Adam Tendler

Grammy-nominated pianist Adam Tendler is a recipient of the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, the Yvar Mikhashoff Prize, and "currently the hottest pianist on the American contemporary classical scene" (Minneapolis Star Tribune), a "remarkable and insightful musician" (LA Times), and a "relentlessly adventurous pianist" (Washington Post) "joyfully rocking out at his keyboard" (New York Times). A pioneer of DIY culture in classical music, at age 23 Tendler performed solo recitals in all fifty states as part of a grassroots tour called America 88x50, the subject of his acclaimed memoir, 88x50. He has gone on to become one of classical music's most recognized and celebrated artists, commissioning major works from composers as diverse as Christian Wolff and Devonté Hynes, and appearing as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and on the main-stages of Carnegie Hall, the Barbican Centre, Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center and BAM. As a recording artist, he is featured on Wild Up's Grammy-nominated third volume of Julius Eastman's music, and has also released albums of music by Liszt, Robert Palmer, and of his own original work. He recently commissioned 16 new pieces using the entire inheritance left to him by his father after his unexpected death, with works by Laurie Anderson, Nico Muhly and Missy Mazzoli, among others, as part of a program called Inheritances, a New York Times Critic Pick described as "not only a display of contemporary compositional force, but also a true show...emotionally involving...with a sense of true dramatic stakes." Inheritances will appear on a forthcoming album on the New Amsterdam label. As Green-wood Cemetery's 2023/2024 Artist-In-Residence, Tendler has a site-specific installation, Exit Strategy, open through summer 2024. He also recently published his second book, tidepools. Adam Tendler is a Yamaha Artist and serves on the piano faculty of NYU.