For more information, please contact
Bettina L. Klinger
Tel: 917-930-8654
Email: bettinalklinger1@gmail.com
Legendary pianist in town with Arthritis Foundation
Release Date: November 10, 2011
Acclaimed pianist Byron Janis is the guest of the Arthritis Foundation tonight in an event starting at 6 p.m. at the Seasons, 7300 Dearwester Drive in Montgomery. The renowned pianist, who appeared many times as soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, will tell the story of reclaiming his piano mastery after a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis at the height of his career. The evening will include a brief video of his story, an interview with Janis and his wife, Maria Cooper Janis, followed by a few selections performed by Janis at the piano.
The event is $25 per person. (shaas@arthritis.org or call 513-271-4545)
The first pianist to study with Vladimir Horowitz, Janis made his orchestral debut with Toscaninis NBC Symphony at age 15. He began his career as a concert pianist in 1944. In 1960, the United States Department of State chose him to open the first cultural exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union. At that time, The New York Times reported that if music could replace international politics, Byron Janis could consider himself an ambassador breaking down cold war barriers.
In 1978, he created a program on the life of Frederic Chopin, which aired twice, nationally on PBS stations in the United States and in countries around the world.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan honored Janis at a State Dinner at the White House marking the 40th anniversary of his Carnegie Hall debut. Janis has had the great honor of being written into the Congressional Record of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, honoring him as a musician, a diplomat and an inspiration. He has written an autobiography, Chopin and Beyond: My Extraordinary Life in Music and the Paranormal.
A companion DVD entitled The Byron Janis Story, also chronicles his life and is currently airing across the United States on PBS.
For more than 38 years Mr. Janis has suffered with psoriatic arthritis; at the onset of the disease for 12 years he did not reveal he had it. Together, he and his wife Maria Cooper Janis, the daughter of late great actor Gary Cooper, continued on a journey that despite often being in severe pain, allowed him to play with only sporadic absences from the world stage.
The artist is donating 25 percent of proceeds from his book, DVD and recordings to the Arthritis Foundation.
For press information and to schedule interviews, limited public appearances and engagements, please contactBettina Klinger, 917-930-8654 or email bettinalklinger1@gmail.com.
Byronjanis.com - https://www.facebook.com/ByronJanis/
https://twitter.com/@ByronJanisMusic
######