Feature: THREE NEW RELEASES FROM PIANIST JEFFREY BIEGEL

Leonard Bernstein compared him to Van Cliburn. Critics have compared him to the legendary Josef Lhevinne. He created and performed the world's first internet recitals. Lalo Schifrin invited him to record his music; composers who have written for him include William Bolcom, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Charles Strouse, Peter Tork, Jeremy Lubbock, Richard Danielpour, Lowell Liebermann, Kenneth Fuchs, Lucas Richman. Pop music legend Jimmy Webb is composing a new work for piano and orchestra for him, and he is currently organizing a consortium of orchestras for a new work by the fictitious P.D.Q. Bach (aka Peter Schickele). He was invited as the first pianist to record for the Steinway & Sons label. He is a composer, arranger, editor, and educator.

And in addition to all that...he just may be the busiest pianist on the contemporary classical music scene! In the next year, Maestro Biegel will release no fewer than three exciting new recordings featuring works by Beethoven ("Choral Fantasy" with the Colorado Symphony, Andrew Litton conducting; 2016), Bolcom ("Prometheus" with the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale, Carl St. Clair conducting; late 2015), Gershwin-Ellington-Keith Emerson-Neil Sedaka (Brown University Orchestra, Paul Philips conducting; 2016).

On July 15:

Highly respected jazz composer and arranger, Steve Barta, self releases his "Symphonic Arrangement" of Claude Bolling's classic 1973 "Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano" featuring the legendary jazz flutist, Hubert Laws, with Mr. Biegel on piano, Mike Shapiro on percussion, Michael Valerio on bass. With the approval of Mr. Bolling, Mr. Biegel's idea to have orchestra added to the original score met with the same notion which Mr. Barta kept hidden for nearly four decades. The two met in 2008 sharing their thoughts about the composition, and created this new recording marking the 40th anniversary of the original release made famous in 1975 by flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. The original recording garnered a 1975 Grammy nomination for Best Chamber Music Performance. The Barta arrangement will be unique in that it will be released as a vinyl LP, standard cd and digital media. The album cover has been re-created by Roger Huyssen, who created the album covers for all the Bolling recordings.

On August 7:

E1 Entertainment releases Volume 2: The Complete Sonatas for Piano by Mozart. In this series, Mr. Biegel takes on the well-known cycle of sonatas for solo piano by adding embellishments in a Mozartean manner in the repeat sections. The idea came to him since Mozart has only a few movements from the sonatas written out without repeats. In these, Mozart varies the return of thematic material, hence leaving one to imagine that he would have done the same for all of these works.

"In regard to Biegel's repeats, they are suitably invisible; they never step out of the pocket in terms of Mozart's general style and on the contrary spring from a comprehensive understanding of that style...it can be confidently said that Biegel has, in this modest E1 package, turned the page, resetting the bar for Mozart sonata interpretation in the twenty first century and hopefully refreshing this important cycle for a new generation of listeners...E1's Mozart: The Complete Sonatas for Piano, Vol. 1, really wakes up the palate and breathes new oxygen into these well-worn, familiar piano sonatas." (Uncle Dave Lewis; www.allmusic.com) ;

"Jeffrey Biegel released a marvelous recording of Mozart's piano sonatas. Biegel combines impeccable technique with a fine sense for phrasing and a sense of where the music is going. I really enjoyed the balletic grace in Biegel's playing, especially when he embellishes some passages in the Mozartian spirit of understatement." (James Bash; www.northwestreverb.com.blogspot.com)

September 1:

Albany Records releases three world premiere works for soloists and orchestra. The Pittsburgh Symphony, conducted by Lucas Richman, brings forth three exciting works composed by the respected composer and maestro, Lucas Richman: "Piano Concerto: In Truth" with Jeffrey Biegel; "Three Pieces for Cello and Orchestra" with Inbal Sergev; "Oboe Concerto ("The Clearing")" with the symphony's principal oboist Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony for DeAlmeida, who gave the premiere in 2006 with Sir Andrew Davis conducting.

The World Premiere of Mr. Richman's "Piano Concerto: In Truth" took place in October 2013 with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, where Maestro Richman was Music Director from 2003-2015, and is currently Music Director of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in Maine, where Mr. Biegel will join Maestro Richman for a performance of the piano concerto in September 2015.

With a schedule like that, it's a wonder Mr. Biegel has time to breathe! BroadwayWorld.com Classical salutes Mr. Biegel and congratulates him on his new releases.

For more information:

Jeffrey Biegel: www.jeffreybiegel.com

Steve Barta: www.stevebartamusic.com

Lucas Richman: www.lucasrichman.com

Peter Danish

Classical Music Editor in Chief