The Winthrop House resident used his electives to take music classes, yet also managed to study Arabic, Japanese and ancient Greek and to form a trio that played chamber music.

The year after graduation, Taylor became the first American to reach the finals of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition since 1981.

The contest, held every four years, pits the top 30 pianists under the age of 32 in the world against each other in a “rigorous and comprehensive examination of every facet of each contestant’s musicianship and technical proficiency.” Twelve semifinalists are chosen to play new works and chamber music, and six finalists perform two concerti with an orchestra, before the winners are awarded with cash and concert engagements.

The last round of the 1993 competition was dominated by Rachmoninoff concertos, but Taylor impressed the judges with his interpretations of the Brahms concerto in B-flat major and Bach’s concerto in d minor, and received wide acclaim for the resulting recording. He saved Rachmaninoff for an encore, when he played the “Etude-Tableau.”

Taylor’s cerebral interests also set him apart from the crowd.

After graduating from Harvard, he has kept abreast of mathematical issues, and he says he dabbles in philosophy and computer programming.

Although he says he enjoys composing, time has always been the factor limiting Taylor’s growth as a composer. He has produced mainly music for the piano, as well as some orchestral music, but is currently concentrating mainly on performing and teaching.

Though Taylor says he feels that competitions were helpful in jump-starting his career, he does not plan to enter any more in the future. During the years following the Van Cliburn, he performed all over the country before getting his Masters in teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music. He believes teaching is an important part of being a musician.

For the past few years, Taylor has been an assistant professor of piano at the University of Wisconsin.

He has played with the New York Philharmonic, the Buffalo, Los Angeles and Seoul Philharmonics, the National Symphony, the Atlanta, Houston, St. Louis, and Pacific Symphonies, among various others in the U.S. and abroad. He was recently honored with the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and currently records for the Jonathan Digital label.

Right now Taylor is learning pieces by Mozart and Gershwin, as well as keeping up his already-impressive repertoire in anticipation of upcoming concerts. He has been married to his wife, Denise, for almost ten years, and the couple is expecting a second child this spring.

According to Taylor, one of the best things about being a pianist is that one never runs out of pieces to play. He loves to encounter new challenges, and the “rush of learning new notes.” Although his repertoire has expanded greatly during his career, Beethoven remains central to it. Taylor has set a personal goal of learning all 32 Beethoven sonatas—and he has just eight to go.

—Staff writer Isabelle B. Bolton can be reached at ibolton@fas.harvard.edu.