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The career of pianist Jeffrey Biegel has been marked by bold, creative achievements and highlighted by a series of firsts. He performed the first live internet recitals in New York and Amsterdam in 1997 and 1998, enabling him to be seen and heard by a global audience. In 1999, he assembled the largest consortium of orchestras (over 25), to celebrate the millennium with a new concerto composed for him by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. The piece, entitled 'Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra', was premiered with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he performed the World Premiere of the restored, original 1924 manuscript of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' with the Boston Pops. Charles Strouse composed a new work titled 'Concerto America' for Biegel, celebrating America and honoring the heroes and events of 9-11. Biegel premiered the piece with the Boston Pops in 2002. He transcribed the first edition of Balakirev's 'Islamey Fantasy' for piano and orchestra, which he premiered with the American Symphony Orchestra in 2001, and edited and recorded the first complete set of all '25 Preludes' by Cesar Cui. Currently, he is assembling the first global consortium for the new 'Concerto no. 3 for Piano and Orchestra' being composed for him by Lowell Liebermann for 2005-06-07. The World Premiere will take place with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andreas Delfs on May 12-14 2006, followed by the European Premiere with the Schleswig Holstein Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Oskamp, February 6-9, 2007. Biegel is currently on the piano faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Previous Posts Middle age gets to the fingers When Liszt played for Beethoven William Bolcom to pen Choral Fantasy Creating Bridges The Great Escape Biegel's live historic internet recital now through www.theorchard.com! The dog is the best teacher! Billy Joel Fantasies to the Indianapolis Symphony Symphonic Fantasies Old Home Week In Milwaukee April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 January 2006 February 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 Visit Jeffrey Biegel's Web Site CONTACT INFORMATION Back to Sequenza21.com

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 Ravel's WWI dedicatees in 'Le Tombeau de Couperin' In teaching Ravel's 'Le Tombeau de Couperin', I am curious if teachers reading this post instruct their students to search online for information about the dedicatees of each movement of the suite. I was playing 'Forlane' for one student and realized halfway through that it reminded me of a boat chant, perhaps--and in searching for the translation of 'tombeau', I was directed during my student's lesson to a site describing the piece. We looked up Gabriel Deluc, the dedicatee of the 'Forlane', as I was not familiar with his name. Deluc was a famous painter--one painting he titled, 'Le lac'-- who was trained as a nurse and died in World War I, as did all the dedicatees of each movement. His paintings were hanging in Ravel's home which he owned after the war. I instructed my student to search each name online for each movement's dedicatee and see what he learns--I think it will have a deeper effect on him and draw him closer to the work and the composer. He could certainly do a wonderful lecture recital on this--although, perhaps it's been done many times and I am finding this for the first time. posted by Jeffrey Biegel 6:21 AM