 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).
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Monday, July 11, 2005
Liebermann Set for Sweden
Lowell Liebermann Third Piano Concerto Project Expands to Scandinavia
By Naturally Sharp Inc.
July 9, 2005
With the cooperation of Hans Barksjo, Managing Director of the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra in Sweden, Lowell Liebermann's "Concerto no. 3 for Piano and Orchestra" will receive its Scandinavian Premiere in 2007 with guest pianist, Jeffrey Biegel. This is in addition to the European Premiere with the Schleswig Holstein Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Oskamp, February 6-9, 2007, the Canadian Premiere with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on February 16, 2007, plus 17 co-commissioning orchestras in the USA. The World Premiere has been scheduled with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Andreas Delfs, Music Director, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 12-14, 2006. This is an ongoing worldwide project which plans to bring the new work to countries throughout the world during the project's exclusivity period through 2008.
This new work is being commissioned by an international consortium of orchestras, which will perform the work with Mr. Biegel as soloist during the 2006-07-08 seasons. Mr. Liebermann envisions Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 as being approximately 25-30 minutes in duration. Each co-commissioning orchestra in the US has the distinction of performing the state premiere during the exclusivity period. This project is being produced in cooperation with the American Music Center, a non-profit organization, with additional support toward the international events from Isa and Marvin Leibowitz, the Weigand Family Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Cy Leslie.
The following is a list of co-commissioning orchestras:
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (World Premiere)--Andreas Delfs;
Schleswig Holstein Symphony Orchestra (European Premiere)--Gerard Oskamp;
San Diego Symphony (CA)--(West Coast Premiere)--Jahja Ling;
Anchorage Symphony Orchestra (Alaska)--(Pacific Northwest Premiere)--Randall Craig Fleischer;
Colorado Symphony--Jeffrey Kahane;
Louisiana Philharmonic--Carlos Miguel Prieto;
Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (AL)--Carlos Miguel Prieto;
Hartford Symphony Orchestra (CT)--Edward Cumming;
South Dakota Symphony--Delta David Gier;
New Mexico Symphony Orchestra--Guillermo Figueroa;
Columbus Symphony Orchestra (GA)--George Del Gobbo;
Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA)--Kevin Rhodes;
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (TN)--Lucas Richman;
Mansfield Symphony Orchestra (OH)--Robert J. Franz;
South Bend Symphony Orchestra (IN)--Tsung Yeh;
Traverse Symphony Orchestra (MI)--Kevin Rhodes;
Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra (NY)--Charles Peltz;
Key West Symphony Orchestra (FL)--Sebrina Alfonso.
For further information about the project, please contact Monica Robinson, Ltd. at 914-962-6062 or by email at MRLTD6062@aol.com. You can also visit her online at http://www.monicarobinsonltd.com/.
Mr. Biegel has been the focus of two previous orchestral commissioning consortiums: Pulitzer Prize Winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra - Premiered in September, 2000 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos and performed by Mr. Biegel with 27 consortium member orchestras throughout the United States during the 2000-05 seasons, and Broadway legend Charles Strouse’s Concerto America for Piano and Orchestra.
In addition, American composer Richard Danielpour will compose a new work for Mr. Biegel, tentatively titled "Concerto for Piano & Percussion" (5 players and piano). This new composition is slated for premieres in the 2006-07 season with the esteemed Canadian percussion ensemble, Nexus. You can find much more about Mr. Biegel at his website - http://www.cyberecital.com/.
Lowell Liebermann is one of today's most widely performed and commissioned composers. Orchestras worldwide have championed Liebermann's works, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Tokyo NHK Symphony, L'Orchestre National de France, and the symphonies of Dallas, Baltimore, Seattle, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Minnesota. Among the artists who have performed Liebermann's works are James Galway, Charles Dutoit, Stephen Hough, Kurt Masur, Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Andrew Litton, Susan Graham, David Zinman, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Paula Robison, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Steuart Bedford, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Visit his website at http://www.lowellliebermann.com/.
posted by Jeffrey Biegel
11:49 AM
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