Benjamin Hochman, piano

Pianist Benjamin Hochman’s eloquent and virtuosic performances blend artistic bravura with poetic interpretation exciting audiences and critics alike. He performs in major cities around the world as an orchestral soloist, recitalist and respected chamber music partner, working with a celebrated array of renowned conductors and colleagues. Described by the New York Times as a “gifted, fast-rising artist,” Mr. Hochman is an impassioned and intelligent exponent of diverse composers, from Bach and Mozart through to Kurtág and Peter Lieberson. He strives to express the essence of each composer’s works, resulting in interpretations that the Vancouver Sun described as “stylish and lucid, with patrician authority and touches of elegant wit where context allows.” Possessed of an intellectual and heartfelt musical inquisitiveness, Mr. Hochman frequently juxtaposes familiar works with the unfamiliar in his concert programs, to help illuminate each work for the listener, a talent further illustrated by his thoughtful recorded repertoire. Winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2011, Mr. Hochman made his successful New York recital debut in 2006 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He subsequently established a vibrant and venerated musical presence in New York City through concerts with the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra, his Carnegie Hall debut with the Israel Philharmonic and a succession of prominent recital and chamber performances the 92nd Street Y. Following his debut with the Chicago Symphony in a Mozart Piano Concerto project with Pinchas Zukerman and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, he returned at the invitation of Emanuel Ax to participate in the 2012 “Keys to the City” Festival. In September 2012 he made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut at the Hollywood Bowl and in January 2013 he made his third subscription series appearance with the Pittsburgh Symphony in performances of Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand Alone, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda of which the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said: “He unfurled the music so gently, lending a grace to it I had not heard before.” In November 2013, Avie Records will release Mr. Hochman’s second solo album entitled Homage to Schubert featuring Schubert’s Sonata in A, D. 664 and Sonata in D, D. 850 alongside contemporary tributes
to Schubert: Jörg Widmann’s “Idyll und Abgrund: Six Schubert Reminiscences” and Kurtág’s “Homage to Schubert”. This recording serves as an expression of Mr. Hochman’s deeply-felt passion and respect for Schubert’s subtle, intimate and mesmerizing music, which he says reveals a striking dichotomy between lyricism and drama. By juxtaposing the Schubert works with the tributes, he hopes to demonstrate how meaningful and relevant Schubert remains today. Mr. Hochman’s debut solo recording of works by Bach, Berg and Webern was released by Artek in 2009. He recorded Insects and Paper Airplanes: The Chamber Music of Lawrence Dillon in 2010 for Bridge Records in collaboration with the Daedalus Quartet.