 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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Thursday, October 20, 2005
Joseffy, Mikuli, Bischoff, Biegel??
Several months ago, I noticed that the Hal Leonard Corporation was unveiling a new series of G. Schirmer Student Performance Editions. What a marvelous way to get piano music reprinted in a new and innovative way--and with performance audio cds accompanying the printed edition. I immediately contacted the people in charge of the piano department of the Hal Leonard Corporation. It took a few months, but we have a healthy dialogue for new editions and I am extremely honored and proud to be part of their editorial 'family'. Next week, I begin recording some new editions I've created, with great anticipation.
My job involves new performance editions of the beloved 'Sonatina Album', Schumann's 'Kinderscenen' and a delightful book of 24 'Scenes from Childhood' by Kullak. I had found the Kullak in a box of music being sold off at a closing music store over twenty years ago. I remember buying the book, and expressed my interest to re-edit it for publication. The 'Sonatina Album' is changed a bit, as it will be in two volumes, the first to be released in 2006, and omitting the extra sonatas and selections that exist in the original sonatina book, although we feel it is best to keep the pieces titled 'sonatina' in both volumes. The purpose of blogging about this venture, is that I appreciate the amount of time and choice-making by editors of years-gone-by. It is amazing how one can go back to the same pieces every other day and find the tempi to be slightly different from the previous time. It is a tremendous responsibility to assume the role of 'teacher' in editing these books, with fingerings, pedal indications, phrasing and tempi. There will be a foreward for each book, which is very helpful for the teachers and students who buy the new editions. With it all, I am having a grand ol' time doing this, realizing that these books will be around longer than my lifetime, and my children's as well. I hope everyone who reads this will enjoy the new books--as I hope to be doing this for many years to come.
posted by Jeffrey Biegel
10:30 AM
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