In March, 1998, Claude Gingras of La Presse, Montreal, said of pianist Michael Chertock: “Chertock revealed himself as a first-rate pianist and an interpreter of noticeable interest through the freshness that he brought to these familiar scores…(he) displayed the sensitivity of a Chopin interpreter.” Indeed, Chertock’s youthful approach to programming and sensitive, elegant styling make him a favorite soloist among conductors such as Keith Lockhart and Erich Kunzel.

Chertock has appeared in more than 100 orchestral performances in the United States, Canada and Europe. His concerto appearances include performances with the Boston Pops, the Toronto Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra, the National Arts Orchestra of Canada, the Naples Philharmonic, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Cleveland’s Blossom Music Festival, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Detroit Symphony. He recently made his Carnegie Hall debut in a recital with clarinetist Ricardo Morales, with whom he has recorded an album of French music.

In 1988, the Cincinnati Enquirer described the Virginia native as “intelligent and disciplined…noble…finely finished…expressive and well-controlled.” In 1993, the Boston Globe called his playing “unmannered, zestful, and lovely.” In 1995, the Cincinnati Post said “the masterful playing of piano soloist Michael Chertock…stole the show. [His] standing ovation was well deserved.”

Chertock’s elegant musical interpretation of contemporary American composers like Gershwin, Bernstein and Anderson, and his gift for programming traditional piano repertoire with popular standards and music from contemporary idioms, have made him popular as a recitalist throughout the United States, resulting in the beginnings of an innovative discography.

After recording several albums of contemporary American piano music on various independent record labels, Chertock began a series of recordings of gracefully arranged music from the movies on Telarc, beginning with Cinematic Piano in 1994. American Record Guide said “[Chertock] plays beautifully, and Telarc’s lush sonics bathe the listener in an intoxicating wash of piano sonorities.” His most recent release, “A Time for Love,” features arrangements of popular romantic themes from hit films including Titanic, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Shakespeare in Love, Hillary and Jackie, and more.

Chertock first performed publicly at the age of 11, and at age 14 he performed on live television in Guam. At 17, he performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 with Andrew Litton and the Arlington Symphony Orchestra.

Chertock holds a Master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Frank Weinstock. He has garnered numerous awards at major competitions, among them the top prize in the 1989 Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition (Brahms Division) and the grand prize in the 1993 St. Charles International Piano Competition. He also shared the silver medal in the 1991 World Piano Competition of the American Music Scholarship Association. In addition, he received the Rildia B. O’Bryon Cliburn Scholarship in 1986.

His credits include a 1991 Cincinnati premiere of the recently discovered Liszt Third Piano Concerto in E Flat, the 1993 Boston premiere of the Leroy Anderson Piano Concerto under the direction of Erich Kunzel, and the 1996 CSO premiere of the Lutoslawski Piano Concerto. In New York City in 1994, he performed the world premiere of Notta Sonata by Jonathan Kramer, a piece for two pianos and percussion with the Cincinnati pianist Frank Weinstock. Kyle Gann of the Village Voice hailed Weinstock and Chertock as “a fantastically well-rehearsed ensemble; they could break into the trickiest, most exposed unison attacks in perfect timing without even looking at each other.”

Chertock’s future plans include return appearances at the Ravinia Festival with Erich Kunzel and the Grand Tetons Music Festival in Wyoming with Minnesota Orchestra Music Director Eiji Oue. He will also perform with the Utah Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic.