Murray Perahia KBE (born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor.
Murray Perahia was born in New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin. According to the biography on his Mozart piano sonatas CD, his first language was Judaeo-Spanish. The family was from Thessaloniki, Greece. His father moved to the United States in 1935.
In 1965, Perahia won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In 1972, he was the first North American to win first prize at the Leeds Piano Competition.
Awards
Seventh International Schumann Festival
2000 Robert Schumann Society Claudio Arrau Memorial Medal
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1989 Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) 2003 Chopin: Études, Opp. 10, 25 1999 Bach: English Suites Nos. 1, 3 and 6