With a reputation as a performer of “romantic sweep and arching lyricism” (The New York Times) and “a pianist with superb technique” (The Boston Globe) Diane Walsh has created an international career of distinction. On disc, as well as in recital, chamber music and concerto performances worldwide, she has brought a clear vision and superlative skill to a broad range of repertoire. In addition, her recent work on the theatre stage has further illuminated the ingenuity of her musical gifts.
Ms. Walsh has given recitals at such major venues as the 92 Street Y, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Merkin Concert Hall and the Miller Theatre in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philharmonic Hall in Leningrad, Dvorak Hall in Prague, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, among many others. She has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Austin, Syracuse and Delaware Symphonies, the American Symphony Orchestra in New York, the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the radio symphonies of Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Berlin. Ms. Walsh has toured Europe with Orpheus and performed with them in the premiere of William Bolcom's Orphée Serenade in Carnegie Hall. She has performed concerto performances with orchestras in Brazil, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Russia.
In 2009 Ms. Walsh was the pianist in 33 Variations, a play by Moisés Kaufman, for its Broadway run of 113 performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. The play, which starred Jane Fonda, is focused on the creation of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, which Ms. Walsh performed on stage throughout the play. She was also the pianist in three other productions of 33 Variations: Arena Stage in Washington D.C., La Jolla Playhouse, and the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles.
An active recording artist, Ms. Walsh has made sixteen CDs of diverse repertoire for Sony, Nonesuch, Koch, Newport, Stereophile, Naxos, Composers Recordings, Inc., Jonathan Digital and Biddulph. Her most recent releases are Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and volumes One and Two of the Complete Schubert Piano Sonatas.
In demand as a chamber musician, she has performed at many festivals including Marlboro, Santa Fe, Bard, Eastern Shore, Strings, Open Chamber Music in Cornwall and Music from Salem. She has been guest artist with the Fine Arts, Mendelssohn, Brentano and Lydian String Quartets, and is a member of both the Walsh-Drucker-Cooper Trio, and of La Fenice (comprised of piano, string trio and oboe.) In addition, Ms. Walsh has served as Artistic Director of the Skaneateles Festival in upstate New York. During her five years there she presented world-renowned performers and designed and performed in innovative programs such as An Evening with Bill Irwin and The Love Letters of Robert and Clara, set to music by the Schumanns. Recently she has developed a new theater piece, I Kiss Your Hands 1000 Times, which combines Mozart's Gran Partita with readings of his letters.
Her major teachers were Irwin Freundlich at the Juilliard School and Richard Goode at Mannes College. Among her many honors and awards, Ms. Walsh won the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and was winner of first prize at the Munich ARD International Competition and top prizes in the Salzburg Mozart Competition, the William Kapell International Competition in Maryland and the Busoni International Competition in Italy. A prizewinner in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, she also won that competition’s chamber music award. She is a member of the piano faculty at Mannes College The New School for Music in New York City. Ms. Walsh is a Steinway Artist. She has served on the juries of national and international piano competitions such as the William Kapell, Concert Artists Guild, Young Concert Artists, PianoArts, and the Jovenes Concertistas Brasileiros Competition in Rio de Janeiro. She is married to the writer Richard Pollak, and they make their home in New York City.