American pianist William Wolfram has gained recognition as an artist who combines powerful Romantic instincts with a truly formidable command of the keyboard. A former Silver Medalist at both the William Kapell and Naumberg competitions as well as a Bronze Medalist at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Mr. Wolfram has drawn plaudits from critics both here and abroad for his musical integrity and compelling pianism. In the words of The New York Times, "Wolfram’s technique is flabbergasting; fiendishly difficult octave passages were as child’s play, and his strength is tempered by an easy poetry."

Mr. Wolfram performs regularly throughout North America as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician. After making his debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony under the direction of Leonard Slatkin, Mr. Wolfram continued on to perform with the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, San Diego, Indianapolis, North Carolina, New Jersey, Syracuse, Florida, Omaha, Fort Worth, and the National Symphony of Washington, D.C. He also performed with other pianists at Alice Tully Hall in a recital commemorating the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death, and performs frequently at New York City’s BargeMusic. His past four seasons have been highlighted by appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra under conductors Jeffrey Tate, William Eddins, and Hans Vonk, with whom Mr. Wolfram scored a triumph as a last minute replacement in a rehearsal-less reading of Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. More recently, he was heard with the Minnesota Orchestra under Jeffery Tate in Richard Strauss’ Burleske for piano and orchestra.

For the 2001-2002 season, Mr. Wolfram has programmed both Brahms concertos, Beethoven’s Second and Third concerto, Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto, and Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto. A highlight of the season will be his appearance with the Dallas Symphony conducted by Andrew Litton as featured soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety. Elsewhere, Mr. Wolfram will be heard with the Green Bay Symphony (two series of concerts), the Boise Symphony, the Richmond Symphony (two series of concerts), the Canton Symphony, and the Minnesota Orchestra. In addition, he will be recording both piano concertos of American composer Edward Collins with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and in January will reappear with the Seattle Chamber Music Festival. He also participates in the Sanibel Island Festival and will appear at Oregon Festival of American Music in August 2002.

Last season he performed Saint-Saens little-known Egyptian Concerto with the Jupiter Symphony in New York City, and debuted with the Dallas Symphony playing the Tchaikovsky First Concerto under Andrew Litton. His performance with the Milwaukee Symphony under Andreas Delfs in March 2001 was the premier of the new orchestration of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto by composer Paul Chihara, which was commissioned by the orchestra.

Overseas, Mr. Wolfram has performed with the Moscow and Budapest Philharmonics, the Krakow Symphony and the Wroclaw Philharmonic of Poland, the Cape Town and Johannesburg Symphonies of South Africa, the National Symphony of Peru, and the Bangkok Philharmonic of Thailand. As an active recitalist and chamber player, Mr. Wolfram has appeared in festivals and recitals throughout France, Spain, Holland, the Philippines, Canada, Italy and Switzerland.

Millions have seen William Wolfram on public television, where he was prominently featured throughout the 90 minute documentary on the 1986 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. The noted writer and piano authority Joseph Horowitz, in his book The Ivory Trade, devotes a full chapter to Wolfram, who is characterized as a polished Romantic virtuoso, worthy of comparison to the young Van Cliburn and to Vladimir Horowitz. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Mr. Wolfram makes his home in New York City with his wife and two daughters.