Music
PROGRAM: J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I W.A. Mozart Sonata in F Major, K.332 (Allegro - Adagio - Allegro Assai) Frédéric Chopin Ballade in G minor, Op.23 Carter Pann From “The Piano’s 12 Sides” (2011) White Moon Over Water Mark Olivieri Hommage à Trois (2005) Luca’s Swell: Hommage à Aaron Copland (b.1972) Gestures: Hommage à Toru Takemitsu Funk for Nikki: Hommage à James Brown Described by the New York Times as an “able and persuasive advocate” of new music, pianist Nicholas Phillips’ playing has been praised for its “bejeweled accuracy” (Fanfare) and as “razor-sharp yet wonderfully spirited” (American Records Guide). He maintains an active schedule as a soloist and collaborative artist; recent performances include solo recitals in Korea and Argentina, as well as dozens of states across the U.S., and an invited performance at the Croatian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Phillips has given lecture-recitals and presentations at conferences in the U.S., Argentina, Croatia, England, and South Korea and is the author of “Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words Revisited: Culture, Gender, Literature, and the Role of Domestic Piano Music in Victorian England,” published by VDM Verlag. In 2011, he released two CDs on Albany Records; Portals and Passages, which features the piano music of American composer Ethan Wickman (b.1973), and Boris Papandopulo: Piano Music, which features music by the famous Croatian composer. and his most recent CD, American Vernacular: New Music for Solo Piano, features works he commissioned from ten American composers. Nicholas Phillips holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is currently Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.