Biography : Curriculum Vitae : Selected Performances
Performances at major music festivals in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United States, including the Beijing Modern Music Festival, the Gaudeamus Festival in Rotterdam, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in England, Moscow Autumn, Music Today-Japan in Tokyo, the Thailand Composition Festival in Bangkok, the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, the North American New Music Festival in Buffalo, the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, Piccolo Spoleto, the Staunton Music Festival, the International Guitar Festival of Morelia, and the Bienal of São Paulo, Brazil.
Performances have also been sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra, the BBC-London, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Cygnus, Ensemble TIMF of Korea, the Gothia Percussion Ensemble of Sweden, the Group for Contemporary Music, the Houston Symphony, the National Flute Association, the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, the Orchestra della Radiotelevisione Italiana in Rome, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Sequitur, and UNESCO/International Music Council.
Radio Broadcasts, Interviews and Performances in Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States include American Public Media/Public Radio, Barvarian Radio, BBC (Radio 3)-London, CBC Radio Two-Ottowa, CBC-Toronto, Counterstream Radio, France Musiques, KEMC-Billings, KFBX-Spokane, KLEF-Houston, Minnesota Public Radio, NHK-Tokyo, NPR, Radio Salzburg, Radio-Canada, Radio Circuito Marconi, Radio Suisse Romande – Espace 2, RAI-Rome, WBFO-Buffalo, WFMT-Chicago, WFLN-Philadelphia, WGDT-Kenosha, WHRB-Boston, WJFF “Radio Catskills”, WKCR-New York, WNCN-New York, WNIB/WNIZ-Chicago, WNYC-New York, WORT-Madison, WPRB-Princeton, WQXR-New York, WRCT-Pittsburgh, WTUL-New Orleans, WUSF-Tampa, WWFM The Classical Station-Trenton, and UBC (Voice of the Daily American)-Rome.
Television Broadcasts, Interviews and Performances in Wisconsin on WHA-TV and WISC-TV
Retrospective Concerts
Fresh Stuff: New Music from the New York Foundation for the Arts: Chester Biscardi; Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, North Plaza; August 16, 1990
Program included Mestiere (Anthony de Mare) Tenzone (David Fedele, Tara Helen O’Connor and Edmund Niemann), The Poet’s Aria and Kathryn’s Song from Tight-Rope (Charles Huddleston, Mary Law and Anthony de Mare), Traverso (Tara Helen O’Connor and Edmund Niemann), No Feeling is the Same as Before (Les Thimmig), Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman) (Les Thimmig and Anthony de Mare), and Piano Sonata (Anthony de Mare)
Music of Chester Biscardi; Fine Arts Concert Hall, University of Wyoming at Laramie; April 5, 1995
Program included Traverso (Rod Garnett and Gary Smart), The Gift of Life (Marilyn Smart and Gary Smart), Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman), Incitation to Desire (Tango) (Gary Smart), Tartini (Ikuko Kanda and Chizu Hamano), Baby Song of the Four Winds (Marilyn Smart and Gary Smart), Nel giardinetto della villa (Chester Biscardi and Gary Smart), Mestiere (Gary Smart), and Piano Sonata (Toko Suzuki)
Songs by Chester Biscardi; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; December 5, 1999
Program included “Poet’s Aria“, from Tight-Rope (Thomas Young and Sarah Caldwell Nelson), Prayers of Steel (Mel Ulrich and Sarah Caldwell Nelson), Baby Song of the Four Winds, The Gift of Life, and Guru (Judith Bettina and James Goldsworthy), What a Coincidence, I Wouldn’t Know About That, Now You See It, Now You Don’t, Someone New (Thomas Young and Sarah Caldwell Nelson), Winter’s Child: Three American Carols: At Christmas Time (Luening/Hesse), A Christmas Carol (Ives), The Child Comes Every Winter (Biscardi/Zinsser) (Judith Bettina and James Goldsworthy)
Song and Dance, featuring chamber and vocal music of Chester Biscardi; Voices of Change; Caruth Auditorium, Southern Methodist University; Dallas, Texas; October 5, 2003
Program included Tartini (Maria Schleuning, violin, and Shields-Collins Bray, piano), Incitation to Desire (Tango) [Shields-Collins Bray, piano, Doug Hopkins, dancer (Bruce Wood Dance Company), and The Gift of Life (Virginia Dupuy, soprano, and Shields-Collins Bray, piano)
MUSICA NOVA: Chester Biscardi, Visiting Guest Composer; White Hall, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, December 2, 2004
Program included Incitation to Desire (Tango) [Jocelyn Ho, piano], Tenzone (Christina Webster and Jonathan Borja, flutes, and Jocelyn Ho, piano), Music for Witch Dance (Jim Clanton and Bill Solomon, percussionists), Modern Love Songs (Marcella Caprario, mezzo-soprano, and Jeong Hee Jeong, piano), and Piano Sonata (John Villaveces, piano)
Chester Biscardi: Companion Pieces – Music for Piano, Viola and Voice: Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; February 19, 2006; and Greenwich House Arts/North River Music Series 20th Anniversary Concert The Renee Weiler Recital Hall, Greenwich House Music School; February 23, 2006
Programs included Incitation to Desire (Tango) (1984) Chester Biscardi (1948); Piano Distance (1961) Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996); Mestiere (1979) Biscardi; Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman) (1989/91) Biscardi; Extensions 3 (1951) Morton Feldman (1926-1987); In Time’s Unfolding (2000) Biscardi – Marc Peloquin, piano; The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice (2005) Biscardi – in memory of violist Jacob Glick – World Premiere – Toby Appel, viola, and James Goldsworthy, piano; Baby Song of the Four Winds (1994) Biscardi Text: Carl Sandburg (1878-1967); Recovering (2000) Biscardi Text: Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) New York City Premiere; Guru (1995) Biscardi Text: Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) – New York City Premiere – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano; Piano Sonata (1986; rev. 1987) Biscardi – Marc Peloquin, piano; Encore: What a Coincidence (1997) Biscardi Lyrics: William Zinsser (1922) – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano
Concert & Conversation: Influences and Interpretations – Piano Music by Biscardi, Feldman & Takemitsu, with Chester Biscardi, composer, and Marc Peloquin, piano; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; February 21, 2006
Program included Piano Distance (1961) Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996); Mestiere (1979) Biscardi; Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman) (1989/91) Biscardi; Extensions 3 (1951) Morton Feldman (1926-1987); In Time’s Unfolding (2000) Biscardi – Marc Peloquin, piano
Guest Composer, 2006 Thailand Composition Festival in Bangkok, July 18 – 20, 2006, sponsored by the Department of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts, Srinakharinwirot University, and Payap University in Chiang Mai, July 21 — 26.
Program included presenting the inaugural lecture in Bangkok on July 18th, followed by a concert of works for solo piano – Mestiere (1979), Incitation to Desire (Tango) (1984), pianist Bennett Lerner, and Nel giardinetto della villa, for piano four hands (1994), with Chester Biscardi and Bennett Lerner, piano. Private tutorials and taught seminars and workshops in composition during the festival. On July 20th in Bangkok Piano Quintet (2004) was performed by Ensemble TIMF from South Korea, conducted by Pawatchai Suwankangka, the director of the Thailand National Symphony. Attending were composers, performers, theorists and musicologists from Burma, China, Hong Kong, Korea, the Phillipines, Thailand, and the United States. In Chiang Mai on July 21st a lecture/concert included Mestiere (1979), Incitation to Desire (Tango) (1984), pianist Bennett Lerner, and Nel giardinetto della villa, for piano four hands (1994), with Chester Biscardi and Bennett Lerner, piano.
Guest Composer, 2010 Beijing Modern Music Festival, China, May 22 — 28, 2010.
Program included lectures and master classes and two concerts on May 26, 2010: The Centre of the Sound: Flute and Piano Music from Luisa Sello, Luisa Sello, flute, and Yang Xiaogong, piano, featuring Traverso, for flute and piano (1987); and Special Concert of Chester Biscardi’s Works, featuring Tartini, for violin and piano (1972), Lin Zhaoyang, violin, and You Xi, piano, Resisting Stillness, for two guitars (1996), Chen Chuan and Xu Tuo, guitars, The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice, for viola and piano (2005), Kang Wenting, viola, and Duan Biyan, piano, and Piano Quintet, for piano and violin, with violin, viola and violoncello (2004) Duan Biyan, piano, Tang Yun, violin, Ma Veijia, violin, Kang Wenting, viola, and Wang Zhilin, violoncello. Recital Hall, Beijing Central Conservatory of Music.
Meet the Century Composer: Songs of Chester Biscardi, presented by Eine Kleine Hausmusick, The Century Association, New York City; April 30, 2015
Program included “Guru” (1995) – Judith Bettina, soprano, and Chester Biscardi, piano, “Chez Vous” (1983; rev. 2007), lyrics by Sheldon Harnick – World Premiere – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano, “I Dance the Tango” (2010) from Sailors & Dreamers (2007-2010) – Chester Biscardi, voice and piano, Modern Love Songs (1997-2002) – Dennis Tobenski, tenor, and Marc Peloquin, piano, “Baby Songs of the Four Winds” (1994), The Gift of Life (1990-1993), and “Do You Remember?” (2010) from Sailors & Dreamers (2007-2010) – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano.
The Poetry of Chester Biscardi, presented by KeyedUp MusicProject; Tenri Cultural Institute, New York City; October 9, 2015
Program included In Time’s Unfolding (2000) – Marc Peloquin, piano; “Poet’s Aria” from Tight-Rope (1985) – Dennis Tobenski, tenor, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Piece (Peace!) for Peggy (2015) – Chester Biscardi, piano; Nel giardinetto della villa (1994) – Chester Biscardi and Marc Peloquin, piano; and the World Premiere of the voice and piano version of Sailors & Dreamers (2007-2010) – Dennis Tobenski, tenor, and Marc Peloquin; along with the World Premiere of Go, Little Poem by Dennis Tobenski, and Robert Schumann’s Kinderscenen.
Chester Biscardi at Oxford, Lecture, Concert, and Composition Master Class at Oxford University UK, sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; May 31-June 1, 2017
Lecture: Chester Biscardi: Composer’s Thoughts; The Lee Shaw Kee Scholar Seminar Room, Wadham College, Oxford; May 31, 2017
Recital: Chester Biscardi: In Time’s Unfolding – Music for Piano, Voice and Ensemble; Wadham College Antechapel, Oxford; June 1, 2017
Program included Incitation to Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) – Guy Newbury, piano, “I Dance the Tango” from Sailors & Dreamers, for voice and piano (2007-2010), Lyrics by Shirley Kaplan – Danae Eleni, soprano, and Guy Newbury, piano, The Gift of Life, for soprano and piano (1990-1993), Texts by Emily Dickinson, Denise Levertov and Thornton Wilder – Danae Eleni, soprano, and Guy Newbury, piano, Piano Quintet, for piano and violin, with violin, viola and violoncello (2004) – George Needham, piano, and Athelie Armon-Jones, violin, Anna Homes, violin, Georgia Russell, viola, and Joseph Davies, violoncello, “Broken Stars That Go Dark,” for voice and piano (2016), Lyrics by Shirley Kaplan – World Premiere – John Lee, baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano, and In Time’s Unfolding, for piano (2000) – Guy Newbury, piano.
Composition Master Class; Gilese Badun Room; Wadham College, Oxford; June 1, 2017
50th Birthday Interviews, Broadcasts and Performance:
October 11, 1998: 50th birthday interview with Bruce Duffie on WNIB/WNIZ Classical 97-Chicago, including broadcasts of At the Still Point, Piano Sonata, Tenzone, and The Gift of Life
October 16, 1998: Anthony de Mare interview on WKCR-New York, featuring broadcasts of Incitation to Desire (Tango) and Mestiere
October 20, 1998 Anthony de Mare, piano; Birthday Blow Out (Bernstein, Biscardi, Carter, Rorem, Rzewski, Speach), Solo Flights presented by ComposersCollaborative; Here; New York City; performances of Mestiere and Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman)
Selected Performances of Other Work
The Brides of Enderby (1977), by Anthony Burgess
First and only performances: Laurentian Chamber Players (Catherine Rowe, soprano, Gerardo Levy, flute, Ronald Roseman, oboe, Michael Rudiakov, violoncello, Joel Spiegelman, harpsichord and piano); Chester Biscardi, conductor; “The Listening Room,” The Robert Sherman Show, WQXR-FM; New York; October 11, 1978; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; October 15, 1978; Clark University Fine Arts Series; Wooster, Massachusetts; October 29, 1978
The Wasteland, a setting (1977), by Anthony Burgess
First and only performances: Laurentian Chamber Players; Brendan Gill, reciter; Chester Biscardi, conductor; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; October 14, 1978 and October 14, 1979
Ann Garner, a poem set to music (1978), by Ed Di Lello
First performances: Sheila Schonbrun and Catherine Rowe, voices, David Krakauer, clarinet, Arthur Fiacco, violoncello, John Lettieri, piano, Joseph Aebig and Kevin Twigg, percussion; Chester Biscardi, conductor; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; May 16 and 17, 1978; Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University; Connecticut; October 21, 1978
Die Winterreise, by Franz Schubert (1827); Ted Kalmon, baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Faculty Recital Series; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; November 24, 1981
The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, by John Cage (1942); Wall-to-Wall John Cage and Friends, A 70th Birthday Tribute; Sheila Schonbrun, soprano, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Symphony Space; New York; March 13, 1982
Performers included John Cage, Merce Cunningham, The Cunningham Dance Company, David Tudor, Charles Wuorinen, Nam June Paik, Christian Wolff, Paul Jacobs, Ursula Oppens, Takehisa Kasugi, Paul Zukofsky, Robert Ashley, Margaret Hee-long Ten, Joseph Kubera, Aki Takehashi, New Music Consort, Sheila Schonbrun, Joel Chadabe, Charlotte Moorman, Virgil Blackwell, Benjamin Hudson, Christopher Jannay, Yvar Mikhashoff, Naomi Amos, Neely Bruce, Jackson Mac Low, Alison Knowles, Jim Staley, Gageego, Gordon Gottlieb, Clark Coolidge, Dean Drummond, Gary Schall, Stefani Starin, Chester Biscardi, David Satz, David Behrman, Don Gillespie, Vivian Perlis, James Baker, Robert Rauschenberg, and others…
Die Schöne Müllerin, by Franz Schubert (1823); Peter Stewart, baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Private residence of Charles DeCarlo; New York; April 6, 1991; Village Variations; Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich House Music School; New York; April 11, 1991; Eine Kleine Hausmusik; The Century Club; New York; April 17, 1991; Schubert Music Festival; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; April 20, 1991
Vexations, by Erik Satie (1893); 100 Years of Vexations; Chester Biscardi, piano; Roulette; New York; May 15, 1993.
18-plus hours of Erik Satie’s “Vexations” for piano on the centennial of its creation with an all star cast of pianists and celebrity helpers including “Blue” Gene Tyranny, Eric Chin, Joe Hannan, Joseph Kubera, Christopher Berg, Alvin Lucier, Chester Biscardi, Don Gillespie, Margaret Leng Tan, Kirk Nurock, Kyle Gann, Anthony Coleman, Michael Kowalski, Norman Yamada, William Duckworth, David Weinstein, Mark Digliantoni, Bruce Posner, David Shea, Lois Svard, Michelle Michele, and others with surprise guests counting the repeats.
Satie’s Vexations (1893), 60 years after John Cage; Chester Biscardi, piano; Grand Opening of The Village Trip 2023; The Pocket Theatre; New York City; September 8, 2023
Chester Biscardi, David Del Tredici, Richard Cameron-Wolfe, Marilyn Nonken, Marc Peloquin, Adam Tendler, and others.
Winterreise, by Franz Schubert; poems by Wilhelm Müller (1827); Gudfinnur Sveinsson, bass-baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; Bronxville, NY; March 21, 2023; Eine Kleine Hausmusik; The Century Club; New York; March 29, 2023; National Gallery of Iceland; Reykjavik; January 6, 2024; Holywell Music Room; Oxford, UK; January 11, 2024
Organ2ASLSP, by John Cage (1987); Eight-Hour Organ Marathon at St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University; New York City; April 13, 2024. With Julian Bennett Holmes, Yike Zhang, Steve Long, Chester Biscardi, Laura Cetilia, Nicole Brancato, Justin Gunter, and Michael James Landis. Sponsored by Sacred Music at St. Paul’s.