US Launch of
Petrushka Project
at
The Juilliard School's Paul Hall
June 19, 2012
70 New Piano Works by Composers Worldwide
Debut in Four Concerts Taking Place
in New York, London, Mainz, Beijing
Michael Brown and Christopher McKiggan Premiere New Works from Robert Beaser, Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Gavin Bryars, Chaya Czernowin, Atsuhiko Gondai, Thomas Larcher, Andrew Norman, Bernard Rands, Howard Shore, Alvin Singleton, Morton Subotnick, Stewart Wallace, Peteris Vasks and more
Petrushka Project, an unprecedented international live concert and commissioning initiative presented by the Strecker-Foundation, a leading music foundation based in Germany, lands in the US on June 19, 2012 at The Juilliard School's Paul Hall featuring pianists Michael Brown and Christopher McKiggan. Petrushka Project boasts the premieres of 70 new solo piano pieces by a wide range of composers worldwide. The Project affords a rare and unique opportunity for a wholesale international infusion of a huge variety of new piano music into the repertoire, all of it viewable from the Petrushka Project website beginning July 14 and on a dedicated "Petrushka Channel" on YouTube.
All 70 new piano works will be published by Schott Music in a printed collection and made available for download via Schott’s digital download platform, notafina. Soloists Christopher McKiggan and Michael Brown will perform 21 of the new works on the program at Paul Hall. Mr. McKiggan will premiere works by Robert Beaser, Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Viktor Ekimovsky, Atsuhiko Gondai, Ryo Kunihiko, Thomas Larcher, Emile Naoumoff, Howard Shore, Peteris Vasks, Stewart Wallace and Harald Weiss. Mr. Brown will perform works by Gavin Bryars, Chaya Czernowin, Andrew Norman, Albena Petrovic-Vratchanska, Bernard Rands, Alvin Singleton, Viktor Suslin, Morton Subotnick, Yoji Yuasa and Jing-Nuo Zhou.
Michael Brown, described as a “vividly characterized and rhythmically free-spirited” pianist by The New York Times, was the First Prize Winner of the 2010 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. Noted for his “great confidence and rhythmic flair” by Gramophone, he has appeared in many major venues including Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, and has appeared as soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall under the baton of New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert. He regularly participates in the Marlboro Music Festival and recently toured the US with Miriam Fried and Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. In the 2011-2012 season, Mr. Brown performed recitals at Carnegie Hall as part of the Concert Artists Guild Winners Series, the Gilmore Festival’s Rising Stars Recital Series, Market Square Concerts, Bay Chamber Concerts, and the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock. Mr. Brown attended The Juilliard School completing dual Master of Music degrees in Piano and Composition. He studied with pianists Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald, and composers Samuel Adler and Robert Beaser.
Hailed as a pianist to “keep your eyes and ears on” (Harper’s Bazaar Thailand) Christopher McKiggan was a finalist at the prestigious 2012 University of South Africa International Piano Competition. His playing has been praised as containing “astounding technique… [with] startling poise and control” (Kansas City Star) and “astonishing virtuosity and piano coloration” (The Citizen). His list of awards includes a Gold Medal from the Seattle International Piano Competition, Second Prize in the Solo Division and Third Prize in the Senior Concerto Division at the Kingsville International Music Competition, First Prize in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, and many others. On May 19, 2012 he will open the Beijing Modern Music Festival performing Robert Beaser‘s Piano Concerto with the National Center for Performing Arts Orchestra under conductor Lv Jia. McKiggan graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and begins the DMA program in Piano Performance at Rice University under Prof. Jon Kimura later this year.
Petrushka Project features three additional concerts in London (June 8), Mainz (July 14), and Beijing (June 14).
ADMISSION IS FREE, BUT RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED!
