Andrew Russo
American pianist Andrew Russo is a musical interpreter of uncommon vitality. A Grammy-nominated recording artist, Russo has made a name for himself through his work with many of today’s leading composers in the United States and Europe. His career has unfolded around the globe, with appearances in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rome, Leipzig, Munich, Brussels and London.
Trained classically at The Juilliard School and the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Mendelssohn in Leipzig, Mr. Russo pursued further specialized training in Paris with Frederic Chiu. It was during those years that Russo began developing relationships with many important American and European composers, began working with electro-acoustic music and explored an ongoing interest for the hybrid world of live musical performance and theater.
In the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Russo created a special and historical moment by performing George Crumb's A Little Suite For Christmas, A.D. 1979, making him the first person to ever perform on the inside of the piano in this major quadrennial event. The attraction that this performance spurred led to the development of the 2002 George Crumb Celebration Festival at the Angel Orensanz Performing Arts Center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Serving as artistic director and pianist for this event, Mr. Russo worked closely with the composer to develop a retrospective structure closely mirroring the trajectory of Mr. Crumb's inimitable career. With the composer on hand and performances by many of today's leading young contemporary music artists, the festival was a rousing success. In a rave review of the entire weekend, Shirley Fleming wrote of "Mr. Russo's totally absorbing solo performances of Volumes I and II of Makrokosmos" (Musical America)
A prolific recording artist, Mr. Russo’s series of American composer portraits for London's Black Box Records includes releases of John Corigliano's piano and chamber works – 2006 Grammy Nomination – Best Chamber Music Performance, Pick of the Month in BBC Magazine – and Steve Reich’s Piano Phase – Benchmark performance in BBC Magazine ‘A musically assured performance that sees off the Nonesuch recording quite decisively’).
As a recitalist and ensemble player, Mr. Russo has given premiere performances of works by many of the world’s leading composers – Finland’s Kaija Saariaho, France’s Philippe Manoury, Holland’s Jacob ter Veldhuis and America’s David Lang, George Tsontakis, Marc Mellits, Derek Bermel, Marc Neikrug, Annie Gosfield and Phil Kline.
In addition to his activities as a performer, event organizer and record producer, Mr. Russo dedicates time to the direction and development of the Music program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, where he is artist-in-residence. Through a number of community partnerships, Russo has exposed people of all socio-economic backgrounds to important American music and musicians through special presentations and clinics for schools in underprivileged areas, as well as an eclectic and interactive concert series at Le Moyne College's W. Carroll Coyne Performing Arts Center. It is because of the breadth and diversity of his activities that Gramophone magazine proclaimed: "Andrew Russo is by no means just 'another pianist’”.