Music For Flute & Piano CD

Philip Amalong, known for his fiery, passionate interpretations and breathtaking technique, is a multi-faceted pianist with an extensive repertoire and stylistic range. His intensity and involvement in the music he performs prompted one listener to say; "it's as if he is sitting down to a grand, luscious feast, and inviting us to share in it..." A native of Philadelphia, Philip Amalong began piano studies at the age of five with his mother and continued until the age of 17 with Marion Paugh. His recital appearances include Philadelphia area venues such as the Union League, the Academy of Music, the Hill School, Cabrini College, Curtis Institute, and Drexel University. He was first prize winner of the Drexel Keyboard Award, multiple winner in the Tri-County Concerts Association Competition, and finalist in the Philadelphia Orchestra Youth Competition and Pottstown Orchestra Youth Competition. At an early age, Amalong also developed his love for chamber music, playing and performing with a piano trio coached by Metta Watts and Orlando Cole at The New School of Music and Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Mr. Amalong attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music after receiving a Van Cliburn Competition Scholarship; here he studied with Frank Weinstock. Other awards during this time include first prize in the McElroy Competition and the Sarah B. Marvin Scholarship Award, and recently awards at the IBLA Grand Prize International Piano Competition in Sicily and a Fellowship to the Rome Festival in Rome, Italy. He has participated in masterclasses of Gary Graffman, Cecile Ousset, and Samuel Sanders. Amalong received a Master's degree in Collaborative Piano from CCM, studying with the celebrated pianist, Sandra Rivers. His chamber music coaches during this time included Peter Oundjian and Yehuda Hanani. His collaborative career has included recital performances with: Mark Gould (Principal Trumpet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), William Ver Muelen (Principal Horn, Houston Symphony), Richard Hawley (Principal Clarinet, Cincinnati Symphony), and David Anderson (Principal Bass, Louisiana Symphony.) He has performed as accompanist in master classes of Dorothy Delay, Zara Nelsova, Julius Baker, Peter Wiley, Samuel Baron and many others, and has also appeared and recorded with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, the Fort Wayne Symphony, and the Dayton Philharmonic. He performs in various cities throughout the U.S. has played in Germany, Czech Republic, France and Italy. Amalong's recordings include world premieres of works by Angelo A. della Picca, David Anderson and Rick Sowash and he has produced numerous recording projects on which he has performed as a soloist or in partnership with other musicians. Ensemble performances include regular appearances with the RAZBIA ensemble, a quartet with oboe, clarinet and cello and The Mount Trio, a piano trio formed at the College of Mount St. Joseph where he is Assistant Professor of Music. In addition to his activities as a pianist and teacher, Mr. Amalong is a composer, both of concert music and commercial scores for television and film productions. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and is an amateur mountain bike racer and outdoor enthusiast and enjoys following the Tour de France and professional cycling in general. -----Jeannine Dennis, Flutist Over the past fifteen years, flutist Jeannine Dennis has established herself as both a dynamic soloist and sensitive ensemble performer. Her purity of sound and technical gifts have brought praise from fellow musicians and critics alike. A native of San Jose, Jeannine Dennis began flute studies at the age of nine, studying initially with a dear friend and teacher, Belle Miller. Later, she became a student of Ina Mae Holt. As a student at San Jose State University she studied with Isabelle Chapuis Starr, a student of the renowned Jean-Pierre Rampal. Dr. Dennis was awarded a full scholarship to attend the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Bradley Garner and Jack Wellbaum. From this institution, Dr. Dennis was awarded both her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. She was the winner of the school's prestigious Concerto Competition in 1997, resulting in a concerto performance with the Concert Orchestra the following season. She has participated in masterclasses of Julius Baker, Jill Felber, Randy Bowman and Samuel Sanders. As a member of the Music Ensemble for Eighteenth Century Music, she was an artist in residence at the Lucca Opera Festival in Lucca, Italy. Besides frequent appearances as a soloist in recital, she has been a member of orchestras including the Northern Kentucy Symphony and the Master Sinfonia in California. Her broad repertoire encompasses a substantial amount of solo and ensemble literature ranging from Baroque to contemporary styles. A specialist in twentieth-century literature, she has recorded and performed the works of Lowell Liebermann, including his Piccolo Concerto, Sonata for Flute and Piano and Soliloquy. Maestro Liebermann has commented directly on her performances with such superlatives as "wonderful!" and "bravo!"Her ensemble recordings include: William Grant Still, with the Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra, Centaur; Dimitri Ashkenazy, Clarinet, with the Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra, Pan Classics; Boccherini Symphonies, Numbers 6, 8, & 26, and The Bach Boys, Sinfonias by Sons of Johann Sebastian Bach with the Ensemble for Eighteenth Century Music, Klavier Records International. Dr. Dennis lives in Modesto, California where she maintains an active flute studio. She is an amateur web designer and avid gardener.About this CD: Lowell Liebermann (1961-) completed the Sonata for Flute and Piano in 1987. In 1989, the National Flute Association voted it Best Newly Published Flute Work.The Soliloquy (1992) once stood apart from Liebermann's flute works as the only piece for flute alone, a distinction no longer since the newly composed Eight Pices for Flute, Piccolo, Alto Flute or Bass Flute. Typically, in Liebermann's music for flute or piccolo, the piano serves as an equal and supportive partner with the flute. The Soliloquy, however, offers no such support and partnership and the flutist delivers her solo in appropriate solitude. Bela Bartok (1881-1945) was deeply influenced by his work collecting and recording the folk music of Hungary and its surrounding areas. In this work he gently treats these melodies n a tasteful and colorful manner, utilizing his distinctive harmonic and instrumental language. The Suite Paysanne Hongroise was originally written for piano and later transcribed for flute and piano by Paul Arma. Taktakishvili (1924-1987) was born in (Soviet) Georgia and his music is greatly influenced by the modality and folk music of the region. His Sonata for Flute and Piano shows these influences in its whimsical and poignant melodies. Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) lived the first 12 years of his life in the tower of St. James church in Policka, where his father, a cobbler, was keeper of the tower. The sound of the ringing tower bells, which were his constant companions in childhood, is evident in much of his music. He was also greatly influenced by music of the French, including Debussy and Roussel and had a great love for Czech and Moravian folk songs.