Albert James Fillmore became a friend and colleague to numerous music lovers throughout his long career as a pianist, composer, and teacher. He was one of Nadia Boulanger's students in France just prior to World War II. I had been aware of his beautiful music for some time, and had even played his preludes in my 1994 concerts ("The Muse of Chopin") at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland. Consequently, I felt a need to promote his music after his death in 1996. My idea was to locate representative compositions and create an anthology of high-quality recordings so that people who knew Albert, as well as those young musicians who never had the opportunity of knowing him, could appreciate his work. It was a logical extension for my wife Jean--who helped care for Albert as he recovered from knee surgery, and has always enjoyed writing--to compile his biography based upon a lengthy diary he kept, in addition to recollections and stories about him.
Furthermore, it seemed appropriate to build a non-profit endeavor so that funds from the sale of this product could be distributed to composition students in Mr. Fillmore's honor.
The following artists have joined us in this venture: David Holland, conductor of the Interlochen Arts Academy String Orchestra with Thomas Bara, organist; Roberta Veazey, Voice Faculty at The University of Evansville, Indiana; and Julie Ann White, conductor of the City Center Children's Chorus in Owensboro, Kentucky with Diane Earle, organ accompanist.
This is a special edition recording of cherished classical encores commemorating the fifty-year career of pianist MICHAEL COONROD. Consequently, such personal repertoire invites program notes which emerge as a fusion of stories and biographical material--a kind of musical autobiography. For example, several performances were influenced by Lucien Hut--teacher, mentor, friend--and it is appropriate that this entire CD would be a tribute to this professional Dutch musician.
Furthermore, these hand-picked favorites flow smoothly from the warm lyricism in the opening Bach pieces, to the passion of the Spanish/Latin triumvirate and the excitement in the Rachmaninoff selections. This seventy-minute recital has been crafted for its diversity as well as its intense, expressive qualities, much like strategically-placed courses in a gourmet meal.
Michael Coonrod has been a piano faculty member at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan for twenty-nine years. During this time, he has developed the potential in hundreds of students and has presented annual piano recital tours devoted to music with a central concept such as all-Schubert, Schumann, Bartok, Impressionistic, and all Spanish-Latin American programs. In 1994, he presented twenty concerts of music by contemporary American composers, culminating in Poland, where he performed at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, and the Music Conservatory in Poznan. More recently, he has performed Mozart's Concerto No. 14, KV 414, Beethoven's Concerto No. 4 Op. 58, and Bartok's Concerto No. 2. He has played for the American Liszt Society, the Eastman School of Music, and the Peabody Contemporary Music Ensemble.
His early training came from the Dutch pianist Lucien Hut, after which he earned his Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, part of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with George Walker and Konrad Wolff (biographer and student of Artur Schnabel).
Michael Coonrod has also recorded "The Muse of Chopin," (Twenty-four Preludes in the Romantic Style) as part of a book/CD entitled THE LIFE & MUSIC OF ALBERT JAMES FILLMORE, an anthology of music for piano, soprano, children's choir, and string orchestra with organ solo.
As a Piano Faculty member at the Interlochen Arts Academy – a boarding school at the high school level with students from around the world – I consider it an honor to be directly responsible for the musical and personal development of these young musicians. At the same time, I perform concerts regularly at school and off-campus. I have played all-American 20th century repertoire at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, and the Conservatory of Music in Poznan, Poland. Recently, I played a Bartok program which included his Second Piano Concerto. Last year, I focused my recitals on the music of Schubert, and have just recorded a two-CD set of his music, to be released in the Fall of 2006. A recent performance of this repertoire was at Sursa Hall on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Rather than following the competition circuit, I have always competed with myself to push for the highest standard of performance – trying to please the composer. To this end, I believe composers appreciate that we are re-creative artists, compelled to breathe life into their work, which includes mixing sound into textures and shades of nuance that makes our art very personal. If we ponder the evolution of composition with the development of technique, combined with the mechanical precision and tone quality of the concert grand piano, we come to realize this is truly a symbiotic marvel of human ingenuity.
I am grateful for having studied with great teachers who coached me in the highest level of craftmanship in technique, sound production, and artistic interpretation. At the University of Montana, Lucien Hut was my primary mentor and reason for believing that I am able to create fresh interpretations of the standard repertoire in the midst of so many other recording artists. Other influences on my education while earning a Doctorate of Musical Arts at Peabody Conservatory, part of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore were: Konrad Wolff (student and biographer of Artur Schnabel), Leon Fleisher, and the composer/pianist George Walker.
I have achieved balance in my musical life with a great marriage to Jean Merce Coonrod from Louisville, Kentucky and three wonderful children. David is a landscaper specializing in water features. He and his wife Hjarsti have a 20-month old daughter Ava who Jean and I babysit frequently, and a son due to be born in June. Michelline is a contemporary dancer with the dance company SEROS. She teaches dance in Las Vegas and has a business of creating hand crafted designs on pointe shoes. Second son Rob is a jazz guitarist and composer at the California Institute for the Arts. Jean is a cellist, composer/arranger of works for student orchestra, and writer of the biography of Albert James Fillmore, found in my list of compact disc recordings.
Further quality in my life stems from experiences in the Boy Scouts. An Eagle Scout myself, I grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, camping and hiking in the Selway and Bob Marshall Wilderness areas. During my tenure at Interlochen, I have developed an Explorer Post for both young men and women, serving as principle Advisor for their outdoor adventures as well as community service projects.
Hello! My name is Michael Coonrod, from the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, Michigan. Pursuing a life-long career as a classical pianist and teacher has been a constant stimulation for me. Striving for imaginative, colorful interpretations of great compositions and guiding young musicians to have technical and artistic competence has been a very honorable profession for over thirty years.
