Pianist Jeffrey Biegel To Perform New York Premiere Of Ellen Taaffe
Zwilich's Millennium Fantasy For Piano And Orchestra with American
Symphony - April 8 And 9 Concerts At Bard College

The internationally renowned pianist Jeffrey Biegel will give the last
in a series of performances of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Millennium Fantasy
for Piano and Orchestra with Maestro Leon Botstein and the American
Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, 2005 - 8
PM both nights at the Richard B.  Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.  The concerts will also
include performances of Franz Schreker's "Der Geburtstag der Infantin"
and Shostakovich's Symphony No.  5.

These Millennium Fantasy performances will be the last in a series of
more than two dozen performances of the work that Jeffrey Biegel has
given with orchestras from Maine to California since its September 2000
Cincinnati Symphony premiere.  The composer has described the 20-minute
work in this way:

"The musical point of departure of Millennium Fantasy is a folk song my
grandmother sang to me when I was a small child.  I can still "hear" her
voice when I remember this, so I thought it would be a special pleasure
to create a musical fantasy based on it."

"Millennium Fantasy is in two movements in which the folk song occasionally
rears its head, but more often serves as a springboard for a larger
musical design.  While there is significant interaction between the solo
piano and the orchestra, the solo piano leads the exploration in virtuosic
style."

Tickets for the April 8 and 9 concerts are $38, with student discounts
available.  For more information, contact the Fisher Center at Bard
College Box Office at (845) 758-7900 or the American Symphony Orchestra
at (212) 868-9276.

Referred to by Leonard Bernstein as "a splendid musician and a
brilliant performer," pianist Jeffrey Biegel performed the American
premiere of the fully restored original 1924 manuscript of George
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in
Boston.  He has subsequently performed this piece with orchestras across
the U.S.  and in Germany.  Other recent and future commissions include
Charles Strouse's 2001 "Concerto America", Lowell Liebermann's: "Concerto
No.  3" (with premieres throughout the U.S.  and world May 2006-2008);
Richard Danielpour's new concerto for piano and percussion (title tba),
to be premiered and performed with Nexus in 2006-07; Daniel Dorff's
"Concerto for Piano and Orchestra", youth orchestra project, World
Premiere May 2007 and Adolphus Hailstork's "Concerto No.  2 for Piano
and Orchestra", for 2010-11.  Jeffrey Biegel's website is at
http://www.cyberecital.com.

The American Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski
with a mission to "perform concerts of great music within the means of
everyone." As part of Lincoln Center Presents Great Performers, the
Orchestra performs thematically organized concerts at Avery Fisher Hall,
linking music to the visual arts, literature, politics, and popular
culture, often in collaboration with museums and other cultural institutions.
With its bold programming, innovative presentation, and commitment to
music education, the American Symphony Orchestra seeks to make great
music a relevant, accessible, and enjoyable experience for all kinds of
listeners.  Visit them online at http://www.americansymphony.org/.

For more information about pianist Jeffrey Biegel, contact Jeffrey James
Arts Consulting at 516-797-9166 - tel & fax or by E-mail at
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Jeffrey James Arts Consulting
Tel/Fax: 516-797-9166
Website: http://www.jamesarts.com