- This article is about the Australian pianist. For the man who survived a plunge over the Horseshoe (Niagara) Falls, see Roger Woodward (Niagara Falls).
Roger Woodward AC OBE, born December 19, 1942, is an acclaimed Australian pianist.
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Education
Roger Woodward studied church music with Kenneth Long in Sydney, conducting with Sir Eugene Goossens, piano with Alexander Sverjensky, a pupil of Rachmaninov, and composition with Raymond Hanson, continuing his studies in Poland with Zbigniew Drzewiecki, a student of Ignacy Jan Paderewski. He performed at more than 120 international festivals; on one occasion he played the complete works for piano by Frédéric Chopin.
Acclaims
He has been called "Australia's leading classical pianist" by the Alliance Francaise Sydney. Arthur Rubinstein and Sir Yehudi Menuhin acclaimed his work, and Sviatoslav Richter invited him to appear at many European festivals. In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1980, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1992, he was named a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), "for service to music, particularly as a pianist and to the promotion of Australian composition". He is an Australian Living Treasure. He is a Steinway Artist.
Selected discography
Woodward made close to 100 recordings, most of which are almost impossible to obtain.
- Frédéric Chopin - The Complete Nocturnes (2006, Celestial Harmonies 14260-2)
- Alexander Scriabin - Late Piano Works (1992, Etcetera Records KTC1126)
- Toru Takemitsu - Complete Piano Works (1991, Etcetera Records KTC1103)
- Xenakis (1998)
- Feldman (1990)
- Lullabies (1997)
- Claire de Lune (1989)
- Little Masterpieces
- Moving Pictures
- Rondo Alla Turca
- Cinema Paradiso (1996)
- The Chopin Album
- The Essential Piano Album
- Art of Roger Woodward (7 CD compilation, 2005)
