Timothy Ehlen, currently Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, has performed extensively in the United States and Europe as a soloist and chamber player.  He first gained international attention after winning the World Piano Competition in 1987; after his subsequent debut in Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall in 1988, the New York Times raved that his “playing was filled with elegant personality... recalled bygone artists like Robert Casadesus and, especially Walter Gieseking in their mastery of both 18th century and impressionist music...immaculate technique.”  The Pro Piano Recital Series sponsored his 1997 recital in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, which the New York Concert Review hailed as “…an absolutely remarkable tour-de-force.”  Recitals in France, Germany, and Korea have elicited a similarly enthusiastic response: “Sensitive and tender creativity [in Ravel]” [Fürther Nachrichten] and “behind the fire hid a heartfelt emotion, held together by tender affection [in Beethoven]” [L’Alsace].

Recent recitals include the Cleveland Orchestra’s Schubert Bi-Centennial Series in Cleveland, festival Recontres Internationales de Piano en Alsace, International Franz Liszt Festival in France; periodic recitals on the series “Sundays Live” (broadcast live on KMZT in Los Angeles from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), Old First Concerts in San Francisco, Bösendorfer Hall in Vienna, Kum Ho Art Hall in Seoul, Korea; numerous universities, including Indiana University in Bloomington,  Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, Seoul National University in Korea, New England Conservatory of Music, etc.  He has been heard frequently on National Public Radio, in addition to numerous independent broadcasts of major market performances in this country and abroad.

Mr. Ehlen is currently in the process of recording the complete Beethoven Sonatas for the Azica label. Volume V was released in November 2012; volume VI is scheduled for release in spring 2013. His solo CD containing the Schumann Fantasie and other works was released on the Azica label in 2006 to critical acclaim.  Previous recordings have appeared on the Crystal, Omnibus, and Felia Mundi labels.  

Dedicated to fostering young talent, Mr. Ehlen regularly presents master classes at major universities and conservatories, including The San Francisco Conservatory, Seoul National University, Yonsei University and others in Korea, Eastman School of Music, The Chautauqua Music Festival, Brevard Music Festival, The Colburn School of Music, California Institute of the Arts, Idyllwild School for the Arts in Los Angeles, Cleveland Institute of Music, Boston University, World Piano Competition, etc.

Mr. Ehlen has taught and performed at the summer festivals Rencontres Musicales en Lorraine in Nancy, France, the Vienna International Piano Academy in Vienna, Austria, and the Chautauqua Music Festival in New York, and the Brevard Music Institute in North Carolina. He completed his BM and MM studies with John Perry at the University of Southern California, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Paul Schenly at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Timothy Ehlen is an International Steinway Artist.