Photo by Peter Schaaf

John Novacek, piano

Grammy-nominated pianist John Novacek regularly tours the Americas, Europe, and Asia as concerto soloist, solo recitalist, and chamber musician. Performance venues have included Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s David Geffen and Alice Tully Halls, Kennedy Center, Chicago’s Symphony Center, Hollywood Bowl, Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, London’s Wigmore Hall and Barbican, and Tokyo’s Suntory, Opera City, and Bunkamura Halls. He is a frequent guest artist at festivals, having participated in Mostly Mozart, Aspen, La Jolla’s SummerFest, Cape Cod, Caramoor, Colorado College, Mimir, San Luis Obispo Mozaic, Ravinia, Seattle, Wolf Trap; Scotia, Toronto Summer Music, Ottawa Chamberfest, SweetWater, and Festival of the Sound (Canada); BBC Proms (England); Braunschweig (Germany); Lucerne, Menuhin Gstaad, and Verbier (Switzerland); Sorrento (Italy); Serenates d’Estiu (Mallorca, Spain); and Stavanger (Norway).

A frequent presence on radio, Novacek is regularly showcased on NPR’s Performance Today, Saint Paul Sunday, and (as featured composer/performer) A Prairie Home Companion; television appearances include CNN International, Entertainment Tonight, and The Tonight Show.

A highly sought-after chamber musician and collaborator, Novacek performs with Leila Josefowicz, Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Cho-Liang Lin, Emmanuel Pahud, Jeremy Denk, Renaud Capuçon, Truls Mørk, Matt Haimovitz, and Elmar Oliveira, as well as with the members of the Emerson, Ying, St. Lawrence, Miro, and Tokyo String Quartets. He is also a member of the versatile piano trio Intersection, with violinist Laura Frautschi and cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper.

Novacek’s original compositions and arrangements have received frequent performances by the 5 Browns, Ying Quartet, Concertante, Pacific Symphony, Three Tenors, Kiri Te Kanawa, and pop diva Diana Ross. Novacek is an active recording artist whose over 30 CDs have garnered numerous international awards (Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, 2004 Grammy nomination for “Best Chamber Music Performance”). Labels include Philips, Nonesuch, Arabesque, Warner Classics, Sony/BMG, Koch International, New World, Universal Classics, Ambassador, Azica, Marquis, Arkay, Neuma, Pony Canyon, Four Winds, and EMI Classics.