Joanna MacGregor
Encyclopedia
Joanna MacGregor is a classical, jazz
and contemporary pianist
.
, and was educated at home by her Seventh-day Adventist
parents until she attended South Hampstead High School
at the age of 11. Her mother is a piano teacher who studied at the Royal Academy of Music
. Joanna studied music at New Hall
, University of Cambridge
(1978–81) and was taught by Hugh Wood
. After Cambridge, she did a Masters in performance at the Royal Academy of Music
, London, with Christopher Elton
. She also studied at the Van Cliburn
Piano Institute in Texas which included masterclasses with Jorge Bolet
.
In the early years of her career, she made a living from writing music for TV. Her first significant break was being selected as an artist for the Young Concert Artists Trust
in 1985. Her next major break was a record deal with Collins Classics
, with whom she made fifteen recordings. These recordings tend towards 20th century composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Bartók, Ives, Messaien, Birtwistle, Britten and Hugh Wood. There are also recordings of Bach and Scarlatti.
She has performed in over sixty countries often appearing as a solo artist with many of the world's leading orchestras. These include the New York Philharmonic
, London Symphony Orchestra
and Sydney Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
. The conductors with whom she has worked include Pierre Boulez
, Sir Simon Rattle
, Sir Colin Davis
and Michael Tilson Thomas
. She has premiered many compositions ranging from Sir Harrison Birtwistle
and Django Bates
to John Adams and James MacMillan. In 1997 she gave an unusual performance of Shostakovich
's Piano Concerto No. 2
at London's St John's, Smith Square, with a brass band
, The Marple Band, as part of the European Brass Band Championships. She has toured South Africa with jazz artist Moses Molelekwa, recorded with pop artist Talvin Singh
and toured China (with her own music combining traditional Chinese instruments and electronics) with Jin Xing
's Contemporary Dance Theatre of Shanghai.
On 20 May 1990, The BBC broadcast a radio play that she wrote entitled Memoirs of an Amnesiac about the life of Eric Satie. It was nominated for the Prix Italia
, a prestigious radio award. In September 1991 her musical adaptation of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
was performed at the Unicorn Theatre
.
She organised the Platform Festival of New Music from 1991 until 1993. This included an eight-day festival at the Arts Theatre in Great Newport Street in 1991 which featured performers Simon Limbrick and the Norwegian cellist, Oystein Birkeland, and composers ranging from Paul Kellett (The Birth of Liquid Desires 2 `eight minutes of wildness' for 13 cellos) to the George Crumb
.
Between 1997 and 2000, she was Professor of Music at Gresham College
, London, giving free public lectures. She has received honorary Professorships and Fellowships from the Royal Academy of Music
and Trinity College of Music
and an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University
. MacGregor was appointed as Member of the Arts Council England
in 1998 alongside Anish Kapoor
, Brian McMaster, and Andrew Motion
. She resigned in 2004.
MacGregor was the subject of an edition of The South Bank Show
in December 2001. She also presented her own series entitled Strings, Bows, and Bellows for BBC Television.
She made her conducting début in 2002 and regularly directs her own orchestral projects. She has had a very close artistic partnership as conductor and performer with the Britten Sinfonia
for the past ten years.
In 2005, she was appointed as Artistic Director of the Bath International Music Festival
. The climax of the festival was a programme of renaissance and electronic music with herself, Brian Eno
and the Bath Camerata in Bath Abbey.
In 2010 she curated Deloitte Ignite, a three day festival celebrating the opening of the season at London's Royal Opera House
. A series of installations and performances with an arboreal theme were available to members of the public for free during the daytimes, with three ticketed evening concerts, including the 'Lying Down Concert' which featured Joanna MacGregor, Kiki Dale and Ilona Jantti.
She was appointed Head of Keyboard at the Royal Academy of Music
in November 2010, taking up the role from September 2011.
. They feature storytelling, cartoons, games and include companion CDs with cartoon style narration and musical accompaniments.
. She is Professor of Musical Performance at Liverpool Hope University
.
In 2003, she was recognised for her innovation and crossover appeal with a Royal Philharmonic Society
award for imaginative programming and tireless work in opening up music to a new audience. Other awards include European Encouragement Prize for Music 1995, NFMS Sir Charles Grove Award 1998, and South Bank Show Award for Classical Music 2000
2002. It came within two votes of winning the award. Initially, the label was internet based and mail order only. The label was distributed in the UK by MackTwo until it went out of business. The label is now distributed by New Note.
Sound Circus
Interviews on BBC Radio 4
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and contemporary pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Biography
MacGregor grew up in North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, and was educated at home by her Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
parents until she attended South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School is an all-girls independent day school situated in Hampstead, north-west London. The school was founded and is still supported by The Girls' Day School Trust . The school operates over two sites, the Senior school and Junior school which are run as a single unit with...
at the age of 11. Her mother is a piano teacher who studied at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. Joanna studied music at New Hall
New Hall
New Hall may refer to:* New Hall School, a school in Essex, England* New Hall, Cambridge, a Cambridge University college now known as Murray Edwards College, in Cambridge, England* New Hall , a prison in West Yorkshire, England...
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(1978–81) and was taught by Hugh Wood
Hugh Wood
Hugh Wood is a British composer.- Biography :While Wood was brought up in a musical family, it was only after graduating in History from Oxford that he decided to dedicate his energies to composition; and he moved to London in 1954 to study with William Lloyd Webber, Anthony Milner, Iain Hamilton,...
. After Cambridge, she did a Masters in performance at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, London, with Christopher Elton
Christopher Elton
Christopher Elton is an English pianist, Head of the Keyboard department of the Royal Academy of Music in London and a professor emeritus of the University of London.-Biography:...
. She also studied at the Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
Piano Institute in Texas which included masterclasses with Jorge Bolet
Jorge Bolet
Jorge Bolet was a Cuban-born but mostly American-resident pianist and teacher.-Life:Bolet was born in Havana, and studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he himself taught from 1939 to 1942...
.
In the early years of her career, she made a living from writing music for TV. Her first significant break was being selected as an artist for the Young Concert Artists Trust
Young Concert Artists Trust
Young Concert Artists' Trust is a charity which identifies, supports, nurtures and promotes outstanding young classical musicians based in the United Kingdom....
in 1985. Her next major break was a record deal with Collins Classics
Collins Classics
Collins Classics was a record label which specialised in classical music. It was founded in 1989.Artists who recorded for the label included Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the Duke Quartet, choral group the Sixteen, Harry Christophers and Joanna MacGregor....
, with whom she made fifteen recordings. These recordings tend towards 20th century composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Bartók, Ives, Messaien, Birtwistle, Britten and Hugh Wood. There are also recordings of Bach and Scarlatti.
She has performed in over sixty countries often appearing as a solo artist with many of the world's leading orchestras. These include the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and Sydney Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Oslo-Filharmonien is a symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra was founded in 1919, and has since 1977 had its home in the Oslo Concert Hall. The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in brass, 5 in percussionists, 1 harpist, and 1...
and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
. The conductors with whom she has worked include Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Sir Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, Sir Colin Davis
Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett....
and Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
. She has premiered many compositions ranging from Sir Harrison Birtwistle
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
and Django Bates
Django Bates
Django Bates , is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. He currently lives in Copenhagen where he is a professor at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory and leader of the StoRMChaser orchestra.-Career:Django Bates was born in Beckenham,...
to John Adams and James MacMillan. In 1997 she gave an unusual performance of Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Shostakovich)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102, by Dmitri Shostakovich was composed in 1957 for his son Maxim's 19th birthday. Maxim premiered the piece during his graduation at the Moscow Conservatory...
at London's St John's, Smith Square, with a brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
, The Marple Band, as part of the European Brass Band Championships. She has toured South Africa with jazz artist Moses Molelekwa, recorded with pop artist Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh Matharoo , is a producer and composer and tabla player, known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass...
and toured China (with her own music combining traditional Chinese instruments and electronics) with Jin Xing
Jin Xing
Jin Xing is a ballerina, modern dancer, choreographer and actress from the People's Republic of China, and owner of the contemporary dance company "Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theatre". Although usually credited as Jing Xing, the proper pinyin spelling is Jin Xing...
's Contemporary Dance Theatre of Shanghai.
On 20 May 1990, The BBC broadcast a radio play that she wrote entitled Memoirs of an Amnesiac about the life of Eric Satie. It was nominated for the Prix Italia
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
, a prestigious radio award. In September 1991 her musical adaptation of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its natural parents....
was performed at the Unicorn Theatre
Unicorn Theatre
The Unicorn Theatre is a producer of professional theatre for children in Britain. It is based in a RIBA Award–winning centre in Tooley Street, in the London Borough of Southwark, opened in 2005...
.
She organised the Platform Festival of New Music from 1991 until 1993. This included an eight-day festival at the Arts Theatre in Great Newport Street in 1991 which featured performers Simon Limbrick and the Norwegian cellist, Oystein Birkeland, and composers ranging from Paul Kellett (The Birth of Liquid Desires 2 `eight minutes of wildness' for 13 cellos) to the George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
.
Between 1997 and 2000, she was Professor of Music at Gresham College
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
, London, giving free public lectures. She has received honorary Professorships and Fellowships from the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
and Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
and an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
. MacGregor was appointed as Member of the Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
in 1998 alongside Anish Kapoor
Anish Kapoor
Anish Kapoor CBE RA is a British sculptor of Indian birth. Born in Mumbai , Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea School of Art and Design.He represented Britain in the XLIV Venice...
, Brian McMaster, and Andrew Motion
Andrew Motion
Sir Andrew Motion, FRSL is an English poet, novelist and biographer, who presided as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.- Life and career :...
. She resigned in 2004.
MacGregor was the subject of an edition of The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
in December 2001. She also presented her own series entitled Strings, Bows, and Bellows for BBC Television.
She made her conducting début in 2002 and regularly directs her own orchestral projects. She has had a very close artistic partnership as conductor and performer with the Britten Sinfonia
Britten Sinfonia
Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the East of England. It is a flexible ensemble composed of...
for the past ten years.
In 2005, she was appointed as Artistic Director of the Bath International Music Festival
Bath International Music Festival
The Bath International Music Festival, also known as the Bath Music Fest, is held each summer in Bath, South West England. Inaugurated in 1948, the festival includes many genres such as orchestral, contemporary jazz, folk and electronica...
. The climax of the festival was a programme of renaissance and electronic music with herself, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
and the Bath Camerata in Bath Abbey.
In 2010 she curated Deloitte Ignite, a three day festival celebrating the opening of the season at London's Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
. A series of installations and performances with an arboreal theme were available to members of the public for free during the daytimes, with three ticketed evening concerts, including the 'Lying Down Concert' which featured Joanna MacGregor, Kiki Dale and Ilona Jantti.
She was appointed Head of Keyboard at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in November 2010, taking up the role from September 2011.
Books
Her series of piano teaching books for children called "Piano World" were published in May 2001 by Faber MusicFaber Music
Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications....
. They feature storytelling, cartoons, games and include companion CDs with cartoon style narration and musical accompaniments.
Awards
In 2008 she was awarded a Doctor of Music honorary degree by the University of BathUniversity of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
. She is Professor of Musical Performance at Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University is a university in Liverpool, England. Two of its three founding colleges were established in 1844 and 1856, the third opening in the 1960s. It is the only ecumenical university in Europe. Based on two campuses, the main campus is located in Childwall and the second...
.
In 2003, she was recognised for her innovation and crossover appeal with a Royal Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
award for imaginative programming and tireless work in opening up music to a new audience. Other awards include European Encouragement Prize for Music 1995, NFMS Sir Charles Grove Award 1998, and South Bank Show Award for Classical Music 2000
Sound Circus record label
In 1998, she launched her own record label SoundCircus in association with Unknown Public. The label combines new recordings with re-releases of the Collins material. MacGregor was able to buy back the rights to these Collins recordings. The most successful release on Soundcircus was "Play", a diverse collection mainly of solo piano pieces. "Play" was nominated for the Mercury PrizeMercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
2002. It came within two votes of winning the award. Initially, the label was internet based and mail order only. The label was distributed in the UK by MackTwo until it went out of business. The label is now distributed by New Note.
Discography
Collins Classics- MacGregor on Broadway. (1991) Collins Classics.
- Hugh Wood: Piano Concerto, Op. 31. (1993) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis. Collins Classics 20072.
- Bartók/Debussy/Ravel - Piano Works. (1994) Collins Classics.
- Krauze/Messiaen - Quartets. (1994) Collins Classics.
- Olivier Messaien - Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant Jesus. Collins Classics.
- Ives: Sonata No.1/Barber: Sonata, Op.26/Excursions, Op.20 . (1993)
- The Music of George Gershwin. (1992) Collins Classics 13622. MacGregor's performances of numerous short pieces by Gershwin alongside the composer's "Piano Concerto in F" and the original jazz band version of "Rhapsody In Blue."Carl Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra provide invaluable instrumental support.
- Britten: "Paul Bunyan", Piano Concerto/Saxton: Music to Celebrate. Collins Classics.
- Birtwistle: Antiphonies for Piano and Orchestra/Nomos/An Imaginary Landscape. Collins Classics.
- Rhapsody in Blue. (1993) Collins Classics.
- Britten - Piano Concerto. English Chamber Orchestra, Stuart Bedford. Collins Classics. Also re-released on Naxos.
- Domenico ScarlattiDomenico ScarlattiGiuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
's keyboard sonatas, Collins Classics. - Erik SatieErik SatieÉric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
's piano music, Collins Classics. - Counterpoint, contains Bach's Art of Fugue and works by Conlon NancarrowConlon NancarrowConlon Nancarrow was a United States-born composer who lived and worked in Mexico for most of his life. He became a Mexican citizen in 1955.Nancarrow is best remembered for the pieces he wrote for the player piano...
. Collins Classics.
Sound Circus
- Piano Language. Sound Circus SC001.
- Outside in Pianist. Sound Circus SC002.
- Perilous Night. Sound Circus SC003.
- Harrison's Clocks. Sound Circus SC004.
- Lou Harrison Piano Concerto. Sound Circus SC005.
- Damba Moon, Ensemble Bash. Sound Circus SC006.
- Play. (2001), Sound Circus SC007.
- Neural Circuits, features works by Olivier MessiaenOlivier MessiaenOlivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
, Alfred SchnittkeAlfred SchnittkeAlfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
, Arvo PärtArvo PärtArvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
and Nitin SawhneyNitin SawhneyNitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
alongside music based on traditional GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian melodies. Sound Circus SC008. - Deep River. (2006) Sound Circus SC009.
- Sidewalk Dances. (2006) Sound Circus SC010.
- Bach's 6 French Suites, Sound Circus SC901.
- Satie: Piano Music. Reissue on Sound Circus SC902.
- ScarlattiDomenico ScarlattiGiuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
: Keyboard Sonatas. Sound Circus SC903. - Quiet Music. Sound Circus SC904.
- Counterpoint: Bach / Nancarrow. Sound Circus BN2CD.
Concerto repertoire
Piano and Orchestra- John Adams: Century Rolls
- Bach: Concerto In D Minor Bwv 1052, Concerto In F Minor Bwv 1056
- Bartok: Concerto No.3
- Django Bates: What It's Like To Be Alive (Piano Concerto For Joanna Macgregor)
- Beethoven: Concerto No.4 In G Op.58, Concerto No.5 In E Flat Op.73
- Berg: Chamber Concerto
- Birtwistle: Antiphonies, Slow Frieze
- Britten: Concerto, Young Apollo
- Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue, Concerto In F Major
- Lou Harrison: Concerto For Piano And Selected Orchestra
- Harvey Bird: Concerto With Pianosong
- James Macmillan: Concerto No 2
- Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie, Oiseaux Exotiques
- Mozart: Concerto In E Flat K 271, Concerto In D Minor K 466, Concerto In C K 467, Concerto In A K 488, Concerto In C Minor K 491
- Prokofiev: Concerto No.2 In G Minor Op.16, Concerto No.3 In C Op.26
- Rachmaninov: Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini Op.34
- Ravel: Piano Concerto For The Left Hand, Piano Concerto In G
- Schnittke: Concerto For Piano And Strings
- Shostakovich: Concerto For Piano, Trumpet And Strings In C Minor Op.35, Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No.2 In F, Op.102
- Stravinsky: Concerto For Piano And Wind Instruments
- Hugh Wood: Piano Concerto
Radio performances
Performances on BBC Radio 3:- "Lunchtime Concert: Joanna MacGregor" Live from London's Wigmore Hall - Villa-Lobos, Gismonti, Moraes and Piazzolla, 18 September 2006 13:00-14:00
- Through the Night: Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791): Marriage of Figaro Overture; "Piano Concerto No 23, K488, in A. Joanna MacGregor (piano)" [Recorded in Stavanger Concert Hall on 8 September 2005, 20 July 2006 25:00-25:30
- "Performance On 3: Bath International Music Festival - Joanna MacGregor, Andy Sheppard and the Britten Sinfonia" 6 June 2006 19.30-21.30
- "Performance on 3: Bath International Music Festival 2006 - Joanna MacGregor, Brian Eno and Bath Camerata", 1 June 2006 19:30-21:00
- "Sunday Gala: Bath International Music Festival - solo recital", Sunday 21 May 2006 14:00-15:30
- "Lunchtime Concert" Second of four concerts by members of Britten Sinfonia. Pieces by Dowland, Gismonti, Yarde, Piazzolla. With Joanna MacGregor (piano), Jason Yarde (saxophone) 5/4/06
- "Big Band Special: Chelsea Festival", featuring the BBC Big Band with pianist Joanna MacGregor. Radio Two 24 October 2005
- "Performance on 3: Ulster Orchestra - Gershwin and the Russian Gold" (Joanna MacGregor soloist on Gershwin: Piano Concerto), 22 September 2005 19:30-21:30
- Hear and Now A recital from this year's "City of London Festival" by pianist Joanna MacGregor, celebrating American music ranging from John Cage to Nina Simone and Thelonious Monk. 13.8.05
- "In Tune: Joanna Macgregor and Andy Sheppard", 15 June 2005 19:00-19:19
- "Hear and Now: City of London Festival - solo recital", 13 August 2005 23:30-1:00
- "Lunchtime Concert: Music by Bach and Shostakovich", 18 January 2005 13:00-14:00
- "Lunchtime Concert" Recital by pianist Joanna MacGregor, Bach: Goldberg Variations 24 May 2004
- "Performance on 3" Pianist Joanna MacGregor directs the Britten Sinfonia, Andy Sheppard (saxophones) and Shri Sriran (tablas). The programme includes works by Louis Hardin and Bach's The Art of Fugue 24 November 2003
- "Lunchtime Concert" Direct from the Wigmore Hall. Joanna MacGregor (piano), Andy Sheppard (saxophone) and Aref Durvesh (tabla) play music by Dowland, Ligeti, Messiaen and Chick Corea (Live) 16.9.02
- "Hear and Now" Cheltenham Festival of Music by soprano Valdine Anderson, pianist Joanna MacGregor and Sinfonia 21 under Martyn Brabbins. Music includes the world premiere of Julian Anderson's `Shir hashrim' and Jonathan Harvey's Bird Concerto with Pianosong. 14 July 2001
- "Lunchtime Concert" Live from London's Wigmore Hall. Joanna MacGregor (piano). Barber: Excursions, Op 20. Crumb: A Little Suite for Christmas, AD1979. Traditional arr MacGregor: Russian Folk Songs. Stravinsky: Three movements from `Petrushka'. 2 April 2001
- "BBC Proms 2000." Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London. Joanna MacGregor (piano), Ensemble Bash, Aref Durvesh (tabla) 18 July 2000
- "Lunchtime Concert" A recital given at St George, Brandon Hill, Bristol by pianist Joanna MacGregor. Byrd: Hugh Aston's Ground. Ades: Traced Overhead. Dowland: Forlorn Hope Fancye. Birtwistle: Harrison's Clocks. Bach: Contrapunctus II (The Art of Fugue). Nancarrow: Three Studies for player piano. Matthew Fairclough: Altered Ends, Revealed Beginnings. Somel Satoh: Incantation II. Cage: Water Music. Joanna MacGregor: Dance It. Jonathan Harvey: Tombeau de Messiaen. Bach: Allemande (Partita in D, BWV828). Alistair Nicholson: 42nd Street. 30 January 2000
- "Lunchtime Concert" from St George's, Brandon Hill, Bristol. Joanna MacGregor (piano). Ives: Bad Resolutions and Good; Three Page Sonata. Cage: Sonatas for prepared piano Nos 14 and 15. Cowell: Aeolian Harp; The Snows of Fujiyama. Cage: Sonatas for prepared piano Nos 2 and 5. Gershwin, arr Finnissy: Nashville Nightingale. Cage: Sonatas for prepared piano Nos 7 and 12. Copland: Variations. (Inventing America) 12 June 1998
- "The Gershwin Songbook" Pianist Joanna MacGregor plays the composer's arrangements of his own songs, including `'S Wonderful', `Oh, Lady Be Good' and `I Got Rhythm'. 2 May 1998
- "BBC Proms 97" Joanna MacGregor (piano), Ensemble Bash. Trad, arr Ensemble Bash: Yaa yaa kole. Steve Reich: Music for Pieces of Wood. Cage: Sonatas 2 and 5 for prepared piano. Orphy RobinsonOrphy RobinsonOrphy Robinson is an award-winning Vibraphonist. Robinson, a multi-instrumentalist, also plays the saxophone,trumpet, drums, piano, marimba and steel pans . Orphy has written music for television, film, theater, opera and contemporary classical music...
: Suite d'Lorenzo. Cage: Sonatas 14 and 15 for prepared piano. Frederic Rzewski: Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues. Django Bates: The Catering Trade (first London performance). 23 July 1997 - "Joanna MacGregor. Piano recital." Berg: Sonata, Op 1. Schoenberg: Six Little Pieces, Op 19. Four Broadway Arrangements - Harold Arlen, arr Django Bates: It's only a paper moon. Cole Porter, arr Gary Carpenter: Love for sale. Jerome Kern, arr Michael Finnissy: Can't help lovin' dat man. Al Dubin, arr Alasdair Nicholson: 42nd Street. 6 January 1995
- "1994 Bath International Festival" Joanna MacGregor (piano) performs Bach: Pieces from the Anna Magdalena Notebook. John Woolrich: Piano Books 3 and 4 (world premiere). Satie: Gnossiennes Nos 1 and 5; Gymnopedies Nos 1 and 3. Gorecki: Piano Sonata No 1, Op 6. Thelonius Monk: Round Midnight; Monk's Point. Nina Simons: Good Bait. 22 9 June 1994
- "BBC Lunchtime Concert" Live from St John's, Smith Square, London Joanna MacGregor (piano). Bach French Suite No 5 in G (BWV 816). Nancarrow Prelude and Blues. Satie Sports et divertissements. Debussy Six Etudes. 28 February 1994
- "BBC Proms" BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Mark Wigglesworth, with Gwyneth Jones (soprano), Joanna MacGregor, (piano), Cynthia Millar (ondes martenot), live from the Royal Albert Hall, London. Wagner: Prelude and Liebestod (Tristan and Isolde) 30 July 1993
- "Jazz at the Bath Festival" Recorded in the Guildhall, it features Human Chain (Django Bates, keyboards and tenor horn; Iain Ballamy, saxophones; Stuart Hall, bass; Martin France, drums) with pianist Joanna MacGregor in specially commissioned music by Django Bates and, in between, MacGregor playing solo in pieces by Nancarrow, Cowell, Ligeti and Rzewski. During the interval, Joanna MacGegor talks about her venture into jazz and improvised music. 10 July 1993
- "Joanna MacGregor". (piano). Bach: French Suite No 5. Hugh Wood: Three Pieces, Op 5. Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales. Chopin: Ballade No 4 in F minor, Op 52. December 1992
- "The Proms: Hugh Wood Piano Concerto premiere, Royal Albert Hall", 10 September 1991
Radio interviews
Interviews on BBC Radio 3- "In Tune": Interview about role and musical choices as the artistic director of this "Bath Festival 2006". 18 May 2006 17:00-19:30
- "Morning Performance". Tommy Pearson talks to pianist Joanna MacGregor and introduces her recordings. Music by Bach, trad African, Fairclough, Satoh, Satie, Monk, Gillespie/Dameron, Andrew Toovey, Cage 11 December 2002
- "The Music Machine". Tommy Pearson talks to pianist Joanna MacGregor about her "life and career." 6 May 1994
- The pianist Joanna MacGregor and composer Hugh WoodHugh WoodHugh Wood is a British composer.- Biography :While Wood was brought up in a musical family, it was only after graduating in History from Oxford that he decided to dedicate his energies to composition; and he moved to London in 1954 to study with William Lloyd Webber, Anthony Milner, Iain Hamilton,...
talk about Wood's piano concerto whose premiere MacGregor is about to perform at the proms. MacGregor: Piano part of the concerto is absolutely enormous, structurally vast. On hearing rehearsal husband said it was as if Messiaen walked into a jazz bar. Wood: Hadn't collaborated very much with MacGregor. Writing went very smoothly for a slow worker. MacGregor: Made decision early on to play with the music - takes pressure off players and conductors. Have always wanted to work together - go back a long way to when Wood was her tutor at Cambridge and he was berating her over PalestrinaGiovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaGiovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
and Beethoven. Wood: Dreams often come true, and come true in a very nice way. 10 September 1991 - "The Works: Joanna MacGregor" 19 May 1989
Interviews on BBC Radio 4
- "Great Lives: Joanna MacGregor on Nina Simone" 19 September 2006 16.30-17:00
- Front Row: Bath International Music Festival 2006
- "Front Row: Musicians setting up their own labels" 22 February 2005 19.15 - 19.45
- "Front Row: The Art of Fugue" 17 November 2003 19.15 - 19.45
- "Desert Island Discs: Joanna MacGregor" 1 June 1997
Television
- "Forty Eight Preludes and Fugues" BBC TWO. No. 14 10/10/2000, No. 15 30/8/2000, No. 16 21/8/2000, No. 17 16/8/2000, No. 18 31/8/2000, No. 19 3/10/2000, No. 20 17/8/2000, No. 22 17/8/2000, No. 23 5/8/2000, No. 24 15/8/2000.
- "Last Night of the Proms". Featured soloist.
- "Strings, Bows, and Bellows" BBC TWO. "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" by Frederic RzewskiFrederic RzewskiFrederic Anthony Rzewski is an American composer and virtuoso pianist.- Biography :Rzewski began playing piano at age 5. He attended Phillips Academy, Harvard and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt...
(16/10/1994), "Autumn in Warsaw" by György LigetiGyörgy LigetiGyörgy Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
(30/10/1994), "Third Construction" by John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
(23/10/1994), "Sin Medida" by Julio D'Escrivan (06/11/1994), "Sonata for Piano and Cello" by Alfred SchnittkeAlfred SchnittkeAlfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
(20/11/1994), "Falling" (04/12/1994), "De Profundis" with James CrabbJames CrabbJames Crabb, is a classical accordion player.Scottish born James Crabb is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading ambassadors of the classical accordion. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with classical accordion pioneer Mogens Ellegaard and was awarded the Carl...
(29/04/1995), "Uninterrupted Rests" by Toru TakemitsuToru Takemitsuwas a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
(22/04/1995), "Piano Sonata" with James MacMillan (06/05/1995), and "Tentle Moments" with Django BatesDjango BatesDjango Bates , is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. He currently lives in Copenhagen where he is a professor at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory and leader of the StoRMChaser orchestra.-Career:Django Bates was born in Beckenham,...
(13/05/1995). - "Soundbites" BBC TWO 14/11/1992 Joanna MacGregor playing Erroll's Blues and Erroll's Bounce by Erroll Garner.
- "Omnibus at the Proms: Pictures at an Exhibition" BBC TV 30/08/1991
- "Making It". Documentary following three talented young instrumentalists, fresh out of London music colleges, as they take first steps towards establishing solo career. Includes Joanna MacGregor touring North Devon village halls. Granada, 16 November 1986 10.30pm.