Don Shirley

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Donald Shirley

Background information
Birth name Donald Walbridge Shirley
Born January 29, 1927 (1927-01-29) (age 81)
Flag of Jamaica Kingston
Genre(s) Classical, Jazz, Gospel, Pop
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Piano
Organ
Years active 1945 - Present
Label(s) Cadence Records, Columbia Records, Atlantic Records
Website www.donshirley.com

Contents

[edit] Biography

Don Shirley was born Donald Walbridge Shirley, 29 January 1927, Kingston, Jamaica. His first teacher was his mother. He began playing piano at age of 2-1/2 and made his first public performance at the age of 3. At the age of nine he was invited to study theory with Mittolovski at the Leningrad Conservatory of Music, and he later studied with famous organist "Conrad Bernier" and studied advanced composition with both Bernier and Dr.Thaddeus Jones at Catholic University of America in Washington D. C.

He made his concert debut at the age of 18 with the Boston Pops June 25, l945, with "Dean Dixon" as guest conductor playing the Tchaikovsky B-flat minor concerto. In l946 his first major composition was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

In l949 he received an invitation from the Haitian government to play at the Exposition International du Bi-Centenaire De Port-au-Prince followed by a request from Archbishop Le Goise and President Estime for a repeat performance the following week.

At Arthur Fiedler's invitation he appeared with the Boston Pops in Chicago in June 1954. He performed the Tchaikovsky in the fall of 1968 with the Detroit Symphony. He has appeared as soloist with the Detroit Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the NBC Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra Washington to name only a few. Including his appearances with the trio, he averaged some 95 concerts a year.

He has written symphonies performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, and has composed four organ symphonies, numerous pieces for piano, two string quartets, and a piano concerto. He played as soloist with the orchestra at Milan's La Scala opera house in a program dedicated to Gershwin's music. Only two other pianists have performed there as soloists — Rubinstein and Richter.

He holds a Doctorate of Music, Doctorate of Psychology (University of Chicago, Phi Beta Kappa), and Doctorate in Liturgical Arts. He speaks eight languages fluently, and is considered an expert painter as well.

He abandoned the piano as a career while quite young, and it was while in Chicago as a psychologist that Don "tripped" back into a musical career. He was given a grant to study the relationship, if any, between music and juvenile crime wave which had suddenly broken out in the early l950's. Working in a small club there, he used his knowledge and skill to perform experiments in sound, whereby he proved that certain tonal combinations affected the audience's reactions. No one in the audience knew of his experiment, or that students had been planted among them to gauge their reactions. But Don Shirley the pianist became a sensation.

It is impossible to categorize Don Shirley's music. It is possible to say that as an arranger-composer he treats each piece of music as a new composition, not just an arrangement. Don plays Standards in a non-standard way. He is a virtuoso, playing everything from show tunes, to ballads, to his personal arrangements of Negro spirituals, to jazz, and always with the overtone of a classically-trained musician who has utmost respect for the music he is playing.

Appearances in New York followed, notably at *"Basin Street East", where Duke Ellington first heard him. Here started their warm friendship which was highlighted by Don's performance in l955 of the premiere of Duke's Piano Concerto at Carnegie Hall with the NBC Symphony of the Air. An appearance on the Arthur Godfrey Show launched his career nationwide.

He has composed 3 symphonies, two piano concerti, a cello concerto, three string quartets, a one-act opera, works for organ, piano and violin, a symphonic tone poem based on Finnegan's Wake and a set of "Variations" on the legend of Orpheus in the Underworld.

Today he is alive and well and performing in New York. He presently has 14 CDs. During the 1950s and 60s he cut some 16 albums for Cadence Records. A nearly complete Discography is available on this site. If you know of any other recordings please e-mail us so we can add them to the list. There are no classical recordings.

[edit] Quotes

Igor Stravinsky has said of him, "His virtuosity is worthy of Gods."

Sarah Vaughan "The most glorious sense of shading, phrasing and balance I've ever heard."

Artie Shaw says "Don Shirley brings dignity where it is needed."

Bentley Stegner Chicago Sun-Times: "He can play big round notes that fall as softly as velvet, or make bright, little ones leap up like the tinkle of ice in a glass."

Archie Bleyer "I say he is a uniquely talented creative artist - perhaps a genius - who brings an extraordinary musical experience to anyone who listens to him with an open mind and an open heart."

The Christian Science Monitor says "Don is destined to revolutionize the popular forms of music."

[edit] Discography

For a complete listing of Don Shirley albums and liner notes, click here Don Shirley Discography

[edit] External links

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