Krystian Zimerman

Krystian Zimerman (born December 5, 1956) is a Polish classical pianist, who is widely regarded as one of the finest pianists in the world. Zimerman was born in Zabrze, in Poland, and studied at the Katowice Conservatory under Andrzej Jasiński. His career was launched when he won the 1975 Warsaw International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition. He performed with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan in 1976 and he made his débu... more

Krystian Zimerman (born December 5, 1956) is a Polish classical pianist, who is widely regarded as one of the finest pianists in the world. Zimerman was born in Zabrze, in Poland, and studied at the Katowice Conservatory under Andrzej Jasiński. His career was launched when he won the 1975 Warsaw International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition. He performed with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan in 1976 and he made his début in the United States with the New York Philharmonic in 1979. He has toured widely and made a number of recordings. Since 1996 he has taught piano at the Academy of Music in Basel, Switzerland. Zimerman is best known for his interpretations of Romantic music, but has performed a wide variety of classical pieces as well. He has also been a supporter of contemporary music. For example, Witold Lutosławski wrote his piano concerto for Zimerman, who later recorded it. Amongst his best-known recordings are the piano concerti of Edvard Grieg and... less