Artists

Bruce Wolosoff is “a formidable pianist and composer” (Gramophone) known internationally for his integration of classical, jazz, blues, and contemporary influences. He often composes in response to visual art and collaborates with leading artists across various disciplines. His music is regularly heard on classical radio stations worldwide.

Following the Avie Records release of Rising Sun Variations—a large-scale set of solo piano variations on House of the Rising Sun—All Music Guide wrote that “Wolosoff revives in spectacular fashion the Romantic tradition of the pianist-composer.” He recently performed the work to great acclaim in Bilbao, Spain.

His 2023 solo piano album Memento continues to receive global airplay, while his 2022 Avie release Paradise Found: Cello Music of Bruce Wolosoff, with cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio, reached #6 on the Billboard Classical Chart. Their earlier collaboration on his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra also became a Billboard Top 10 album and was hailed by Fanfare as “an instant masterpiece.”

Wolosoff’s discography includes Songs Without Words (18 divertimenti for string quartet) on Naxos American Classics and a celebrated recording of Busoni’s piano music on the Music & Arts label. Of the latter, Hannah Busoni wrote: “All those who love Busoni’s work owe it to themselves to hear Bruce Wolosoff’s compelling and beautiful interpretations. They are exemplary.”

A frequent collaborator with the late choreographer Ann Reinking, Wolosoff composed The White City, which toured nationally to critical acclaim and was named “Best Dance of 2011″ by the Chicago Sun-Times, and A Light in the Dark, an Emmy-nominated ballet inspired by Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan. At the time of Reinking’s passing, the two were developing a ballet based on the life of John Keats.

Born in New York City in 1955, Wolosoff played in jam bands as a teenager while pursuing studies in classical piano. He earned degrees from Bard College and the New England Conservatory, studying with German Diez (a student of Claudio Arrau), as well as Evelyne Crochet, Richard Goode, Jorge Bolet, and jazz pianists Charlie Banacos and Jaki Byard. After an active performing career in his twenties, he stepped away from the concert stage at age 30 to focus on composition, returning to performance in 2011 with a recital of his own music, released as Many Worlds.

Since 2020, Wolosoff has served as artistic director of Reflections in Music, curating and performing in a series of programs that explore new ways of thinking about and engaging with the classical music experience.