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The impressive American composer and pianist Thomas Nickell will return to New York City’s Tenri Cultural Institute for a solo piano recital on Friday evening, October 16, 2026, 7:00 p.m. Mr. Nickell's program will include works by Liszt, Glass, Alkan, Beach, as well as Mr. Nickell's own composition. The full program follows:
Amy Beach, Hermit Thrush at Eve, Op. 92, No. 1
Thomas Nickell, Piano Sonata No. 4
Phillip Glass, Etudes No. 15, 16, 17
Intermission
Amy Beach, Hermit Thrush at Morn, Op. 92, Mo. 2
Franz Liszt, Sposalizio
Charles-Valentin Alkan, Trois Andantes No. 3, Op. 13
Franz Liszt, Dante Sonata
Inventive young composer-pianist Thomas Nickell, steeped in the classical music tradition with an ear for contemporary soundscapes, has already garnered recognition throughout Europe and the United States for his thoughtful explorations of various musical genres.
As a pianist, Mr. Nickell has given many highly lauded public performances of important works by Bach, Beethoven, Berg, Gershwin, Khachaturian, Liszt, David Matthews, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, as well as his own compositions. In 2022, he launched an ongoing solo recital series at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York City. Reviewing Mr. Nickell performing the Phillip Glass Etudes, critic Jeffrey Williams said, “Mr. Nickell dealt with these issues with a sure technique, never letting the energy flag while maintaining a musical sense throughout. It’s not an easy task, and it’s also something of a high-risk, low-reward proposition that many pianists would not take on in performance...” (February 19, 2024, New York Concert Review)
Increasingly devoting his time to composition and to collaborative efforts, Mr. Nickell continues his role as Curator of the “Avant Garden” series as part of the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago under the direction of Music Director Mina Zikri. This season, Mr. Nickell will also see a new collaborative composition, Aftertime, (co-composed with Fiona Stocks-Lyons) performed by the Pacific Northwest Ballet in a new production choreographed by Christopher D’Ariano and Amanda Morgan. Over the recent years, he has created Sarabande for solo piano (2023); Leaks for Solo Percussion and Tape (2020); Horizons for 8 Double Basses and Sine Waves (2020); Tribute (after Julius Eastman) for Solo Piano (2020); Untitled for Retuned Digital Keyboard (2020); The Falling Sun for Electronic Sounds (2020); Unstuck in Time for Orchestra (2019-20); Music for Ensemble for at least 4 players (2019-20); String Quartet in No. 2,“Heliopause,” selected for JACK Quartet Readings at Mannes (2019); Spires of Form for Voice and Piano, a work co-composed with American soprano Denise Young which was premiered at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (2019); Piano Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano (2019), Intercalendrical Zone for Piano (2019), and Prelude and Constellated Night for Piano (2019).
As pianist, Mr. Nickell has appeared frequently as guest soloist in Chicago with the Oistrakh Symphony and with the Northbrook Symphony under the baton of conductor Mina Zikri. He performed J.S. Bach’s Concerto No. 1 in D Minor and Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings in Chicago and at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in June 2019. The New York concert included an original Nickell composition for solo piano, entitled “On a Windy Night.” Mr. Nickell also appeared with the Oistrakh Symphony in his Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall debut, June 2018, for a performance of Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto, Liszt’s Totentanz, and giving the world premiere of his own composition, Innisfree.
Mr. Nickell holds double bachelor of music degrees from the New School, Mannes College of Music—a B.M. in piano, having studied with J Y Song, and a B.M. in composition under the tutelage of composer David T. Little. Mr. Nickell, who makes his home in New York City, likes to paint in his spare time and enjoys photography, the occasional foray into writing, and reading non-fiction, especially about composers.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3819736-0
