Legendary Pianist Abbey Simon Performs in Naumburg "Looks Back" Concert Event

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Classical piano legend and Yamaha artist Abbey Simon performed a program of Chopin and Schumann music in "Naumburg Looks Back," a special concert presented on January 23 at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. Sponsored by the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation, the performance celebrated and commemorated the artist's victory of the 1941 Naumburg Piano Award.

The program included Schumann's Arabesque, Variations on the name "ABEGG" and Phantasie, Op. 17 as well as Chopin's Nocturne in F-Sharp Major and Sonata, Op. 58 in B Minor.

A native New Yorker, Mr. Simon began his training at the age of eleven at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music with Joseph Hofmann. He has performed with numerous orchestras throughout Europe and the United States. His credits include The New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Philharmonic, The San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and The Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Abbey Simon Plays Carnegie Hall

In Europe, Mr. Simon has worked with the most prominent conductors in the music industry, including Sir John Barbirolli, Joseph Krips, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Walter Susskind, Colin Davis, Antal Dorati, Rafael Kubelik, George Szell, Wilhelm von Otterloo, Dean Dixon, Massimo Freccia, Eduard van Beinum, Carlo Maria Giulini, Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, and Erich Leinsdorf.

Mr. Simon's albums for Philips, EMI, HMV and Vox make him one of the most recorded classical artists of all time. He has recorded all the concerti of Rachmaninoff, the complete works of Ravel, and Schumann's Carnaval and Fantasy. Ha Piano Virtuoso features transcriptions by Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Godowsky, and Chasins. His Chopin collection encompasses some 20 discs. Currently, Mr. Simon is a music professor at the University of Houston, Texas.

For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.