About the artist
Bobby Mitchell is an American pianist whose interests are embedded in the here and now of music as performance art, as well as the more standard classical repertory of centuries past. A frequent performer of new and rarely heard works, his interests lie mainly with the contemporary music canon and combining these works with the standard repertoire in an illuminating fashion. An instrumentalist who is not afraid to cross the traditional boundaries of programming and performance practice, he is active as a solo and collaborative concert pianist on modern and historical instruments and is also experienced in the fields of improvisation, composition, and conducting.
He has performed extensively in the Americas, across Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East, and this upcoming season includes concerto performances with Philippe Herreweghe and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. He has otherwise performed as concerto soloist with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Amman Symphony Orchestra, Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, Concerto Armonico Freiburg, and the new-music ensemble OSSIA, among others. Significant solo activities include numerous performances of Frederic Rzewski’s epic 36 Variations on ‘The People United Will Never Be Defeated!’ and frequent work with composers such as Frederic Rzewski, Steve Reich, and Louis Andriessen as well as regular work with peer composers of his own generation.
Bobby records for the Alpha / Outhere music label (Haydn on an original pianoforte), and his YouTube channel has become an Internet phenomenon for classical and improvised piano music, with more than half-a-million views. Primary teachers include Nelita True, David Kuyken, Robert Hill, Stephen Perry, and Bart van Oort.
Bobby Mitchell not only knows how to make exciting and unique music using ornamentation, sound, and tempo, but you can hear that he never just plays what is written.
NRC 17.11.2014
CONNECT
bobbymitchellpiano.com
YouTube Channel