Ursula Oppens, Piano

Biography

Ursula Oppens is one of the very first artists to program
traditional and contemporary works in equal measure. An enduring commitment to
integrating new music into regular concert life has led Ms. Oppens to
commission and premiere countless compositions. In addition to her long and
productive association with Elliott Carter, she has premiered works by such
leading composers as Luciano Berio, William Bolcom, John Harbison, Julius
Hemphill, Tania Leon, Harold Meltzer, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Conlon
Nancarrow, Tobias Picker, Frederic Rzewski, Joan Tower, Amy Williams, Christian
Wolff, Amnon Wolman, and Charles Wuorinen.

Ms. Oppens has performed with virtually all of the world’s major orchestras.
She has been heard with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra,
Los Angeles Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, and the orchestras of
Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Milwaukee. Abroad, she has appeared with
such orchestras as the Berlin Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande,
Deutsche Symphonie, and the BBC Scottish and London Philharmonic Orchestras.
She has also performed as the piano soloist for the Mark Morris Company’s
Mozart Dances. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Oppens has performed with the
Arditti, Juilliard, Pacifica, and Rosetti quartets, among others. She is a
prolific recording artist, many of whose discs, including her recording of the
landmark Frederic Rzewski work, “The People United Will Never Be Defeated,” are
phonographic classics.

Ms. Oppens launched Mr. Carter’s year-long 100th birthday celebration by
performing a solo recital of his works in January 2007 at Symphony Space in New
York City. In fall 2008, Ms. Oppens takes up her new post as Distinguished
Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York
City. From 1994 through the end of the 2007–08 academic year she served as John
Evans Distinguished Professor of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois.