Alan Kogosowski
Encyclopedia
Biography
Alan Kogosowski was born in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. From the age of six he played the piano for ten hours a day. He won a number of competitions and prizes, including the Australian television talent quest "BP Showcase 1966". He made his first tour at age thirteen, including a performance on the Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Kogosowski studied with Roy Shepherd at the Melbourne University
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
Conservatorium of Music and in 1970 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based...
, being the youngest person ever to receive this award. This enabled him to study in Paris at the École Normale de Musique
École Normale de Musique de Paris
The École Normale de Musique de Paris is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, France. The school was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot in 1919...
, where his teacher was Blanche Bascourret de Guéraldi, a former student of Alfred Cortot
Alfred Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot was a Franco-Swiss pianist and conductor. He is one of the most renowned 20th-century classical musicians, especially valued for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann.-Early life and education:Born in Nyon, Vaud, in the...
. He then studied in London with Peter Katin
Peter Katin
Peter Roy Katin is a British pianist.-Biography:He attended Whitgift School in South Croydon and was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 12, four years younger than the official entry age, where he studied under Harold Craxton...
and Michael Block, achieving a Licentiate from the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
. He had further studies in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. His New York and London debuts, at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
and the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
, were enthusiastically received.
At the age of 21, shortly after returning to Australia, he was involved in a car accident, breaking the bones of his right hand; there were fears he could even lose the hand. It was saved through the skill of Dr Frank Ham, a Melbourne plastic surgeon. He was able to return to the concert stage after only a few months, playing Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Concerto for the Left Hand
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Ravel)
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major was composed by Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930, concurrently with his Piano Concerto in G. It was commissioned by the Austrian pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during World War I....
, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
under Leonard Dommett
Leonard Dommett
Leonard Bertram Dommett OBE was an Australian violinist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Leonard Dommett was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, where his father ran a general store...
. After 18 months he had regained full use of the right hand.
Kogosowski has developed a method of helping people afflicted with carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an entrapment idiopathic median neuropathy, causing paresthesia, pain, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression...
. After many years of study of the anatomical aspects of piano technique, he has adapted his knowledge of the positioning of the hands and posture at the keyboard to the prevention and remedy of this condition. He has also designed a computer keyboard and mouse that encourage hands and fingers to droop in a natural curved pose over the workstation instead of stretched flat in a tension-producing deportment. He also published a book on the subject, How to Prevent RSI: a pianist's perspective for everyone.
Chopin
Alan Kogosowski has a special affinity with Frédéric ChopinFrédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
:
- he has recreated Chopin's final public concert in 1848 in London’s GuildhallGuildhall, LondonThe Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
- he has written Genius of the Piano–Etude!, which covers Chopin's life, his contemporaries, and how he avoided strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. It focuses especially on the correct approach to the Études. It also looks at the history and the art of piano playing
- he has produced a 6-part television series about the life and music of Chopin, in which he performs and introduces a wide cross-section of his key works. This was first broadcast in New York in 2003
- he accompanied the soprano Irena Grainge in the first Australian recording of Chopin's 19 Polish SongsPolish songs by Frédéric ChopinAlthough Frédéric Chopin is best known for his works for piano solo, among his output are a number of songs for voice and piano, set to Polish texts.-Background:...
sung in their original language - he received praise from Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul IIBlessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
for his playing of Chopin - he has performed in a play about Chopin and George SandGeorge SandAmantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
, written by the actress and writer Diana DouglasDiana DillDiana Love Dill is a Bermudian actress, active in the U.S., who has also appeared professionally under the names Diana Douglas and Diana Douglas Darrid.-Personal life:... - he created a work that he has named "Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 3 in A major". He premiered the piece on 8 October 1999, with Neeme JärviNeeme JärviNeeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
and the Detroit Symphony OrchestraDetroit Symphony OrchestraThe Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
. The opening movement was based on the Allegro de concertAllegro de Concert (Chopin)Frédéric Chopin’s Allegro de concert, Op. 46, is a piece for piano, published in November 1841. It is in one movement and takes between 13 and 15 minutes to play. The principal themes are bold and expressive...
in A, Op. 46 (a piece for solo piano that Chopin may indeed have salvaged and reworked from a projected but unfinished third concerto), as restructured, orchestrated and augmented by Kogosowski. For the slow second movement, he arranged the Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. Lento con gran espressione, for piano and orchestra. The finale was created out of the BoleroBolero (Chopin)The Bolero, Op. 19, was written by Frédéric Chopin in 1833 and published the following year. It is one of his lesser-known piano pieces, although it has been recorded numerous times....
, Op. 19, which has a typical rondo form of a third movement, and a ready-made cadenza.
He conceived and for ten years hosted a series of musical evenings in London, known as "Schubertiades at Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
", with guest artists from all over the world. Members of the British Royal Family including Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
and the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
often attended, and he performed on many occasions for them after he became friends with Princess Diana.
In 2001 he became Artistic Advisor to the Palm Beach Symphony in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, which he has conducted on various occasions.
Kogosowski has orchestrated Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Piano Trio in D Minor (Trio élégiaque), Op. 9, as a piano concerto, called Concerto élégiaque in D minor, Op. 9b. This has also been recorded by Neeme Järvi and the Detroit Symphony, with Kogosowski as soloist. The recording, on the Chandos label, was named Best Recording of the Year in 1994 by the American Record Guide.
Honours
In 1999, Alan Kogosowski was honored by the Polish branch of the Order of the Knights of MaltaKnights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
with a special decoration in recognition of his many all-Chopin recitals in London, and series of Chopin concerts to raise funds for medicines to be sent to Poland.