Joseph Kalichstein facts for kids

Joseph Kalichstein (born January 15, 1946 – died March 31, 2022) was a famous American classical pianist. He played many types of music. These included concertos (music for a solo instrument with an orchestra), solo recitals (playing by himself), and chamber music. Chamber music is played by a small group of musicians. He was best known for playing with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. In this group, he played with violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson. Joseph Kalichstein also taught piano at the Juilliard School in New York.

Joseph Kalichstein's Early Life and Training

Joseph Kalichstein was born in Tel Aviv, which was then called Mandatory Palestine, in 1946. He started learning piano there with his teacher, Joshua Shor. A very famous Chilean pianist named Claudio Arrau noticed Joseph's amazing talent. Mr. Arrau helped Joseph go to the Juilliard School in New York in 1962.

At Juilliard, Joseph studied with two great teachers: Edward Steuermann and Ilona Kabos. He worked very hard and won the Young Concert Artists' Award in 1967.

Big Performances and Awards

In 1968, Joseph Kalichstein played with the famous New York Philharmonic orchestra. The conductor was Leonard Bernstein, a very well-known musician. Joseph played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. This special concert was even shown on national television!

In 1969, he earned his master's degree from Juilliard. That same year, he won the important Leventritt Competition. The judges, including famous conductors like George Szell and William Steinberg, all agreed he was the best. Winning the Leventritt prize meant he got to perform with many top orchestras across the United States. This included two concerts led by George Szell, one with the Cleveland Orchestra and one with the New York Philharmonic. In 1970, Joseph also played with the London Symphony Orchestra under André Previn. He performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 for the first time.

Collaborations and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio

Joseph Kalichstein worked with many other famous conductors. These included Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Christoph von Dohnányi, Zubin Mehta, and Leonard Slatkin. He played with many of the world's greatest orchestras.

In 1977, he performed with violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson. This was at the special event for the inauguration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. They enjoyed playing together so much that they kept performing as a group. In 1981, they officially formed the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.

This trio was very successful and continued to tour even in 2012. They recorded many classic piano trio pieces. This included all the trios by Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Johannes Brahms. They also recorded all the chamber music for their instruments by Maurice Ravel. The trio also encouraged new music. They had new pieces written just for them by composers like Richard Danielpour, John Corigliano, and Daron Hagen.

Teaching and Artistic Leadership

Joseph Kalichstein became a teacher at the Juilliard School in 1983. He loved sharing his knowledge with young musicians. In 1997, he was given an important role at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He became the Artistic Advisor for Chamber Music and the Artistic Director of the Fortas Chamber Music Concerts. This meant he helped choose and plan chamber music performances. In 2003, he received a special teaching position at Juilliard. It was called the Edwin S. and Nancy A. Marks Chair in Chamber Music Studies.

Joseph Kalichstein made many recordings during his career. He also performed regularly all over the world.