Browning, John
Heralded by Life Magazine some 30 years ago as a “golden boy in a golden age of pianists”, he has concertized world-wide, has added important new works to the repertoire, and embodies a commitment to the next generation of musicians. The “New Grove Dictionary of Music” observes that he is “blessed with one of the easiest, most brilliant techniques of any pianist before the public”.
His career was launched in the mid-1950s: in three consecutive years he won the Steinway Centennial Award, Leventritt Competition, and second prize in the Brussels Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition. He made his professional orchestral debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1956 and by 1960 was a familiar face on the international concert circuit.
In 1962, Browning was soloist at the inaugural celebration at New York’s Philharmonic Hall in the world premiere performance of Samuel Barber’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra”, which had been commissioned specifically for him by the publishing firm G. Schirmer, Inc. Since then, he has performed that work over 500 times throughout the U.S. and Europe and recorded it with the Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell conducting.Heralded by Life Magazine some 30 years ago as a “golden boy in a golden age of pianists”, he has concertized world-wide, has added important new works to the repertoire, and embodies a commitment to the next generation of musicians. The “New Grove Dictionary of Music” observes that he is “blessed with one of the easiest, most brilliant techniques of any pianist before the public”.
Mr. Browning continues to perform with top orchestras throughout the world, including the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, and Scottish National Symphony. He has toured the Soviet Union on four occasions, and has concertized in Japan, South America, Africa, and New Zealand. In the United States, Mr. Browning appears regularly with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
