Ohlsson, Garrick (Olof)
Ohlsson, Garrick (Olof)
Ohlsson, Garrick (Olof) , talented American pianist; b. Bronxville, N.Y., April 3, 1948. At the age of 8, he became a pupil of Thomas Lishman at the Westchester (N.Y.) Cons. He entered the preparatory division of the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. in 1961 as a student of Sascha Gorodnitzki and later of Rosina Lhévinne (B.Mus., 1971); also studied privately with Olga Barabini and Irma Wolpe. He won the Busoni (1966) and Montreal (1968) competitions; then made his N.Y. recital debut on Jan. 5, 1970; later that year he gained international recognition when he became the first American pianist to win the prestigious quinquennial Chopin Competition in Warsaw. A Polish writer described Ohlsson as a “bear-butterfly” for his ability to traverse the entire spectrum of 18 dynamic degrees discernible on the modern piano, from the thundering fortississimo to the finest pianississimo, with reference also to his height (6 foot, 4 inches), weight (225 lbs.), and stretch of hands (an octave and a fifth in the left hand and an octave and a fourth in the right hand). Thereafter, Ohlsson pursued a distinguished global career. In 1994 he was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize. His interpretations are marked by a distinctive Americanism, technically flawless and free of Romantic mannerisms.
—Nicolas Slominsky/Laura Kaun/Dennis McIntire