Menahem Pressler, distinguished professor of piano at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, is the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 2011 International Classical Music Awards. Pressler will receive the award at a ceremony in Tampere, Finland on April 6th.
Menahem Pressler, now 86, joined the IU faculty in 1955. His students can be found on the faculties of many prestigious schools of music and performing in concert halls around the world. Pressler was a founding member of the universally acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio, which held its final concert in 2008 after nearly 55 years of touring the world.
Among his many honors are six Grammy nominations, a lifetime achievement awards from Gramophone magazine, over 30 solo recordings to his name, and honorary doctorates from the University of Nebraska, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the North Carolina School of the Arts. To this day, Pressler continues travelling the globe to give recitals and teach masterclasses.
According to their homepage, the International Classical Music Awards are "the preeminent awards for classical music on an international level. The jury consists of professional music critics of the most important magazines, online services and radio stations."
Other 2011 award recipients include conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (Artist of the Year) and pianist David Kadouch (Young Artist of the Year).