John Novacek

Piano

Grammy-nominated pianist John Novacek’s current season includes concerto performances with the Mexico City Philharmonic, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Traverse (MI) Symphony Orchestra, Vista Philharmonic (Groton, MA), Anderson (IN) Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestras of Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Festival Mozaic and the Mendocino Music Festival. Solo and chamber recital venues this season include Disney Hall (L.A.), Herbst Theatre (S.F.), Kennedy Center (Terrace Theater), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), Middlebury College, University of Chicago (Mandel Hall), Società Filamonica Trento (Italy), Società Filamónica de Bilbao (Spain), and London’s Wigmore. Novacek is a frequent festival guest: Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Great Lakes, SummerFest La Jolla, Cape Cod, Caramoor, Mimir, Ravinia, Seattle, Wolf Trap; Scotia, Toronto Summer Music, Ottawa Chamberfest, SweetWater and Festival of the Sound (Canada); BBC Proms (England); Braunschweig (Germany); Lucerne, Menuhin Gstaad, and Verbier (Switzerland); Sorrento (Italy); Serenates d’Estiu (Mallorca, Spain); and Stavanger (Norway). As a media presence, Novacek is regularly showcased on NPR’s Performance Today, St. Paul Sunday, A Prairie Home Companion, and the PBS television program Now Hear This. A highly sought-after chamber musician and collaborator, Novacek performs with Leila Josefowicz, Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Cho-Liang Lin, Emmanuel Pahud, Jeremy Denk, Renaud Capuçon, Truls Mørk, Matt Haimovitz, Elmar Oliveira, and Dmitry Sitkovetsky, as well as with the members of the Emerson, Ying, St. Lawrence, Miro and Tokyo String Quartets. He is also a member of the versatile piano trio Intersection, with violinist Laura Frautschi and cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper. An active composer, Novacek’s works have been taken up by many prominent international musicians; commissioning bodies include the 5 Browns, Ying Quartet, Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, Eastman School, Scotia Festival, Concertante, Pacific Symphony, Ensemble Liaison, Schubert Club, Millennium, Seattle Commissioning Club, Three Tenors, Kiri Te Kanawa, and pop diva Diana Ross. Novacek is an active recording artist whose over many CDs have garnered numerous international awards (Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, Grammy nomination for “Best Chamber Music Performance"); labels include Philips, Nonesuch, Naxos, Arabesque, Warner Classics, Sony/BMG, Koch International, New World, Universal Classics, Ambassador, Azica, Marquis, Arkay, Neuma, IBS Classical, Pony Canyon, Four Winds, and EMI Classics. Novacek teaches piano and chamber music at Mannes School of Music in New York City.