Augustus Arnone is a versatile pianist dedocated to the performance of contemporary music. In April of 2005, Mr. Arnone gave his NY Debut Recital at Merkin Concert Hall with a program that included the NY premieres of Roberto Sierra�s Piezas Imaginarias and three Etudes by David Rakowski, as well as the Elliot Carter Piano Sonata and Debussy�s complete first book of Etudes. This was followed by an appearance with the Argento Chamber Ensemble in a program entitled �French Connections,� celebrating the dynamic music that has resulted from cultural exchange between France and America. The concert, which included Mr. Arnone�s premiering a major new solo piano work by Michael Klingbeil, was highly praised by the NY Times. The 2006/07 concert season featured the ambitious 3 concert solo recital series �Brahms in the Contemporary Landscape.� These concerts brought together many of Brahms�s important solo piano works with works from recent decades by Milton Babbitt, Donald Martino, Frederic Rzewski, David Rakowski, Michael Klingbeil, and the premieres of new works by Guggenheim Award recipient Yotam Haber. In the Spring of 2008 Mr. Arnone will perform the complete solo piano music of Milton Babbitt in two concerts at Merkin Concert Hall in Manhattan. Mr. Arnone has also performed with the contemporary ensembles Ensemble X and the Syracuse Society for New Music, and has worked with leading composers including Milton Babbitt, Roberto Sierra, and David Rakowski.
Mr. Arnone completed his doctoral studies at Cornell University where he studied historical performance practice with Malcolm Bilson. During that time, he presented recitals using period instruments spanning the entire history of the piano, from eighteenth-century five-octave pianos to mid-nineteenth-century precursors to the modern piano. In addition, Mr. Arnone was active as a musicologist, focusing research on the music of Brahms and the performing culture of the mid to late nineteenth century. This led to the publication of articles as well as lecture-presentations at a number of universities, and, in 2003, at the national meeting of the American Musicological Society.
Mr. Arnone holds degrees from the Boston Conservatory, the University of Michigan, and a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Cornell University. Principal teachers include Malcolm Bilson, Marilyn Nonken, Logan Skelton, Jonathan Bass, Penelope Crawford, and William Heiles.