“The Vienna-born pianist, now something of a national treasure in Canada, has an impeccable lineage, having studied with Rudolf Serkin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. His playing is strikingly individual, yet honors the spirit of Horszowski’s teacher, the legendary Theodor Leschetizky: a focus on line and touch, a clear and flexible rhythm, a deeply analytical and exploratory approach. The latter quality was immediately apparent on Tuesday; not a note had been taken for granted, with even the most prosaic passages refracted through a powerful intellectual prism.” – The Boston Globe, March 2008
Anton Kuerti’s parents were scientists, academics and amateur musicians; his father was acquainted with Albert Einstein. He grew up in the United States and moved to Canada in 1965. In the U.S., he studied with its most notable teachers: Erwin Bodky, Ernö Balogh, Henry Cowell, Marcel Dick, Edward Goldman, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Arthur Loesser, Beryl Rubinstein, Rudolf Serkin, and Gregory Tucker.
H
is first appearance as a soloist was at age 11 performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto K. 488. The following year, he performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra. In 1957 he won the Philadelphia Orchestra Youth Prize, the National Music League Award and the prestigious Leventritt Award – which included concert engagements with the orchestras of New York, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh. He was still a student at the time. The New York Times praised him for the “strength and accuracy of his technique” and the Herald Tribune glowingly reported that “the moment Anton Kuerti touches the keyboard, he unerringly unlocks the esprit of the music he performs.”
As a young piano student, Anton was strongly influenced by Arthur Loesser, whom he recalls as “my best teacher ever. Through him I learned a more joyful and exhilarating appreciation of a large range of music. The joy he experienced while playing was palpable, and he communicated this enthusiasm very effectively to his students.”
Anton followed this path to share the higher art without excessive concern for its commercial aspects. He lived his beliefs that classical music should be accessible. In addition to urban engagements, Anton built a reputation for charging low fees to small-town concert societies. As a result, he has played in many small halls in North America.
Unsung, Anton has given benefit performances for numerous charitable organizations, including Oxfam, SOS Children’s Villages, United Nations Children’s Fund, Amnesty International, Pollution Probe, and WaterCan, donating 25% of CD sales directly to Oxfam.
Countries performed in:
Azerbaijan, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, (former) Czechoslovakia, England, Estonia, France, Germany–West and East, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Madeira, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United States, Virgin Islands, (former) Yugoslavia. Has appeared in over 150 communities across Canada.
Major Orchestras performed with:
United States: New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Detroit Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Honolulu, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, Minneapolis Symphony, Houston, Mostly Mozart, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Seattle Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra
Canada: Every professional orchestra including 55 concerts with Toronto Symphony and 2 European tours with National Arts Centre Orchestra
Other: London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Birmingham, Bournemouth, BBC Scottish Symphony, Berliner Rundfunksinfonie, Dresdner Staatskapelle, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Austrian Radio Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, Prague Spring Festival Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tucuman, Portugal National Symphony, Krakow Philharmonic, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, The Hague Philharmonic, Singapore National Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, State Symphony Orchestra, Bialystok SSR plus Belgium, Bulgaria, Cuba, former GDR, Peru.
Conductors:
Arthur Fiedler, George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Yehudi Menuhin, William Steinberg, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Andrew Davis, Kurt Masur, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sir Neville Marriner, Walter Susskind, George Trautwein, Anton Kersjes, James Loughram, Donald Johanos, Seiji Ozawa, Karel Ancerl, Boris Brott, Sir Edward Downes, Thomas Schippers, Mario Bernardi, Pinchas Zukerman, Jens Nygaard, Charles Dutoit, Iván Fischer, Michel Tabachnik, Choo Hoey, Alain Trudel, Sir Adrian Boult, Klaus Tennstedt, Paul Paray, Herbert Blomstedt, Kees Bakels, Franz Welser-Möst, Arvid Jansons, Hans Graf, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Johannes Fritzsch, Steven Smith, Julian Kuerti, Günter Herbig, Ling Tung, Anatoly Engelbrecht, Harry Blech, Franz-Paul Decker, Victor Feldbrill, Ettore Mazzoleni, Jean-Pierre Rampal
Notable Venues:
Wiener Konzerthaus, Dresden Staatskapelle, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie, Nieuwe Kerk [The Hague], Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum, Kennedy Center, Tschaikowskii Hall [Moscow], Smetana Hall [Prague], Royal Festival Hall [London], Queensland Performing Arts Centre [Brisbane]
Festival Appearances:
Spoleto [Italy], Prague [Czech Republic], Dubrovnik [Croatia], Santa Fe, Grand Teton, Newport, Caramoor, Ravinia, Aspen, Marlboro [U.S.], Lofoten [Norway], Lockenhaus [Austria], Guelph Spring, Ottawa Chamber Music, Music Bridge, Fort McLeod [Canada], Northern Lights [Mexico]
Chamber Music:
Performances with Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, Barry Tuckwell, and Cleveland, Colorado, Guarneri, New Zealand, Orford, St. Lawrence, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Fine Arts, Tokyo String, Vermeer, Tokai, Afiara, Alcan, Audubon, Da Ponte, Cecelia, Pacifica Quartets, Jacques Thibaud Trio, and New York Chamber Soloists
New Works Premieres:
Oskar Morawetz – Piano Concerto No. 1, 1963 with Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Sophie Eckhardt-Gramatté – Symphony-Concerto, 1968 with CBC Festival Orchestra
Srul Irving Glick – Northern Sketches for choir, violin, cello and piano 1982 Festival of the Sound
Beethoven/Kuerti – Piano Concerto in Eb major WoO 4, 2010 with National Broadcast Orchestra
Talivaldes Kenins – Piano Quintet
Larysa Kuzmenko – Entre Amis
Anton Kuerti – Piano Quintet – commissioned for Fort Macleod International Festival