Lambert Orkis

Performances in chamber music, contemporary music, and on period instruments have earned pianist Lambert Orkis international acclaim; moreover, his recordings, widely praised by audiences, have received numerous Grammy Award nominations. For over fifteen years, his celebrated duo with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter performed to sold-out audiences in the world’s most prestigious concert halls. During his distinguished career, Mr. Orkis spent more than ten years touring internationally with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and has performed with cellists Lynn Harrell, Anner Bylsma, and Han-Na Chang, and violinist Julian Rachlin.

He has premiered and recorded works by numerous composers, including solo piano pieces by George Crumb, Richard Wernick, Maurice Wright, and James Primosch. Moreover, he premiered Wernick’s Piano Concerto under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. This award-winning concerto was also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. Lambert Orkis is a founding member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players and also serves as a rehearsal pianist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He is a professor of piano at the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he has taught for over thirty years. The university has honored him with the Faculty Award for Creative Achievement and the Alumni Association Certificate of Honor.