Performer Blogs@Sequenza21.com
The career of pianist Jeffrey Biegel has been marked by bold, creative achievements and highlighted by a series of firsts.

He performed the first live internet recitals in New York and Amsterdam in 1997 and 1998, enabling him to be seen and heard by a global audience. In 1999, he assembled the largest consortium of orchestras (over 25), to celebrate the millennium with a new concerto composed for him by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. The piece, entitled 'Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra', was premiered with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he performed the World Premiere of the restored, original 1924 manuscript of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' with the Boston Pops. Charles Strouse composed a new work titled 'Concerto America' for Biegel, celebrating America and honoring the heroes and events of 9-11. Biegel premiered the piece with the Boston Pops in 2002. He transcribed the first edition of Balakirev's 'Islamey Fantasy' for piano and orchestra, which he premiered with the American Symphony Orchestra in 2001, and edited and recorded the first complete set of all '25 Preludes' by Cesar Cui.

Currently, he is assembling the first global consortium for the new 'Concerto no. 3 for Piano and Orchestra' being composed for him by Lowell Liebermann for 2005-06-07. The World Premiere will take place with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andreas Delfs on May 12-14 2006, followed by the European Premiere with the Schleswig Holstein Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Oskamp, February 6-9, 2007.

Biegel is currently on the piano faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).

Visit Jeffrey Biegel's Web Site
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Joan Tower

I was thrilled to invite Joan Tower to the NY Premiere of mutual friend Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's "Millennium Fantasy" last evening--where she is a distinguished professor of composition. We had a drink after the concert and I had asked Joan if she was aware of sequenza21 and she was familiar with the site--I sent her the link with the hope that she night indeed become more acquainted. Joan is an amazing composer and human being--it would be nice to see her at sequenza21 sometime. The concert went well, in the wonderful Fisher Center at Bard--wild design! The "Millennium Fantasy" for me, has formally entered the repertoire--I hope more pianists and orchestras will enjoy programming it well into the 21st century.
posted by Jeffrey Biegel 9:11 AM