 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, January 17, 2008
Naxos Releases the Leroy Anderson Piano Concerto for the Anderson Centennial
Here's a press release for the release of the Leroy Anderson Concerto--I really love this delightful concerto, and am happy to share it especially in this centennial year of Leroy Anderson's birth:
Pianist Jeffrey Biegel has been a strong advocate and dedicated fan of Leroy Anderson's 'Concerto in C', composed in 1953. Following a hearing of the concerto in 1991, Mr. Biegel approached the family of Leroy Anderson regarding the concerto. Mr. Anderson's widow, Eleanor Anderson, sent a copy of the handwritten two-piano score along with a cassette copy recorded from radio of the concerto's world premiere from Grant Park, Chicago, in 1953. The premiere featured Eugene List at the piano, with Mr. Anderson conducting the Grant Park Festival Orchestra. This furthered Mr. Biegel's interest in the concerto. In 1994, he brought the concerto back to the Grant Park Music Festival for the first time since the premiere in 1953, as well as to Carnegie Hall in New York City, for the New York Premiere of the concerto with Skitch Henderson conducting his New York Pops.Since then, Mr. Biegel has brought the 'Concerto in C' throughout the USA, and as far as Izmir, Turkey. He recently recorded the concerto with Leonard Slatkin conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra. The cd sees its release in January, 2008-- the first of five cds featuring the complete catalogue of the music by Leroy Anderson, also marking the centennial of Leroy Anderson's birth in 1908. More information about Mr. Anderson can be found at his web site, www.leroyanderson.com. Mr. Biegel's web site is www.jeffreybiegel.com. More information about Naxos is available at www.naxos.com
posted by Jeffrey Biegel
12:14 PM
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