George Winston passes away at 83 (Image via Getty Images)

Who was George Winston? Tributes pour in as renowned pianist dies at 74

Modified Jun 09, 2023 02:42 GMT

The popular pianist George Winston passed away on June 4, 2023, after battling with several forms of cancer for 10 years. He died at the age of 74. The news of his demise was shared on his official website www.georgewinston.com.

The following statement was shared on the website:

"Throughout his cancer treatments, George continued to write and record new music, and he stayed true to his greatest passion: performing for live audiences while raising funds for Feeding America to help fight the national hunger crisis along with donating proceeds from each of his concerts to local food banks."

The Grammy award-winning musician sold millions of albums. He played classical, folk, Jazz, and other styles.

A quote mentioned from a Q&A section on his website mentioned that George came up with the melodic style that he played in 1971.

It read:

"I have always called it ‘Folk Piano,’ (or more accurately ‘Rural Folk Piano’), since it is melodic and not complicated in its approach, like folk guitar picking and folk songs, and has a rural sensibility."

George Winston hailed from Hart, Michigan and released a number of solo piano albums, know all about him

George Winston was born on February 11, 1949 in Hart, Michigan. Later, he moved to Montana, and while growing up, he spent most of his time in Mississippi and Florida.

He was popular for his solo piano albums. For those unaware, he released his first album in 1972 and shot to fame when his album Autumn was released.

Other than his solo albums, he also released soundtracks for TV series like Charlie Brown and This Is America, among others. Moreover, in 1996, George won the award for Best New Age Album for Forest at the 38th Grammy Awards.

In 2022, he released an album called Night, and before this, in 2019, he released his solo piano album called Restless Wind. At that time, this album became a chart-topper and marked its debut at the number 1 spot on the Billboard New Age Charts.

Tributes poured in as social media users learned about the demise of George Winston

As social media users learned about George Winston's death, tributes poured in. Several internet users said that this was very sad news and it was the end of an era.

George Winston

@gwinstonpiano

We are deeply saddened to share the news that George Winston has passed away after a 10-year battle with cancer. George quietly and painlessly left this world while asleep on Sunday, June 4, 2023.
Read the full message: georgewinston.com/about

Minnesota Orchestra

@mn_orchestra

We are deeply saddened to hear the news of pianist George Winston's passing after a 10-year battle with cancer. We have extremely fond memories of George here at the Minnesota Orchestra, where he has appeared almost every year since 1981.

composers doing normal shit

@NormalComposers

George Winston playing with his cats.

RIP George Winston (1949-2023)

Christian Roovers Music

@CRooversMusic

One of the heroes of solo piano music died on June 4th. I had the pleasure of meeting George Winston in 2018 at a clinic he put on at Heid Music in Oshkosh. I waited in line for about an hour to meet him and he signed the working draft of my first piano album…

Jien Takahashi

@JiensOFFICIAL

R.I.P. George Winston

𝔻𝕖𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕙 🥃🖊️

@DADiClementi

Rest in the peace and seenity your beautiful music gave us, George Winston. #Jazz

Bad Boy 58

@BurnerB58

For those fans of beautiful piano music, I am deeply saddened by the news that George Winston has passed away after a 10 year battle with cancer. I have collected many of his albums over the years, and had the honor of seeing him perform live. December is an amazing piece of art.

John Driftmore

@JohnDriftmore

RIP George Winston! It was an honor to get to work with you and tune your piano in Santa Cruz back in our early days! @gwinstonpiano #georgewinston

George passed away in his sleep in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Edited by
Windy Goodloe