Winner of the 8th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition (1970), the Busoni Competition (1966) and the Montreal Piano Competition (1968). His development was influenced by Claudio Arrau, Olga Barabini, Tom Lishman, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Rosina Lhevinne and Irma Wolpe.

For a long time, he was regarded above all as one of the leading interpreters of the music of Chopin, but his repertoire covers virtually the whole piano literature (more than eighty concertos, from Haydn and Mozart to the twenty- first century, including many works composed specially for him). He has recently performed in Liverpool and Madrid, toured the US with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (cond. Yuri Temirkanov) and given a series of recitals in Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans, Prague and Hawaii. As a keen chamber musician, he has worked with the Takacs, Emerson, Cleveland and Tokyo quartets. He is co-founder of the FOG Trio (with cellist Michael Grebanier and violinist Jorja Fleezanis); he has also performed with such outstanding artists as Magda Olivero, Jessye Norman and Ewa PodleE. He has made many recordings for such labels as Arabesque, RCA Victor Red Seal, Angel, BMG, Delos, Hanssler, Nonesuch, Telarc, Hyperion and Virgin Classic. He gained critical acclaim for his 10-disc album with the complete Beethoven sonatas (Bridge Records), one of which won a Grammy (2008). He has also recorded Scriabin’s, Smetana’s Czech Dances, etudes by Debussy, Bartók and Prokofiev (Hyperion), Close Connections, featuring contemporary works, a double album of sonatas by Liszt and Scriabin (Bridge Records) and recently solo music by Manuel de Falla.
He also appears in the documentary film The Art of Chopin (2010), produced for the Chopin Year celebrations. In 2015, Garrick Ohlsson was a juror of the 17th Chopin Competition in Warsaw. In 2018, Garrick Ohlsson was honoured by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage with the ‘Gloria Artis’ gold medal for propagating Polish music around the world.