Richard D. Russell » New York

Two Russell pieces at Mannes College on June 30

Richard D. Russell — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:58:00 +0000

Sofia Dimitrova

Christina Goyne

Two pieces by Richard Russell will be featured in a concert at Mannes College of Music on June 30, 8pm. Mannes is at 150 West 85th Street in New York, and the concert is free and open to the public.

The first piece is a world premiere of Four Shakespeare Songs in Madrigal Style, featuring soprano Sofia Dimitrova and mezzo Christina Goyne. The second piece is Time is Not an Option, the awarded commission from Voices Up! recently premiered at Fordham University. Hope to see you there!

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Great Rehearsal of “Time is Not an Option” at Bard College

Richard D. Russell — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:51:00 +0000

Ilana Zarankin

Clarissa Lyons

Yesterday I traveled to the beautiful Bard College campus in upstate New York to attend a rehearsal of “Time is Not an Option,” which premieres this Saturday. (…with texts by Elisabeth Frost.) I heard a few of the other composers works, too, and I can say this will be a great concert!

I was so impressed with Bard’s Olin Hall I took a few pix to share with my iPhone. The sopranos are Ilana Zarankin and Clarissa Lyons, the pianist is Shun-Yang Lee. Each of them are superb.

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Why move to New York?

Richard D. Russell — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:01:24 +0000

New York City

Like many other people before me, and many others after me, I moved to New York City because it was the center of it all, especially for classical music.

This has become (and will continue to become) less necessary. In a July 30 2009 op-ed piece in the New York Times, Bill Wasik writes:

Online…the audience can be yours right away, direct and unmediated–if you can figure out how to find it…

In other words, why move to New York when you can just go online? The whole article, with all its implications, can be read here.

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Violin Sonata recording posted

Richard D. Russell — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:08:00 +0000

It took a while, but I have finally been able to post a sound file of my Violin Sonata on my website. Head to the Listen section and you’ll be able to listen to the three movements in their entirety. The performers are Stanichka Dimitrova, violin, and Bethany Porter, piano, from the performance of 14 February 2009 at Symphony Space Thalia in New York. Here’s a pic of me and Stani from some time before the performance.

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Thought for the Day

Richard D. Russell — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:35:00 +0000

I know a musician from Iran who came to study music in New York. He was very interested in classical music of (what we call) the Western world. And he said something once I’ll never forget: “Western music is the only music concerned with harmony.” (Thanks, Hafez!)

I thought about this as I was reading about the Chinese composer Huang Ruo. In the article, he said,

“In China, we never talk about ‚Äòin tune‚Äô or ‚Äòout of tune.‚Äô I think it‚Äôs a very Western thing.‚Äù

Just some things to think about.

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Elizabeth Berkowitz, June 8, 2006

Richard D. Russell — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 08:12:00 +0000

Soprano Elizabeth Berkowitz presented a faculty recital at the Lucy Moses School in New York on June 8, 2006. She included Three Songs of Carl Sandburg in her ambitious program. Chaim Freiberg was the pianist.

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Spirals Premieres

Richard D. Russell — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 08:26:00 +0000

Alaria with guest cellist Peter Prosser

Spirals was premiered to great acclaim in a concert presented by the New York Composers Circle at St. Peter’s in New York’s historic Chelsea district, March 7, 2006. Guest cellist was Peter Prosser.

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