By Staff
special to The Star
Oct. 26, 2003
With more than 30 years of performing together, The Fischer Duo has been widely praised by music critics for its choice of repertoire.
The group comes to Meridian as part of the St. Paul's Chamber Music Series and will perform Thursday at 12:05 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Thoroughly versed in the classical repertoire of Brahms, Beethoven and Schumann, The Fischer Duo has an equally impressive reputation for rediscovering neglected works of the past Busoni, Boulanger, Foote and Liszt. They have commissioned many new scores by contemporary composers such as George Rochberg, David Stock, Robert Sirota, Augusta Read Thomas, Richard Lavenda, Pierre Jalbert, Anthony Brandt, Shih-Hui Chen and Richard Wilson.
The Fischer Duo is also known for enlightened residency work. In 1996, the United States Information Agency selected The Fische Duo as Artistic Ambassadors, and they toured South America. The next year, they toured South Africa, receiving the highest ratings for musical maturity and open access to audiences.
The duo has performed on public television and National Public Radio. Their compact disc debut, "Imagines: Music of French Masters," was given Fanfare magazine's highest recommendation.
After completing instrumental study with Richard Kapuscinski, Claus Adam, and Bernard Greenhouse, Fischer first graced the international concert stage as cellist with the Concord String Quartet, a group that won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, an Emmy and several Grammy nominations, and recorded more than 40 works on RCA Red Seal, Vox, Nonesuch, Turnabout and CRI.
A devoted teacher and mentor to younger players, Fischer has taught at Dartmouth College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and is currently is professor of violoncello at the Shepherd School of Music. Since 1985, he has taught at the Tanglewood Music Center, where is now the coordinator of Strings and Chamber Music.
Kierman is a leading advocate of the piano as a collaborative instrument. A graduate of Oberlin College, the Dalcroze School and the New England Conservatory, she studied with master pianists Miles Mauney, Victor Rosenbaum, William Masselos and Menahem Pressler.
Kierman is equally adroit as a collaborator with voice or instrument and is in great demand as a recital partner.
She has performed for Da Camera of Houston, Chamber Music Ann Arbor, Mohawk Trail Concerts, Skaneateles and the Marrowstone Festival among others.
For the last 10 summers she has shared her chamber music expertise with students at the Greenwood Music Camp. Formerly on the faculties of Dartmouth College and the Oberlin Conservatory, Kierman currently serves as artist teacher at the Shepherd School of Music.