Brendan Kinsella, pianist
1
Full Biography
Described as a “sensitive musician with an ear for color” by the Cincinnati Enquirer, pianist Brendan Kinsella has
appeared widely throughout the United States and Asia in venues such as the Central Conservatory of Music in
Beijing, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati. He earned his
Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at the College-Conservatory of Music as a pupil of Frank Weinstock (with
additional coaching from James Tocco and Kenneth Griffiths) and in 2008 received his Doctor of Musical Arts
degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City as a student of Robert Weirich. In masterclasses, he has
performed for artists such as Christopher Elton, Susan Graham, Martin Katz, Ani Kavafian, Frederic Rzewski, AndreMichel Schub, Peter Serkin, David Shifrin, and the Takacs Quartet. Recently, he was a Solo Piano Fellow at the
Music Academy of the West and worked under the guidance of Jerome Lowenthal, professor of piano at the
Juilliard School.
As a concerto soloist, Dr. Kinsella has appeared with in works ranging from Beethoven to Barber with the Kentucky
Symphony, the Jefferson City Symphony, the CCM Chamber and Concert Orchestras, the UMKC Concert Orchestra,
and the UMKC Wind Symphony alongside conductors such as Xian Zhang, J.R. Cassidy, and Robert Olson. As a
collaborative pianist, he has performed with members of the New World Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Kansas City Symphony and Lyric
Opera, and in recital with artists such as Benny Kim, Wilfredo Pasamba, and Daniel Saenz.
As a proponent of the music of our time, he has presented all-contemporary recitals featuring the works of John
Adams, Martin Bresnick, Chen Yi, George Crumb, Jerome Kitzke, Frederic Rzewski as well as newly-commissioned
works by emerging voices. Of a 2007 performance of Rzewski’s De Profundis at Hahn Hall in Montecito, the Santa
Barbara Daily Sound remarked that “Kinsella’s performance was truly astonishing, as he missed nary a beat nor
tripped over any words. The sense of terror, misery, despair, disdain, and righteous anger was palpable, and the
essay is ultimately life-affirming if horrifying…I’m glad to have heard it, especially by such a passionate and gifted
pianist who clearly believed in his mission.” His 2008 performances have included lecture-recitals and guest artist
residencies focused on Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus at colleges and universities throughout
the United States.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1980, Dr. Kinsella began playing the piano at age 11 and made his concerto debut at 15.
Among his 2008-2009 appearances include solo, concerto, and chamber performances in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,
Illinois, Iowa, New York City, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. He presently resides in Kansas City with his wife, Shoko.
Short Biography
Described as a “sensitive musician with an ear for color” by the Cincinnati Enquirer and “an astonishing, passionate
and gifted pianist” by the Santa Barbara Daily Sound, Brendan Kinsella has appeared widely throughout the United
States and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician. He earned his Bachelor (with honors) and Master of Music
degrees at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a pupil of Frank Weinstock (with
additional coaching from James Tocco) and in 2008 received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University
of Missouri-Kansas City as a student of Robert Weirich. In masterclasses, he has performed for artists such as
Christopher Elton, Susan Graham, Martin Katz, Ani Kavafian, Frederic Rzewski, Andre-Michel Schub, Peter Serkin,
David Shifrin, and the Takacs Quartet. Recently, he was a Solo Piano Fellow at the Music Academy of the West and
worked under the guidance of Jerome Lowenthal.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1980, Dr. Kinsella began playing the piano at age 11 and made his concerto debut at 15
with the Kentucky Symphony. Since his debut, he has appeared as a soloist in concerti ranging from Beethoven to
Barber with conductors such as Xian Zhang, J.R. Cassidy, and Gary Hill. Among his 2008-2009 appearances include
solo, concerto, and chamber performances in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New York
City, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. He presently resides in Kansas City with his wife, Shoko.
816.801.0316
Brendan@Brendankinsella.com
Brendan Kinsella, pianist
2
Repertoire
Chamber Music
Bartok:
Beethoven:
Brahms:
Bresnick:
Crumb:
Dvorak:
Messiaen:
Poulenc:
Shostakovich:
Smetena:
Contrasts
Trio in B-flat major, op. 11; Piano Trio in D major, op. 71 #1
Piano Trio in C minor, op. 101; Piano Quartet in C minor, op. 60, Trio in A minor, op. 114
***
Vox Balaenae
Piano Quintet, op. 83
Quatuor pour la fin du temps
Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano
Piano Trio in E minor, op. 67
Piano Trio in G minor, op. 15
Instrumental Works (partial listing; full list available upon request)
Bach:
Violin Sonatas (selected)
Barber:
Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 6
Beethoven:
Violin Sonatas (complete); Cello Sonatas (complete); Variations on “Bei männern”
Brahms:
Violin Sonatas; Viola/Clarinet Sonatas; Cello Sonatas
Chopin: Introduction and Polonaise Brilliante, op. 3; Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 65
Chen Yi:
Ancient Chinese Dances
Debussy:
Sonata for Violin and Piano, Sonata for Cello and Piano; En blanc et noir
Franck:
Sonata for Violin and Piano
Gershwin:
Preludes (for Violin and piano)
Ginastera:
Pampeana #2
Jolivet:
Chant de Linos
Mozart:
Violin Sonatas (selected)
Poulenc:
Sonata for Flute and Piano, op. 164; Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, op. 184; Sonata for Violin and
Piano, op. 119; Sonata for Two Pianos, op.
Prokofiev:
Violin Sonatas; Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 119; Sonata for Two Pianos
Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata, op. 19
Ravel:
Violin Sonata, Tzigane
Schnittke:
Sonata for Violin and Piano #1; Sonata for Violin and Piano #2 (Sonata-Fantasy); Suite in the
Olden Style for Violin and Piano
Schubert:
Sonata in A minor (“Arpeggione”)
Shostakovich:
Sonata for Viola and Piano, op. 147
Strauss:
Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 6; Sonata for Violin and Piano, op. 18
Tansman:
Sonatine for Bassoon and Piano; Suite for Bassoon and Piano
Weber:
Grand Duo Concertant for Clarinet and Piano, op. 48
Artsong (partial listing; full list available upon request)
Barber:
Hermit Songs, selected songs
Beethoven:
An die ferne geliebte, op. 98; Ah Perfido!, op. 65
Berg:
Seven Early Songs
Brahms:
Vier Ernste Gesänge, op. 121; Liebeslieder Waltzes, op. 52
Crumb:
Three Early Songs; Apparition
Debussy:
Ariettes Oubliés; Proses Lyriques
Duparc:
Chansons (complete)
Messiaen:
Poémes pour Mi; Chants du terre et de la ciel
Rachmaninoff: Romansy, op. 21
Ravel:
Chansons Médacasses; Histoires Naturelles; Cinq Mélodies populaires grecques; Scheherazade
Schoenberg:
Pierrot Lunaire, op. 21
816.801.0316
Brendan@Brendankinsella.com
Brendan Kinsella, pianist
Schubert:
Schwantener:
Strauss:
Wolf:
Wintereisse, D. 911; Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795
Two Poems of Agueda Pizzaro
Selected Lieder
Selected Morike, Eichendorff, and Goethe Lieder
Operas Coached
Donizetti
Elliot Carter:
Gilbert/Sullivan:
Handel:
Mozart:
Poulenc:
J. Strauss:
Verdi:
L’elisir d’amore
What Next?
The Mikado; Pirates of Penzance
Guilio Cesare
Le Nozze di Figaro; Don Giovanni; Così fan tutte
Dialogues of the Carmelites
Die Fledermaus
La Traviata
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Concerti
Bach:
Barber:
Beethoven:
Concerto in d minor, BWV 1052
Piano Concerto, op. 38
Concerto in C, op. 15; Concerto in B-flat, op. 19; Concerto in E-flat, op. 73;
Choral Fantasy, op. 80
Brahms:
Concerto in d minor, op. 15; Concerto in B-flat op. 83
Chopin: Concerto in f minor, op. 21; Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise Brilliante, op. 22
Gershwin:
Rhapsody in Blue
Haydn: Concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII:11
Liszt:
Concerto in A major; Totentanz
Messiaen:
Oiseaux exotiques (1956)
Mozart:
Concerto in F major, K. 413; Concerto in G major, K. 453; Concerto in d minor, K. 466; Concerto in
c minor, K. 491
Ravel:
Concerto in G; Concerto in D (for the Left Hand)
Saint-Saëns:
Concerto in g minor, op. 22
Solo
Adams: China Gates
Bach:
Aria Variata, BWV 989; Preludes and Fugues (selected); French Suite in G, BWV 816; English Suite
in d, BWV 811; Partita in B-flat, BWV 825
Beethoven:
Sonata in C major, op. 2 #3; Sonata in E-flat major, op. 7; Sonata in c minor, op. 10 #1
Sonata in c minor, op. 13; Sonata in E major, op. 14 #2; Sonata in c# minor, op. 27 #2
Sonata in C major, op. 53; Sonata in E-flat major, op. 81a; Sonata in A-flat major, op. 110
Bresnick:
For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise; The Dream of the Lost Traveler
Brahms:
Ballades, op. 10; Klavierstücke, op. 76; Klavierstücke, op. 116; Drei Intermezzi, op, 117
Chopin:
Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise Brilliante, op. 22; Ballade in g minor, op. 23; Ballade in Aflat major, op. 37; Etudes (selected); Nocturnes (selected); Waltzes (selected)
Debussy:
Suite Bergamasque; Estampes; Preludes (selected)
Franck:
Prelude, Chorale, et Fugue
Godowsky:
Studies on Chopin’s Etudes, Op. 10 #1 (for the left hand), op. 10 #12 (for the left hand)
Haydn:
Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI:49; Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI:50; Sonata in E-flat major, Hob.
XVI:52
Kitzke:
Sunflower Sutra (1999)
Liszt:
Sonata in b minor; Vallee d’Obermann; Les jeux d’eau a la villa d’Este; Hungarian Rhapsodies #11,
#13, #15; Grandes Etudes de Paganini; Après une Lecture du Dante; Overture to Tannhäuser
(Wagner)
816.801.0316
Brendan@Brendankinsella.com
Brendan Kinsella, pianist
Mozart:
Messiaen:
Prokofiev:
Rzewski:
Scriabin:
Stravinsky:
Carl Vine:
816.801.0316
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Sonata in A major, K. 330; Sonata in C major, K. 331; Sonata in F major, K. 332; Sonata in B-flat
major, K. 333; Sonata in C major, K. 545
Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus
Sonata in a minor, op. 28; Sonata in B-flat major, op. 84
De Profundis (1994); North American Ballads (1978)
Sonata in g# minor (Sonata-Fantasy), op. 19
Trois Mouvments de Pétrouchka
Sonata #1 (1990)
Brendan@Brendankinsella.com