AUERBACH-PIERCE DUO

​On Dan Auerbach: “[a player] with quiet virtuosity”

The New York Times

On Joshua Pierce: “[Pierce has a] singing legato [and] a fluent and formidable technique”

Gramophone

Violinist Dan Auerbach has appeared as concerto soloist with festival orchestras in the United States, Canada and Israel. As a chamber musician, Auerbach has collaborated with members of the Vermeer Quartet and Juilliard Quartet, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, and other leading ensembles. A strong proponent of new music, he has performed and toured extensively with such ensembles as Continuum and the New Juilliard Ensemble, and has collaborated with leading composers, including Fred Lerdahl, Sebastian Currier, Bright Sheng and La Monte Young. A long-time specialist in microtonal music, Auerbach has toured Europe with the American Festival of Microtonal Music. His recordings on the Pitch Label include The American Festival of Microtonal Music: Classic, Chamber, Ideas & Early. Also a specialist in klezmer and World Music, he released a CD with the David Glukh Klezmer Ensemble, Live! from New York, that was described as “phenomenal”. Auerbach has taught at the Juilliard Pre-College division, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and has worked with Roberta Guaspari and the Op.118 Harlem School of Music. During the summer he taught at Blue Lake Arts Festival. Dr. Auerbach has served as an Associate Professor of Music at CUNY College of Staten Island where he taught violin, viola, chamber music and conducted the CSI Orchestra. A fellowship recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Dr. Auerbach holds BM and M.M. degrees in violin performance from The Juilliard School as a student of Dorothy DeLay and Lewis Kaplan, and a DMA from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts as a student of Arnold Steinhardt. His mentors include Dorothy DeLay, Felix Galimir, Lewis Kaplan, Harvey Shapiro and Arnold Steinhardt. Dan Auerbach performs on a violin made by renowned luthier Vanna So. Dr. Auerbach holds an MBA degree from SUNY College of Oswego. [DanAuerbachViolin.com]

Considered one of the finest pianists of today, Joshua Pierce has been heard throughout the world in numerous prestigious music venues, including Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Space, 92nd St. Y, Carnegie-Weill Hall and Merkin Hall. Internationally, he has appeared in the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. He has also performed with orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. A prolific recording artist, Pierce has recorded over 250 works for more than a dozen labels, including numerous premieres as a soloist and with orchestra. A recent collaboration is a duo with violinist Andrew Smith, which yielded an acclaimed 6-CD set featuring live recordings of the complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Mozart [MSR MS1800]. As a member of Pierce & Jonas piano duo, he and Dorothy Jonas performed worldwide and premiered and recorded concertos by highly regarded American and European composers, including Creston, Gould, Harris, Malipiero, McKinley, Piston, Rózsa, Starer and Tansman. A champion of contemporary music, Pierce maintained a 30-year association with John Cage, giving many premiere performances and releasing landmark recordings of his work. He studied with Persichetti at Dartmouth College on a scholarship, and later at Juilliard, where he collaborated with the composer on two major works: the Sonata for Two Pianos, Op.13 and his Piano Sonata, Op.101. Highly regarded as a chamber musician and collaborative pianist, Pierce studied with cellists Bernard Greenhouse of the Beaux Arts Trio and Jascha Silberstein, as well as with pianists Arthur Loesser and Artur Balsam. He has performed with numerous chamber musicians and ensembles, and at the Music Mountain Festival and Phillips Collection. Pierce has several Grammy nominations to his credit, as well as a Diapason Award, Fono Forum Award, German Music Critic’s Prize. He was a nominee for the 23rd International Franz Liszt Grand Prix du Disque for his recordings of music by the composer. Pierce was awarded the Grand Prize of the IBLA International Competition for Contemporary Music and an Aaron Copland Fund for Music grant. An experienced adjudicator of piano competitions, Pierce has also worked with the American Chamber Orchestra Violin Competition, New York International Center for Contemporary Opera, was a Jury Member of the 2018 7th International Respighi Prize Music Competition and served for years on the International Fulbright Commission. SEBASTIAN CURRIER (b.1959)
AFTERSONG for Violin and Piano         
I. Bold
II. Distant but expressive

ERNEST BLOCH (1880-1959)
NIGUN for Violin and Piano (from Baal Shem Suite)
 
CHARLES IVES (1874-1954)
SECOND SONATA for Violin and Piano
I. Autumn (Adagio maestoso; Allegro moderato)
II. In the Barn (Presto - Allegro moderato)
III. The Revival (Largo; Allegretto)
 
IVAN WYSCHNEGRADSKY (1893-1979)
CHANT DOULOUREUX for Violin and Piano (from Chant douloureux et Etude)
 
MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)
SONATA NO.2 IN G MAJOR for Violin and Piano
I. Allegretto
II. Blues (Moderato)
III. Perpetuum mobile (Allegro)
 



MSR Classics