THOMAS OTTEN

• Liszt Transcriptions / Thomas Otten

"Thomas Otten...has plenty going for him: strong fingers, an impressively big tone, and an often infectious sense of rubato..."

Fanfare - November/December 2006

 "The Rigoletto Paraphrase shows the pianist at his best...all is smooth and clean, and tossed off with...security".

American Record Guide - July/August 2006

 "Thomas Otten is a scholar-pianist...who wields a palette of power and color... Otten maintains a transparent, clarion texture throughout...the Petrarch could compete with the likes of Arrau and Bolet in Liszt interpretation. The “little bell” of Paganini, with its clever and delicate use of repeated notes, finds as much charm as bravura with Otten."

Audiophile Audition - April 2006

 

Franz Liszt's piano transcriptions have long been hailed by pianists and scholars as definitive representatives of the genre, an assertion supported by the central place of these works in piano repertoire. From his improvisatory fantaisies of the 1820s to the weighty transcriptions of the 1860 and 1870s, Liszt's attitude toward rewriting music evolved over the span of his career. Though many of his contemporaries viewed transcription as an inferior exercise, Liszt's oeuvre suggests that he found in the act of transcription new realms of artistic possibility.

 *   *   *

 Thomas Otten, a California native born of German-American parents, has been hailed by The New York Times as "an extremely original player who puts a formidable technique at the service of his ideas." He has appeared in such
venues as the Munich Gasteig, Santo Domingo Teatro Nacional, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall, National Press Club, German Embassy, and Chautauqua and Brevard Summer Festivals. He has performed with the Miami and Vega String Quartets, and his performances have been broadcast throughout the US.

Mr. Otten has been the recipient of numerous national and international prizes. He has been a member of the California Arts Council's prestigious Touring Artist Roster, performing recitals and giving residencies throughout
the state. This led to his expertise in the area of self-management/marketing and the exploration of highly diverse repertoire, including jazz and ragtime.

A student of master teachers John Perry and Nelita True, Mr. Otten holds performance degrees from the University of Southern California (DMA, MM) and the University of Maryland, College Park (BM). He has also studied collaborative performance with the late Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Martin Katz.

Mr. Otten is in demand as a performer and clinician, giving recitals, master classes and workshops throughout the US. He has been a featured performer at national conventions of the American Liszt Society, National Federation of
Music Clubs, and the World Piano Pedagogy Conference. He currently chairs the piano division at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. His students have been prizewinners in competitions in both this country and
abroad, giving Mr. Otten the reputation of being one of the outstanding artist-teachers of his generation.

FRANZ LISZT
Piano Transcriptions

WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde - Isolde's Liebestod

SCHUMANN: Widmung

SCHUBERT: Morgenstandchen

MENDELSSOHN: Auf Fugeln des Gesanges

SCHUMANN: Fruhlingsnacht

VERDI: Rigoletto

LISZT: Annees de Pelerinage: "Sonetto 104 del Petrarca"; Grandes Etudes de Paganini: "La campanella"

WAGNER: Der fliegende Hollander

MSR Classics