Gary Steigerwalt

Gary Steigerwalt

Pianist Gary Steigerwalt has received acclaim as an eclectic artist performing contemporary as well as standard piano repertoire. A recent review in the Boston Globe described his playing as "spontaneous . . . and capable of imparting the best-known chestnuts in the literature as though they were new."

He has appeared as a soloist with the National Symphony at Wolf Trap, playing Aaron Copland's Piano Concerto under the composer's direction. Other orchestral appearances include the New York Chamber Symphony under Gerard Schwarz, Hungarian State Symphony (Budapest), and Seattle Symphony, among others. He has given solo recitals at Merkin Concert Hall, the 92nd Street "Y," and Weill Recital Hall in New York; the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Wigmore Hall, London; and the Liszt Academy, Budapest. Many of his recitals have been sponsored by the Pro Musicis Foundation.

Mr. Steigerwalt became the first American prizewinner of the Liszt-Bartók International Piano Competition in Budapest in 1976, when he took both second prize and the medal for best performance of a work by Béla Bartók. He is also a laureate of the Leeds, Sydney, and University of Maryland international competitions and first-prize winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artists Awards, the Artists Advisory Council of Chicago Auditions, and the Frinna Awerbuch International Competition. Mr. Steigerwalt gave his New York debut recital in 1974 as recipient of the Concert Artists Guild's Madeleine Malraux Award.

Often Mr. Steigerwalt performs in four-hand and duo-piano recitals with his wife, pianist Dana Muller. Together they have recorded four-hands work by Franz Schubert (a portion of which is heard on the sound track of the recent motion picture Good Will Hunting) and a number of early twentieth-century European composers for Centaur Records. Their most recent disc features four-hand works by late Romantic composers Anton Rubinstein, Joseph Rheinberger and Frederick Shepherd Converse. Please see http://www.muller-steigerwalt.com for more information.

Mr. Steigerwalt has taught at Mount Holyoke College since 1981.

RECORDINGS

Solo and Concerto Recordings

Franz Schubert, Sonata in D Major, Op. 53/D.850; Drei Klavierstücke, D.946 (Centaur CRC 2199).t: D.946: III. Allegro in C Major mp3

Johannes Brahms, Sonata in C Major, Op. 1; Variations on a Hungarian Theme, Op. 21 No. 2; Klavierstücke, Op. 119 (Centaur CRC 1006).

William Schuman, Piano Concerto; Walter Piston, Piano Concertino with M.I.T. Symphony, David Epstein conducting, and Philharmonia Virtuosi, Richard Kapp conducting (Vox/Turnabout cassette tape).

Four-hand Recordings with Pianist Dana Muller
Rheinberger: Sonata in C Minor, Op.122: IV. Alla Tarantella mp3
Casella: Fox Trot Sonata in C Minor, Op. 122:IV. Alla Tarantella mp3

Anton Rubinstein, Sonata in D Major, Op. 89; Frederick Shepherd Converse, Valzer Poetici, Op. 5; Josef Rheinberger, Sonata in C Minor, Op. 122 (Centaur CRC 2390).

Franz Schubert, Duo in A Minor ("Lebensstürme"), Op. posth. 144/D.947; Fantasy in G Minor, D.9; Grand Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 30/D617; Overture to Alfonso und Estrella, Op. 69/D.3773; Six Polonaises, D.824; Overture to Fierabras, D.798; Variations on an Original Theme in A-flat Major, Op. 35/D.813; Six Grandes Marches et Trios, Op. 40/D. 819 (Centaur CRC 2272 and 2305).

Georges Auric, Cinq Bagatelles; Paul Hindemith, Sonata; Arnold Schönberg, Sechs Stücke für vier Händen; Ferruccio Busoni, Finnländische Volksweisen, Op. 27; Alfredo Casella, Pupazzetti, Op.27; Pagine di Guerra; Fox Trot Fox Trot mp3; Maurice Ravel (trans. Lucien Garban), La Valse (Centaur CRC 2127).

PERFORMANCES

Solo Piano Recitals
Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street "Y," and Weill Recital Hall, New York; Smithsonian
nstitution, Washington, D.C.; Sanders Theatre, Cambridge; Jordan Hall and Boston Conservatory of Music, Boston; Wigmore Hall, London; Liszr Academy, Budapest; Teatro Acha, Cochabamba (Bolivia); series in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Cleveland, Calgary, Albany, and Knoxville; live radio broadcasts over B.B.C. (London), O.R.T.F. (Paris), and N.P.R. (Washington, D.C.).

Concerto Performances
National Symphony Orchestra (Wolf Trap Festival), Hungarian State Symphony (Budapest), Seattle Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Brevard Festival Orchestra, Albany Symphony, M.I.T. Symphony, and Pioneer Valley Symphony, among others.

Concerto Premieres
New York premiere, Joseph Schwantner Distant Runes and Incantations, "Y," Chamber Symphony; world premiere, Anthony Burgess Concerto for Pianoforte and Orchestra in E-flat, Pioneer Valley Symphony, Greenfield, MA.

Four-hand Recitals with Pianist Dana Muller
Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Cochabamba (Bolivia); Beethoven Festival (Long Island), Musicorda and Sevenars Festivals (Massachusetts); series in Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and throughout the Northeastern U.S.

Four-hand Concerto Performances with Pianist Dana Muller
Jan Mul Concerto for Piano Four-Hands and Orchestra, Pennsylvania Sinfonia (North American premiere, Allentown, PA) and Orchestra New England (South Hadley, MA).

PUBLICATIONS

Two-piano reduction of Anthony Burgess Concerto for Piano forte and Orchestra in E-flat, 1976.

Biography of Scottish-American pianist/composer/teacher Helen Hopekirk(1856-1945). In progress.

COURSES: Piano performance, Basic Musicianship