CARNEGIE HALL PREVIEW RECITAL: SCOTT WATKINS, piano

PROGRAM

HE JIAN-JUN Piano Sonata
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor, Op. 39
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54


BIOGRAPHY

SCOTT WATKINS, piano
Since his first concert tour of South America in 1986, which included over forty engagements in eight weeks, Scott Watkins has appeared as recitalist and soloist on three continents, to enthusiastic applause and high critical acclaim.

In June of 1999, Mr. Watkins made a highly successful New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall that elicited a standing ovation from the often-blase Manhattan audience. Watkins' debut solo disc for the Saragossa Digital label, which features works from his New York recital, was released in November 1999 to high praise. Reviewing this disc, Folio Weekly called Watkins "a polished player in his prime."

A native of Ohio, Watkins studied at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, The University of South Carolina, and The Florida State University, numbering among his teachers Bela Siki, Raymond Dudley, Marilyn Neeley and Edward Kilenyi. He has also worked with Eugene Istomin and Alexis Weissenberg. His U.S. debut in Chicago in 1985, an all-Bach recital on the Myra Hess Series, and broadcast live nationwide, was followed by a steady flow of performances in North and South America, Europe and the Caribbean; and festival appearances at the Glenn Could Festival in Toronto, the William Kapell Festival in Maryland, Brevard Music Center, Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, and the Garth Newel Music Festival in Virginia. Other notable engagements include recitals at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, the Brahms Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and Santa Maria di Spaltena in Gaiole, Italy.

Watkins' concerto engagements have included performances with The Cincinnati Philharmonia, The Maracaibo (Venezuela) Philharmonic, The Montevideo (Uruguay) Philharmonic, The Sherman (Texas) Symphony Orchestra, The Brevard (Florida) Symphony Orchestra, The Garth Newel Festival Orchestra, The Florida State University Symphony Orchestra, The Toronto Symphony, The Orlando Philharmonic, and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, under the batons of such conductors as Philip Spurgeon, Christopher Confessore, Christopher Wilkins, Fabio Mechetti, Federico Garcia Vigil, Andrew Davis, Daniel Dominick, David Lloyd-Jones, Michael Krajewski, and Lawrence Dutt. He has given many performances of new music, among them the world premieres of From These Shores, a fantasy for piano by Elie Siegmeister, in Caracas in 1986, and Song and Dance by Ned Rorem, in Santiago in 1987.

Scott Watkins is the recipient of numerous awards, including the John Philip Sousa Award for Outstanding American Musicians, Rotary Club of Florida's Annual Artistic Merit Award, and France's Jeunesse Musicales. In 1985, he became the youngest winner ever of The United States' Department of State's Artistic Ambassador Award.

His performances have been broadcast frequently in the U.S. and Canada on National Public Radio and Television, and in South America and Europe on The Voice of America. Recently, his performance with violinist Hillary Hahn was broadcast on NPR's "Performance Today." Watkins' recordings include two solo discs (one which features works from his New York debut, including works by Beethoven and Schumann, and another, Christmas Cards, which features music for the Holiday Season with works by Bach, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Handel, Grainger, and others), and a disc of late romantic lieder with baritone, Steven White.

An active chamber musician, Watkins has performed with the LaSalle Quartet, and is a founding member of the Florida Arts Trio, with whom he is frequently heard. Much in demand as an accompanist, he has appeared with soprano Elizabeth Futral and baritone Steven White for their recital of Wolff's Italian Song Book in Chicago, and also in performances with violinists Eugene Fodor and Hillary Hahn.

Watkins maintains an active performing and teaching schedule and is a champion of rarely heard works in his recitals, including Tchaikovsky's Grand Sonata in G major, and Georges Enesco's Third Piano Sonata. He is currently Assistant Professor of Piano at Jacksonville University.