Cellist John-Henry Crawford to make Carnegie Hall Debut

As the recipient of the American Recital Debut Award, Crawford will perform alongside pianist Victor Santiago Asunción, on October 3, 2023

American cellist John-Henry Crawford is set to make his Carnegie Hall debut in the Weill Recital Hall on October 3, 2023. Crawford is the first recipient of the American Recital Debut Award, a new prize established in the Spring of 2023 to enable an emerging musician to appear in a concert hall of international renown.

In this recital, Crawford is once again joined by Victor Santiago Asunción (piano), who is also the founder of the award. The awardee is selected by Asunción and a panel of high-level musicians, and they aim to reward a musician who can provide innovative concert experiences by pushing the boundaries of the concert format.

The first half of the recital focuses on works by American composers, including Lukas Foss, Amy Beach, George Gershwin, and Samuel Barber. Of particular note is David Sanford's work Seventh Avenue Kaddish, a lament for the victims of the September 11 attacks that imagines the cellist near Ground Zero as the tragedy takes place.

In the second half, Crawford returns to Rachmaninoff's Sonata in G Minor and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini — both works that Crawford and Asunción recorded on their acclaimed 2023 album Voice of Rachmaninoff.

Hailing originally from Louisiana, John Henry Crawford is the winner of the 2019 International Carlos Prieto Cello Competition. Named Young Artist of the Year by the Classical Recording Foundation, Crawford gave his solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra as First Prize Winner of the orchestra’s Greenfield Competition.

He has given concerts in 25 states as well as Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Mexico, and Switzerland at venues such as The International Concert Series of the Louvre in Paris, Volkswagen’s Die Gläsern Manufaktur in Dresden, and the inaugural season of the Tippet Rise Arts Center in Montana.

A student of Peter Wiley and Carter Brey at the Curtis Institute of Music, Crawford went on to complete an Artist Diploma at the Manhattan School of Music with Philippe Muller and a Master of Music at The Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick. He then pursued further study in Chicago with Hans Jørgen Jensen.