Christopher Atzinger

American pianist Christopher Atzinger has earned critical praise not only at home but abroad; Gramophone in the UK noted his "abundant energy, powerful fingers, big sound, and natural musicality." He has often specialized in American music. Christopher Atzinger was born in Jackson, Michigan, on March 19, 1977. He took up the piano at age six. Atzinger attended the University of Texas at Austin as an undergraduate, graduating in 1999 and returning to Michigan for a master's degree (2001), and moving on to the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University for a doctorate (2005). Atzinger retained ties to his native Michigan, performing with his hometown Jackson Symphony and on Detroit radio station WJR as well as WGTE-FM in nearby Toledo, Ohio. But competition medals, received at the New Orleans and Seattle international piano competitions as well as the IBLLA Grand Prize Competition in Italy, exposed his talents to a wider sphere. Atzinger has appeared at some of the world's most prestigious recital venues, including New York's Carnegie Hall, the Salle Cortot in Paris, and the American Academy in Rome. He has played concertos with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Springfield (Massachusetts) Symphony, among other groups. Atzinger has gained especially wide attention for his recordings, which have been featured on Performance Today on the U.S. National Public Radio network. He has recorded for the MSR, Naxos, and Delos labels, focusing on unusual American repertory since his first two albums on MSR. A 2012 release on Naxos covered piano music by Judith Lang Zaimont, and he returned to MSR in 2014 for American Lyricism, an album of music by Christopher Theofanidis, Richard Danielpour, Monica Houghton, Justin Merritt, and Pierre Jalbert. On Delos, in 2019, he released an album of music by the 19th century American composer John Knowles Paine. Atzinger taught at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania before joining the faculty at Minnesota's St. Olaf College in 2005. He has also given master classes at various American institutions.
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