1. Krystian Zimerman was born on 5 December 1956 and is a Polish concert pianist, conductor and pedagogue who has been described as one of the greatest pianists of his generation.
14 Facts About Krystian Zimerman
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Krystian Zimerman is especially known for his performances of compositions by Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Beethoven.
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Krystian Zimerman is the recipient of many awards and honours including Leonie Sonning Music Prize, Legion of Honour, Order of Polonia Restituta and Praemium Imperiale.
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Krystian Zimerman studied at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice under Andrzej Jasinski.
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Krystian Zimerman performed with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1976, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt.
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Krystian Zimerman debuted in the United States with the New York Philharmonic in 1979.
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Krystian Zimerman has toured widely and made a number of recordings.
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In 1999, Krystian Zimerman created the Polish Festival Orchestra Archived 15 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Frederic Chopin's death.
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Krystian Zimerman is best known for his interpretations of Romantic music, but has performed a wide variety of classical pieces and is a supporter of contemporary music.
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In 2006, Krystian Zimerman recorded Brahms' Piano Concerto No 1 with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.
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On 26 April 2009, Krystian Zimerman vowed to his audience at Los Angeles's Walt Disney Concert Hall that, in protest at America's placement of a missile defense shield in Poland, this would be his final appearance in the United States.
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Krystian Zimerman had made a similar comment in 2006, stating he would not return until George W Bush was out of office.
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In 1981, Krystian Zimerman moved to Roschenz in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland, where he became a Swiss citizen with Roschenz as his place of origin.
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Krystian Zimerman married Maria, a violinist, with whom he has two children: Klaudia and Ryszard.