-
- - Paul Barnes Biography - - -
The eclectic interests
of pianist Paul Barnes have taken him from monasteries in the
Judean desert
to the Liszt Academy in Budapest. Exploring both minimalism
and religious symbolism in music, Barnes has been featured three times
on NPR’s Performance Today
and has recently performed in Jerusalem, Moscow, Greece,
Seoul, Vienna, Budapest and
in major cities throughout the US.
Deeply inspired by the aesthetic challenge of minimalism,
Barnes has given several world
premier performances
of works by internationally renown composer
Philip Glass. Glass's
record label Orange Mountain Music has just released
Barnes' latest recording featuring
his complete set of transcriptions
from Glass's operas including both the Trilogy Sonata
and the Orphee Suite for
Piano. New York critic Joseph Dalton described Barnes playing
of the
Glass transcriptions
as "atmospheric and elegant" while San Francisco critic
Michael McDonagh
hailed Barnes' performance as "remarkably effective, highly expressive"
and
that Barnes' transcriptions would make Glass's music both "accessible
and cherished."
The Trilogy Sonata is published by Chester Music
of London and is distributed by
Shawnee Press in the US.
Barnes will give the world premier performance of Glass’s
Second Piano Concerto
commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark
expedition
on September 18,
2004
with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra under the
direction of
Victor Yampolsky.
Barnes will
also perform the concerto with the
Northwest Chamber Orchestra in Seattle
in November
of 2004. A champion of many of today’s important composers,his
electrifying
performances
of David Ott's Second Piano Concerto have
brought audiences to their
feet
both
in the U.S.
and in Europe. After a recent performance the Czech paper, Lidove
noviny, proclaimed "American pianist breaks distrust of
modern music!"
Highlights of the 2003-2004 season include the world premier performance
of
Illuminations
from VALIS by composer Randall Snyder. The premier
will take
place on
April 22 in New York
City at the Geenwich House Music School
as part of the Cutting Edge Concerts series. Barnes
will also perform
at the 2004 American
Liszt Society Festival held
on Mar 4-7, 2004 at the University of
Illinois School of Music in Urbana.
Barnes recently gave the world premier performance of Concerto for
Amplified Piano and
Wind Ensemble by Jeffrey Hass at Indiana University
with conductor
Ray Kramer on Feb 6,
2001. Barnes has also recorded a CD series entitled
American Piano Concertos on Koch International. The first volume
includes the concertos
of Joan Tower, David Ott, and
Victoria Bond.
With performances throughout Europe, the Near East, the Far East,
and the U.S.,
Barnes' unique lecture/recitals have received international
acclaim. Liszt
and the Cross:
Music as Sacrament in the B Minor Sonata explores
the
fascinating relationship between
music, theology, and the Orthodox
icon and has been recently
featured at the MTNA
National Convention and the American Liszt Society
Festival. Recently elected to the
national board
of the ALS, Barnes
performed this year
in Washington DC at the 2002
ALS Festival. Barnes' latest lecture/recital
entitled Minimalism, Mysticism and
Monasticism:
Music as Contemplation delves
into the contemplative aspects of
music featuring ancient Byzantine
chant and the piano works of Arvo Part and Philip
Glass. Reflecting
his
passionate
interest in
ancient chant
and liturgy, Barnes also serves
as head chanter at
the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Barnes is co-chair of piano at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
School of Music. He
teaches at the Bösendorfer International Piano Academy in Vienna
and teaches the
students of Menahem Pressler, Barnes' own teacher,
at Indiana University. His students
have distinguished themselves
in many ways including
placing in national and international competitions and performing
for NPR’s
From the Top. Barnes is married to pianist Ann Chang Barnes and has
three remarkable children and two exceptional dogs.
Return
to LD101
Franz
Liszt
LISZT
and the CROSS
Music as Sacrament in the B Minor Sonata
a lecture recital by
PAUL BARNES
™