“For me, the Steinway piano is the only piano capable of the wide range of tone color, dynamics, expression, and brilliance required in all varieties of piano music, be it jazz, ‘the classics,’ or any other idiom. Nothing else feels like a Steinway and no other instrument gives such consistent satisfaction - it is truly a marvel of artistic craftsmanship.”
A superior and innovative soloist, accompanist, and interpreter of ballads, Fred Hersch started playing piano when he was four. He moved to New York in 1977 and worked as a sideman with many players including Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, Toots Thielemans, Art Farmer, Jane Ira Bloom, Eddie Daniels, and Janis Siegel, as well as leading his own groups. He is committed to education, and has taught at the New England Conservatory, the Juilliard School, the New School, Manhattan School of Music, and Rutgers University. In addition, Hersch has recorded extensively as a leader, releasing a bevy of albums since the late 1980s. He has received multiple Grammy nominations, several for his 2011 live solo record Alone at the Vanguard.
For two decades Hersch has been a passionate spokesman and fundraiser for AIDS services and educational agencies. He has produced and performed on four benefit recordings and in numerous concerts for charity. His efforts have raised an estimated $300,000, and he has appeared as keynote speaker and performer at international medical conferences.
Hersch has been a Steinway Artist since 1988.
Photo: Mark Niskanen
