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
Michael Kieran Harvey is featured on the following titles
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, 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
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.
Crystal Vision
Performer: Piano
This instalment of the Michael Kieran Harvey Collection features the piano music of Kanako Okamoto.
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
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
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
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 (Catalogue of birds)
Performer: Piano
Each of the 13 pieces in the Catalogue d'oiseaux explores the calls and environment of a single bird species. 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.
Rabid Bay
Performer, 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 the 2005 ARIA awards.
Tensile Flame
Performer
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
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
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
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
The works featured on this album span nearly a quarter of a century of composition in the field of chamber music by Peter Tahourdin.
