Album Notes

Paul Wyse, Pianist

Equally captivating in his interpretations of Debussy, Beethoven, Bach or Ives, Paul Wyse thrills audiences with his stunning virtuosity, artistic vision, and poetic style. First Prize Winner at the 2001 Simone Belsky International Piano competition, his performances have garnered remarkable praise from the Miami Herald hailing him as “…a musician of uncommon perception, possessing lots of facility and fire.” Phillipe Michaud of LE QUARTIER LIBRE said of Wyse after a complete performance of the Chopin Etudes “…Wyse demonstrated a sensitivity that transcends gallantry…[Wyse] revealed not only his tremendous technical virtuosity but also his profound musicianship.”

Mr. Wyse’s concert appearances have spanned the continental United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Highlights include premiere performances for the Royal Family of Monaco, concertos with the New World Symphony, the Gettysburg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Northern New York, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Chamber Orchestra. He has made radio appearances on WGBH Boston, the Australian Broadcasting Company, the New Zealand Broadcasting Company, and recently appeared on New York Public Television performing Sonatas for Violin/Cello and Piano of L.V. Beethoven. He has collaborated in performance with such greats as Michael Tilson Thomas, Vladimir Feltsman, Carter Brey, José-Luiz Garcia, and Paula Robison, and will release his debut recording for ESI records of Debussy’s Preludes Book 2 in the summer of 2005.
A native of Portland Maine, he made his orchestral debut with the Bangor Symphony at age 14, and had since gone on to capture honors, including prizes in the Belsky, Iowa and Knezkova-Hussy International Piano Competitions. Mr. Wyse’s teachers and include Leon Fleisher, Marc Durand and Veronica Jochum. He is a graduate of the Peabody Institute, and is currently on the faculty of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.

THE BOSTON GLOBE
“A Knockout”
- Richard Dyer

THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Well prepared lively performances.”
-Allan Kozinn,

THE BALTIMORE SUN
“Wyse produces admirable power and color”
- Tim Smith

THE SUN SENTINAL
"Wyse not only held his own technically, but managed to get a little more subtlety out of the music than Feltsman did…."
- Tim Smith Read the entire review

THE MIAMI HERALD
“A musician of uncommon perception possessing lots of facility and fire”….
“Paul Wyse was a brilliantly assertive soloist.”
-James Roos

THE BENNINGTON BANNER
“We will never have a better example [of Ravel and Lizst] than the performances given us by Paul Wyse.”
-Joseph Schaaf

LE QUARTIER LIBRE
“…a sensitivity that transcends gallantry…[Wyse] revealed not only his tremendous technical virtuosity but also his profound musicianship.”
-Phillipe Michaud

THE DAILY RECORD
“A most lyrical reading… springing from the heart as well as the intellect.”
-Paul Somers