Alan Gampel, Pianist

Biography, 2002

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 Born into an artistic family that includes the legendary harpsichordist Wanda Landowska, Alan Gampel made his debut playing Beethoven variations at the age of seven at the Hollywood Bowl. He was honored with The Special Award in the Arts from UNICEF at age eight and with the Presidential Scholars Award at the White House at age sixteen. He went on to graduate from Stanford University at age nineteen and, after completing a graduate degree at the University of Southern California, Alan Gampel moved to Paris. Auditions for eminent musicians including Sir Georg Solti, Yehudi Menuhin and Daniel Barenboim led to studies and performances throughout Europe.   

In 1995, Alan Gampel received the coveted Chopin Prize at the Artur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Israel. Among his other awards, he received a top prize at the Naumburg International Piano Competition in New York and was unanimously awarded the Special Mozart Bicentenary Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition in 1991.

Alan Gampel's performances include engagements with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Irish National Symphony, and Czech Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared in recital in the United States at the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, at Chicago's Ravinia Festival, in New York's Frick Collection Series and Mostly Mozart Festival; in London at Wigmore Hall, in Paris at the Theatre du Chatelet, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Auditorium du Louvre, and Musee d'Orsay, in Rome at the Teatro Ghione, in Istanbul on the International Pianist Series.

During the 1999-2000 season, Alan Gampel gave an extensive international recital tour celebrating Chopin's 150th anniversary. He incorporated numerous informal appearances at public schools in conjunction with this tour. Over the years, Gampel's passion for introducing classical music to young people has led him to make these voluntary children's concerts a staple of his tours. He recently created the Joy2Learn Foundation, dedicated to bringing the fine arts into classrooms across America over the Internet.

Alan Gampel's 2002-03 season includes recital tours focusing on Russian and American music, and appearances with orchestras performing Liszt's arrangement of Schubert's "Wanderer-Fantaisie" and Liszt's "Malediction". In 2003-04, Gampel will dedicate his recital tours to programs focusing on the life and music of Schumann and to programs based on the early 20th century departure from tonality including works by Debussy, Scriabin and the "Concord" Sonata by Charles Ives.

U.S. Contact: Alan Gampel, (917) 806-4200
Email: pianist@gampel.com