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REVIEWS OF ANDREW RUSSO PLAYING GEORGE CRUMB ˜Andrew Russo is making Crumb a trademark" - The New York Times ˜Russo is an undisputed master of Crumb’s exotic sound world’ " London Independent ˜One of the best recordings I have heard of this material" American Record Guide ˜Totally absorbing Makrokosmos" Musical America ˜Mr. Russo’s playing was magical, creating long moments of beauty, some of them with sounds that were so soft that they were barely perceptible" Dallas Morning News American pianist Andrew Russo is a musical interpreter of uncommon vitality. A versatile artist, both on and off the stage, Russo has made a name for himself through his work with many of today’s leading composers in the United States and Europe. His career has unfolded around the globe, with appearances in Paris (Salle Cortot), Tokyo (Kioi Hall), Leipzig (Gewandhaus), Brussels (Theatre Marni) and Luxembourg (Grande Salle du Conservatoire National). Trained classically at The Juilliard School and the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Mendelssohn in Leipzig, Mr. Russo pursued further specialized training in Paris with Frederic Chiu. It was during those years that Russo began developing relationships with many important American and European composers, began working with electro-acoustic music and explored an ongoing interest for the hybrid world of live musical performance and theater. It was on Charleston, South Carolina's International Piano Series in 1998 that Mr. Russo first performed his own version of Prokofieff's Romeo and Juliet Suite, interspersing dramatic readings from Shakespeare with the Russian master's famous ballet score. A similar version of Erik Satie's Sports et Divertissements was subsequently presented in the United States, France and Finland, and an intense period of involvement with the music of George Crumb began. In the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Russo created a special and historical moment by performing George Crumb's A Little Suite For Christmas, A.D. 1979, making him the first person to ever perform on the inside of the piano in this major quadrennial event. The attraction that this performance spurred led to the development of the 2002 George Crumb Celebration Festival at New York's Angel Orensanz Performing Arts Center on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Serving as artistic director and pianist for this event, Mr. Russo worked closely with the composer to develop a retrospective structure closely mirroring the trajectory of Mr. Crumb's inimitable career. With the composer on hand and performances by many of today's leading young contemporary music artists - soprano Susan Narucki, composer/clarinetist Derek Bermel, flautist Tara Helen O'Conor, cellist Felix Fan and percussionist David Cossin among them - the festival was a rousing success. In a rave review of the entire weekend, Shirley Fleming wrote of "Mr. Russo's totally absorbing solo performances of Volumes I and II of Makrokosmos" (Musical America) Two months after the Crumb Festival, the English label Black Box Records released Russo's performance of Crumb's solo piano music - "Russo is an unquestionable master of Crumb's unique sound world." (Independent) "This is one of the best recordings that I have heard of this material" (American Record Guide) In recent months, Mr. Russo has since organized Crumb Festivals within the frameworks of Finland's 2004 Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and Sweden's 2004 Gerlesborgs Musikdagen “What a unique event!†(Bohuslaningen) A prolific recording artist, Mr. Russo’s series of American composer portraits for Black Box was continued in 2005 with a release of John Adams piano and chamber works “I found Russo’s approach mesmeric†(Gramophone), with releases scheduled for discs dedicated to John Corigliano and Aaron Jay Kernis in 2006. The Albany label released Mr. Russo's recording of Wright Flight, a piano concerto commissioned for Russo from composer Michael Schelle by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra for Dayton’s Wright Brothers Centennial Celebration. French label Sub Rosa Records just released Mr. Russo’s recording of Canopèe, a concerto for 2 claviers with string orchestra commissioned from Francois-Bernard Mache by Art Zoyd and Ensemble Musique Nouvelles. As a recitalist, Mr. Russo’s programs frequently feature premieres. In the last 2 years alone, Russo has given the US premieres of works by Holland's Jacob ter Veldhuis and Gerard Beljon, the French premiere of George Crumb’s Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik, and world premieres of works written for Russo by American composers Derek Bermel and Marc Mellits and British composer James Aitchison. In December 2004, Mr. Russo presented the New York premiere of Philippe Manoury's monumental Pluton for piano and live electronics with the composer’s collaboration. Most recently, Russo has formed a three-piece band called Real Quiet with cellist Felix Fan and percussionist David Cossin dedicated to commissioning repertoire, which will then be recorded and performed. Real Quiet’s first appearances in New York and San Diego premiering works by Annie Gosfield, Phil Kline and Marc Mellits were highly successful “This trio is cut out to be a major presence on the new music scene.†(Musical America) In addition to his activities as a performer and event organizer, Mr. Russo dedicates time to the direction and development of Music Journeys INC, a non-profit foundation which he founded in 2001. Now administrated through Le Moyne College, where Russo is artist-in-residence, the program brings American music to people of all backgrounds through special musical presentations and clinics for elementary schools in the underprivileged areas Syracuse, NY, as well as an an eclectic and interactive concert series at Le Moyne College's Coyne Performing Arts Center. It is because of the breadth and diversity of his activities that Gramophone magazine recently proclaimed: "Andrew Russo is by no means 'just another pianist’". Andrew Russo is pleased to be a Yamaha artist. Booking & Public Relations Moira Johnson Moira Johnson Consulting 190 Somerset St. West, Suite 209 Ottawa, ON, Canada, L2P 0J4 Tel: 1 (613) 565 0666 Email: moira@moirajohnson.com www.moirajohnson.com Info. on Music Journeys Inc: Music Journeys Inc 7309 Dartmoor Crossing Fayetteville, NY 13066 Tel: 1 (315) 472 3805 Fax: 1 (315) 472 8818 Check out the artist's website: http://www.russocentral.com Track List: 1. Makrokosmos I: Cancer 2. Makrokosmos I: Pisces 3. Makrokosmos I: Taurus 4. Makrokosmos I: Capricorn 5. Makrokosmos I: Scorpio 6. Makrokosmos I: Sagittarius 7. Makrokosmos I: Libra 8. Makrokosmos I: Leo 9. Makrokosmos I: Virgo 10. Makrokosmos I: Aries 11. Makrokosmos I: Gemini 12. Makrokosmos I: Aquarius 13. Xmas Suite: The Visitation 14. Xmas Suite: Berceuse for Infant Jesus 15. Xmas Suite: Shepherd's Noel 16. Xmas Suite: Adoration of the Magi 17. Xmas Suite: Nativity Dance 18. Xmas Suite: Canticle of the Holy Night 19. Xmas Suite: Carol of the Bells 20. Vox Balaenae: Vocalise 21. Vox Balaenae: Sea Theme 22. Vox Balaenae: Archeozoic 23. Vox Balaenae: Proterozoic 24. Vox Balaenae: Paleozoic 25. Vox Balaenae: Mesozoic 26. Vox Balaenae: Cenozoic 27. Vox Balaenae: For the End of Time Other Genres:
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