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Pianist Thomas Rosenkranz ’99 Wins American
Pianists Association Classical Fellowship Award
by Marci
Janas '91
RELATED
Pianist
Thomas Rosenkranz ’99 has won the American Pianists Association (APA)
Classical Fellowship Award for 2003. The APA selected two fellows from
five finalists who participated in “Discovery Week” (April 6
through 12), the culmination of a competition that began seven months
ago. Rosenkranz received a cash prize of $20,000 and two years of performances,
master classes, and educational outreach. He was also presented with the
APA’s Locke Reynolds Lieder Award.
After having performed a solo recital and a concerto with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra in Indianapolis earlier in the 2002-03 season, each finalist entered the zone known as “Discovery Week,” the intensity of which is legendary.
Before a distinguished jury and audiences, each of the five pianists performed chamber music with the Pacifica Quartet, performed solo repertoire at the Gala Finals concert, and also performed a combination of solo and lieder repertoire in a song recital featuring tenor Steven Stolen and mezzo-soprano Mary Ann Hart.
Jurors for the competition’s final phase were Joseph Banowetz from the University of North Texas, Jean Barr from the Eastman School of Music, Alexander Bazikov from Tambov Academy in Russia, Radoslav Kvapil, a concert pianist from Prague and authority on Czech piano music, and Michael Lewin from the Boston Conservatory.
For his performance with the Pacifica Quartet, two members of which are Conservatory alumni, Rosenkranz played Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G Minor, op. 57, a piece that “has been performed a lot in central Indiana,” noted Whitney Smith, music critic for The Indianapolis Star.
For all that, he wrote, “it still came off sounding fresh,” and he praised Rosenkranz as “an impressive communicator.”
“Playing with the Pacifica was pure joy for me,” says Rosenkranz. “Their charisma—during rehearsal and in performance--was so inspiring. There was a kind of spontaneity about their playing that made me want to push my musical limits further. Their sense of humor was very engaging in the midst of this competition.”
A sense of humor, it would seem, could prove useful not only during Discovery Week, but throughout the entire seven-month experience, which Rosenkranz describes as “nerve racking,” despite his resolve to “go into the process with no expectations, trying to imagine these performances as concerts rather than competitions where I am trying to prove something to the judges.”
“One of the best aspects about this competition,” he says, “is the fact that you become part of the musical community of Indianapolis for a little while. I did a residency at an inner-city high school and played with their orchestra. It was so moving to be a part of their energy and enthusiasm for the music we were playing.”
Following his stint in Indianapolis, Rosenkranz returned to Paris, where he has been living while studying Oliver Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jesus with the composer’s wife, Yvonne Loriod, on a Presser Foundation grant.
Rosenkranz, who studied with Professor of Pianoforte Robert Shannon, says that without Shannon’s “patience, guidance, and inspiration,” he would not be where he is today.
“Oberlin is a utopia of creative ideas and creative minds. This energy gave me courage to try and find aspects in music that I can truly love and feel close to.”
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