Murray Perahia

Murray Perahia (born April 19, 1947, Bronx, New York, U.S.) is an American pianist and conductor who was perhaps best known for his sensitive recordings of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s concertos, conducted from the keyboard.

Perahia was trained at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He won the Leeds International Piano Competition by unanimous vote in 1972, and in 1975 he shared the first Avery Fisher Prize. From 1982 to 1989 he was music director of the Aldeburgh Festival, which was in England, where he settled. In 1991 he suffered an injury to his thumb that became septic. The injury ultimately prevented him from playing the piano until 1993 and continued to affect him in later years, causing several interruptions in his performing career. In addition to his recordings of Mozart’s concertos, Perahia earned acclaim for his interpretations of works by Frédéric Chopin, Johann Sebastian Bach—namely the Goldberg Variations—and Béla Bartók. He also was a noted conductor.

Perahia was the recipient of numerous honours. His Grammy Awards included best instrumental soloist performance (without orchestra) for Chopin: Études, Op. 10 & Op. 25 (2002) . In 2004 he was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).