Robert Koenig
Biography
Now in his fourth decade as a much sought-after performing artist, Canadian pianist Robert Koenig has performed throughout the world to great acclaim as a collaborative pianist and chamber musician. His partnerships with many of today's leading classical artists have seen him grace many of the world's most important stages including New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Washington's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Boston's Jordan Hall, San Francisco's Herbst Theater, Seattle's Benaroya Hall, Vancouver's Chan Center, Tokyo's Suntory Hall, Taiwan's National Theater, Hong Kong's City Hall, London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, Paris' Louvre Museum, Brussels' BOZAR, and Amsterdam's Het Concertgebouw. These frequent recital appearances have seen him collaborating with many of this generation's most renowned musicians, including Augustin Hadelich, Sarah Chang, Hilary Hahn, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, Kyoko Takezawa, Esther Yoo, Paul Huang, Roberto Diaz, Jonathan Moerschel, Zuill Bailey, Sara Sant'Ambrogio, Jennifer Kloetzel, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Miro String Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, and members of the Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets. Of significance is Koenig's frequent partnership with legendary late violinist Aaron Rosand, as well as his 30-year collaboration with renowned violinist Elmar Oliveira. These collaborations have led to hugely successful recital tours throughout the world and a substantial recorded discography on the Artek and Biddulph record labels. Additional recording activity includes a GRAMMY nominated CD for Naxos of William Primrose Transcriptions for Viola and Piano with violist Roberto Diaz as well as recordings for Decca, Cedille, Eroica, Ambassador, Avie, Centaur, and CRI.
A favorite at summer festivals, Koenig has performed at such prestigious festivals as Ravinia, Aspen, Saratoga, Chamber Music Northwest, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Caramoor, Banff, Interlochen, Mostly Mozart, and Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil. A strong advocate for new music, he commissioned American Composer Lowell Liebermann to write Piano Trio for flute, cello and piano, Op. 87 and gave the world premiere at the National Flute Association Convention in Nashville, TN.
Mr. Koenig's most recent concert seasons included performances at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, The Forum in Harrisburg, PA, Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs CA, Bankhead Theater in Livermore, CA, and the 92nd Street Y in New York, NY. The 2024-25 season will see him appearing at the Lotos Club in New York City, The Aloha International Festival and Competition in Honolulu, Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, and the Black Hills Chamber Music Festival in Rapid City.
A native of Saskatchewan, Canada, Koenig is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with renowned collaborative pianist Dr. Vladimir Sokoloff. In addition to his decade long association with the Juilliard School where he served as staff pianist, he was formerly Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. Koenig currently serves as Professor and Head of Collaborative Piano at the University of California Santa Barbara, where he was Chair of the Music Department from 2019-2022. Most recently, he was appointed Artistic Director of the prestigious Palm Springs International Piano Competition. His summers are spent at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp where he is Coordinator of Collaborative Piano.
Robert Koenig is an exclusive Yamaha Artist.
