New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Young Steinway Artist
Thomas Nickell will make his official solo debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. The 18 year-old pianist, who has garnered international recognition for his energetic, refined, and focused performances, will give the North American premiere of highly acclaimed British composer
David Matthews' Piano Concerto, Op. 111 with the Orchestra of the Swan and
Music Director David Curtis.
Nickell has already been heard as soloist with Chicago's Oistrakh Symphony under the baton of Mina Zikri, and in Poland with the Sinfonia Viva chamber orchestra, conducted by Tomasz Radziwonowicz. The classically trained pianist has toured as a recitalist throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan. His February 26 performance will also feature Mozart's Piano Concerto in A Major, and
Benjamin Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (for orchestra only), as well as solo works for piano by Olivier Messiaen, Henry Cowell, Wagner/Liszt, and by
Thomas Nickell himself.
"Playing at Carnegie Hall is an honor for any artist, and I'm both excited and humbled to perform the work of such a respected composer with this wonderful ensemble," said Nickell. "I could not have asked for a better partner for this debut than Orchestra of the Swan, and their esteemed Artistic
Director David Curtis."
Tickets are $40.00 and can be purchased by visiting carnegiehall.org or the box office at the performance hall on 881 7th Avenue, at the corner of West 57th Street. Student and senior discount tickets are available at the box office.
Composer
David Matthews traces the influences on his musical language to his English background and interest in the works of
Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett, and Nicholas Maw, as well as to the Central European tradition, back through Mahler to Beethoven. He has been preoccupied with working in the great inherited forms of the past - symphony, string quartet, and lately oratorio - and finding new ways of renewing them. He was dubbed "among our most prodigious symphonists" by Paul Driver of the Sunday Times, and "a leading 21st Century exponent of the form" by Arnold Whittall in Gramophone.
Celebrating its 21st anniversary this season, Orchestra of the Swan has received international accolades for its polished and spirited performances. "A joy to hear from start to exuberant finish, superbly played," wrote Gramophone, one of the most widely read and respected publications in the music industry. "You won't hear much better than this anywhere." The ensemble gives more than 40 concerts annually and in 2014 undertook its first tour of China. Branching out from the classical realm, Orchestra of the Swan has also toured the UK with Steve Harley & Cockney
Rebel and James, with sell-out performances at London's Albert Hall.
