Johnson, Graham (Rhodes)

Johnson, Graham (Rhodes), esteemed Rho-desian-born English pianist, teacher, and writer on music; b. Bulawayo, July 10, 1950. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1967–72), and then with Geoffrey Parsons (1972–76) and Gerald Moore (1975–78). In 1970 he became a British citizen. He made his debut at London’s Wigmore Hall in 1972. In 1976 Johnson founded and became artistic director of the Songmakers’ Almanac in London, with which he has presented a remarkable series of innovative vocal concerts with leading singers of the day. An offshoot of this endeavor is his Young Songmakers series in which he features the younger generation of gifted vocal artists in London. In 1977 he toured the U.S. with Victoria de Los Angeles, and in 1985 with Margaret Price. He has since made tours of the U.S. with Peter Schreier, Matthias Goerne, and Dame Felicity Lott. In 1986 Johnson became prof, of accompaniment at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. His most expansive project was the recording of all of Schubert’s songs in 37 vols, in which he was the sensitive accompanist to a host of venerable singers. This series served as a welcome complement to the celebrations in honor of the 200^th anniversary of Schubert’s birth in 1997. In addition to an extensive ongoing survey of the French song repertoire, he launched a major series in 1996 to record the complete songs of Schumann. Johnson’s perceptive observations on music may be found in his program notes to all of his recordings. He has also contributed reviews and articles to various journals. He published the vols. The Spanish Song Companion (1992), The Song-makers’ Almanac: Twenty years of song recitals in London: Reflections and Commentaries (1996), and A French Song Companion (2000). Johnson was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 1984, and of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1988. In 1994 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He was honored as an Instrumentalist of the Year in the Royal Phil. Soc. Awards in 1999.

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire