Peter Kairoff: American Character: Piano Music of George Whitefield Chadwick

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American Character: Piano Music of George Whitefield Chadwick
Peter Kairoff, piano
English: American composer George Whitefield C...
American composer George Whitefield Chadwick (1854—1931) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Peter Kairoff was born in Los Angeles, and studied at the University of Southern Californ
ia, where he received Master's and Doctoral degrees with highest honors. He also studied in Italy for two years as a Fulbright Scholar and Rotary International Fellow. He has taught at the University of Texas at Austin and the State University of New York, and is currently Professor of Music at Wake Forest University, where he has taught since 1988.

He has performed throughout the United States and Europe and South America to great critical acclaim. His recordings of American 19th Century composers have received enthusiastic reviews from the Washington Post, Fanfare, ClassicsToday.com, and many others.

The music of George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931) is not nearly as well known as it ought to be. Although widely respected and admired in his lifetime, his music fell into relative obscurity after his death, and is only recently being performed once more with any frequency. His piano music, in particular, has suffered from neglect: very few of these pieces have ever been recorded before. Why this should be so remains something of a mystery, for many of Chadwick's piano works display the same inventiveness, charm and craftsmanship found in his orchestral and chamber works.