Pianist-composer Michael Brown offers program with creative flair
Pianist Michael Brown has been described by The New York Times as a “young piano visionary” and “one of the leading figures in the current renaissance of performer-composers.”
This winner of a prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant will perform in Virginia Tech's Squires Recital Salon at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 as a part of the Music on Mondays series presented by the School of Performing Arts.
A pianist and composer, Brown's unique artistry is reflected in a creative approach to programming that often interweaves the classics with contemporary works and his own compositions. The program will feature three of Felix Mendelssohn's Preludes and Fugues, including the most famous of the op. 35 set, no. 1 in E Minor; Leonard Bernstein's "Touches" explores both the chorale and variation format; and Maurice Ravel's "Tombeau de Couperin," a touching tribute to comrades who fell during World War I, utilizing old French dances with Ravel's unique sense of sound.
He will also perform his own "Constellations and Toccata," a takeoff on one of the keyboard's oldest musical forms.
In 2015, Brown joined the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS Two program. His upcoming and recent schedule includes a performance with Seattle Symphony musicians; a Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium debut; recitals at Wigmore Hall, the Louvre, Alice Tully Hall and Weill Hall; and performances at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Caramoor, Moab, Mostly Mozart, and Music@Menlo festivals.
Recent commissions and performances of his own compositions include a piano concerto for the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and works for the Look & Listen Festival, Bargemusic, Concert Artists Guild, and the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation. He has recorded an all-George Perle CD for Bridge Records, a solo album, a disc of four-hand piano music with Jerome Lowenthal, and one in collaboration with cellist Nicholas Canellakis.
A native New Yorker, Brown earned dual master of music degrees majoring in piano and composition from The Juilliard School. He is first prize winner of the 2010 Concert Artists Guild Competition and was recently appointed adjunct assistant professor of piano at Brooklyn College.
Tickets
Tickets are $15 general, $12 senior, and $7 student, and may be purchased through the Squires ticket office, or by calling 540-231-5615. Tickets will also be available at the box office beginning one hour prior to the performance.
The "Music on Mondays" series showcases national and international guest artists and our talented faculty artists. There are 16 performances scheduled for the 2015-2016 season; many free of charge. Main Street Inn is the hotel sponsor of the Music on Mondays series.
Squires Theatre is located in the Squires Student Center at 290 College Ave. on the campus of Virginia Tech. Free parking is available on weekends and after 5 p.m. weekdays in the Squires Lot, located at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Streets, in the Architecture Annex Lot on Otey Street, and the Perry Street/Prices Fork lots.
Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200. Alternative parking is available in the Kent Squire parking garage and the Farmers Market metered parking lot, both located on Draper Road. Additional downtown Blacksburg parking information can be found online.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please email Susan Sanders or call her at 540-231-5200 during regular business hours at least 5 business days prior to the event.
