Charlie Albright

Gilmore and Avery Fisher prize winning pianist Charlie Albright makes his Pittsburgh Symphony debut April 12, 13 and 14 with George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for PNC Pops and Saturday morning Fiddlesticks concerts. He’s from Centralia, Washington with a start at age 3 then on to studying at Harvard with an interest in economics and pre medicine but the piano became the main focus. He’s appeared with Yo Yo Ma on numerous occasions often with special circumstances and he is loving the sound of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the grandeur of Heinz Hall and the collaboration with Byron Stripling. The subjects covered include why he loves music and young people, his work on YouTube teaching piano, his daughter who is less than one year old and the pre concert ritual which now and then includes a stop at Chipotle. Charlie Albright spoke after the Friday rehearsal with Jim Cunningham sitting at the top of the stairs in the grand lobby under the crystal chandeliers.