Kenneth Amada
Biography
(Source: Since no information about my teacher is posted online, I have taken the liberty of posting this, which is adapted from the program notes of a 9/23/87 University of Iowa concert I attended when I was a doctoral student there. I have added the paragraph on his musical lineage as well as the very last sentence. -- Arthur Houle.)
Kenneth Amada began the study of piano at the age of three and played his first full-length recital at the age of five. Graduating from Rutgers University at age nineteen, he gave his New York debut recital that same year.
Mr. Amada studied with Moriz (or "Maurycy") Rosenthal (1862-1946), who was a student of Carl Mikuli (1819-1897), who in turn studied with Frederick Chopin (1810-1849). Rosenthal was also a student of Franz Liszt (1811-1886), whose musical ancestry goes to J. S. Bach (1685-1750).
Mr. Amada has made several hundred appearances throughout the world on radio, television, in recital and as guest soloist with symphony orchestras. His orchestra credits include The Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of both Eugene Ormandy and Arthur Fiedler, the Symphony of the Air with both Alfred Wallenstein and Milton Katims, the Detroit Symphony, the National Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Orchestra of Belgium, and the Warsaw Philharmonic.
Mr. Amada has made seven international concert tours. He has played in every major European country including the Soviet Union to the highest acclaim. He has also been a prize winner in many international competitions including the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Competition and the Leventritt International Competition. To quote from The New York Times: "...since his last New York recital the young American pianist Kenneth Amada has come honorably close to winning almost every major American performing competition." Mr. Amada has also been the recipient of many other honors including the Harriet Cohen International Piano Award and also has been awarded touring grants by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Office of International Education for the purpose of presenting outstanding American performers to audiences internationally. His success has been described in the following manner by La Lanterne of Brussels, Belgium: "Impeccable virtuosity, profound musical sense, complete mastery of all the elements of performing, beauty of presentation, eloquence which literally captivated the auditorium."
Kenneth Amada was appointed to the faculty of the University of Iowa School of Music in 1967 and was later its chairman of the Piano Department. He is now Professor Emeritus.
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