COLE BURGER

• John Hilliard: 2 Preludes, 3 Fugues and 1 Postlude - 1. Prelude

"The works presented are enjoyable and diverse."

Pan Pipes [Winter 2020]

"Burger’s efforts to bring Arkansas composers to the forefront should be well rewarded in the wake of this well done and beautifully presented album."

American Record Guide[September/October 2019]

"I thoroughly enjoyed this recital. The engaging pianist is a native of the Natural State... [The Price Sonata] is an estimable work, featuring fine craft and a compelling lyricism. There is no good reason why it is not yet in the standard repertoire... [Tango?] is short and tangy (pun intended), featuring multiple time signatures in the same bars. That is as weird as it sounds; you just have to hear it... Hilliard’s manner is refreshingly melodious... The recital closes with a jocularly frenetic, jazzy tribute to Steven Bryant’s days in New York, when he was a student at Juilliard"

Peter Burwasser, Fanfare [July/August 2019]

"[Price’s sonata] does have many beauties, including some distinctly folk-like elements, and calls for just the sort of sensitive, involved interpretation that Burger accords it... there is certainly plenty of energy in Burger’s playing [of the Bryant]... composers from Arkansas are as varied in their interests and approaches as are other composers united only by geography."

Mark J. Estren, InfoDad.com [August 2019]

A native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, pianist Cole Burger has performed in prestigious venues throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Teatro di Marcello in Rome, Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, Goethe Institute in Bangkok and American Cathedral in Paris. Burger has taught applied piano as a guest professor at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, while a member of the Fulbright Specialist Roster, sponsored by the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He has won prizes at the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, Seattle International Piano Competition, the American Prize in Piano Performance, and the Janice K. Hodges Contemporary Piano Performance Competition. He has also organized and performed in numerous benefit recitals to aid non-profit organizations. Burger teaches and coordinates class piano and piano pedagogy in the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University. He also teaches applied piano, chamber music, and music theory at Lutheran Summer Music and served for 12 summers on the faculty at Camp Encore/Coda in Sweden, Maine. [ www.coleburger.com ]

“This album is fondly dedicated to my first piano teacher, Tanya Ellezian. For more than three decades, people in western Arkansas have heard by word-of-mouth about this excellent teacher. Although not originally from the state, she has taught hundreds of students of all ages and levels there. On behalf of my fellow Arkansans and the musical community, Tanya, thank you so much for being you. I would also like to express gratitude to my musical colleagues and family for their support in this artistic venture.” JOHN HILLIARD (b.1947)
2 PRELUDES, 3 FUGUES AND 1 POSTLUDE (2010-2013)
Prelude on F (dedicated to Suman Shrestha)
Fugue on A-flat (dedicated to Matthew Labarge)
Prelude on G (Happy Birthday, Arnold Schoenberg!)
Fugue on B-flat (dedicated to Mika Hilliard)
Fugue on C (dedicated to Eric Ruple)
Postlude on A (dedicated to the people of Okinawa, Japan)

FLORENCE PRICE (1887-1953)
SONATA IN E MINOR (1932)
Andante – Allegro
Andante
Scherzo (Allegro)

CONLON NANCARROW (1912-1997)
TANGO? (1983)

STEVEN BRYANT (b.1972)
REDLINE (1999)



MSR Classics