Volume 1 of Anderson's orchestral music closes out with Anderson's only piano concerto, written in 1953. Mixed reviews caused the composer to remove the concerto from his list of compositions in 1970.

Anderson's widow released the work in 1989. Pianist Jeffrey Biegel immediately became a strong advocate of the concerto. In 1991, he approached the composer's family about performing, and eventually recording it.

The sweeping melodic line and the lush orchestration of the first movement remind me of Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto. The first movement flows seamlessly into the slow andante, which shifts between two completely different moods.

The first subject is tender and contemplative, while the second subject sparkles with a driving rhythm, and added highlights from the wind section.

What makes the percussive third movement so appealing is its playful melody. The infectious interplay between pianist Jeffrey Biegel and the BBC Concert Orchestra is absolutely delightful.

"It also offers his one and only Piano Concerto, which starts off like cod-Rachmaninov, includes a fistful of the sort of melodies only he could write, and ends in cod-Grieg. It may not be the greatest ever (he couldn't do motivic development to save his life), but it's beautifully crafted and enormous fun."

"The highlight of this disc is undoubtedly the Piano Concerto. I remember on my first trip to New York coming across a CD of this piece in Tower Records up by the Lincoln Center. I was so enthused by this 'in your face' work as I sat in Central Park with my portable CD player – and listened to it at least three times through! It seemed to epitomize that city.

It could be argued that the first movement has all the hallmarks of Rachmaninov and the last nods vigorously to Edvard Grieg. It could also be argued that it does not matter. This is the all-American Piano Concerto – unlike Gershwin in that it does not 'do' jazz. It is untypical of Edward McDowell in that it is not romantic in a European style. Yet from the point of view of melody and sheer pleasure it can hold its own against any piano concerto in America or beyond. Look out for that wonderful second subject of the third movement. Anderson at very his best – a touch of genius.

This is a CD to buy – even if you have tons of Leroy Anderson in your collection already. Leonard Slatkin could not be a better advocate for this music. The BBC Concert Orchestra are manifestly in their element and Jeffrey Biegel plays the 'over the top' Concerto with pizzazz!"

"As for the agreeably warm-hearted and romantic 1953 Piano Concerto, it falls into the category of works that are worth hearing without having hitherto been a major loss to the musical world. One way and another, everything here is easy on the ear and beautifully played. It all leaves a delightful aftertaste and excites anticipation of Naxos's next installment."

"The audience erupted with a lengthy standing ovation, demanding an encore. Graciously, Biegel consented with a short dazzling piece, 'Rush Hour in Hong Kong.'"

"Leroy Anderson's Piano Concerto is like everything by this great composer of light music, full of glorious tunes and wonderful twists of orchestration. Biegel clearly loves this piece and played its stormy and tender passages from the heart.

"[Keith Emerson's Concerto no. 1] is refreshingly bold and saucy. Emerson is impatient with transitions, and there are many clashes of keys and moods, as well as wild endings to the first and last movements. The ghost of composer Paul Hindemith, of all people, turns up near the beginning, and the propulsive start of the finale owes something to the Khachaturian concerto.

"Biegel played with his usual brilliance, and during curtain calls, Emerson loped onstage to embrace Biegel and [Steve] Larsen."

Pianist Jeffrey Biegel has presented the more recent music of American composers Leroy Anderson and Lowell Liebermann in his two past visits to Springfield and it was a great pleasure to hear him interpret a 200-year-old repertoire chestnut like the "Emperor" Concerto, approaching it with all the fervor of a world premiere.

The facility and apparent ease with which he tossed off fistfuls of arpeggios and fusillades of octaves belied the challenges that face the pianist. Biegel played the dual role of soloist and chamber musician, engaging in an eloquent and animated conversation with the orchestra. He addressed the opening Allegro with sure-fingered command, delivering the big-boned music with a glorious depth of piano tone that eludes the aggressive hammering of lesser musicians. The melody of the slow movement, under Biegel's exquisite touch tinged with the hope and joy that would burst into consuming flame in the ebullient rondo finale. Pianist, conductor, and orchestra earned and enjoyed an emphatic standing ovation.

This was an action-packed weekend for the New Mexico Symphony Classics series. Jeffrey Biegel has been touring with Lowell Liebermann's Piano Concerto No. 3 since its premiere in Milwaukee in 2006. With its ferocious pianism and orchestral color, the opening movement, Risoluto, takes the Prokofiev concertos as its clear antecedent. The slow passages as well as the Largo struck me as so much wandering, while the Burlesque, the last of three movements seemed most effective, returning to the extroverted playing, spiced with some exotic percussion, and splicing in a section of quasi-ragtime. Clearly the work serves its purpose as an excellent showpiece for a virtuoso, and Biegel is one of the most exciting young pianists. He makes as persuasive an argument for the work as one could ask.

Lowell Liebermann ranks among the few living composers whom I will go out of my way to hear. On Saturday night, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra presented his new Third Piano Concerto, Op. 95, billed as the Pacific Northwest Premiere. Liebermann's style is neo-romantic with furiously difficult -- but often riveting -- passages for the pianist. The battering of the keys reminds one of Prokofiev; the thick, often contrapuntal texture teeters between tonality and studied dissonance reminiscent of Max Reger. I will recall the big, clean triad chords that are used at key climactic points in the first two movements with excellent effect. The slow movement, in which a poignant line in the strings is juxtaposed with a tick-tock accompaniment from the piano, is probably the most ingratiating and thoughtful section. Biegel is a generous musician, busily promoting new music and rarities. About his accuracy, energy and prowess with trills, scales, cascading chords and the rest of the munitions in the pianistic armory, there can be no doubt.

""To my ears, Liebermann has attempted to write a serious contemporary piano concerto that does not send audiences running for the exits. And to a great extent, he has succeeded: certainly Friday evening's audience responded with unalloyed bravos, although this fervor may have been equally stirred by Biegel's extroverted keyboard virtuosity. At the concerto's outset, the piano announces its primary motive in a bravura flourish that runs up the keyboard, a theme that returns in various permutations over the course of the work. This movement alternates between athletic, cleanly delineated counterpoint involving both piano and orchestra and a dreamy nocturne for solo piano. These Romantic interludes combine Brahmsian wide voicing (each hand at either extreme of the keyboard) and an ornamented Chopinesque melody.

"The piano dominated the middle movement, weaving a sinuous cantabile line over complex chords, made less acerbic by their soft dynamic and diffuse orchestration. In the latter category, Liebermann is most inventive, especially in unusual instrumental combinations, for example, a mysterious trio for muted trumpet, piano and murmuring violas.

"By naming the final movement Burlesque, Liebermann gave himself permission to indulge in whatever humorous mood swings tickled his fancy. Once we left the busy opening motor rhythms–a tip of the hat to Prokofiev–the movement bounced from one idea to the next like a pinball machine on a lucky streak: first a crazed march, then a road-house piano rag, then a perky two-step and another revisit to the first movement's nocturne. I thought that I heard a line from a Latin Gregorian hymn, but that triadic theme could have come straight from Liebermann's fertile imagination.

"Biegel displayed immense confidence as he subdued the composer's myriad technical challenges. His lustrous legato technique bathed the nocturne episodes in just the right amount of perfumed lyricism."

"Star of the evening was Jeffrey Biegel. The Lowell Liebermann [Concerto no. 3] now filled the clarified air, as interpreted by Jeffrey Biegel. Liebermann's music can be tremulant, it can be meditative. It is quite otherworldly.The middle section extraordinarily so. There are liquid notes, literally the sound of drops falling. The third part began at a gallop, percussing the air and shaking the ground, and then a ragtime interlude, a palimpsest of Gershwin with sentimental strings. Throughout, conductor Sebrina Alfonso kept a solicitous eye on her soloist as she always does. The musicians were all in thrall to Biegel. A tremendous gift to the audience that ended with Biegel leaping to his feet on the final note."

"Piano Concerto No. 3" is a quintessentially American composition solidly anchored in Classical tradition. Jeffrey Biegel's keyboard work dazzled. Sprinkled throughout are quicksilver threads of jazz and ragtime and the genius of the man who synthesized the two--George Gershwin. And what a sound--sweeping, soaring passages that fade to atmospheric melancholy. Mr. Biegel's technique was formidable at fast tempos, and in slow legato passages his touch could yield real beauty. Sebrina Alfonso ket the two nicely together."

Leonard Slatkin recorded a marvelous Leroy Anderson collection for RCA with the St. Louis Symphony, and of course Anderson's own recordings for Decca/MCA remain special, but this new series promises to offer several recording premieres, and Jeffrey Biegel's rendition of the terrific Piano Concerto is the best yet. So all in all, it's hard to deny this release the strongest possible recommendation. The music may be light, but the craftsmanship and standard of quality are second to none.

It's a special mystery that Anderson was dissatisfied with the concerto, his only large-scale orchestral work, withholding its publication during his lifetime. We could use a top-notch "Gershwin alternative", and this piece is just the ticket. From the "Rachmaninov without the gloom" opening, to the Latin interludes in the Andante, to the finale's hoe-down reel of a main melody, this piece is a winner. Both Slatkin and Biegel give the piece the royal treatment, playing with both passion and humor. You'll love it.

"Leroy Anderson's music is unfailingly tuneful, full of variety, and superbly orchestrated. Anderson's scores are humorous, easeful and endearing; all here are attended to by the quick-witted and versatile members of the BBC Concert Orchestra under Anderson devotee Leonard Slatkin. His return to this music finds enthusiasm and style undiminished. Anderson's Piano Concerto – from 1953 – might be termed 'sub-Rachmaninov'. The concerto glows, has at least one 'big' tune, the mid-point of the first movement is a jazzy fugue, the slow movement is nocturnal, before being interrupted by a trip down Mexico way, and the finale is a fireworks display. Jeffrey Biegel is the consummate piano soloist and the trumpeters and clarinettists of the BBCCO join in the fun, the whole band relishing the sheer invention and colours of Anderson's imagination. The recording is fine, and should prove to be both an enjoyable and illuminating series."

The Charleston Symphony Orchestra gave its first Masterworks concert of the new year last night. Lindsay Koob checked it out and sent us this review.

After intermission, pianist Jeffrey Biegel joined the orchestra for a spectacular go at Rachmaninoff's finger-twisting Piano Concerto No. 3, alleged to be the most difficult and exhausting work of its kind. Part of its surrounding legend is the tale of Australian pianist David Helfgott (as told in the movie Shine), who was supposedly driven insane by its fearful demands.

But Biegel – with sensitive and considerate support from [David] Stahl and company – rose to the piece's every challenge, with playing of mind-boggling dexterity, lyrical intensity, and commanding power. Pianists had better count superhuman technique and endurance among their strengths before they even think about tackling this number. His hands were flashing blurs much of the time as they negotiated more notes than our ears could possibly keep track of.

Our howling standing O even got us an encore: I couldn't hear him from the balcony as he announced its composer; all I got was something like "Rush hour in Hong Kong" – a funny little solo piece, skittering all over the keyboard. I wondered how he could still move his fingers, after the sublime workout he had just given them.

What a magical surprise! Just as you wonder why a disc of Christmas carols begins with Debussy's Clair de Lune, the sounds of "Silent Night" begin to emerge from the moonlight. Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Saint-Saens, Chopin, Brahms, Mozart – they're all here, dancing along with Christmas carols.

Arranger Carolyne M. Taylor has done a marvelous job with this music, which Jeffrey Biegel interprets with the gentlest and most loving of touches. Sometimes humor abounds, as in the melding of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" with a sonata by Clementi. Wonderfully recorded, this CD earns a most enthusiastic two thumbs up.

The Charleston Symphony Orchestra's Masterworks concert Saturday night proved again that they are a committed and virtuoso group under music director David Stahl.

American pianist Jeffrey Biegel delivered a piano colossus – Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30. Biegel demonstrated his extraordinary dexterity, with fingers flying in a blur during the more thrilling passages, and his musical sensitivity to Rachmaninoff's poetic state of mind in the more nostalgic sections. Stahl and the orchestra provided Rachmaninoff's wonderfully colorful orchestral backdrop with enthusiasm and dash. A standing ovation explained it all, with Biegel offering a brief encore by American composer and pianist Abram Chasins.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra offered an interesting, well-balanced concert last weekend ... [British guest conductor Edward] Gardner's energy worked well in leading Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3, which was premiered down the road in Chicago in 1921. To his great credit, soloist Jeffrey Biegel approached this difficult piece with elegance and grace, its enormous technical demands organically incorporated into a satisfying musical statement. Biegel is an unassuming presence on stage, an understated virtuoso who found every bit of lyricism possible in what is usually considered a percussive piece. He was dazzling in a brilliant encore, Rush Hour in Hong Kong by Abram Chasins.

The old Royal typewriter positioned between the violin, woodwind and percussion sections offered the most obvious cue that the Alabama Symphony Orchestra would honor a composer known for musical curiosities. Anderson had a Harvard pedigree, studying harmony and counterpoint with Walter Piston and George Enescu, or that he composed a respectable piano concerto. Who knew that [Leroy] Anderson composed a piano concerto, and that a player of Jeffrey Biegel's ability has actually committed it to memory? Anderson, while offering nods to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, did not sway too far in his piano concerto from what makes his lighter pieces so appealing. While Anderson may have only graduated from cream puff to a three-layer cake, Biegel, a fiery, intelligent player, took him seriously.

Explosive dynamics, taut rhythm, percussive but not clanking piano sound - Jeffrey Biegel got them all right Friday evening, in playing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Biegel and guest conductor Edward Gardner also conveyed the sharply contrasting moods of this concerto. Throughout, Prokofiev shifts abruptly among blunt, folkish innocence; grim satire; virtuoso exhilaration; and demonic dance. Pianist, conductor and orchestra jump nimbly and neatly into Prokofiev's grooves.

Mood counts, but rhythmic vitality is the most important thing in this music. This performance crackled with it, particularly in the galloping principal theme of the first movement, and got the crowd juking a little in the seats. When the music stopped, the excitement spilled into a big ovation for Biegel. He acknowledged it with a wonderfully nutty bit of jazzy Chinoiserie, Abram Chasin's 1924 "Rush Hour in Hong Kong," as an encore.

Clearly, it [Liebermann's Third Concerto] met with the universal approval of the audience. The concerto is very entertaining and listenable. I can imagine it becoming a favorite for other piano soloists at every level. Hopefully a recording will be forthcoming soon, and I hope Jeffrey Biegel will be doing it.

Jeffrey Biegel clearly enjoys fierce and energetic playing the work demands and exhibits an authoritative presence at the keyboard – not flashy or showman-like, but always in control. In several of his solo sections, he displayed incredible speed and dexterity, and did so with effortless ease. He and Kevin Rhodes were certainly of the same mind and focus.

"The movement "Burlesque" ranges from heart-racing runs, kettle-drum crashes and surprise horn blasts, to a "Bullwinkle Show"-type theme music and even some frisky ragtime to boot. It was exciting to experience the new work [Lowell Liebermann's Concerto no. 3] during the Saturday night South Dakota Symphony Orchestra concert.

The first two movements, "Risoluto" and "Largo," were captivating...The work begins with an almost shocking blast, a tempestuous build-up leading to two-fisted rumbling on the piano's low notes, emphasized by the kettle drums. But the piece soon gives way to a softer, more brooding theme with more melodic piano work in a minor key. It's that range from quiet and introspective, back to tempestuous and racing, that kept me interested.

The crowd apparently loved it, standing at the end to extended applause, which brought Gier and Biegel back out on stage for a second round of bows."

"Biegel is the hardest-working classical musician in show business. He has a long history of developing innovative performance venues and creative commissioning formats. This new Liebermann concerto was made possible largely through his efforts.

"The Liebermann concerto [no. 3] itself is a lengthy work packed full of wonderful surprises. It has been described as "accessible." Perhaps. But it is not simple; and a good part of the apparent accessibility comes from construction with a divine pacing.

This is a work with a defined musical personality and the substance to have a shot at making a regular presence in this competitive repertory. At any rate, Biegel will show pianists of the future how this work is played."

"Thursday night, at the opening of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's 72nd season, pianist Jeffrey Biegel assiduously laid out American composer Lowell Liebermann's newest 'Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Orchestra,' Op. 95. [There are] flashes of Debussy, Shostakovich, Barber and even a little Joplin and Glass, all of which pop up like images on a shooting range.

"It takes a special piece of music to make Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C minor the secondary piece on a concert's program, but the South Bend Symphony Orchestra presented one Saturday night at the Morris Performing Arts Center.

"The symphony and guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel's vigorous and exciting performance of Lowell Liebermann's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 introduced concertgoers to an intense but also entertaining new work.

"Consider the orchestra's contribution to Liebermann's fee money well spent.

"Throughout the concerto, Biegel presented fierce playing and a commanding presence at the keyboard. In several of his solo sections, he displayed incredible speed and dexterity. His playing in the second movement was delicate but not weak; instead, it defined the movement's sense of dread.

"As an encore, Biegel gave a captivating solo performance of Abram Chasins' "Rush Hour in Hong Kong," which also displayed his speed and dexterity.

"For its freshness in both its newness and its writing, however, the Liebermann concerto continues to reverberate well after the end of the concert."

"Critics have already compared it (Lowell Liebermann's Concerto no. 3) with Franz Liszt or Sergej Rachmaninow--the master creators of virtuoso piano concerti. It is simply really good music, which was indeed heard here. A grandiose virtuosic piano part, which Jeffrey Biegel played convincingly with nobility. Highly dramatic motives alternated calm passages with introverted ones, of dreamy and despairing moments. The orchestra expressed colorful instrumentation quite organically with the soloist. A composition of master achievement, realized by soloist and orchestra. The public in Flensburg's Deutsches Haus was immensely inspired."

Liebermann's Concerto [no. 3] was first and foremost superb piano music written by a superb pianist in the tradition of Liszt, Rachmaninov, and Prokofiev...his Op. 95 crackled with Beethovenian economy of means. Liebermann's ingenious manipulation of his material and clear-eyed-and-eared sense of form, drama, and orchestration produced a unified masterpiece of American composition, a worthy descendant of the Barber Violin Concerto and the Copland Third Symphony. Technically flawless and intimately familiar with every twist and turn of character after four previous performances with other ensembles, Biegel obviously owned this Concerto. His eclectic musical interests, imagination, and the fact that he is himself a composer assured Biegel's ability to bring each scene and act in the drama to life. The elegiac "Largo" with its scintillations of harp and bells was deeply moving, buoyed by a melancholy warmth in the strings and stroked with infinite tenderness by the pianist. The outer movements balanced cataclysmic explosions of passagework and percussion with introspective tips of the hat to Liebermann's compositional ancestors from Bach to Brahms to Jelly Roll Morton!

Audience and orchestra alike enjoyed Liebermann's foray into ragtime (reminiscent of the entire tradition from Joplin's early masterworks to Bolcom's "Graceful Ghost") in the "Burlesque" finale. Biegel inflected this excursion with just the right blend of waggishness and reverence, integrating it seamlessly into Liebermann's whirlwind American musical journey. Maestro Rhodes and the SSO forged a brilliant partnership with Biegel in the presentation of Liebermann's Concerto. Once heard, Liebermann's music begs to be heard again. Thanks to Biegel's dedication in creating the 18-orchestra consortium for the commissioning process, the Third Concerto should have a long life, and a chance at eternity. It is surely the best piece of new music the SSO has presented in the last 20 years.

Centerpiece of the agenda was the Colorado premiere of the Third Piano Concerto by the American composer Lowell Liebermann. Commissioned by the evening's soloist, Jeffrey Biegel, and a consortium of 18 orchestras, this entertaining and not overly threatening work may very well stick around for a while.
With Biegel giving it his all - and clearly having great fun doing so - this three-movement work nimbly juggles modern aton-alities and clashing harmonies with unblushingly charming throw-back melodies. Liebermann calls up memories of the 20th century's concerto masters: Ravel, Shostakovich, Bartok, Prokofiev. But the Third is clearly a work of this century, an era of playful eclecticism.

Jeffrey Biegel enterprisingly brought together 18 orchestras, including the CSO, to co-commission the piece [Lowell Liebermann's Third Concerto]. A first-rate pianist, he poured himself into work, deftly handling the concerto's challenging passagework and making the most of what the piece does have to offer.

The Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, with Robert Franz at the podium, played a program of music entirely by American composers. Composer Lowell Liebermann was commissioned by a consortium of 18 orchestras to write his "Piano Concerto No. 3." The first of three movements, marked "Risoluto," began with virtuosic flourishes for the piano, accompanied by orchestral punctuations. Subsequent melodies were vaguely reminiscent of the eastern European traditions, and the harmonic vocabulary was largely chordal (but not often traditional), with only mild dissonance. An ethereal effect with strings and bells began the second movement, marked Largo. The finale, "Burlesque," began somewhat like a jig, but became serious all too soon. Certainly there were moments of dance-like lightness, including ragtime and soft-shoe style quotations, but it was mostly, like the entire piece, a glorious showpiece for the soloist. Jeffrey Biegel, the piano soloist, was amazing -- confident, musical and easily collaborative. He knew this piece inside out, one in which the pianist almost never stops playing. But most impressive, his technique had no perceptible limitations. He was literally all over the keyboard. An artist of the highest caliber, Biegel's performance of this brand-new concerto elicited a standing ovation.

... the East Coast premiere of [Lowell Liebermann's] Third Piano Concerto played by the gifted pianist Jeffrey Biegel ...

Although (Liebermann) said the work was very difficult and virtuosic with many notes, Biegel played them and the double-fisted octave runs effortlessly. He sang the haunting melodies that permeated the work with much feeling. The concerto has a lot of vigor, color and some dark harmonies with dissonance, but always Liebermann came back to the lyricism, which he created with a master's hand.

He doesn't develop his material in predictable ways. The first movement moved right along with tons of chords and scales and then suddenly under the fire was delicacy, rhythms and hints of Scriabin, Bartok and Poulenc.

The very slow second movement was haunting and magical and showed off Liebermann's skills at pacing and keeping the interest.

The third was a blustering rhythmic giant's dance in which he inserted a bit of melodic ragtime and an echo of the first movement before finishing with a splash.

The [Glens Falls] orchestra did well with the composer's language and gave Biegel strong support and partnership. Biegel will perform the work about 17 times more over the next year as part of the national and European consortium that is sponsoring the concerto.

An appreciative audience was treated to the east coast premier of [Lowell Liebermann's] Piano Concerto No. 3, Opus 95. This is a work that exudes melody from its very pores. It is filled with melodic riffs that lead the listener into dark chase scenes, followed by ascending harmonies that lift us ever upward, only to drop before reaching their goal, and then start again.

He spoke generously of influential composers he loves-especially Bach, Dmitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten, and those influences can also be heard in his music.

This piece, with its piano/trumpet duets and percussion section introductions, pays tribute to the concertos of Shostakovich and Ravel, while other composers are given a tip-of-the-hat throughout.

Bartok, Bernstein and Gershwin show up; a great soft-shoe dance sneaks up into the third movement ("Burlesque"): there are laugh-out-loud moments that made me think of Francis Poulenc and Charles Ives; and one particular ascending section even made me think of Japanese music.

But, despite these various influences, the sound finally comes out sounding like Lowell Liebermann-all except for the wonderfully crazy ending which was pure Ives. (It could also have been played a little "wilder" by the orchestra, for greater effect.)

Guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel's performance was solid, lyrical and swinging when it had to be. Much credit has to be given for Mr. Biegel's efforts to gather 18 orchestras into the consortium that commissioned this work.

"Biegel and the [Muncie Symphony] orchestra combined in an entrancing interpretation of Duke Ellington's New World A-comin', a jazzy piece that showed why Biegel (like Ellington) is at home with most any kind of music. "Returning to the stage, Biegel provided the evening's high point with his elegant rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Although heard often in Muncie and all over the globe since its debut in 1923, "Rhapsody" never gets tiresome, especially in the hands of a masterful technician like Biegel. His execution of the music's jazzy contrasts was perfect, and the orchestra responded to the challenge during its own moments."

"The passionate closing chords of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto no. 2 brought members of the audience to their feet with shouts of "Bravo" and waves of clapping. The music itself is a crowd-pleaser, with exquisite melodies, superb orchestration and a virtuoso piano score but that wasn't the whole picture. Jeffrey Biegel, the soloist, carried the impressive weight of Russian Romanticism with a clarity and nuance that brought an ineffable tenderness to the overplayed themes. His monumental technique, even as it glowed in the cadenzas, never overshadowed the musical line and the tonal quality he achieved can only be described as fluid gold. He seemed to know the orchestral score as well as his own and made a marvelous pas de deux out of the entire performance. Biegel accepted his tumultuous ovation graciously, acknowledging Maestro Li and the [Bangor Symphony]orchestra and finally consenting to play an encore. His version of Chopin's "Military" Polonaise, a keyboard battle for any but the best, was executed with precision, polish and breathtaking speed. That was the second half of the program."

"Biegel provided a passion-drenched performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 18 in C minor with finesse, elegance and fluidity. This piece contains at least two of the world's most recognized melodies, and if played with anything less than total abandonment to emotion, it can seem like a caricature. Not this time. Biegel played with the darting precision and deadly grace of a fencer, serving up delicious combinations of pathos, passion and transcendence.

After an enthusiastic standing ovation and at least four calls to the stage, Biegel, who had just played an exhausting piano concerto lasting more than a half-hour, somehow had the energy to grace the audience with a wonderfully fiery Chopin "Polonaise."

"If you enjoy Chopin, this disc will be on your 'must have' list. During his lifetime Cesar Cui was an influential newspaper critic, his vitriolic writings including a description of Rachmaninov's First Symphony as "a programme symphony on the Seven Plagues of Egypt". As a musician he could be described as a 'gifted amateur', whose education in the art of composition was of a basic nature. That did not lessen his desire to compose, the large catalogue of works, including several operas, containing twenty-eight published works for piano. Though an advocate of a nationalist school of creativity, his keyboard works principally reflect his fascination with Chopin. That influence brought about the Twenty-five Preludes, an extensive score composed in 1903 when Cui was 68. There are some clumsy twists and turns in the music, though he always compensates by bold and attractive melodies that stand favourable comparison with Chopin's work of the same title. In Jeffrey Biegel it has certainly found a totally convincing advocate. He gently pushes the music around, finding beauty in the slow Preludes, and sufficient panache in the more dynamic passages to display his technical prowess."

"Biegel played extremely well, as his musicianship was of high quality — not only during jazz-blues sections, but also within the more 'classically' oriented passages. He gave every note a purpose within the musical structure, and it was apparent that he fully understood this structure."

"Piano soloist Jeffrey Biegel related how encountering the critical editions of Gershwin's works led him to an entirely different approach to the composer. Gershwin's effervescent scores had had their originality overlaid by editors from the European Romantic tradition. In addition, anachronisms had crept into the playing tradition, such as playing the Piano Concerto [in F] with a 1930s swing rhythm instead of using 1920s ragtime style. Biegel abandoned his Chopin-style arpeggios and went back to the composer's unvarnished first thoughts. All of this was evident in a "white hot" performance with unbroken intensity and clear focus. The piece can sound at cross-purposes or diffuse, but this was the finest live performance I have yet heard. The highlight was the wonderful nocturne-like slow movement, a gorgeous piece of blues played as chamber music with the dialogue shared among the soloist, the woodwinds, and Cirba's brilliant and sensitive extended trumpet solo."

"Biegel faithfully delivered Rachmaninoff's (Concerto no. 3 in d minor) melodic variations and bold chords, turning thousands of notes from the Steinway into music with the consistency of liquid glass."

"In Schleswig, Grieg's 'Concerto in a minor, Opus 16' with Jeffrey Biegel again guest soloist of the [Schleswig Holstein] symphony concerts, not as a second time, but what might as well have been a third or fourth time, [he] does not try to find more than a beautiful mixture of sound and color, with much pedal and strong virtuosity. The American pianist can easily take in his audience and yet, the corresponding support from [Gerard] Oskamp and the Schleswig Holstein Symphony Orchestra acted in a very fresh manner."

"Impressing in quite a different way is what the pianist Jeffrey Biegel presented with the [Schleswig Holstein] orchestra. He played Grieg's 'Concerto [in a minor]' with a powerful grip full of temperament. Steadily emphasizing the melodic content, with an enormous range of sound, he played with very high Romantic feeling in the first movement. In the second movement, he performed nearly with an unearthly, ethereal spiritual sense. In the third movement, he literally made the Norwegian trolls dance! The orchestra followed him step by step and allowed themselves to soar to the climax of the third movement. As an encore, he served a brilliant rendition of Chopin's 'Polonaise in A-flat Major'. It was real fun!"

 
*Macon Symphony Orchestra stays on top with stunning performance
"As I reviewed the 2003-2004 Macon Symphony Orchestra opening concert in Sept., I remarked that, in my opinion, the symphony this year had achieved the status and performance caliber of a top tier orchestra. It was with much anticipation, therefore, that I awaited the first notes of this weekend's performance. My anticipation was well rewarded, with musical tension, bravado and panache in abundance."

"After intermission, pianist Beigel and the orchestra treated the audience to another unfamiliar work for piano and orchestra: unfamiliar because it is usually performed by solo piano, and is universally known as one of the most difficult works from the entire piano literature - the "Islamey" of Mily Balakirev. Modified by Biegel from an earlier transcription, the piano was certainly still the focus of this work with alternating fireworks and sumptuous soaring melodies reminding the audience of something straight out of the "Tales of the Arabian Nights." Near the end of the work, difficult off-beat entrances were executed with precision by the orchestra, somewhat of a feat of magic considering these players had never seen this work previous to this week. Wonderful fare, and again superbly performed to the delight of the audience, resulting in a standing ovation for this dynamic performer."

 
*Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, in his second appearance in Harrisburg, was again a model of skill and artistry in equal proportion, this time as the soloist in Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto.
"Thundering through at times fiercely difficult material -- huge leaps, darting jabs here then there, hands crossing in percussive rolls, rushes of violent chords -- Biegel forgot neither the larger dimensions of the score nor the music's more delicate, intimate effects."

"He seemed to delight in the sudden, impetuous turns of Prokofiev's mind, taking care to make each one a surprise. Similarly, the variations in the second movement often had a smoky quality, his phrases connected by masterful pedaling."

"Yet Biegel and music director Stuart Malina, working in close accord, allowed the broader structure of the final movement to develop clearly and, on its own, spacious terms. The orchestra, an active, vibrant participant in all this, followed Malina through even the most subtle gradations."

"Following the performance, Biegel gratified the audience with an encore: Chopin's "Heroic" Polonaise in A flat."

 
*ECSO Delivers Powerful, Versatile Performance At The Garde
"(Biegel's) technique and passion in rendering the Saint-Saens piece was a marvel to both eyes and ears, arousing an enthusiastic response from the audience, who demanded an encore."

 
*The soloist duties for the evening were put in the hands of an unexpected star, the American pianist Jeffrey Biegel
"With the 10th and last symphony concert of this season in Rendsburg last Friday the Schleswig-Holstein Symphony Orchestra celebrated in grand style the last concert they would perform with Gerard Oskamp. Gerard Oskamp and the Schleswig-Holstein Symphony Orchestra retired from the leading figure Franz Liszt and started in the direction France, where will be settled the crucial point of the next concert season.

The soloist duties for the evening were put in the hands of an unexpected star, the American pianist Jeffrey Biegel, who presented two highly virtuosic concertos.

Technically superb, Biegel made the Camille Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2 in g minor op. 22 a joy for the audience and himself, performing with the greatest ease ingenious melodic variations and phrases in the middle of remarkable runs. He gave his interpretation in a transparent, pointed manner and demonstrated the music's extremely sharp rhythmic contours and fine structure, where in most cases the listener is given only the surface dazzle.

The thought that whoever plays Saint-Saens like that will not disappoint with Liszt occurred to me during the intermission, and it was proven right.

In Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 E-flat major the brilliance of the virtuoso seemed to the soloist the most unimportant thing of the world. With ease, Biegel brought to life endless details and emotions of the score, driving with furious dramatic impact and creating a tone picture that glittered in many colors and shadings.

 
*Who is afraid of Varèse?
"... Duke Ellington's "New World A-Comin'" brought lightness between the two rigidly symphonic monuments, Varèse's "America" and Dvorak's "Symphony of the New World." The pianist, Jeffrey Biegel, gave us his undefiable solid rhythm. If his first encore surprised us — a cavalry attack on Chopin's "Polonaise héroïque" — we cannot help but to be taken over by the charm of "Rush Hour in Hong Kong," by Abram Chasins, a race of pentatonic shifts. ..."

 
*The explosive cocktail of Varèse strikes the Genevans
"The pianist Jeffrey Biegel's clearness and preciseness was soft music to the ears as he played the card of seduction in the suite for piano and orchestra "New World A-Comin'"

 
*Gershwin's endearing melodies draw hundreds of fans
"Biegel was impressive in his clear-cut, but colorfully-nuanced interpretations of the three preludes for solo piano Gershwin wrote in 1926 ... Biegel's playing of the piano part in "Rhapsody on Blue" was, like Gershwin's own, briskly and expertly delivered, with strong-charged, precise rhythms and catchy, unsentimentalized melodic motifs that seem to be part of American life itself."

 
*Concert highlights symphony changes
"The most remarkable was also the newest, "Concerto America" by Charles Strouse, composed for second guest soloist, pianist Jeffrey Biegel, who contributed his own cadenza ... The concerto required facility with at least three styles besides classical: jazz, popular and musical theater, Biegel shone in every one. But he did not receive the applause he deserved. Imagine being upstaged by music composed for you."

 
*Northern music calls out snow
"... guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel gave them an evening that they will not soon forget ... The clear audience favorite was the Rachmaninoff Concerto [No. 2], a familiar work that Biegel joined as a piano soloist ... Biegel performed the entire piece with a stirring style that showed why the Long Island resident is considered in the front of today's classical pianists."

 
*Sitkovetsky's leadership virtuoso
"... pianist Jeffrey Biegel gave an outstanding reading of one of the great war horses in the literature, Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto ... Biegel gave the impression of birthing each phrase for the first time, so that even the well-known tunes came across as fresh."

 
*Pianist sets right tone in XU recital
"... In a day when many pianists are simply digital machines, Mr. Biegel, who has technique to burn, always keeps his fabulous facility subservient to his artistic goals and a beautiful tone ... Mr Biegel was able to draw a wide variety of tonal colors and a very sweet sound."

 
*"Through the recital, Biegel maintains a rounded, full piano tone, the very essance of the music he champions. This is a rising virtuoso of color and intelligent discretion. "
"Given Mr. Biegel's relative youth (b. 1961), this disc is an anomaly for "historic recordings," though that is precisely what it is. A graduate of the Juilliard School and Adele Marcus, Biegel had prior studied with supreme colorist Morton Estrin. Mr. Biegel likes to pay homage to the great romantic pianists, like Hofmann and Lhevinne; and his recitals from July 8 and July 25, 1997 played directly for the Internet, capture his feeling for the "Golden Age" of pianism. Add to the mix that Steinway donated its 500,000th piano, and you have something of a legendary, musical alchemy."

Biegel sports some long, fleet fingers, as witnessed by the ease with which he glosses through the octaves and glissandi in Liszt, a personal favorite. He keeps a high hand for the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11, imitating much of the phrasing William Kapell managed in his awesome rendition. The Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 will remind many of Levitzky's famous inascription, and that is exalted company indeed. Biegel begins with Beethoven's stormy Pathetique Sonata, where Beethoven's chromatic agony is offset by the diatonism of his will. We can hear passing allegiance to Tristan, since Wagner well knew his Beethoven. For the final Rondo, Biegel adds two cadenzas that do not break the tension of the whole. I found the Brahms introspective Intermezzo and the two Chopin pieces quite stylish, although I found the Scherzo more compelling than the Polonaise, which to my taste came off a bit precious and mannered. The Rachmaninov Prelude in G seems a deliberate copy of Moiseiwitsch, lovely. And then on to Schulz-Evler's Strauss arrangement, the province of both Moiseiwitsch and Lhevinne. Through the recital, Biegel maintains a rounded, full piano tone, the very essance of the music he champions. This is a rising virtuoso of color and intelligent discretion.

 
*On "25 Preludes" by Cesar Cui, "If you enjoy Chopin, this disc will be on your 'must have' list. ...
"... There are some clumsy twists and turns in the music, though he always compensates by bold and attractive melodies that stand favourable comparison with Chopin's work of the same title. In Jeffrey Biegel it has certainly found a totally convincing advocate. He gently pushes the music around, finding beauty in the slow Preludes, and sufficient panache in the more dynamic passages to display his technical prowess. Previously available on Marco Polo, the sound is not in today's Naxos quality status, but is more than acceptable."

 
* In "25 Preludes" by Cesar Cui, "Biegel brings a lush sound and elastic sense of rhythm to his interpretations.
"Architectural shaping of the pieces comes easy to him (Biegel). His unself-conscious and seemingly effortless expression has a broad and appealing range, without resorting to the maudlin. His balancing of textures brings out the many melodic strands and harmonic treasures. The technical demands do not hinder him, do not call attention to themselves or him. This release rewards the listener on many levels."

 
* "Charles Strouse's "Concerto America" is a strange and rather wonderful beast...It presents an extraordinary kaleidoscopic salute to dozens of styles of American music, with a poignant central section rewritten in response to the events of Sept. 11. "
The piano part was played with superb rhythmic incisiveness by Jeffrey Biegel. Keith Lockhart, Biegel, and the (Boston Pops) Esplanade Orchestra assembled it with spirit and expertise.

 
* "Millennium Fantasy is a fine addition to the piano concertante canon."
Biegel's nervy pianism and virtuosic edge gave this work sterling advocacy, with refined full-tilt support by Christie and the orchestra.

 
* "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Millennium Fantasy" and Franck's Symphonic Variations, both with Jeffrey Biegel as fluent and eloquent piano soloist."
Franck's Symphonic Variations was give noble breadth by Biegel and Christie, Biegel's breezy encore for fleet fingers depicted Hong Kong at rush hour and was by his late teacher.

 
* "It's a good vehicle for Biegel ..."
Biegel is well equipped for clarity in the fantasy's percussive outbursts as well as more restrained elements — harp-like glissando and poignant reflections on the melancholy love song.

 
* "Biegel played with pearly brilliance - here is a pianist who knows how to produce tone ..."
It's (Liszt's Piano Concerto No.1) a signature concerto for Biegel, and with good reason: He conveys Liszt as if it were Mozart, with transparently beautiful voicing and an unerring sense of grace.

 
* "Biegel's performance showed the depth of his experienced and professionalism ..."
Biegel's performance showed the depth of his experienced and professionalism. It (Zwilich's "Millennium Fantasy") struck me as worth listening to time and again to catch all the missed nuances.

 
* "Jeffrey Biegel is a truly gifted pianist, worthy of any major orchestra. ..."
"Jeffrey Biegel is a truly gifted pianist, worthy of any major orchestra. Kenosha's Reuther audience was quite privileged to hear such virtuosity."

 
* "(Jeffrey) Biegel's performance was beautifully nuanced in both rubato elements and dynamics ..."
"Biegel's performance was beautifully nuanced in both rubato elements and dynamics, and in general removed from the usual blockbuster approach. He and the orchestra (a ragged opening clarinet glissando notwithstanding) received rousing applause from the near-capacity audience."

 
*"Jeffrey Biegel had brilliance to spare"
"Jeffrey Biegel had brilliance to spare, and a very elegant playing style, which subsumes the fireworks into the overall structure of the work. (Chopin's Concerto no. 2 in F minor) Biegel came back with a virtually weightless account of his giddy encore, Rush Hour in Hong Kong by Abram Chasins."

 
* "... technical brilliance and thoughtful analyses of classical works by George Gershwin"
"Jeffrey Biegel brought a different sort of evening to those gathered in the make-believe tent of the John Drew Theater of Guild Hall. His celebration of the works of George Gershwin was entertaining, funny, educational, and profoundly musical."

 
* "Jeffrey Biegel gives 'explosive' performance"
"Epic" too was Biegel's first class interpretation of [Rachmaninoff's] 'Concerto No. 2'. He made the melodies float over the keyboard and weave around the orchestra in a perfect partnership. The soloist's fluidity and dexterity were marvels to watch, yet he raised them miles above flawless technique with his heartfelt interpretation.
He had a fascinating blend of force and delicacy. Biegel moved with effortles s grace from the extended reveries to the showy runs that could be likened to Astaire-like feats on the ivories. It's a rare performance quality he made it seem so spontaneously effortless. But that's the mark of a rarified artist."

 
*  "A memorable recital by a growing pianist"
"Jeffrey Biegel, returned to play a memorable recital displayed his enormous growth as a thinking man's pianist. Biegel possesses encompassing technique that he places fully at the service of music, and his interpretations demonstrated a thorough understanding of the background of each score. Liszt's 'Petrarch's 104th Sonnet' was unfurled in gleaming tone with spacious, deeply poetic lyricism, and the dazzling Schulz-Evler transcription of Strauss' 'Blue Danube' sparkled with glittering facility that evoked ghostly virtuosos like Josef Lhevinne. Biegel's discussion of seven Gershwin "Preludes" and the 1924 original-manuscript version of 'Rhapsody in Blue' was especially enjoyable for his detective-like identification of the influences of Debussy, Chopin and Prokofiev. But his Gershwin playing was also optimal - unaffected, unsentimentalized, rhythmically freewheeling, and tangy. It was fascinating, too, to hear a few of the bridge passages Gershwin originally composed for Rhapsody that are usually cut."

 
*  "RADIO CITY DIRECTOR AND PIANIST BIEGEL ADD SPARK TO POPS LINEUP"
"Their performance of Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' takes the masterpiece and makes it greater. It was the greatest and most exciting performance of the rhapsody I have heard, right up there in quality with Frank [Sinatra] or Ella [Fitzgerald] singing 'I've Got A Crush On You' and even better than Gershwin's own piano rolls. Will somebody with connections please get Biegel into a recording studio so we can have a copy of this treasure?"

"His formidable technique places him at the top of his peers, but his interpretive depth places him higher. What's most interesting about him is his striking individualism. And he plays with a mature artistry that must unnerve his senior colleagues."

"With fleet, authoratative and appropriately lyrical playing, it was an engaging performance that drew cheers from the large audience."

"Biegel is a major talent, who made the piano sing, even in passages of pounding chords and quick runs. His Prokofiev Third brought back to mind the standard-setting recording with Leon Fleischer and the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell."

"With impeccable technique and strong command of structure, a remarkable [Chopin] 'Sonate Funebre' and Prokofiev 'Third Concerto' exactly reflected the composers intentions."

"His performance of Beethoven's 'Concerto no.5' was magnificent. It was everything one could demand from great pianists."

"Mr. Biegel plays with remarkable assurance and maturity, and a deep musicality is always at the heart of his pyrotechnics."

"The grand style, with its prerequisite wide range of colors and wildly virtuosic effects, now seems second nature to him"

 "Jeffrey Biegel gave the Beethoven ['Concerto no. 3'] an unusually thoughtful and serious reading. [There were] spectacular doses of suave articulation and enough emotional wallop for even more than the three curtain calls he received."

"Jeffrey Biegel is a pianist who clearly knows what he is about. Mozart's 'C minor Sonata, K. 457' emerged with both clarity and coherence, The young pianist's decisive articulation and keen sense of the work's dramatic underpinnings elegantly revealed the sonata's exquisite architecture. And he imbued the major mode Adagio with a profound serenity. In 'Islamey,' the keyboard wizard seemed to have technique to spare and gleefully dispatched its chordal fury with total aplomb."

"...the standing ovation was immediate. He dove into the keys with a fervor demonstrated by the combination of powerful chords and dancing runs [in Beethoven's 'Choral Fantasy' and 'Piano Concerto no. 4']. Biegel steadily strode through the music, sounding neither strained nor challenged. Most importantly, he played with feeling."

"Pianist [Jeffrey] Biegel, who next teamed with [Steven] Larsen and the RSO for the 'Concerto no. 1 in b-flat minor ' [by Tchaikowsky], clearly stands out from other young soloists on the concert circuit. His phenomenal accuracy, strength on the challenging forte passages and velvety touch on the softer sections are hallmarks of a fine virtuoso. After the opening orchestral chords, Biegel began his solo passage with an amazing fluidity. As he played, it was as though he had no wrist or elbow joints. The result was pure magic: a sound as smooth as silk drawn out of the keyboard. Biegel's hands were a blur as he drummed out the fierce octave runs. Biegel encored, following a thunderous standing ovation, with a marvellous shimmering rendition of 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube' earning yet a second 'standing O'."

"The Gershwin 'Rhapsody in Blue' has been played to the point where it has become so familiar that it has bred contempt. Jeffrey Biegel's playing of it along with some newly rediscovered piano cadenzas was a revelation which told us just how imaginative Gershwin could be... He did something almost unheard of at the Pops. He played a marvelous piano transcription of Strauss' 'Blue Danube Waltz' that elicited a standing ovation from the orchestra. That also had never happened before. When I complimented Biegel for playing the most accurate and rapid arpeggios since those played by the celebrated Emil Gilels, he said he hoped I'd include it in the review. I'm delighted to do so."

"At the conclusion of the Mozart 'Concerto in C Major' [K. 467] the near capacity audience erupted.  The audience brought him back to the stage so many times that he decided to provide an encore. The result was shaking heads and dropped jaws in both the audience and the orchestra."

"Biegel's solo [Mendelssohn's 'Concerto no. 1'] deserved spotlighting, not only in the first movement, to which he brought a fine sense of dramatic interaction, and the finale, where he gave an appropriate demonstration of technical skill, but especially in the slow movement, where his phrasing was a delight, particularly in his subtle use of agogic accents."

"Guest artist Jeffrey Biegel gave notice that his credentials as an accomplished artist are accurate.  He displayed a secure technique and a high degree of musicianship. The audience responded with enthusiasm, resulting in a solo encore of a transcription of the 'Blue Danube Waltz'"

"Biegel, returning for the second time in recent years, gave a performance of Franck's 'Symphonic Variations' and Liszt's 'Concerto no. 1' that was nothing less than outstanding." "Biegel brings excellent musical intelligence to his performance, choosing to view the piano as his partner in musical collaboration rather than as an enemy to be conquered. His playing was secure and often appeared to be effortless - the sign of a true artist and an indication of his prodigious technical skills. Biegel's most sensitive playing came in the more sedate Franck work. The audience's enthusiastic response to Biegel's stirring performance resulted in a short solo encore."

American Premiere of the first printed edition of the original manuscript of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' in its entirety: "Far from the usual ham-fisted treatment, his made a closer approach to the swing of '20s jazz than many in recent memory. In general, his playing was light and transparent, more on top of the keys like actual improvisation."

"DASHING PROKOFIEV CONCERTO STEALS SHOW"
"Biegel showed that he is one of the important interpreters of this work [Prokofiev's 'Concerto no. 3'], and the near capacity crowd knew it: shouting broke out at the end, and led to a standing ovation."

"The temperature rose quite high when Jeffrey Biegel began the first measures of Saint-Saens 'Piano Concerto no. 2'. He possesses a pianistic ability far beyond the ordinary, and the sensitive melodies were beautifully executed, coupled with powerful intensity and a wide expressive range."

"Jeffrey Biegel, winner of many honors, awards and competition prizes, joined with the orchestra in an impressive performance of Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'. This was one of the most beautifully realized performances of the rhapsody I have ever heard. Biegel not only played it with admirable technical control, he expressed every phrase and musical idea with utmost sensitivity. The climactic ending had the audience on its feet as the last chord sounded."

". . .From the strength and clarity he demonstrated in the work's opening cascade down the keyboard, it was obvious that the pianist has a formidable technique. There was considerable flourish in his handling of [Grieg's 'Concerto in a minor']throughout, a 19th century style, crowd pleasing virtuosity. . . His understanding of tone yielded rewards too; his playing has considerable color. Biegel acknowledged the vociferous ovation , with an encore - and no trifling one, either He offered nothing less than the once much played 10 minute 'Arabesques On the Beautiful Blue Danube' by Andrei Schulz-Evler."

"There was comfort and something more in the performance of Brahms' 'Second Piano Concerto[in B-flat Major]' that followed the intermission. Pianist Jeffrey Biegel has a warm, singing tone and the ability to maintain it in passages of virtuoso display."

"The soloist in Liszt's 'Piano Concerto no. 1 in E-flat' was Jeffrey Biegel, and from the outset, it was clear that this young man had the answers to practically every problem inherent in this demanding work."

"Guest artist Jeffrey Biegel thrilled Honolulu Symphony subscribers. [Lalo Schifrin's] 'Concerto no. 2' (The Americas), was the vehicle for this gifted pianist as he demonstrated power, technical wizardry and insightful sensitivity, holding the audience's attention throughout."

"In the hands of Jeffrey Biegel, Franz Liszt's 'Concerto no. 1 in E-flat' becomes the perfect example of the Romantic Period's sparkling, virtuosic bravura. Armed with all the technical aids, Mr. Biegel masters with excellence the difficult, needle-sharp octave passages between the delicate movements that are assembled in broad, powerful lines. The [small details] shone in a warm glow under his soft touch. Twenty minutes of the extraordinary bravura style was obviously not enough. He continued with an encore- 'By the Beautiful Blue Danube' The popular 'Viennese Waltz' was performed with purebred artistry. Magnificent !"

"AGILE PIANIST DAZZLES AUDIENCE WITH TALENT"
"[Mr. Biegel] dazzled the audience with his virtuosic technique and elegant articulation. His remarkable interpretation of the well known Tchaikowsky 'Concerto no.1' is obvious testament to the validity of his reputation. Biegel took over the demanding work with a stunning display of octave runs and delicate pianissimos. After the strenuous 40 minute concerto drew a standing ovation, Biegel gave an almost unheard of response. He played a ten-minute encore that required as much skill and keyboard artistry as the main piece a transcription of the 'Beautiful Blue Danube' Even some orchestra musicians couldn't resist commenting to each other during its performances."

"Jeffrey Biegel tossed in an unexpected solo encore, a dazzling account of the 'Blue Danube Waltz'. Who would have suspected there was a Horowitz lurking in the soul of this staid looking Long Islander?"

"Jeffrey Biegel brought unexpected delicacy and introspection to Franz Liszt's 'Piano Concerto no.1 [in E-flat]'. Biegel also offered a rarity, Leroy Anderson's 'Concerto in C'. Biegel easily mastered the pyrotechnical demands of both concertos. He dashed off the runs in the Liszt allegro with astonishing fluidity, gossamer clarity and shapely musicality. Better yet was the searching deeply personal quality he brought to the slow movement."

"Biegel's astonishing facility, bell-like tone, elegant touch and utter tirelessness easily compassed Lalo Schifrin's demanding 'Concerto of the Americas'. Each of the three movements is virtually a concerto in itself, and each essays a different national style - African-American blues, jazz and gospel in the opening 'Blues', Argentine in 'Tango' and Brazilian in 'Carnaval' Biegel made the best of it, especially in his authentic stride style and searching slow blues in the first movement. He tossed off the pyrotechnics with jaw-dropping agility and clarity."

"[The concert] also produced an auditorium of instant fans for Jeffrey Biegel, a pianist whose impressive technique and inspired interpretation of the Grieg ['Concerto in a minor'] will remain one of Traverse Symphony Orchestra's true highlights from this season."

"Playing the adagio [Beethoven's 'Concerto no, 5'] with a limpidity of tone and sense of early 19th-century style Biegel made one want to hear the entire concerto. The clarity and evenness of his ascending trills were technical wonders. Biegel returned to play the diabolically difficult piano part [Rachmaninoff's 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'] with a poet's sensitivity. The performance provided an exhilarating conclusion to the series."

"Biegel gave the jazzy work [Gershwin's 'Concerto in F'] a winning performance."

"Jeffrey Biegel helped the Saskatoon Symphony to a fine start with his elegant and exciting version of Grieg's 'Concerto in a minor'."

"He has a wonderful touch on the keyboard. The pianist's sound is clean and precise, and he covers a great deal of the keyboard with seeming ease and comfort. [Beethoven's 'Concerto no. 2']."

"George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' didn't only demand the brilliant technical abilities of the American pianist Jeffrey Biegel. He and [conductor Peter]  Leonard together with the marvelous Philharmonic Orchestra [of Augsburg] unfolded an amazingly fresh sounding version of this concert hit. He highly earned the roaring applause, which he rewarded with a refined powerful and unbelievable virtuosic version of 'The Blue Danube Waltz'".

"In Gottschalk's 'L'Union,' Jeffrey Biegel showed both brilliant technique and empathizing interpretation. He [also] proved his fantastic virtuosity in Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'."

"His octave passages, polished to a flashy brilliance, are reminiscent of [Van] Cliburn in his best years. [Leroy Anderson's Concerto in C and Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto]."

"Biegel seemed well suited to the work [Beethoven's 'Concerto no. 5']; he has strength, but knows how to temper it. He commanded with a minimum of touch-typist pounding so often found in pianists trying to impress rather than share music. Biegel's handling of the variations on the main theme was done with quicksilver elegance. The audience awarded Biegel a lengthy ovation, prompting a humorous - hopefully, intentionally - encore: an arrangement of Johann Strauss' 'By the Beautiful Blue Danube', by Artur Schulz-Evler."

"Arguably the most majestic piece in the piano repertoire, [Beethoven's 'Concerto no. 5'] was played with distinction by soloist Jeffrey Biegel. With its outbursts of sweeping cadenzas, the young pianist certainly attacked the concerto with decisive drive."

"Biegel is a powerful musician and the piano sang under his hands. He entered into the deep romanticism of the work [Rachmaninoff's 'Piano Concerto no. 3 in d minor'] and gave it back to us without excessive sentimentality. His technique is a marvel, hands leapfrogging about the keyboard with dead-on accuracy."

"Pianist Jeffrey Biegel stole the hearts of his adoring audience, first in Leroy Anderson's virtually-unknown 'Piano Concerto in C', a work he has championed. Biegel put a personal, and wonderfully convincing stamp on his Gershwin ['Rhapsody in Blue'] interpretation that may be hard to beat anywhere! It seems his absolute-best cup of tea, and it brought the night to a super-fine close and the audience to their feet."

"A sparkling rendition of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue', with soloist Jeffrey Biegel, brought the audience to its feet, as the concert ended. Biegel also performed the piano solo for [Leroy] Anderson's 'Concerto [in C]'. His playing is amazingly clear and bright, his dexterity at times breathtaking. As terrific as he was with the concerto, Biegel really outdid himself during the Gershwin piece. His hands flew across the keys, producing the sleek, unique Gershwin sound in dazzling ways."

"American pianist Jeffrey Biegel, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra together in Rachmaninoff's 'Third Piano Concerto' was splendid. With his piano dominating with deep, profound musicianship, Rachmaninoff's sure-fired passion excited Biegel in his display for us that we look forward tremendously to his return for many years in the future."

"The American pianist Jeffrey Biegel, whom we know from his last appearance when he played Rachmaninoff's 'Third Concerto' which we loved very much, returned this time with the unique 'Concerto in C' by Leroy Anderson, composed in 1953. Biegel possesses an extraordinary technique and due to this, he plays everything beautifully. For this concerto, you need a pianist of Biegel's caliber to make it effective. In Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue', which we all know, Biegel gave it a very sensitive, serious and detailed performance. Due to his conception of the work, he delivered a true and openly honest interpretation."

"Pianist Jeffrey Biegel gave a commanding performance of 'Rhapsody in Blue' that captured the rhythmic vitality of New York at the height of the Roaring Twenties and infused that same Jazz Age spirit into his playing. It snapped, crackled and popped with shifting dynamics, dramatic swoops and a sure touch."

"Biegel captured the audience's attention right from the start with his technical brilliance, and went on to win its unrestrained admiration and affection. The intricate Prokofiev 'Concerto [no.3]' proved a fine showcase for the internationally renowned pianist's excellence. He was rewarded with an enthusiastic standing ovation, and then with another, even more resounding show of approval, after an encore."

"You will not get many chances to experience a performance (of Rachmanonff's 'Concerto no.3') like the one Biegel and the [Greensboro] orchestra gave Saturday night."

"Biegel's tremendous range of musical shadings were marvelous to hear and a delight to witness. Immediately following his wonderful performance [of Grieg's 'Concerto in a minor'], Biegel rewarded the appreciative audience at Fordson with a rousing presentation of Strauss' "On the Banks of the Beautiful Blue Danube" Waltz arranged by Schulz-Evler. Both the Grieg and the Strauss demonstrated Biegel's masterful technique, tremendous color and great artistic style."

"Mr. Biegel's runs are phenomenal-pureed sound. Mr. Biegel deserved the standing ovation he got, and one only wishes we could hear him play something from the classical repertoire to show off his exquisite Romantic style. Maybe he'll be back."

"Biegel demonstrated his considerable gift as a pianist, while drawing out the blues and jazz idiom around which the piece [Gershwin's 'Concerto in F'] is based."

"Jeffrey Biegel, a young virtuoso from New York, performed the evening's centerpiece, Rachmaninoff's 'Piano Concerto no. 3'. We were fortunate that Biegel graciously agreed to substitute on very short notice. From the first pulsing bars to the final crashing chords, Biegel was a fiery and subtle interpreter, and Greeley repaid the privilege of hearing him with a standing ovation."

"We've heard Biegel before, and our admiration for his artistry continues undaunted. Recalling Biegel's success with the Leroy Anderson Concerto in an earlier season and now with the Gershwin 'Concerto' as well, we'd like a chance to hear him in a different style, whether a Mozart or Brahms Concerto or something like the Franck 'Symphonic Variations'. Perhaps he should return yet again to share with us another side of his pianism."

"A musician who played with sensitivity and fluidity, Biegel was powerful, dynamic when the music called for it, his chords strong, but his arpeggios flowed as his fingers danced over the keys rhythmically and with expression. He immersed himself in the music even as he sat awaiting his entrances, his body and head moving with the notes of the orchestra which performed the jazzy syncopation, the blues and the melodic lines superbly [in Gershwin's 'Concerto in F']."