Graham Johnson British pianist. Date of Birth: 10.07.1950 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Graham Johnson

Graham Johnson is a British pianist who was born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He began his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1967. He further perfected his skills under the guidance of Gerald Moore and Geoffrey Parsons. In 1972, he became the official accompanist for the singing masterclass of Peter Pears. In 1976, Johnson was one of the co-founders of the "Songmakers' Almanac" program, which presented concerts featuring rare and forgotten repertoire for voice and piano for many years.

Johnson is renowned for his exceptional accompanying skills and has collaborated closely with renowned singers such as Felicity Lott, Anne Murray, and Anthony Rolfe Johnson. He has made numerous recordings throughout his career, with one of the standout achievements being the complete recording of Franz Schubert's songs for the Hyperion Records label. This monumental project spanned 37 releases from 1987 to 2000, with a total playing time of 2624 minutes and 11 seconds. The recordings featured a number of exceptional singers, including the aforementioned three as well as Janet Baker, Ian Bostridge, and Peter Schreier. In 2006, three more discs were added to this collection, featuring songs by Schubert's contemporaries.

After completing the Schubert project, Johnson embarked on recording similar complete collections of songs by Robert Schumann and Gabriel Fauré. His interest in the French song tradition is also evident in his recordings of Francis Poulenc's "Melodies" (with Lott) and albums dedicated to the songs of Charles Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns, Ernest Chausson, Louis Durey, Déodat de Séverac, and Reynaldo Hahn.

In addition to his performing and recording career, Johnson is also a professor at the Guildhall School of Music. He has received numerous awards and recognition for his contributions to the music world, including the Gramophone Award in 1989 (with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau), 1996 (with Ian Bostridge for the album "Die schöne Müllerin"), 1997 (with Catherine Bott for the Schumann series), and 2001 (with Magdalena Kožená).

Other accolades include being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1994), Instrumentalist of the Year by the Royal Philharmonic Society (1998), membership in the Swedish Royal Academy of Music (2000), being knighted as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (2002), honorary membership in the Royal Philharmonic Society (2010), honorary doctorates from the University of Durham and the New England Conservatory (2013), and the Wigmore Hall Medal (2013).