New Generations: Paul Barnes performs the new etudes of Philip Glass and music of the next generation

Paul Barnes plays music of Philip Glass, Ivan Moody, Jonah Gallagher, N. Lincoln Hanks, Lucas Floyd and Victoria Bond

Paul Barnes, pianist

Praised by the New York Times for his “Lisztian thunder and deft fluidity,” and the San Francisco Chronicle as “ferociously virtuosic,” pianist Paul Barnes has electrified audiences with his intensely expressive playing and cutting-edge programming. He has been featured four times on APM’s Performance Today and on the cover of Clavier Magazine and his recordings are broadcast worldwide. He has performed in England, China, Korea, Taiwan, Austria, Russia, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Hungary, and in all major cities throughout the US.

Deeply inspired by the aesthetic challenge of minimalism, Barnes commissioned and gave the world premier performance of Philip Glass’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (After Lewis and Clark). The Omaha World Herald praised Barnes playing for his “driving intensity and exhilaration.” Nebraska Educational Telecommunications' production The Lewis and Clark Concerto, a documentary/performance of the concerto featuring Barnes, won an Emmy for Best Performance Production. Additional performances included collaborations with conductor Marin Alsop at the prestigious Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and also the Northwest Chamber Orchestra where the Seattle Times called Barnes’ performance “an impressive feat.” The world-premier recording with the NWCO was released by Orange Mountain Music. Gramophone Magazine remarked that this recording is “certainly one of the most enjoyable recent releases of Glass's music … Paul Barnes is a shining soloist.”
Orange Mountain Music also released Barnes’ recording of his transcriptions from the operas of Philip Glass, including both the Trilogy Sonata and the Orphée Suite for Piano. (…)

Barnes also serves as head chanter at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Lincoln where his fascination with Byzantine chant led to a commissioned piano concerto Ancient Keys written by Victoria Bond based on a Greek chant. The world-premier recording of this concerto as well as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was released on Albany Records.

With performances throughout Europe, the Near East, the Far East, and the U.S., Barnes’ unique lecture/recitals have received international acclaim. Liszt and the Cross: Music as Sacrament in the B Minor Sonata explores the fascinating relationship between music, theology, and the Orthodox icon. (…)

Barnes is Marguerite Scribante Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music. He teaches during the summer at the Vienna International Piano Academy and also coaches the students of Menahem Pressler, Barnes’ own teacher, at Indiana University where Barnes received his doctorate in Piano Performance. In great demand as a pedagogue and clinician, Barnes has served as convention artist at several state MTNA conventions and was recently named “Teacher of the Year” by the Nebraska Music Teachers Association. Barnes also teaches and performs regularly at the famed Amalfi Coast Festival in Italy.

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Full biography on paulbarnes.net