Percy Grainger America
Years ago, Richard Masters visited the Percy Grainger House in White Plains, New York, a pilgrimage undertaken out of respect for Percy's gifts to the world of music. He was thrilled to play Percy's piano and enchanted by Percy's home, choc-a-bloc with its pictures, books, and music. He never forgot this visit and contacted us last year to see if we could arrange a concert. We were delighted at this request and happy to help Richard "give back" to the music world with his performance. He has dedicated all proceeds from his concert to our preservation effort.
Richard is a soloist, opera coach, chamber musician and orchestral pianist based in Blacksburg, VA, where he is an Assistant Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano on the music faculty at Virginia Tech's School of Performing Arts. He has performed solo, chamber and vocal recitals throughout the U.S. and in Europe.
As a solo pianist, Richard plays a wide variety of standard and non-traditional repertoire, including contemporary pieces written for or commissioned by him. A strong proponent of contemporary American composers, he has performed world premieres of pieces by Kenneth Frazelle, Charles Nichols, Kent Holliday, and many others. He is an enthusiastic performer of British music from the early 20th century.
Recent appearances include performances at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's "Music at the Gardner" series, the National Flute Convention in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Conservatory, the Schola Cantorum in Paris, and concerts in Toronto and Trinidad/Tobago. In the 2018-2019 season, he will tour Texas, performing the complete songs of Henri Duparc with Ariana Wyatt, soprano, and Marc Callahan, baritone. Solo appearances will include performances in Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, and on the concert series at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California.
In addition to his performances as a pianist, Richard is active in the world of opera and musical theatre as a coach and conductor. He recently conducted performances of Carousel, Fiorello!, Oh, Kay!, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Le Nozze di Figaro, Babes in Arms, and in Summer 2018 served as associate head coach with the Pittsburgh Festival Opera, working on Wagner's Das Rheingold and Strauss's Arabella. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, he was principal opera coach at the University of Texas at Austin.
Richard Masters holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (DMA), the Juilliard School (MM) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (BM).
We are thrilled to welcome Penelope Thwaites, internationally recognized as an exponent and scholar of Percy Grainger’s music as well as editor of The New Percy Grainger Companion (Boydell & Brewer 2010).
Born and current resident in UK, Penelope grew up in Australia, winning first place on graduation in Music from Melbourne University. She has won acclaim as a concert pianist, recording artist, composer, writer and editor, broadcaster and music festival curator. In 2001, she was awarded the Order of Australia for her work.
In the mid 70's, the composer William L Reed said to Penelope - "You're an Australian - why don't you play some Grainger?" She considered, and decided to include three folk-settings at the end of her next recital. She notes that she found them delightful, stimulating - and demanding, not an unusual experience for those embarking on performing Grainger. She notes that Grainger was a formidable and hugely energetic pianist.
She has now recorded more than 260 tracks of Percy Grainger's music. She was the featured solo, chamber and orchestral artist on eight of Chandos Records’ 20-CD Grainger Edition. Most recently, she recorded a fourth CD with fellow Australian pianist, Timothy Young, to add to the three existing CDs of Grainger’s music that she had previously recorded with John Lavender. All four CDs, now released as a box set on the Heritage label, contain many world premieres, including the discovery of a youthful piano concerto fragment, and provide a fascinating insight into Grainger’s pianistic output.
Her lectures and broadcasts on the composer and detailed research into his life and work led to her editing The New Percy Grainger Companion, widely recognized for its new research and insights by established performers of Grainger’s music. She was Artistic Director for two major Grainger Festivals in London: St John’s Smith Square in 1998 and a four-day celebration at King’s Place in 2011 - 50 years since Percy Grainger’s death.
"Tall Poppy" is a 2016 documentary by writer/director Rhys Devine. (The term Tall Poppy referring to a perceived tendency to discredit or disparage those who have achieved notable wealth or prominence in public life.) The documentary includes narrative by Ms. Thwaites about Percy Grainger's early life and includes film clips of Percy Grainger working at 7 Cromwell Place, White Plains. Click on the photo to view it.
Penelope muses "My preliminary skirmishes with Grainger led to a fascination with the story of his life, and I devised a program of piano works that would follow at least something of its extraordinary progress. Making a series of recordings of all the two pianos four-hand repertoire included the discovery of several works that had lain undiscovered. The process continued through many live performances as well as further solo, chamber and orchestral recordings. Some 260 tracks later I am amazed at the richness of his imagination and his understanding of the piano."
Call or Email Us:
Office: (914) 281-1610
info@percygraingeramerica.org
Address:
7 Cromwell Place
White Plains, NY 10601