Ursula Oppens, pianist

2010 has been busy for URSULA OPPENS; she began the year with a Grammy nomination for her disc of Elliott Carter's complete (so far) solo piano music. Although she didn't take the statue home, she did attend the ceremony and enjoyed the glamor and excitement of the live performances (Pink was a personal favorite!)

This month heard her in recital for the Van Cliburn Foundation, playing a program of American works, including pieces by Bolcom, Carter, Corigliano, Picker and Julius Hemphill: “One of the foremost interpreters of contemporary classical music...Throughout, Oppens played with authority and panache." - THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, Feb. 22, 2010

In March she plays recitals for Music Toronto, Baylor University and in Amsterdam, and visits Harvard University as the Blodgett Distinguished Artist, coaching and lecturing. (February 2010)

Congratulations on the GRAMMY nomination for her album of Elliott Carter's complete piano music, Oppens plays Carter.

In a very personal project, Ursula Oppens recorded Elliott Carter's complete piano works (so far!) to celebrate his 100th birthday last year. She performed the program live throughout 2008, honoring her friend and colleague, Mr. Carter. "This is not easy fare, but Oppens embraces it almost rapturously. Among her many gifts is the sense of unity she confers on this disparate collection, shunning chronological order in favour of a sequence that both makes dramatic sense and leads the willing pilgrim into the eye of a hurricane. Her reading of Carter’s pointillistic tribute to Goffredo Petrassi on his 90th birthday prepares us for Retrouvailles (a birthday gift for Pierre Boulez), and for the deceptive simplicity of Two Diversions. Thence to the craggy peaks of Night Fantasies, which the pianist scales with an intuitive feeling for destination and a formidable technique that allows no expressive possibility to elude her." - The Financial Times, Dec. 10, 2008 on Oppens' live performance of the program at San Francisco Performances

Click here for listening samples of the disc. (January 2010)

This month pianist URSULA OPPENS continued her celebrations of friend and colleague Elliott Carter, playing a recital of solo piano works at San Francisco Performaces.  The program praise from Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Oppens‘ steely fingers and tender, inviting sense of lyricism infused the pieces on her program with athleticism and grace."

And from Allan Ulrich for the Financial Times, "This is not easy fare, but Oppens embraces it almost rapturously. Among her many gifts is the sense of unity she confers on this disparate collection, shunning chronological order in favour of a sequence that both makes dramatic sense and leads the willing pilgrim into the eye of a hurricane...[she has] an intuitive feeling for destination and a formidable technique that allows no expressive possibility to elude her." (Dec.10, 2008)

In addition, Ursula's new Cedille album of the complete (2007) solo piano works of Mr. Carter is a popular and critical hit - the New York Times just named it one of the best recordings of 2008.

And though Mr. Carter's birthday was December 11, the music most definitely continues - listen for the European premiere of the Carter Clarinet Quintet by the JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET with Charles Neidich, at the Berlin Konzerthaus on March 26, 2009.  (The JSQ and Mr. Neidich performed the world premiere last April at the Juilliard School.)

(December 2008)

Pianist URSULA OPPENS made her Walt Disney Hall debut last month with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a Green Umbrella Series concert, performing a world premiere concerto by Harold Meltzer, as well as Elliott Carter's "Dialogues":

"Pianist Ursula Oppens, one of the most persuasive of Carter performers, was the commanding soloist...[she] gave every phrase drama and clear definition." Mark Swed, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, March 28, 2008.

Ms. Oppens performs the complete solo piano works of Mr. Carter in recital this year, with recent outings in Madrid and at SymphonySpace in New York and a featured spot in San Francisco Performances' special Elliott Carter Centenary Celebration (December 6 & 7, 2008.)

Other appearances include a William Bolcolm world premiere, "Ballade" at Merkin Hall as part of the Grand Piano Marathon; recitals in San Diego and Los Angeles; a return to Ravinia for a recital as part of the Festival's Elliott Carter centenary celebrations, and a reunion with Mark Morris Dance Group for "Mozart Dances" in Toronto and in New Zealand. (April 2008)

This month singular pianist URSULA OPPENS kicks off Elliott Carter's 100th birthday year with performances of his complete solo piano works in recital at New York City's SymphonySpace and in Madrid, Spain. She also appears this month at the newly re-opened Merkin Hall, as part of the Grand Piano Marathon, where she'll perform the world-premiere of William Bolcolm's "Ballade."

In March, Ms. Oppens joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a Green Umbrella concert, performing Carter's "Dialogues" and the world premiere of Harold Meltzer's new piano concerto. Other upcoming highlights include recitals in San Diego and LA, a reunion with Mark Morris Dance Group for Mozart Dances at the MacMillan Theater in Toronto, and a recital at Ravinia as part of the Festival's Elliott Carter centenary celebration. (January 2008)

Dynamic pianist URSULA OPPENS wrapped up a stellar summer with Mark Morris Dance Group at Ravinia in the sublime Mozart Dances. These "ravishing, flawless performances" (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/27/07) are a perfect example of Ms. Oppens' distinctive collaborative artistry, characterized by her years of inspiration to and dialogue with some of the greatest composers the times. The dialogue continues this month as she records the complete piano works of Tobias Picker (in collaboration with the composer,) in New York City. Other upcoming dates include a featured appearance at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's wonderfully popular Green Umbrella New Music Series (performing the world premiere of Harold Meltzer's Piano Concerto,) and a special performance of friend and musical comrade Elliott Carter's complete solo piano works at New York City's SymphonySpace. Ms. Oppens carries this program throughout 2008, in honor of Mr. Carter's 100th birthday year. (September 2007)

Ursula Oppens finished the 05/06 season with sublime performances at the Pacific Symphony's American Composer's Festival. The festival, which honored Lou Harrison, featured Ms. Oppens in Cowell's piano works, Harrison's Grand Duo and, as the centerpiece of the festival, Harrison's Piano Concerto, a performance that Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times proclaimed "a half-hour of heaven." Upcoming dates this season include performances of Shostakovich, the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5, Carter, Nancarrow, Picker, Ligeti and Hemphill. (August 2006)

Perhaps no pianist is more renowned for her prowess and interpretation of new music than Ursula Oppens. Her formidable technique, probing intelligence and expressive musicianship illuminate the contemporary scene, making her a favorite of composers around the world. Her contributions to the St. Paul Chamber Orchetra¹s Elliot Carter Festival this spring were doubly enhanced by her longstanding cooperation and working friendship with Mr. Carter. This summer Ms. Oppens joins the Pacific Symphony in a series of concerts remembering American composer Lou Harrison. (April 2006)

Tanglewood Music Center's 4-day Festival of Contemporary Music kicked off on August 4th with Ursula Oppens playing the delightful "Dialogues" for piano and chamber ensemble of young TMC Fellows conducted by Ingo Metzmacher. Elliott Carter, pictured here with the artist outside Ozawa Hall prior to the performance, joined all on stage for several curtain calls. Allan Kozinn wrote in the New York Times, "... Ursula Oppens played with the right balance of sparkle and deep focus." Oppens repeats "Dialogues" at Northwestern University on October 22nd, other season highlights are the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Carter Festival next March and the Pacific Symphony Lou Harrison Festival in May. (September 2005)

Three concerts in New York City - in three weeks time - for three rave reviews from the New York Times - pianist URSULA OPPENS has pulled off a musical "hat trick"! When Ms. Oppens first came to Cooper Union to play the solo piano part in Liszt's choral work "Via Crucis", she gave "a powerful performance - like great bells muffled in velvet." Returning to Cooper Union for the "Celebrating Luciano Berio" concert, playing the New York premiere of Berio's 2001 Piano Sonata, she "played this technically daunting work with complete command, yet with great spontaneity and intense excitement." She finished her romp through New York with a collaboration with composer-pianist Frederic Rzewski for the Rock Hotel PianoFest, performing the two-piano version of Schoenberg's Second Chamber Symphony and a selection of recent American pieces. (February 2003)