DR. KENNETH GARTNER
Pianist, Conductor, Teacher "Extraordinaire"
BIOGRAPHY
Kenneth Gartner began the study of the piano at the age of two and a half. He first studied with his mother and was to be a violinist. However, after breaking two violins, his mother decided on something sturdier. At eight he was a member of the Children’s Opera Company, singing children’s roles at the City Center, the Winter Garden, and the Metropolitan Opera. While a high school student at Staunton Military Academy in Virginia, he studied piano at Mary Baldwin College. At Cornell University, he worked with John Kirkpatrick (Charles Ives’ pianist) and majored in Music and followed with his graduate degree at the Juilliard School of Music where he studied with Adele Marcus and Edward Steuermann (Arnold Schoenberg’s pianist.) He also did work with Eugene List. His fourth degree is a Ph.D. in Performance from New York University.
Dr. Gartner has performed both formally
and informally in more than 50 countries and has had experiences ranging
from a command performance for the Mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to a
Masters Class in Piano in Shanghai, China. He was the first New York City
teacher to have performed in New York’s prestigious Town Hall.
Dr. Gartner spends most of his time teaching and conducting choruses and
orchestras. His prize winning choruses recently performed Haydn’s
Creation, Mozart’s and Brahms’ Requiems, and Beethoven’s
Choral Fantasie. His school choruses have gone on to win many prizes and
scholarships.
Despite a full teaching schedule, he continues to perform.
Here are some comments from various newspapers:
- The New York Times: "Mr. Gartner dispatched each work with admirable energy.…[He] brings genuine commitment to his playing….a rare ingredient." (Robert Sherman)
- The Cornell Daily Sun: "His playing [of Chopin’s Premier Ballade] was powerful and frightening."
- N.Y. Staats-Zeitung: "He played with sensitivity and delicacy [and] brought forth the undivided approbation of the entire house. He represents the unique combination of outstanding music teacher and virtuoso pianist." (F. Gutman)
- Berliner Zeitung (Berlin, Germany): "[His Ravel] was transformed into shimmering dream images and [his Liszt] was demonic." (K.W.)
- Het Binnenhof (The Hague, Netherlands): "He played Ravel like a master.…An outstanding pianist….Gartner intensely makes music." (K.S.)
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Last Update: January 1, 2003
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