George Winston

US-born pianist George Winston describes his compositions as 'rural folk piano', although his nature-inspired work has seen him described as a pioneer of new age music.

Winston was a life-long fan of instrumental music, but he had left high school before he learned to play the organ and piano. His early compositions were a mix of folk, blues and ragtime, though when his debut album, Ballads and Blues 1972 was released, it made the top 30 of the Top New Age Albums charts. Despite the success of his first album there was a break of many years before Winston retuned to the studio, though when he did his music had changed.

His seasonally themed trilogy of impressionist piano works helped to form the template for the nascent new age music movement and set the tone for Winston's later releases. December and Winter into Spring both went platinum, and he won the Grammy for Best New Age Album for Forest. Other Winston works of note include The Velveteen Rabbit, which features a narration by actress Meryl Streep, Linus & Lucy: The Work of Vince Guaraldi, which is inspired by the music from the Peanuts cartoon series, and Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions which is highly acclaimed and considered to be, perhaps, his best work.