Gary Graffman (born October 14, 1928) is an American classical pianist, teacher of piano and music Graffman was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish parents. Having started piano at age 3, Graffman entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age 7 in 1936 as a piano student of Isabelle Vengerova. After graduating from Curtis in 1946, he made his professional solo debut with conductor Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. By age 20, Graffman had made a name for himself worldwide as a classical pianist. Read more on Last.fm