Jonathan Biss to Join Curtis Institute Piano Faculty

By -

The Curtis Institute of Music announces the appointment of Jonathan Biss to its piano faculty, beginning with the 2011–12 school year. A Curtis alumnus who is highly regarded for his artistry and deeply felt interpretations, Mr. Biss has won international recognition for his orchestral, recital, and chamber music performances on four continents and for his award-winning recordings.

“At Curtis, we have enjoyed a long tradition of distinguished and active performers teaching our students,” said Curtis President Roberto Díaz. “We are thrilled that Mr. Biss, at the height of his performing career, is so committed to sharing his artistry with our students.” Mr. Biss will begin teaching at Curtis in Fall 2011, and along with the rest of the school’s distinguished piano faculty, will hear auditions in Spring 2011. Applications for the 2011–12 school year are due December 15 and more information is available at www.curtis.edu/admissions.

“I'm tremendously honored to be joining the faculty at Curtis,” said Mr. Biss. “My years there as a student played a huge role in shaping me as a musician and a person, and I have no doubt that in coming back as a teacher, I will learn just as much. And to be joining a faculty which includes so many of my teachers and mentors is humbling indeed.”

Mr. Biss graduated from Curtis in 2001, having already launched a successful performing career with a New York recital debut and New York Philharmonic debut. In the intervening years he has repeatedly returned to Curtis for residencies and master classes. “Mr. Biss is a superb artist whose insights have been especially enlightening not only to our piano students, but also to the chamber groups he has coached,” noted Curtis Vice President and Dean John Mangan. Mr. Biss will continue to work with student chamber groups in his new position.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more