber music work commissioned for him as well as complete recitals for the left hand alone.

加里 • 葛拉夫曼

葛拉夫曼自18歲與費城交響樂團首演後，旅即成為古典音樂界寵兒。之後三十年，他孜孜不倦徜徉於音樂世界，鑽研要求最苟刻的樂章。他是世界知名樂團如紐約愛樂﹑費城交響樂團﹑克利夫蘭交響樂團﹑柏林愛樂、芝加哥交響樂團和波士頓交響樂團等爭相邀演的鋼琴家。合作過的著名指揮家包括倫納德•伯恩斯伯､祖賓•梅塔和尤金•奧曼第。這些表演的錄音專輯，至今仍被視為業內試金石。

1979年，正當葛氏事業如日中天之時，卻不幸傷及右手，之後他憑藉著過人的毅力和苦練，再度回到舞台，自此專攻所有特別為左手創作的鋼琴作品，並以此聞名於世。

葛氏七歲即入讀寇蒂斯音樂學院，五十年後，1986年，他再度回到母校，獲委任音樂學院獎學金總監一職。1995年至2006年期間，他更擔任寇蒂斯音樂學院院長一職，用心發掘及栽培下一代優秀音樂學子，數十年來桃李滿天下。

葛氏現已缷下行政職務，專心於寇蒂斯音樂院作育英才，與此同時，繼續他的左手鋼琴演奏生涯。除拉威爾的《左手鋼琴協奏曲》﹑普羅科菲 夫﹑布里頓﹑斯特勞斯和科恩戈爾德等大師作品，葛氏目前演奏的曲目包括有：六首全新協奏曲﹑一首特別為他創作的室樂和左手單獨演奏的完整獨奏樂曲。