Performance:

Thursday, September 30, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Annenberg Conference Center
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
1000 George Bush Drive West
College Station, TX 77845

Philippi Bianconi—Piano

French pianist Philippe Bianconi, winner of the Silver Medal in the Seventh Van Cliburn International Competition, has enthralled audiences and critics throughout the world with his brilliant performances in recital and with orchestra. He has been described as a pianist whose playing is "always close to the soul of the music, filling the space with poetry and life" (Washington Post), and whose "extraordinary exhibition of musicianship and technical control lends the music a freshness, immediacy and conviction one all too seldom encounters" (The Times, London).

In 2004-05, Mr. Bianconi performed in the U.S. with the symphony orchestras of Columbus, Canton, Monterey, Modesto, and Flint. Other U.S. engagements included performances with the Symphony of Southwest Texas, at Chicago's Grant Park, and with the Louisiana Philharmonic. Additional season highlights included a performance with Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, and a joint recital with cellist Gary Hoffman. In the 2005-06 season, Mr. Bianconi is scheduled to perform with the Chattanooga and Waco symphony orchestras, as well as appear in recitals in Texas and Mississippi.

In 2003-04, Mr. Bianconi was invited by James Conlon to participate in his "Schulhoff Weekend" at New York's 92nd Street Y, performing works by Erwin Schulhoff. Also in 2003-04, Mr. Bianconi appeared with some of Europe's premiere orchestras including the Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Halle Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Strasbourg Philharmonic. He also embarked on a two week tour in Australia performing the Schumann Concerto and the Brahms D minor. Other recent career highlights include Mr. Bianconi's recital debut in Berlin in the prestigious series "Klavier um Vier" of the Berlin Philharmonic, an invitation to play with the renowned Guarneri String Quartet in their series at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and his performance of Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto with James Conlon in a sold out performance at the Paris Garnier Opera House.

Mr. Bianconi has appeared in North America with the orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Vancouver. His international appearances include engagements with the Cape Town Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchester der Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Nuremberg Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, and the Toulouse Orchestra. He has collaborated with such distinguished conductors as Semyon Bychkov, Oleg Caetani, Sergio Comissiona, James Conlon, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Marek Janowski, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, James Paul, Georges Prêtre, Gennady Rozdestvensky, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Yoav Talmi, Jeffrey Tate, Edo de Waart, and David Zinman.

Mr. Bianconi made an acclaimed recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 1987 and has since appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in major cities across North America. In Europe, he has performed recitals in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Milan, Madrid, Salzburg, and Vienna, and his performances in Paris are frequently broadcast on Radio France. In 1998, during his first concert tour of Japan, his debut recital in Tokyo was broadcast by N.H.K television.

A fine chamber music artist, Mr Bianconi has collaborated with the Guarneri String Quartet, the Toyko String Quartet, the Quartet Sine Nomine. He has also worked with violinist Pierre Amoyal, cellist Gary Hoffman, violinist Tedi Papavrami, and flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, to name a few.

Mr. Bianconi's first solo recording was released in 1993 on Lyrinx Records and features Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, Miroirs and Valses Nobles. His second Lyrinx recording entitled Schumann (1996), features Schumann's symphonic etudes and won a prestigious "Choc de la Musique" award in France. The third CD for Lyrinx continues the exploration of Schumann with the Fantasie and the Davidsbündlertänze. Other recordings include Brahms' Piano Quintet with the Quartet Sine Nomine on the Claves label, works by Shostakovich and Prokofiev with cellist Gary Hoffman on Le Chant du Monde label, and Schubert Lieder Cycles with baritone Hermann Prey on Denon.

Philippe Bianconi attended the Conservatory in Nice where he studied with Simone Delbert-Fevrier. He also studied extensively in Paris with Gaby Casadesus and in Freiburg-in-Breisgau with Vitalij Margulis. He was the first prize winner of both the Casadesus International Competition in Cleveland and the "Jeunesses Musicales" International Competition in Belgrade.