Judith Cohen, also from Chicago, began playing the piano in 1961 at the age of 5, and studied at the Chicago Musical College until the age of 18. She was the First Prize Winner in the 1984 Pacific International Piano Competition, prompting jury chair Dr. Bela Nagy to call her “one of the five best pianists I’ve heard in the last fifteen years.” In 1985, she was the only American of eight pianists chosen to perform in the public master classes of Maestro Aldo Ciccolini in Bari, Italy. Following a 1985 recital in Mexico City, critic Robert Somerlott of the Mexico City Daily News wrote, “Judith Cohen captivated the audience with both her musicianship and stage presence, proving herself an artist of unusual talent.”
Judith released her first commercial recording, an all-Prokofiev album, in 1988 on the Byzantium label. In 2000, she released three compact disks of 20th century piano music for Pear Records, and in the spring of 2003, Capstone Records released a live-concert recording titled “In Tandem: Music for Two Pianos,” performed by Ms. Cohen and pianist Jill Timmons.
Since 1989, Judith Cohen has served as Artistic Director of the Governor’s Chamber Music Series in Washington, planning and performing in chamber music concerts throughout the Pacific Northwest. She made her European debut in April 2002 with two solo recitals in Budapest, Hungary.