A Steinway Artist, Brazilian-born pianist Alexandre Dossin has already firmly established himself as an internationally acclaimed artist of the first rank. He was awarded both the First Prize and the Special Prize at the Martha Argerich International Piano Competition, with other awards including the Silver Medal at the Maria Callas International Grand Prix and Third Prize and the Special Prize at the Mozart International Piano Competition, among many other international and national accolades.

Conductors with whom he has performed include Charles Dutoit, Isaac Karabtchevsky, and Peter Bay, with orchestras including the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteum University Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony, Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory symphony orchestra.

He is a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dossin is professor of piano and chair of keyboard at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, and the artistic director of the Oregon Piano Institute.

His recordings for Naxos include three acclaimed releases for the Liszt Complete Piano Music series (8.557904, 8.572432, 8.574106) and two albums of Kabalevsky piano music (8.570976, 8.570822) in addition to solo music by Bernstein (8.559756), Prokofiev (8.573435) and Walker (8.559916).

www.dossin.net

The orchestral program at the University of Oregon is one of the finest and most comprehensive academic programs on the United States West Coast.

The University of Oregon Philharmonia was created especially for the performance and recording of George Walker’s piano concerto. It is a project-based orchestra comprising the finest string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance performing alongside faculty members. In addition to the UO Philharmonia, the University of Oregon has a full symphonic orchestra of approximately 75 music majors, and a string orchestra comprised students from the larger university community.

www.uosymphony.com

David M. Jacobs is currently an associate professor of conducting at the University of Oregon. His work with university students is nationally recognised, having been invited to guest conduct orchestras at Baylor University, Florida State University, Bob Cole Conservatory and Northern Arizona University, as well as two longer guest artist residencies at the prestigious Eastman School of Music. Dr. Jacobs’ conducting students have gone on to programs such as Peabody, Eastman, Michigan State, Bard College, Cincinnati Conservatory, and the Aspen Conducting Academy. His students have also won conducting positions with professional orchestras across America.

In addition to his teaching, Dr. Jacobs has conducted professional orchestras on three continents, including the Palm Beach Symphony, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Pazardjik Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria, the Orquesta Sinfónica EAFIT in Colombia, and the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra in Russia.

George Walker achieved an international reputation as a composer and pianist. Born in Washington, DC, in 1922, his Town Hall recital début in New York City in 1945 and his orchestral début with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy in Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto immediately established him as one of the finest pianists of his generation. Four months later his famous Lyric for Strings, the second movement of his String Quartet No. 1 was composed.

He received numerous awards, grants and commissions from the New York Philharmonic (Cello Concerto), the Cleveland Orchestra (Dialogus for Cello and Orchestra), the Fromm Foundation (Sinfonia No. 1), New Jersey Symphony (Pageant and Proclamation), and the Boston Symphony (Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra). The latter work received the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1996.

His music has been recorded for Albany Records, Columbia Records, Sony, BIS, Klavier, Mercury and many other labels. The Albany recording of his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra that had its première in a brilliant performance by Gregory Walker, the composer’s son, and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi, has been hailed as a work destined to achieve a legendary status. The acclaimed CDs of standard piano repertoire include a recording of the Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor that Fanfare magazine has called “magnificent”.

An autobiography, George Walker: Reminiscences of an American Composer and Pianist, is published by the Scarecrow Press. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and became the first living composer/pianist to be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2000.