Samuel Sanders (June 27, 1937July 9, 1999) was an American classical collaborative pianist and pedagogue.
Biography He was born with a congenital heart condition that required him to undergo surgery at the age of nine.Dan Rodricks, "A former 'blue baby' touches the heartstrings of Dr. Taussig," The Evening Sun, May 21, 1986, 4. His first piano teacher was Hedwig Kanner-Rosenthal.Malcolm Miller, "Music and Drama," Knoxville Journal, December 6, 1953, 11-D.
He studied at Hunter College and later received a master's degree at the Juilliard School, where he studied solo piano with Irwin Freundlich and Martin Canin.David Dubal, The Art of the Piano (Pompton Plains, NJ: Amadeus Press, 2004), 314. While at Juilliard, he also studied accompanying with Sergius Kagen.
Samuel Sanders died from liver failure at New York Presbyterian Hospital in 1999. He was 62 and lived in Manhattan.Kozinn, "Samuel Sanders Is Dead at 62." The New York Times
Career and Honors As a collaborative pianist, he worked with many important classical musicians including Joshua Bell, Håkan Hagegård, Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Itzhak Perlman, Rachel Barton Pine, Leonard Rose, Beverly Sills, and Robert White.Allan Kozinn, "Samuel Sanders Is Dead at 62; Accompanied Noted Performers", New York Times, July 12, 1999
With Perlman, he won two Grammy Awards in 1981 for "The Spanish Album" and "Music for Two Violins." With Chilean cellist Andrés Díaz, Sanders formed the Díaz-Sanders Duo.
Sanders was the founder and artistic director of the Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
He received honorary doctorates from Lehman College and the St. Louis Conservatory of Music. He taught at the Juilliard School and the Peabody Institute, creating accompanying programs at both schools.
References
External links Concert Grande - Interview with Samuel Sanders, July 15, 1985 Hyperion Records artist page: Samuel Sanders Naxos discography: Samuel Sanders New York Times obituary: "Samuel Sanders is dead at 62" (subscription required)