Michael Kieran Harvey
Michael Kieran Harvey is one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary piano music of his generation. A champion of Australian music and himself a composer, he regularly commissions new Australian music and has performed with Australia's leading contemporary music ensembles and orchestras.
Michael Kieran Harvey was born in Sydney and studied piano with Alan Jenkins, Gordon Watson, and at the Liszt Academy, Budapest, under Sándor Falvai. His career has been notable for its diversity and wide repertoire. He has especially promoted the works of Australian and contemporary composers and recorded well over 30 solo CDs on various labels.
Released in 2009, his CD "Elektra" (Move MD 3329) was described by Australian critic Clive O'Connell as the product of an "indefatigable master-pianist...pieces commissioned especially for his volcanic talent". Harvey's homage to Zappa "48 Fugues For Frank" was premiered at Mona Foma 2010 and won an AMC state award for best composition in 2011. It is available on CD (MD 3339).
Harvey's awards include the Grand Prix in the Ivo Pogorelich Competition, USA (1993), the Debussy Medal, Paris (1986), the Australian government's Centenary Medal (2002) and the 2009 APRA award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music. The Michael Kieran Harvey Scholarship was established in 2006 to encourage future directions in Australian keyboard art music. He is Adjunct Professor at the Tasmanian Conservatorium.
Artist's website: www.mkharvey.com
Press quotes
“Michael Kieran Harvey plays superbly and with feeling”
— Elaine Siversen, 2MBS Fine Music Magazine
“Few Australian pianists can touch Michael Kieran Harvey, one of the most exciting exponents of contemporary music in the country”
— Clive O'Connell, The Age
“...Kieran-Harvey's pianisim is superb. He is truly one of the most, if not the most, interesting pianists in the country...”
— Patrick Holland, 4MBS Program Guide
“One of Zappa’s greatest passions was classical music. In high school, he studied classical composition, while simultaneously playing drums in a rhythm and blues band. Later in his career, he became a fan of the Synclavier (an early digital synthesizer) and worked with composers, including Pierre Boulez. His synclavier projects includedFrancesco Zappa and Civilization Phaze III. Sadly, this was his final opus, preceding his untimely death in 1993.
48 Fugues For Frank is an unpredictable, exhilarating tribute to one of rock’s greatest instrumental pioneers. Ten (not 48…perhaps a nod to Zappa humor) compositions reflect intensity and idiosyncratic progressions that link both composers. “Fugue #1 (Greggery Peccary, Pentagon Afternoon)” is bold and dramatic with sharp arpeggios and spirited rhythm patterns. Influenced by “The Girl In The Magnesium Dress”, the second piece is very percussive as Harvey attacks the piano with assured force. He introduces various classical legends into these songs. For “Jazz From Hell”, the pianist invokes Debussy and Bartok to interpret Zappa’s uncanny improvisational guitar chords (Note: The liner notes are extremely detailed and provide technical insight into the album). There is a jazzy quality to “Fugue #4 (Tink Runs Amok) which utilizes a 12/8 time signature, but maintains a stark resonance.
Each track has its own identity and flair. Fugue #5 (exploring Zappa’s underappreciated “Civilization Phaze III”) has some quasi-romantic finesse, but still erupts with fury. He captures rapid intensity on “G-Spot Tornado” with unrelenting tempo. Taking on another gem from Jazz In Hell (“St. Etienne/Guitar Solo”) Harvey draws on classical roots to invoke melodic terse patterns. Returning to percussive eminence, the beginning notation on “Fugue #8 (Ruth is Sleeping”) sustains an intricate contrapuntal exploration. The final composition (“Baby Snakes”) exhibits moments of lyrical harmonic fluency. As with many of the cuts, there is a fiery evolution.
Like Zappa, pianist Michael Kieran Harvey is fearless and inventive. 48 Fugues For Frank is a unique tribute.” ★★★★
— Robbie Gerson, Audiophile Audition
Michael Kieran Harvey is featured on the following titles
Astra 60
Performer
This CD captures a concert of Australian piano music given in celebration of Astra's support of Australian music and artists. For 60 years the Astra Chamber Music Society has presented new Australian music and Australian performers within a context of international new music developments, always informed by cultural perspectives.
48 Fugues for Frank
Performer: Piano, Composer
A musical homage to the life and work of Frank Zappa, composed and performed by Michael Kieran Harvey, and complemented by Lingua Franka - concrete poetry by Arjun von Caemmerer.
Elektra
Performer: Piano, Composer
Australian piano music by Gifford, Gould, Ford, Yu and Michael Kieran Harvey. Elektra is an experiment in extending acoustic piano sound via computer, and was a collaboration with sound engineer Michael Hewes, who surfed the piano resonances in real time.
Dimensions of Night
Performer: Piano
Michael Kieran Harvey performs Larry Sitsky's epic piano work. Dimensions of Night draws on ancient legend, myth and spiritual history. The epic employs a series of chords to underpin the sequence of harmonies throughout the whole cycle.
The school of natural philosophy
Performer, Arranger
Michael Kieran Harvey plays new music for keyboard. Featuring the works of Graham Hair, Douglas Knehans, Martin Friedel, Richard Meale and Hilda Paredes.
Crystal Vision
Performer: Piano
This instalment of the Michael Kieran Harvey Collection features the piano music of Kanako Okamoto. The album features two pieces written for Harvey, Petite Suite and Suite in addition to the title track, Crystal Vision, which served as Harvey's introduction to Okamoto's work.
Broadway Boogie
Performer: Piano, Composer
Broadway Boogie is a collection of new music for piano featuring works by Nigel Westlake, Andrew Ford, Andrew Byrne, Mark Pollard and Michael Kieran Harvey. It won the best classical CD of 2008 in Melbourne's Herald-Sun.
In the Time of Sakura - the Piano Music of Mike Nock
Performer: Piano
Played by Michael Kieran Harvey. The pieces themselves are quite eclectic, a result of a wide range of influences, including arrangements/adaptations of established pieces as well as music specifically written for this collection.
The way of the seeker
Performer: Piano
Written by Larry Sitsky in 2004, The way of the seeker is a highly virtuosic piano work played by Michael Kieran Harvey. It is is based on thematic material derived from fragments of oriental chant.
Preludes and Sonata of Messiaen and Shostakovich
Performer: Piano
Michael Kieran Harvey, piano. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) were two of the greatest composers of the twentieth century. Both were remarkable in that they discovered their own unique and distinctive creative voice when they were in their teens.
Catalogue d'oiseaux
Performer: Piano
Virtuoso pianist Michael Kieran Harvey's dazzling pianistic pyrotechnics are displayed to the full in this amazing live performance recorded in Hobart in April 2005. Each of the 13 pieces in the Catalogue d'oiseaux (Catalogue of birds) explores the calls and environment of a single bird species.
Rabid Bay
Performer: Piano, Composer
Michael Kieran Harvey is one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary piano music of his generation. This recording presents some of Australia's cutting edge piano music - bold and experimental, but also increasingly lyrical, was nominated for a 2005 ARIA award.
Tensile Flame
Performer: Piano
Michael Kieran Harvey, piano. The first disc traces the influence of the Liszt B minor Sonata on three early 20th Century composers: Rachmaninov, Ravel and Skryabin. The second features contemporary music by Australian composer Carl Vine.
Michael Kieran Harvey also appears on
Butterfly Modernism
Performer
This is Eve Duncan’s third CD and it heralds new approaches in her music.
Music of Don Kay
Performer: Piano
Works for piano, flute, and cello. Of the six works, four have been composed for the performers on this CD, including the three piano sonatas, which receive their premiere performances.
Curiosities
Performer: Piano
A collection of chamber music by Australian composer Eve Duncan. This new CD features recordings of her work performed by artists from Australia and overseas including the Australian National Academy of Music String Ensemble and Michael Kieran Harvey.
David Joseph Selected Works, Volume 2
Performer
The second volume in this series features performances from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, The Academy of Melbourne, and pianist, Michael Kieran Harvey
A Handful of Rain
Performer: Piano
Inspired by the Gamelan and Japanese Shinto music, the recent ambient work of Mark Clement Pollard is unique in its pursuit of beauty and simplicity. A Handful of Rain is the first comprehensive collection of this acclaimed Australian composer's popular style.
Exposé
Performer: Piano
This album spans nearly a quarter of a century of composition in the field of chamber music by Peter Tahourdin. The pieces reflect Peter's compositional metamorphosis and encompass a myriad of influences and themes, from Indian ragas to the Carmina Burana.
