André Laplante Piano Master Class

André Laplante presents a master class featuring students from the NEC piano studios.

This masterclass is made possible by Edith Michelson Milender in honor of her mother Mildred Levinson ‘29.  André Laplante is the 2024-25 Mildred Levinson Piano Artist-in-Residence.

André Laplante, who in 2005 was honored to be named an Officer of the Order of Canada, garnered international attention after winning prizes at the Geneva and Sydney international piano competitions, then capturing the silver medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Critics have compared him with Ashkenazy, Horowitz and Rudolph Serkin, placing him in the elite circle of virtuoso pianists who do not hesitate to take risks. In recent years, Laplante has appeared as orchestral soloist with many of the great orchestras including the Montreal and Chicago symphony orchestras, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Sir Neville Mariner and has toured in Europe with the Toronto Symphony under Andrew Davis. He also appeared with the Royal Philharmonic under the baton of the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin during their extensive North American tour. Recent seasons have also included a major concert tour of the People’s Republic of China, recital tours of the Far East, Australia and North America and appearances at major music festivals, including the Debussy Festival in France, the Pecs Festival in Hungary, the Orford Festival in Canada, the Cascais Festival in Portugal, the Salzburg Festival in Austria and America’s TCU-Van Cliburn Institute. André Laplante has served as a jury member of the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, the International Music Festival in Australia, the CBC National Competition, the Honens International Piano Competition, the William Kapell International Piano Competition and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. An active recording artist, André Laplante’s releases on the Analekta label include works by Liszt which garnered a Félix Award in 1995 and a recording of Ravel and Rachmaninov, as well as an award winning Brahms album which won another Félix in 1996. He has also recorded for CBC and Melodia. His recording of Tchaikovsky No. 1 Concerto with Yoav Talmi and Quebec Symphony was nominated for the 2001 Felix Award. His performance of Jacques Hetu’s Piano Concerto No. 2 for CBC Records won the 2004 Juno award for orchestral recordings, as well as the Western Canadian Music Award. In 2010, Mr. Laplante received an Opus Awards for live performance: “Best Concert in Quebec Province.”