From Antheil to Zappa

Other Minds welcomes pianist Geoffrey Burleson to present his solo piano recital “From Antheil to Zappa” on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at Littlefield Concert Hall, Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland. Burleson’s performance will feature forgotten mid-century masterpieces by American composers, including such rarities as the Piano Sonata No. 12, “Mirror Sonata” (1982) by Vincent Persichetti, “Mirrorrorrim” (1931) by Gerald Strang, Music for Piano (1947) by Irving Fine, Piano Sonata No. 3 (1947) by Norman Dello Joio, Samuel Barber’s Four Excursions, Piano Sonata No. 2, “The Airplane” (1922) by George Antheil, as well as works by Frank Zappa, Mary Kouyoumdjian, and Herbie Nichols. This concert is presented in cooperation with the Center for Contemporary Music, Northeastern University and Mills Performing Arts.

George Antheil

Piano Sonata No. 2, “The Airplane”

Samuel Barber

Four Excursions

Norman Dello Joio

Piano Sonata No. 3

Herbie Nichols/arr. Burleson

The Gig

Irving Fine

Music for Piano

Vincent Persichetti

Piano Sonata No. 12, “Mirror Sonata”

Mary Kouyoumdjian

Aghavni

Gerald Strang

“Mirrorrorrim”

Frank Zappa/arr. Burleson

Be Bop Tango

Geoffrey Burleson has performed to wide acclaim throughout Europe and North America and is equally active as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, and jazz performer. The New York Times has hailed his solo performances as “vibrant” and “compelling,” and has praised his “command, projection of rhapsodic qualities without loss of rhythmic vigor, and appropriate sense of spontaneity and fetching colors.” And the Boston Globe refers to Mr. Burleson as a “remarkable pianist” and “a first-class instrumental presence” whose performances are “outright thrilling.” His numerous acclaimed solo appearances include prominent venues in Paris (at the Église St-Merri), New York, Rome (American Academy), Helsinki (Sibelius Academy), Athens (Mitropoulos Hall), Mexico City (National Museum of Art), Rotterdam (De Doelen), Chicago (Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series), Boston, Washington, Switzerland, England, Spain, and elsewhere. He has also appeared as soloist in many international festivals, including the Mostly Modern Festival, Bard Music Festival, Monadnock Music Festival, Other Minds Festival, Mänttä Music Festival (Finland), Santander Festival (Spain), the Talloires International Festival (France), the International Keyboard Institute & Festival (New York), and the Interharmony International Music Festival (Italy).

Mr. Burleson made his New York City solo recital debut at Merkin Hall in 2000, sponsored by the League of Composers/ISCM. Concerto appearances include the Buffalo Philharmonic, New England Philharmonic, Boston Musica Viva, Pioneer Valley Symphony, Arlington Philharmonic, and the Holland Symfonia in the Netherlands, with repertoire ranging from Mozart, Weber, and Saint-Saëns to Gershwin, Yehudi Wyner, David Rakowski, and Klaas de Vries. Mr. Burleson is a core member of the American Modern Ensemble, Boston Musica Viva, Tribeca New Music, ECCE, the David Sanford Big Band, Ensemble Ipse, Princeton University’s Richardson Chamber Players, and IMPetus, a dynamic avant-cabaret trio featuring vocalist Maria Tegzes and guitarist Dave “Knife” Fabris. Notable touring projects include Akoka: Messiaen Remix, a CD and program featuring Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, and including new works commenting on it by David Krakauer and DJ Socalled, with David Krakauer, clarinet; Matt Haimovitz, cello; and Todd Reynolds, violin. Via the AKOKA CD, Burleson was nominated for a 2015 Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year. As a jazz pianist, Mr. Burleson has performed extensively at home and abroad, both as soloist and in many ensembles. The Boston Globe has lauded his jazz performances, praising his “solos filled with complex harmonic and rhythmic figures,” as well as his “compact and dramatic” arrangements of works by such diverse artists as Eric Dolphy and Patti Smith. A laureate of the International Piano Recording Competition (Silver Medal), and the Vienna Modern Masters International Performers’ Competition, Mr. Burleson was also the recipient of a DAAD Grant from the German government to support a residency at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory, New England Conservatory, and Stony Brook University (D.M.A.), his principal teachers include Gilbert Kalish, Leonard Shure, Veronica Jochum, Lillian Freundlich, and Tinka Knopf.

Mr. Burleson teaches piano at Princeton University and is Professor of Music and Director of Piano Studies at Hunter College-City University of New York. He is also on the piano faculties of The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, the Mostly Modern Festival, and the Interharmony International Music Festival (Italy).