Orion Weiss — Piano

Orion Weiss is recognized as one of the most sought-after soloists and chamber collaborators of his generation, praised by The New York Times as a “brilliant pianist” and by The Washington Post for his “powerful technique and exceptional insight.” Known for the warmth and range of his playing, Weiss has been acclaimed for his “delicate, even fingerwork” (Washington Classical Review) and “head-spinning range of colors” (Chicago Tribune). He has appeared with all the major North American orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic.

In February 2025, Weiss released Arc III on First Hand Records, the final installment of his acclaimed Arc Trilogy. His 2024/25 season features wide-ranging engagements: performing the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with James Ehnes in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Seattle; a return to Wigmore Hall; his debut at David Geffen Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra; and solo performances of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Newport Classical. Additional appearances include Italy’s Teatro Marrucino Biglietteria, the Great Artists Series at Washington University in St. Louis, tours with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and a tour of Japan with violinist Akiko Suwanai featuring the complete Brahms Sonatas.

A dedicated chamber musician, Weiss performs regularly with Augustin Hadelich, William Hagen, James Ehnes, Michael Brown, Shai Wosner, and the Ariel, Parker, and Pacifica Quartets. Festival and recital highlights include Ravinia, Aspen, Tanglewood, Lucerne, Edinburgh International Festival, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Schubert Club, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, 92nd Street Y, and many others.

His recordings span labels including Naxos, Telos, Bridge, First Hand, Yarlung, and Artek, and range from solo recital albums to collaborations. The Arc Trilogy (2022–25) has been widely praised, with Gramophone calling Arc III “a worthy successor to the distinguished predecessors.” Other notable releases include Korngold’s Left Hand Concerto with Leon Botstein and The Orchestra Now, Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra with the Buffalo Philharmonic, The Piano Protagonists with The Orchestra Now, and numerous chamber music recordings.

Weiss made his Boston Symphony debut at Tanglewood in 2011 as a last-minute replacement for Leon Fleisher and has since performed with orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic under Itzhak Perlman. He has also appeared in summer concerts with the New York Philharmonic at both Lincoln Center and Bravo! Vail.

His numerous honors include the Gilmore Young Artist Award, Avery Fisher Career Grant, Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist of the Year, and the William Petschek Recital Award at Juilliard. A graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax, Weiss has also studied with Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro, Sergei Babayan, Joseph Kalichstein, Jerome Lowenthal, Kathryn Brown, and Edith Reed.