Charles Wadsworth obit

Charles Wadsworth, Pianist and Champion of Chamber Music, Dies at 96

As the founder, director and genial host of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, he helped drive the chamber music boom of the 1970s.

 He was not on the list.

Charles Wadsworth was an American classical pianist and musical promoter from Newnan, Georgia, who graduated from the University of Georgia. Recognized for his abilities at a young age, at age 12 he started taking piano lessons from Hugh Hodgson, namesake of the University of Georgia's music school. Wadsworth gained international renown in 1960 by originating the Midday Concerts at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto. He also started the chamber music concert series at the Spoleto Festival USA, which he directs, performed at and hosted through 2009.

In 1969, Wadsworth founded the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the behest of Lincoln Center's president William Schumann and performed the opening concerts at Alice Tully Hall. He led the organization as artistic director for twenty seasons, commissioning new works by Pierre Boulez, Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein, among others. He also presented many young performers, including Kathleen Battle, Richard Goode, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin, Pinchas Zukerman and Jessye Norman.

In 1996, Wadsworth organized a concert for the 1996 Summer Olympics including Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell and Frederica von Stade.

He was married to Susan Wadsworth (founder of Young Concert Artists) and they have a daughter. He has a daughter and son from his first marriage.

Wadsworth has been invited to perform at the White House for the Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Wadsworth has received awards from the French Government as a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters, and from Italy as a Cavaliere Ufficiale in the Order of Merit. He has also received the Handel Medallion for his contributions to the cultural life of the City of New York.

The Art Deco municipal auditorium in Newnan, Georgia was renovated and renamed the Charles Wadsworth Auditorium in his honor. He has performed there annually since 1990.

The University of West Georgia has created the Charles Wadsworth Music Scholarship in his honor. It was first established in 1990 by a citizens group from Newnan, Georgia.