MICHAEL BROWN (2004 NYIPC, Ensemble Prize), hailed as a “vividly characterized and rhythmically free-spirited” pianist by The New York Times, is the First Prize Winner of the 2010 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. Noted for his “great confidence and rhythmic flair” by Gramophone, he has appeared in many major venues including Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, and has appeared as soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall under the baton of New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert. He attends the Marlboro Music Festival and has recently toured the US with Miriam Fried and the Steans Institute at Ravinia.
Michael Brown is the recipient of the 2011 Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Award, of which past winners include composer Ned Rorem and pianist Robert Levin. He is a two-time winner of The Juilliard School’s Gina Bachauer Competition, has earned top honors in the Juilliard Concerto and Munz Competitions, and received the Raeburn Award for Artist of Special Promise from the 2009 Honens International Piano Competition. He won top prize in the ensemble division of the New York Piano Competition under the auspices of the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation. Recent festival appearances include Music@Menlo, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, Pianofest in the Hamptons and the Beijing International Music Festival.
An accomplished composer, Mr. Brown was awarded the 2009 Palmer-Dixon Prize from Juilliard, an award given to the most outstanding piece composed in that academic year. His works have been performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival, (Le) Poisson Rouge and the Curtis Institute by various ensembles including ACJW, the NEW Trio and The Juilliard Orchestra. He was the 2008 Composer in Residence for Pianofest in the Hamptons where he was commissioned to write a two-piano piece celebrating the Festival’s 20th Season and his works have been featured on David Dubal’s “Reflections from the Keyboard” on WQXR. He is a member of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).
A native of Long Island, Mr. Brown attends the Juilliard School completing dual master of music degrees majoring in Piano and Composition. He studies with pianists Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald, and composers Samuel Adler and Robert Beaser. Additionally, Mr. Brown has worked with Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Pamela Frank, Adam Kent, George Perle and Richard Goode.
