|
 With
over thirty years of performing together, the FISCHER DUO has been widely praised
by music critics for its choice of repertoire.
Thoroughly
versed in the classical repertoire of Brahms, Beethoven, and Schumann, the Fischer
Duo has acquired an equally impressive reputation for rediscovering neglected
works of the past (Busoni, Boulanger, Foote, and Liszt). They
have commissioned many new scores by gifted contemporary composers such as George
Rochberg, David Stock, Robert Sirota, Augusta Read Thomas, Richard Lavenda, Pierre
Jalbert, Anthony Brandt, Shih-Hui Chen, and Richard Wilson. “One felt like
applauding the Fischer Duo before they even played a note for programming rarely-heard
cello music by Chopin and Liszt,” wrote a reviewer in the the Washington
Post. Last October the Fischer Duo launched a new chamber music festival in Vermont
with violinist Curtis Macomber. The Fischer
Duo is also known for enlightened residency work. In 1996 the United States Information
Agency (USIA) selected the Fischer Duo as Artistic Ambassadors, and they toured
South America and the next year toured South Africa receiving the highest ratings
for musical maturity and open access to audiences. The
critic from the The Toledo Blade summed up a concert experience with the Fischer
Duo: “If there was a prize for Most Elegant Sound by a Chamber Group, the
Fischer Duo would surely win it. The two together have a sort of slow-burning
combustion on stage that makes for some really exciting and spon-taneous music.
This is a pair that really knows their repertoire, and more importantly, knows
how to absorb an audience into their own musical universe.” The
Fischer Duo has performed on public television and National Public Radio. Their
compact disc debut,“Imaginées: Music of French Masters,” was
given Fanfare magazine’s highest recommendation: “For fine sound, on
top of probing duo teamwork and elegant program-making.” They
have three other compact discs available on the Gasparo label. “American
Music in the 1990s” [GSCD-349] includes commissioned works for the duo by
George Rochberg, Pierre Jalbert, Samuel Jones, and Augusta Read Thomas. The Strad
magazine said, “The duo gives thoroughly persuasive performances of all four
works, scratching through the surface gesture to get to the heart of the music’s
expres-sive potential.” Also available on Gasparo is “Robert Sirota:
Works for Cello” [GSCD-350] and “Born in America in 1938” [GSCD-351]
featuring works by William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Ellsworth Milburn, John Harbison,
Joan Tower, and Charles Wuorinen. After
completing instrumental study with Richard Kapuscinski, Claus Adam, and Bernard
Greenhouse, Norman Fischer first graced the international concert stage
as cellist with the Concord String Quartet, a group that won the Naumburg Chamber
Music Award, an Emmy and several Grammy nominations, and recorded over forty works
on RCA Red Seal, Vox, Nonesuch, Turnabout, and CRI. The New York Times recently
said, “During its sixteen years, the supervirtuosic Concord String Quartet
championed con-temporary work while staying rooted in the Western tradition.” In
addition to performing the major concertos, Mr. Fischer has premiered and recorded
many new scores for cello and orchestra. Recitals of unaccompanied cello works
have received rave reviews such as “Inspiring” (The New York Times)
for his New York debut recital of the complete Bach Suites in one evening, and
“Coruscating” (The Boston Globe) for his performance of Osvaldo Golijov’s
Omaramor at the opening of the 1998 Tanglewood festival. His chamber music expertise
has led to guest appearances with the Audubon, Blair, Cavani, Chester, Chiara,
Ciompi, Cleveland, Emerson, Enso, Juilliard, Mendelssohn, and Schoenberg string
quartets, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music International, Chamber
Music Ann Arbor, CONTEXT, and Da Camera of Houston. A devoted teacher and mentor
to younger players, Mr. Fischer has taught at Dartmouth College, the Oberlin Conservatory
of Music, and currently is Professor of Violoncello at the Shepherd School of
Music. Since 1985 he has taught at the Tanglewood Music Center, where is now the
Coordinator of Strings and Chamber Music. Jeanne
Kierman is a leading advocate of the piano as a collaborative instrument.
A graduate of Oberlin College, the Dalcroze School, and the New England Conservatory,
she studied with master pianists Miles Mauney, Victor Rosenbaum, William Masselos,
and Menahem Pressler. Ms. Kierman is equally adroit as a collaborator with voice
or instrument and is in great demand as a recital partner. She has performed for
Da Camera of Houston, Chamber Music Ann Arbor, Mohawk Trail Concerts, Skaneateles,
and the Marrowstone Festival among others. Since 1992 she has shared her chamber
music expertise with students at the Greenwood Music Camp. Formerly on the faculties
of Dartmouth College and the Oberlin Conservatory, Ms. Kierman currently serves
as Artist Teacher at the Shepherd School of Music. |
