Russell Hirshfield
Professor of Music
Applied Piano, Music Theory, Chamber Music
Russell Hirshfield has appeared in recital throughout the United States, and in Brazil, China, Belgium, England, Serbia, Costa Rica, and South Africa, programming traditional and contemporary music. His recent programs include concerts at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford and the Royal Flemish Academy in Brussels. In 2020 Parma Recordings released his CD program Alexander Scriabin – Early Works, identified as “a beautiful disc that introduces an intelligent, musically mature pianist into the upper echelons of Scriabin interpretation.” (Fanfare Magazine). In 2017 Phaedra Records released Seeker – The Piano Music of Piet Swerts. The recording has been featured on Belgian Radio Klara and well-received by critics in Holland (Opusklassiek), Belgium (Flanders Art Magazine) and the United States (American Record Guide).
Dr. Hirshfield is Professor of Music at Western Connecticut State University.
He has presented master classes and conference lectures throughout the United States and abroad. Hirshfield was a member of the Artist Faculty for the 2019 International Piano Festival in Bačka Palanka, Serbia, the 2015 Piano Master Class Series at New York University, and the 2013 Oxford University Piano Festival in England.
Mad Dances – American Music for Saxophone and Piano, with saxophonist Dan Goble, was released by Albany Records in 2010. American Record Guide identified Hirshfield “… a highly skilled and flexible artist who digs into the thorny passages, yet renders the handful of special moments with wonderful touch and sincerity.” (ARG, September/October 2011) Hirshfield trained in New Haven and later studied at the Eastman School of Music, Boston University, and the University of Colorado. His teachers include Robert Spillman, James Avery, Anthony di Bonaventura, and Alvin Chow. His adventuresome programming was deemed “challenging even to the most ambitious pianist…” (Boulder Daily Camera).
Contact:
HirshfieldR@wcsu.educreate new email
203-837-8356 studio