"Lisztian thunder with deft fluidity"
New York Times
"a majestic, reverential performance"
Clavier Magazine
"atmospheric and elegant"
Time Out New York
"a sizzling performance"
San Francisco
Examiner
"a riveting and sensitive player"
Indianapolis
Star
"visceral yet loving"
Anchorage
Daily News
"A muscular involving performance"
Omaha World
Herald
"seething with pathos"
Lincoln
Journal
Star
"Ferociously virtuosic"
San
Francisco
Chronicle
"An impressive feat"
Seattle Times
Praised by the New York Times for his “Lisztian thunder and deft fluidity,” and the San Francisco Chronicle as “ferociously virtuosic,” pianist Paul Barnes has electrified audiences with his intensely expressive playing and cutting-edge programming. He has been featured four times on APM’s Performance Today and on the cover of Clavier Magazine. He has recently performed in England, China, Korea, Austria, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Hungary and in all major cities throughout the US.
Deeply inspired by the aesthetic challenge of minimalism, Barnes gave the world premier performance of Philip Glass’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (After Lewis and Clark) with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra under Victor Yampolsky. The Omaha World Herald praised Barnes playing for his “driving intensity and exhilaration.” Nebraska Educational Telecomunnications' production "The Lewis and Clark Concerto" a documentary/performance of the concerto featuring Barnes won an Emmy and Best Performance Production award. At a performance of the concerto in Boston, the Boston Globe praised Barnes for his "strong and sympathetic performance" while the Boston Herald remarked that "Barnes sailed through the concerto with authority." Additional performances included collaborations with conduuctor Marin Alsop at the prestigious Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and also the Northwest Chamber Orchestra where the Seattle Times called Barnes' performance "an impressive feat." The world-premier recording with the NWCO was released by Orange Mountain Music in September of 2006. Gramophone Magazine remarked that this recording is "certainly one of the most enjoyable recent releases of Glass's music...Paul Barnes is a shining soloist."
Orange Mountain Music also released Barnes' recording of his transcriptions from the operas of Philip Glass, including both the Trilogy Sonata and the Orphée Suite for Piano. Gramophone Magazine observed that “Barnes offers a surprisingly expressive reading…. Atmosphere and rhythmic vitality are important, and these qualities Barnes has in abundance.” The American Record Guide's Rob Haskins said "Barnes is an expressive pianist with a lovely tone and a flair for the dramatic." New York critic Joseph Dalton described Barnes' playing of the Glass transcriptions as "atmospheric and elegant," while San Francisco critic Michael McDonagh hailed Barnes' performance as "remarkably effective, highly expressive.” The Trilogy Sonata and the Orphée Suite for Piano are published by Chester Music of London and are available at musicroom.com.
Barnes also serves as head chanter at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Lincoln where his fascination with Byzantine chant led to a commissioned piano concerto written by Victoria Bond based on a Greek chant. The work entitled “Ancient Keys” was premiered by Barnes with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Kirk Trevor. The world-premier recording of this concerto as well as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was just released on the Albany Records label with Barnes as soloist with the Slovak Radio Orchestra, Kirk Trevor conducting.
With performances throughout Europe, the Near East, the Far East, and the U.S., Barnes' unique lecture/recitals have received international acclaim. Liszt and the Cross: Music as Sacrament in the B Minor Sonata explores the fascinating relationship between music, theology, and the Orthodox icon. Barnes' live recording of this lecture recital was recently released on the Liszt Digital label. Paul Schoemaker of the British Society Newsletter reviewed the recording and wrote that Barnes was “a fine pianist and gives us a performance of resounding conviction.” Janice Weber of Clavier Magazine wrote "It is a majestic, reverential performance that elevates listeners to the sacred experience Barnes so eloquently desribes in the lecture."
Recently elected to the national board of the American Liszt Society, Barnes will host the 2010 ALS festival again at UNL celebrating the bicentenial of the births of Chopin and Schumann from April 8-10, 2010.
Barnes is Professor and Co-chair of Piano at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music. He teaches during the summer at the Bösendorfer International Piano Academy in Vienna and also coaches the students of Menahem Pressler, Barnes' own teacher, at Indiana University where Barnes received his doctorate in Piano Performance. In great demand as a pedagogue and clinician, Barnes has served as convention artist at several state MTNA conventions and was recently named ‘Teacher of the Year” by the Nebraska Music Teachers Association. Barnes performed and taught in China and at Seoul National University during his sabbatical leave in the spring of 2007. Barnes gave the world premier performance of his solo transcription of Glass's Piano Concerto No.2 at Symphony Space in New York City in April of 2007.
Recent performances include Philip Glass Retrospective recitals at the European Piano Teachers Association conference in Novi Sad, Serbia and the 50th Anniversary College Music Society National Conference in Salt Lake City. Barnes released his eleventh CD in February of 2008 entitled "The American Virtuoso" featuring the music of Samuel Barber, Joan Tower, and Philip Glass.