Elizabeth Sawyer Parisot

Elizabeth Sawyer Parisot is an American pianist.[1] She has performed in solo and chamber music concerts worldwide at venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Queen Elizabeth Hall.[1] Parisot has collaborated with a number of prominent instrumentalists and vocalists, including Aldo Parisot, Yo-Yo Ma, János Starker, Ralph Kirshbaum, Carter Brey, Hu Nai-Yuan, William Preucil, and David Shifrin.[2][3][1][4][5] Parisot is particularly well-known for her work with cellists, and in 2007 she was awarded the title “Grande Dame du Violoncelle” in 2007 by the Eva Janzer Memorial Cello Center at Indiana University.[1]

Since 1977, she has been a professor of piano at the Yale School of Music.[1] Her students have performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, among others.[6]

She was married to the late Brazilian cellist Aldo Parisot, who was himself a faculty member at the Yale School of Music, for 52 years.[2] The two toured and performed extensively as a duo,[1] and they released a recording of the Brahms cello sonatas on the Musical Heritage Society label in 1974.[7] Elizabeth Sawyer Parisot has numerous other recordings to her credit,[1] including contributions to a complete compendium of Ezra Laderman's compositions.[8]

Each year, the "Elizabeth Parisot Prize" is awarded at the Yale School of Music's Convocation to outstanding pianists who are graduating.[9] Past recipients include Rachel Cheung and Dominic Cheli.[10][11]