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Andrew
Armstrong
August
16, 2008
Praised by critics
for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist
Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences around the world. He
has performed solo recitals and appeared with orchestras in Asia,
Europe, Latin America, and the United States, including performances
at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Grand
Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Warsaw's National Philharmonic.
He has performed with such conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak
Perlman, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and in chamber music with
the Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets, as a
member of the Caramoor Virtuosi at the Caramoor International
Music Festival, and as a member of the Jupiter Symphony Chamber
Players in New York City.
2007/08 offers
an array of engagements with the Florida Orchestra, Louisiana
Philharmonic, Boise Philharmonic, and the symphonies of Tallahassee,
Charlottesville, Stamford, Harrisburg, Bellevue and Ridgefield,
among others. Last summer, he shared the stage with Jennifer
Frautschi and Eward Arron to perform Beethoven's Triple Concerto
with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Peter Oundjian conducting.
During his 2006/07
season, Armstrong performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with
the the Charleston Symphony, Saint-Saëns' 5th Piano Concerto
with the Monterey Symphony in a return engagement, Prokofiev
No. 3 with the Bridgeport Symphony, and Mozart's A-major Concerto
K. 488 in his debut with the Columbus Symphony under the baton
of Günther Herbig. He also played two concertos at the Peninsula
Music Festival (the Chopin F minor Concerto and Prokofiev No.
3 under V. Yampolsky) and Rachmaninov's massive Concerto No.
3 with the Brevard Symphony, Florida. Earlier in 2006 he was
the featured soloist with Naumburg Concerts at New York City's
Central Park (Mozart's Concerto K. 491). In 2004 he performed
the World Premiere of Lisa Bielawa's "The Right Weather"
for piano solo and chamber orchestra with the American Composers
Orchestra at the sold-out Carnegie Zankel Hall.
Having performed
over 35 concertos, Armstrong has impressed his international
audiences with a large repertoire ranging from Bach to Babbit
and beyond. Before beginning his career as a concert pianist,
Armstrong received over 25 national and international First Prizes.
In 1996, he was named Gilmore Young Artist. At the 1993 Van Cliburn
Competition, where he was the youngest pianist entered, he received
the Jury Discretionary Award. The New York Times wrote, "Armstrong
may have been the most talented player in the competition....He's
a real musician. We'll hear more from him." As the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram reported, Van Cliburn himself, "in a
rare showing of enthusiasm for an individual competitor,"
called Mr. Armstrong "Fabulous! Fabulous!"
Andrew Armstrong's
debut CD, featuring Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata and Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition, was released in 2004 to critical acclaim.
The critic Bradley Bolen opined: "I have heard few pianists
play [Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata], recorded or in concert,
with such dazzling clarity and confidence" (American Record
Guide, Nov/Dec, 2004). His follow-up CD was issued in November
2007 on Cordelia Records and includes works by Chopin, Liszt,
Debussy, and the world premiere recording of Bielawa's Wait for
piano & drone.
Andrew Armstrong
is devoted to outreach programs and playing for children. In
addition to his many concerts, his performances are heard regularly
on National Public Radio and WQXR, New York City's premier classical
music station. |
