Ursula Oppens
Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944 in New York ) is an American classical pianist.
Life
Ursula Oppens received her first piano lessons from her mother, Edith Oppens, a student of Anton Webern . She then took lessons from Leonard Shure , Guido Agosti and Rosina Lhévinne before attending Radcliffe College , where she studied English literature and economics. Then she returned to the Juilliard School to perfect her piano playing with Lhevinne. In 1969 she made her debut at Carnegie Recital Hall .
Oppens has an excellent reputation not only as an interpreter of the “standard” repertoire, but also as an interpreter of contemporary music . She has works by composers such as Luciano Berio , Elliott Carter , György Ligeti , Witold Lutosławski , Conlon Nancarrow , Christian Wolff , Frederic Rzewski , Erhard Grosskopf , John Harbison , Joan Tower , Tania León , Tobias Picker and Charles Wuorinen , but also by Anthony Braxton , Marty Ehrlich and Julius Hemphill premiered. She has played with many of the world's leading orchestras. She has also emerged as an improviser (with Derek Bailey , Phil Wachsmann and Julie Tippetts, among others ).
From 1994 onwards Ursula Oppens was Professor of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston (Illinois) . Since 2008 she has been a professor of music at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York .
Honourings and prices
In 1969 she won first prize at the “Busoni International Piano Competition”, and in 1970 she received an honorary diploma from the Accademia Chigiana . In 1976 she received the Avery Fisher Career Grant . Her album with Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! was nominated for a Grammy in 1979 and named "Record of the Year" by Record World. The album American Piano Music of Our Time also received a Grammy nomination. In 1999 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . She was also nominated for a Grammy in categories for classical instrumental solos for Oppens Plays Carter 2010 and for Winging It - Piano Music of John Corigliano 2012 .
Web links
- Ursula Oppens at Allmusic (English)
- Wergo over Oppens
- interview
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Oppens, Ursula |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American classical pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 2, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |