Grant Johannesen

Pianist, Musical Artist

1921 – 2005

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Who was Grant Johannesen?

Grant Johannesen was an American concert pianist.

He was born in Salt Lake City and discovered at the age of five by a teacher who lived across the street. He imitated whatever he heard her play, and she did not appreciate it.

He studied with Robert Casadesus, Egon Petri, Roger Sessions, and Nadia Boulanger. He made his Manhattan recital debut when he was 23, and won the Concours International when he was 28.

He toured extensively, both with the New York Philharmonic under Dmitri Mitropoulos, and as a solo performer. His performances in Moscow were especially well received. He was once encored 16 times.

He was known as an interpreter of French piano music and recorded the complete piano works of Gabriel Fauré.

He served as director of the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1974 to 1985. He was a frequent soloist with both the Cleveland Orchestra and the Utah Symphony.

He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.

Johannesen was married to the Juilliard-trained composer Helen Taylor from 1943 until her death in an automobile accident in 1950. He was married to his second wife, the cellist Zara Nelsova, from 1963 until their divorce in 1973. From his first marriage, he had a son, David Johannesen.

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Born
Jul 30, 1921
Salt Lake City
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • Princeton University
Died
Mar 27, 2005

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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