Philip Edward Fisher
Encyclopedia
Philip Edward Fisher is a British
classical pianist.
, England
, Philip Edward Fisher began playing the piano
at the relatively late age of 9, making his concerto
debut only 3 years later with a performance of Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto
at the city's prestigious Symphony Hall
. He attended a local comprehensive school
until winning a scholarship
to study at the Purcell School of Music, London
, following which he continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music
.
In 2001, he received the Julius Isserlis Scholarship from the Royal Philharmonic Society
of London, enabling him to take up a place at the Juilliard School
, which was soon followed by his New York City
debut performing Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto
under the baton of Larry Rachleff at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall
.
He has since settled in New York City
, and currently divides his time between the US and the UK.
's Tivoli Koncertsalen, New York City
's Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall, London
's Purcell Room
, Wigmore Hall
, Barbican Centre
and Royal Festival Hall
, Tampere
's Tampere Hall
, the Usher Hall
in Edinburgh
, Glasgow
's Royal Concert Hall
, and Symphony Hall, Birmingham
. In April 2011, he represented Chandos Records
at the International Classical Music Awards
in Tampere, Finland, performing Prokofiev's 1st Piano Concerto with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
under Hannu Lintu
. The event was broadcast live across Europe by Finnish Radio, Germany's MDR Figaro, Saarländischer Rundfunk
, Luxembourg's Radio 100,7
, and Russian Orpheus Radio, along with numerous other networks. Fisher has also made appearances at Music@Menlo, the Beethoven Chamber Music Festival and the Kyoto International Music Festival in Japan. He has been heard on New York’s WQXR
and Boston’s WGBH
, BBC Radio 3
, Classic FM
, and has appeared on Ukrainian Television, the BBC
, and MTV
.
Fisher has performed concertos with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra
, the Longwood Symphony Orchestra
, the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
. He has collaborated with numerous leading conductors, including Hannu Lintu
, Larry Rachleff, John Axelrod
, James Lowe
and Giordano Bellincampi
. As a chamber musician, his collaborators include the Brodsky Quartet
, tenor Robert White, pianist Sara Davis Buechner
, violinists Elmar Oliviera, Philippe Graffin
and Augustin Hadelich
, and Principal Trombonist of the New York Philharmonic
, Joseph Alessi
.
Fisher is also widely recognised as a performer of new music, having premiered numerous contemporary works in close collaboration with prominent composers such as Ronald Stevenson
, Thomas Ades
, and Arvo Pärt
. As part of the New York Miniaturist Ensemble’s innovative concert series in 2006, Fisher gave the world-premiere performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen
’s 'First Natural Durations' for solo piano. He has also appeared at the New York Focus! Festival at Lincoln Center.
, Piano Works by "The Mighty Handful", including Mussorgsky
's Pictures at an Exhibition
and Balakirev
's Islamey, was featured on Classic FM
as John Suchet
's "Album of the Week".
Other recent recordings include Handel
's Eight Great Keyboard Suites, in two volumes for Naxos Records
. Volume 1 of the set was released in early 2010 to great critical acclaim, hitting the US Classical Billboard Chart within the first week of its release.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
classical pianist.
Biography
Born and raised in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Philip Edward Fisher began playing the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
at the relatively late age of 9, making his concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
debut only 3 years later with a performance of Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
at the city's prestigious Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall usually refers to:* Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, USAIt may also refer to:Concert Halls* Allentown Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA* Phoenix Symphony Hall in Phoenix, Arizona, USA...
. He attended a local comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
until winning a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to study at the Purcell School of Music, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, following which he continued his studies 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 2001, he received the Julius Isserlis Scholarship from the 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...
of London, enabling him to take up a place at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, which was soon followed by his New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
debut performing Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
under the baton of Larry Rachleff at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
.
He has since settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and currently divides his time between the US and the UK.
Performances
Philip Edward Fisher's engagements have included performances at CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
's Tivoli Koncertsalen, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Purcell Room
Purcell Room
The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats....
, Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
, Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
and Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
's Tampere Hall
Tampere Hall
The Tampere Hall is the largest concert and congress centre in the Nordic countries, located in the southern edge of Sorsapuisto, in the centre of Tampere, Finland. Opposite of the Tampere Hall is the main building of the University of Tampere, and the Tampere railway station is only half a...
, the Usher Hall
Usher Hall
Usher Hall is a concert hall, situated on Lothian Road, in the west end of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,900 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its acoustics...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
's Royal Concert Hall
Royal Concert Hall
The Royal Concert Hall may refer to:*Glasgow Royal Concert Hall*Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, part of the Royal Centre in Nottingham*Stockholm Concert Hall in Stockholm, Sweden...
, and Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue located inside the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by the Queen in June 1991, although had been opened on April 15, 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hosts around 270 events...
. In April 2011, he represented Chandos Records
Chandos Records
Chandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
at the International Classical Music Awards
International Classical Music Awards
The International Classical Music Awards are music awards first awarded April 6, 2011 which replace the Cannes Classical Awards formerly awarded at MIDEM 2010...
in Tampere, Finland, performing Prokofiev's 1st Piano Concerto with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra based in Tampere. Founded in 1930, and maintained by the municipality of Tampere since 1947, the orchestra is currently based in the Tampere Hall...
under Hannu Lintu
Hannu Lintu
Hannu Petteri Lintu is a Finnish conductor.Lintu studied piano and cello at the Turku Conservatory and at the Sibelius Academy. He also studied conducting with Atso Almila, and later with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. He took part in conducting master classes with Ilya Musin. Lintu won the Nordic...
. The event was broadcast live across Europe by Finnish Radio, Germany's MDR Figaro, Saarländischer Rundfunk
Saarländischer Rundfunk
Saarländischer Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster for the German Bundesland of Saarland, with its headquarters in the Broadcasting House Halberg in Saarbrücken. SR is a member of the ARD.- Finances :...
, Luxembourg's Radio 100,7
Radio 100,7
Radio 100,7 is a public-service radio station in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.Established under the provisions of Luxembourg's Electronic Media Act of July 1991, the station began broadcasting on 19 September 1993 as honnert, 7: de soziokulturelle radio...
, and Russian Orpheus Radio, along with numerous other networks. Fisher has also made appearances at Music@Menlo, the Beethoven Chamber Music Festival and the Kyoto International Music Festival in Japan. He has been heard on New York’s WQXR
WQEW
WQEW is a Radio Disney affiliate licensed to New York City. Its transmitter is located in Maspeth, Queens. WQEW has a transmitter power of 50,000 watts and is listed as a Clear-channel station...
and Boston’s WGBH
WGBH
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
, BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
, Classic FM
Classic FM
Classic FM may refer to:*Classic FM , a British classical music radio station**Classic FM TV, a British classical music television channel*ABC Classic FM, an Australian classical music radio station run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, and has appeared on Ukrainian Television, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
Fisher has performed concertos with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra
Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra , also known as the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra which both serves as Danish Regional Orchestra for the island of Zealand and, for the summer season while the Tivoli Gardens are open, as resident orchestra in the Tivoli Concert...
, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra based in Tampere. Founded in 1930, and maintained by the municipality of Tampere since 1947, the orchestra is currently based in the Tampere Hall...
, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra
Toledo Symphony Orchestra
Toledo Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra in Toledo, Ohio. It's the biggest "musical resource for the region". They perform in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana...
, the Longwood Symphony Orchestra
Longwood Symphony Orchestra
The Longwood Symphony Orchestra is a volunteer non-profit orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, composed of medical professionals. Their concerts act as fundraisers for health-related non-profit organizations. It was founded in 1982 by members of the Harvard Medical School...
, the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is Scotland's national symphony orchestra. Based in Glasgow, the 89-member professional orchestra also regularly performs in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, and abroad. Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the company has performed full-time since 1950,...
. He has collaborated with numerous leading conductors, including Hannu Lintu
Hannu Lintu
Hannu Petteri Lintu is a Finnish conductor.Lintu studied piano and cello at the Turku Conservatory and at the Sibelius Academy. He also studied conducting with Atso Almila, and later with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. He took part in conducting master classes with Ilya Musin. Lintu won the Nordic...
, Larry Rachleff, John Axelrod
John Axelrod
John Neal Axelrod is an American conductor. Axelrod is currently Conductor and Music Director of l'Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, based in Nantes and Angers, France; and, from the 2011/12 season the Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica "Giuseppe Verdi" also known as "laVerdi"...
, James Lowe
James Lowe
-Life:Lowe was apprenticed on 2 November 1813 to Edward Shorter, a master mechanic and a Freeman of the City of London, who had in 1800 taken out a patent for propelling vessels, which he had named ‘the perpetual sculling machine.’ In 1816 Lowe ran away and joined a whaling ship named the Amelia...
and Giordano Bellincampi
Giordano Bellincampi
Giordano Bellincampi is an Italian-born Danish conductor and trombonist. He is currently the music director of the Jutland Opera. Previous positions have included chief conductor of the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.-Early life and education:...
. As a chamber musician, his collaborators include the Brodsky Quartet
Brodsky Quartet
The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, in existence since 1972, though only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members.In addition to performing classical music, and in particular the classic string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and Shostakovich,...
, tenor Robert White, pianist Sara Davis Buechner
Sara Davis Buechner
Sara Davis Buechner is an American concert pianist and educator. She has been an assistant professor of piano at the University of British Columbia since 2003, and was formerly a member of the faculties of Manhattan School of Music and New York University.Buechner received her bachelor's and...
, violinists Elmar Oliviera, Philippe Graffin
Philippe Graffin
Philippe Graffin is a French violinist and recording artist. He was born in Romilly-sur-Seine, France.The French Violinist Philippe Graffin was a student of the late Joseph Gingold and Philippe Hirschhorn and has established a particular reputation for his interpretations of his native repertoire...
and Augustin Hadelich
Augustin Hadelich
Augustin Hadelich is a German violinist and winner of the 2009 Avery Fisher Grant. He was also the gold medallist of the 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis...
, and Principal Trombonist of 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"...
, Joseph Alessi
Joseph Alessi
Joseph Alessi is a world-renowned, primarily classical, trombonist; he is the current Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and an active soloist, teacher/clinician and recording artist. Alessi is considered the finest player in modern times....
.
Fisher is also widely recognised as a performer of new music, having premiered numerous contemporary works in close collaboration with prominent composers such as Ronald Stevenson
Ronald Stevenson
Ronald Stevenson is a British composer, pianist, and writer about music.-Biography:The son of a Scottish father and English mother, Stevenson studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music , studying composition with Richard Hall and piano with Iso Elinson, graduating with distinction...
, Thomas Ades
Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès is a British composer, pianist and conductor.-Biography:Adès studied piano with Paul Berkowitz and later composition with Robert Saxton at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London...
, and Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo 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...
. As part of the New York Miniaturist Ensemble’s innovative concert series in 2006, Fisher gave the world-premiere performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
’s 'First Natural Durations' for solo piano. He has also appeared at the New York Focus! Festival at Lincoln Center.
Recordings
Philip Edward Fisher's recent release for Chandos RecordsChandos Records
Chandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
, Piano Works by "The Mighty Handful", including Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky can refer to:*The Mussorgsky family of Russian nobility;*Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian composer belonging to that family.*Mussorgsky , a 1950 Soviet film about the composer...
's Pictures at an Exhibition
Pictures at an Exhibition
Pictures at an Exhibition is a suite in ten movements composed for piano by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874.The suite is Mussorgsky's most famous piano composition, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists...
and Balakirev
Balakirev
Balakirev may refer to:* Mily Balakirev, a Russian pianist, conductor and composer* Balakirev the Buffoon, a 2002 Russian television adaptation of Lenkom play...
's Islamey, was featured on Classic FM
Classic FM
Classic FM may refer to:*Classic FM , a British classical music radio station**Classic FM TV, a British classical music television channel*ABC Classic FM, an Australian classical music radio station run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
as John Suchet
John Suchet
John Suchet is a British news reader and television presenter.Suchet has two brothers, one of whom is David Suchet, a British actor. His father was Jack Suchet, who emigrated to England from South Africa in 1932, and trained to be a doctor at St Mary's Hospital, London...
's "Album of the Week".
Other recent recordings include Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Eight Great Keyboard Suites, in two volumes for Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
. Volume 1 of the set was released in early 2010 to great critical acclaim, hitting the US Classical Billboard Chart within the first week of its release.
External links
- http://www.philipedwardfisher.com /Philip Edward Fisher Official Website