Guest Artist Bio
Arnaldo Cohen
Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen enjoys an increasingly successful career that has taken him to the major concert halls of Europe and North and South America. He has performed with the Royal Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome under such leading conductors as Kurt Masur, Yehudi Menuhin and Edo de Waart.
Cohen’s recent North American performances have spanned the United States from Oregon to Florida and from Texas to Wisconsin. Highlights include engagements with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. His demand as a recitalist continues with appearances at prestigious university and concert series including a critically acclaimed performance at New York’s Town Hall. His 2007-2008 engagements include a return to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Delfs and performances with the Seattle Symphony, and Utah Symphony, in addition to recital engagements in the United States, Canada and South America.
Cohen came to prominence after winning First Prize at the 1972 Busoni International Piano Competition and making his solo recital debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. For five years he was a member of the acclaimed Amadeus Trio and has performed with many string quartets, including the Lindsay Quartet, Chillingirian Quartet, Orlando Quartet and the Vanbrugh Quartet. He is a frequent recording artist, with recent discs including a 2005 rendering of the two Liszt Piano Concertos and the “Totentanz” with the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra for BIS Records. August 2004 saw the release of Cohen’s second CD on the same label, an all-Liszt solo recording. His pioneering CD, “Three Centuries of Brazilian Music” on the BIS label has also been widely applauded by critics.
An artist of diverse interests and talents, Cohen began his musical studies at the age of five, graduating from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with an honors degree in both piano and violin, while also studying for an engineering degree. He went on to become a professional violinist in the Rio de Janeiro Opera House Orchestra to earn a livelihood while continuing piano studies with Jacques Klein, a disciple of the legendary American pianist William Kapell. At the urging of Klein, Cohen pursued further training in Vienna with Bruno Seidlhofer and Dieter Weber.
Cohen is the recipient of a fellowship awarded by the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and until recently held a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After living in London for 23 years, he recently relocated to the United States with his wife Ann, where he holds a piano professorship at Indiana University in Bloomington.