Michael Brown, classical music composer

Michael Brown

Biography

The New York Times declared Michael Brown "a young piano visionary," praising him for a "powerful technique and a vivid imagination." Noted for his "great confidence and rhythmic flair" by Gramophone, he is the First Prize Winner of the 2010 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. Brown performed at Alice Tully Hall as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra under New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert and in a solo recital as winner of the 2012 Juilliard William Petschek Piano Debut Recital Award. He has appeared on four continents and performed at other major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is a participating artist at the Marlboro Music Festival. 

In 2012-13, Michael Brown has a return engagement with the New Haven Symphony, and performs with the Santa Maria Philharmonic, Bakersfield Symphony, Roswell Symphony and the Netanya-Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra in Israel in addition to solo recitals around the US, including on the Ravinia Rising Stars Series.  He recently gave recitals at Weill Recital Hall, Gilmore Festival's Rising Stars Series, Market Square Concerts, Bay Chamber Concerts and Chamber Music Society of Little Rock.

As a composer, Brown's work has been described as "striking" by The New York Times and "intriguing" by The Washington Post.  His work Constellations and Toccata was premiered at the Kennedy Center this year, while others have been performed on the Tanglewood, Ravinia and Look & Listen Festivals and at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, (Le) Poisson Rouge and Bargemusic, among others. Brown was the 2008 Composer-in-Residence for Pianofest in the Hamptons and is a member of Broadcast Music, Inc. 

Michael Brown's debut solo CD, Constellations, features works by Schubert, Debussy, and Brown, and is set for release on CAG Records in the fall of 2012. Upcoming CD projects are an all-Schubert disc for Naxos and a recording of solo piano works by George Perle for Bridge Records.  In addition to his collaboration with cellist Nicholas Cannellakis in the Canellakis-Brown Duo, this season Brown also collaborates with the Linden String Quartet, violinist Elena Urioste and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. He has toured with "Musicians from Ravinia" and violinist Miriam Fried, and has appeared at Mostly Mozart, Caramoor, Music@Menlo, Steans Music Institute, and Beijing International Music Festivals. 

A native New Yorker, Michael Brown earned dual Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano and Composition from The Juilliard School, where he studied with pianists Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald and composers Samuel Adler and Robert Beaser. He is a two-time winner of The Juilliard School's Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and received the Raeburn Award for Artist of Special Promise from the 2009 Honens International Piano Competition. He has also worked with Mitsuko Uchida, Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Pamela Frank, and Richard Goode.


Composer Title Date Action
Michael Brown Constellations and Toccata 04/18/2013 Play Add to playlist
Michael Brown 5 A.M. “After Allen Ginsburg” for Cello and Piano 05/02/2014 Play Add to playlist