FRANZ
LISZT
ROMANTIC WORKS
for
PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Rhapsodie Espagnole; Hungarian
Fantasia; Malediction; Wanderer Fantasy
JOSHUA
PIERCE
Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra
PAUL FREEMAN
$12.95 ~ MS1210
"Liszt
was a vastly prolific composer whose output for piano and orchestra went well
beyond the two oft-performed concertos. Pianist Joshua Pierce joins forces with
conductor Paul Freeman and the Moscow State Philharmonic orchestra in this
selection of less-frequently performed works of that genre. Pierce flies through
even the most difficult passages with apparent ease and clarity of sound. Pierce
has proved through his extensive discography that he is a highly skilled
pianist, possessing ample technique to deliver precise performances of
everything from Bach through Cage. This recording of Liszt is no
different."
All Music Guide ~ August 2008
"Joshua
Pierce's stylish elan and genuine instinct for Lisztian bravura certainly serve
him well in these scores...The Hunagrain Fantasy's unaccompanied piano passages
convey both forward drive and rhetorical breathing room, while the Wanderer
Fantasy's outer section dialogues are firm, decisive and, as the saying goes,
'full of beans'...Pierce's forthright virtuosity [in the Malediction]...Lisztians
will appreciate the informative, well written booklet-notes."
Gramophone
~ August 2008
"Both
of the previous reviews [of Pierce's Liszt Piano Concertos release] were
favorable, and I can only echo the superlatives used before...Pierce delivers
very exhilarating performances [of the Hungarian Fantasy and Rhapsodie]...The
Russian orchestras' energy is quite in keeping with the kind of pianism Pierce
displays. If you enjoyed the Liszt concertos, this makes a perfect companion."
American
Record Guide ~ July / August 2008
"Pierce's
own 'fabulous technical virtuosity' is on thrilling display..."
World
Magazine ~ June 2008
"...spectacular."
Turok's
Choice ~ June 2008
"Concert
pianist Pierce has an immense repertory and has recorded widely for many
different labels. Pierce is fully up to the virtuoso challenge [of these works]
and delivers the full Romantic goods."
Audiophile
Audition ~ March 2008
"...
I'm a huge fan of pianist Joshua Pierce, and
danged if he hasn't convinced me...that the Rhapsodie Espagnole is
worth my time. As for Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, no convincing was
needed. Both Russian orchestras are excellent."
CD
HotList for Libraries ~ March 2008
*
* *
Grammy
nominated pianist, Joshua
Pierce, one of the most
versatile virtuosi of our time, was born in New York City and studied at The
Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music and
Columbia University; his principal teachers and mentors were Dorothy Taubman,
Artur Balsam, Victor Babin, Arthur Loesser and Robert Goldsand. His extensive
career includes performances in recital, as a soloist with chamber ensembles,
including Russia's famed Leontovich String Quartet and Chamber Players
International, Inc. He has been heard throughout the world in many of the most
prestigious music centers and has performed as a soloist with an impressive
array of major orchestras in the New World and the Old including the Royal
Philharmonic, Philharmonia of London, Luxembourg Radio Symphony, Chicago
Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, Utah Symphony, Missouri
Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Mexico City Philharmonic, Orchestra Philharmonic
of Jalisco, Berlin Radio Symphony, RAI Orchestra of Rome, Czech Radio Orchestra,
Czech National Symphony, Slovak Philharmonic, Slovak State Chamber Orchestra
Zelina, Moscow State Philharmonic, Russian State Symphony and the State Symphony
of Russia at Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow, where he made a highly successful debut
in 1993 performing Liszt's Piano Concerto No.1 in E-flat major. His huge
range and varied repertoire are unique among contemporary pianists ranging from
the prepared piano works of John Cage to the masterpieces of the standard
repertoire to rediscovered concerted masterpieces of the high romantic era.
Mr.
Pierce's many recordings on the Albany, Carlton Classics, Centaur, Fanfare,
Helicon, Koch International, Mastersound, MNC, Phoenix, Premiere, Pro Arte, Sony
Classics, Virgin Classics, Vox, Varese Sarabande, and Wergo labels, include
familiar and lesser-known concerted works by Brahms, Casella, Chopin, Czerny,
Gershwin, Hummel, Khachaturian, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Reinecke,
Rachmaninov, Respighi, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky and Weber.
Other composers performed and recorded by Mr. Pierce include Ives, Cowell, Harry
Partch, Schoenberg, Stockhausen, Stravinsky, Toru Takemitsu and La Monte Young.
It was the success of his recording of the Brahms B-flat Concerto with the
Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic under Kirk Trevor that led directly to live
performances of the Franck and Liszt with the same forces and to the inclusion
of all three works on this disc. Joshua Pierce's long identification with the
music of Liszt includes recordings of the first three concertos, soon to be
available on MSR.
Joshua
Pierce has also performed extensively for public radio and television in the
United States and for PRI in many parts of Europe. A long list of contemporary
and traditional music performances includes the Cage Musicircus Memorial Concert
at Symphony Space in New York, Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago,
AFMM Microfest Concerts, Barbican Centre/London, 4th ISCM Europe-Asia 2000 Music
Festival, Festival "Music of Friends"/Russian Composers Union Music
Series/Moscow, Alternativa Music Festival 2000/Moscow, Bergen International
Music Festival/Norway, ISCM Festivals in Seattle and Zurich, Switzerland, the
Futurismo & Futurismi Festival in Venice, Italy, festivals at Amherst
and Trenton, Music Mountain Chamber Music Festival, international Piano Festival
at Williams College/Williamstown, Massachusetts as well as appearances at the
State University of New York at Stony Brook and Purchase, Washington and Lee
University, University of Maryland and Bucknell University among others.
Mr.
Pierce is a board member of the American Festival of Microtonal Music, and is
the official pianist of the AFMM Ensemble. He has also served as a judge for
several international music competitions and on the board of the International
Fulbright Commission. On February 10, 2005, he premiered the 95-minute
"Revelation" by Michael Harrison at Merkin Hall in New York and
followed by the West-Coast Premiere in Los Angeles.
In
addition to his solo career, Mr. Pierce and the pianist Dorothy Jonas make up
the Pierce/Jonas Duo - one of the most imaginative and compelling duo-piano
teams in the world today. The Duo has performed throughout the United States,
Mexico, Europe and South America, appearing with major orchestras including the
Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Radio-Television Orchestras of Poland and
Luxembourg, Chicago Sinfonietta, Slovak Philharmonic, State Philharmonic of
Kocise, Orchestra da Camera di Roma and the symphony orchestras of Houston, San
Antonio, Utah, Mexico City and elsewhere. The Duo’s disc of Mendelssohn’s
Two-Piano Concertos is believed to be the first complete and unabridged
recordings of these works. The Duo has received over 15 Grammy Award nominations
to date and they have introduced and recorded many important twentieth-century
works by such composers as Benjamin, Berezowsky, Britten, Creston, Gould,
Harris, Malipiero, Martinu, Piston, Rozsa, Tansman and others. Their recordings
have ranged from John Cage's "Three Dances for Two Prepared Pianos"and
Charles Ives' "Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos" to the
complete two-piano works of Mozart; to Broadway music of Bernstein, Rodgers,
Hamlisch, Hermann and Lloyd Webber.
