Lambert Orkis

Pianist Lambert Orkis has achieved international renown for his performances as a chamber musician, for his renderings of contemporary music, for his interpretations on period instruments, and for his acclaimed recordings, which have received multiple Grammy Award nominations. For more than two decades, the celebrated duo of violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis has appeared to capacity audiences in the finest performance venues. The duo's recordings and DVDs for Deutsche Grammophon include the complete Brahms Sonatas for Piano and Violin, the Grammy Award-winning complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin (Best Chamber Music Performance, 1999), and Mozart's Sonatas for Piano and Violin, recipient of a Choc de l'année 2006 award by the French magazine Le Monde de la Musique. In September 2011 Deutsche Grammophon released a 40-disc set commemorating Ms. Mutter's 35 years of recording with this label, and includes all the duos previous recorded with Mr.

Pianist Lambert Orkis has achieved international renown for his performances as a chamber musician, for his renderings of contemporary music, for his interpretations on period instruments, and for his acclaimed recordings, which have received multiple Grammy Award nominations.

For more than two decades, the celebrated duo of violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis has appeared to capacity audiences in the finest performance venues. The duo's recordings and DVDs for Deutsche Grammophon include the complete Brahms Sonatas for Piano and Violin, the Grammy Award-winning complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin (Best Chamber Music Performance, 1999), and Mozart's Sonatas for Piano and Violin, recipient of a Choc de l'année 2006 award by the French magazine Le Monde de la Musique. In September 2011 Deutsche Grammophon released a 40-disc set commemorating Ms. Mutter's 35 years of recording with this label, and includes all the duos previous recorded with Mr. Orkis plus two new discs. Concerts with Ms. Mutter during the 2011–12 season include European tours in recital and, with cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, in trio concerts.

His substantial career includes more than ten years of international touring as a partner with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and numerous appearances with cellists Lynn Harrell, Anner Bylsma, Daniel Müller-Schott, and Han-Na Chang, with violist Steven Dann, and with violinist Julian Rachlin. Mr. Orkis performs with the Smithsonian Institution's Castle Trio, which, using period instruments, has recorded the cycle of Beethoven Trios. Compact discs released by Bridge Records include recordings of Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata performed on fortepianos and a piano of Viennese design, and a re-release of Gottschalk's piano music performed on an 1865 Chickering concert grand from the Collections of the Smithsonian Institution. With violist Steven Dann, he appears on an ATMA Classique disc of works by Brahms. Mr. Orkis has premiered and recorded compositions of numerous composers, including solo works by George Crumb, Richard Wernick, Maurice Wright, and James Primosch for Bridge Records. His most recent release entitled Beethoven Past & Present, on Dorian Recordings and in collaboration with David Hardy, principal cello of the National Symphony Orchestra, contains two complete performances of Beethoven's eight works for piano and cello performed on both modern and period instruments.

In addition to performing as principal keyboard with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., Lambert Orkis is a founding member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players. Recordings by this ensemble that have been released on the Dorian label include The Beauty of Two (duos for piano with cello [Grieg, Martinu], viola [Hindemith], and flute [Poulenc]) and An Emotional Journey, Clarinet Works of Johannes Brahms.

Lambert Orkis is professor of piano at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he has been teaching for more than 40 years and where he has been honored with its Faculty Award for Creative Achievement. Recently, Mr. Orkis was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany.

Video and Audio

Meet the Musician: Lambert Orkis on his inspiration to become a musician

Meet the Musician: Lambert Orkis on his inspiration to become a musician

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Additional Resources

Review "At Kennedy Center, A Whale Of a Recital" The Washington Post – Washington, DC (Nov. 15, 2005)
Review - "Principal Pleasures From NSO's Bar-Josef and Orkis" The Washington Post
Lambert Orkis's official website Information on Mr. Orkis's musical life, recordings, and more.

Upcoming Events

The Kennedy Center Chamber Players play Bach, Mendelssohn & Brahms 10/6/2013 7:30 PM
Musicians of the NSO perform J.S. Bach's Sonata in D major and Mendelssohn's Sonata No.1 in B-flat major--both for cello and piano--as well as Brahms's Piano Trio No. 2 in C major.
The Kennedy Center Chamber Players play Paganini, Grieg, Leisner & Beethoven 2/9/2014 2:00 PM
Musicians of the NSO perform Paganini's Trio in D major for Violin, Cello, and Guitar, Grieg's Violin Sonata No.3 in C minor, Leisner's Dances in the Madhouse for Violin and Guitar, and Beethoven's Piano Trio in E-flat major.
The Kennedy Center Chamber Players play Glinka, Colgrass & Brahms 3/9/2014 2:00 PM
Musicians of the NSO perform Glinka's Trio Pathétique in D minor for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano, plus Colgrass's Variations for Four Drums and Viola and Brahms's Piano Quintet in F minor.

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