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 Mr. Robbins is a faculty member in the College for the following department(s) and division(s):
| Telephone | (212) 749-2802 x7804 | | E-mail | grobbinspiano@aol.com |
| | | Pianist Gerald Robbins has distinguished himself internationally as a soloist, having performed throughout the world in virtually every major music center, including New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bonn, Munich, Athens, Frankfurt, Belgrade, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and Tokyo. He has appeared with many major orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and its affiliates, London Mozart Players, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, and the New York Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra under such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Sir Neville Marriner, Edouard van Remoortel, Harry Blech, Okko Kamu, Jorge Mester, Lawrence Foster, Kenneth Klein, and Louis Frémaux.
A champion of neglected romantic repertoire, Gerald Robbins has received critical praise for his solo recordings for the London-Decca, Orion, and Genesis labels. His world premiere recordings of concerti by Litolff and Reinecke, performed in collaboration with the Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra and conducted by Edouard van Remoortel, were successfully rereleased on compact disc for Genesis Records. The critical acclaim for these recordings include statements such as “Gerald Robbins, who plays the poet of the piano so effectively in the Reinecke concertos, here takes on the demonic persona that Litolff requires, and burns up the keyboard with velocity and brachial power..when permitted to sing, he proves to have a keyboard voice of true eloquence”; “Gerald Robbins’s technical prowess is phenomenal”; “Robbins does this with a strength and delicacy that enhances both the orchestra and piano lines”; and “Robbins turns in a first-class, bravura performance.”
His other commercial CD recordings include a highly praised solo performance of Dvořák’s Poetic Tone Pictures and Goetz’s Complete Chamber Music for Piano and Strings, all for the Genesis label. Mr. Robbins recorded the Leonard Bernstein and John Corigliano Sonatas for Violin and Piano with violinist Glenn Dicterow for Cala Records and the Mendelssohn complete works for cello and piano with cellist James Kreger for the Koch Discover International label. His newest CD release for 4-Tay records includes a collaboration with conductor Kenneth Klein and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra of the Schumann Piano Concerto, and a rerelease on CD for Genesis of piano works by Sјögren and Kjerulf, as well as a newly released CD of the Strauss and Turina Piano Quartets performed by the Lyric Piano Quartet on the Black Box label.
In addition to his solo activities, Robbins has distinguished himself as a chamber musician in collaboration with many noted musicians such as Nathan Milstein, Aaron Rosand, Pinchas Zukerman, Kyung-Wha Chung, Bronislav Gimpel, Zara Nelsova, Joseph Schuster, Ruggiero Ricci, and Glenn Dicterow. A cofounder with Glenn Dicterow of the Lyric Piano Quartet, Mr. Robbins records and tours with this ensemble. He has also appeared as a frequent guest artist with solo members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as part of its subscription concert series at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, as well as performing with them at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and Merkin Hall in New York City.
Mr. Robbins is also an accomplished conductor. He cofounded with Kenneth Klein the Westside Symphony Orchestra of Los Angeles, presently called the Beverly Hills Symphony, and is a cofounder of the London Concertante, an ensemble that specializes in 18th- and early 19th-century concerto repertoire.
Mr. Robbins has received many important prizes throughout his career, including a major prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and a diploma from the Tchaikovsky International Competition. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California, where he assisted in the string master classes of Jascha Heifetz, William Primrose, and Gregor Piatigorsky.
A native of California, Mr. Robbins lived in London for several years and is now residing in New York City, where he is an artist in residence with the Lyric Piano Quartet at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY. He has developed a highly successful chamber music concert series at Queens College that continues to serve the community. He is also affiliated with the Hoff-Barthelson School of Music in Westchester, and is a member of the chamber music faculty of Manhattan School of Music in New York City.
Manhattan School of Music faculty since 1996.
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