Richard Kastle | |
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Born | |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Pianist and composer |
Richard Kastle (born December 15, 1958) is an American classical pianist and composer.
Kastle was born in Palm Beach, Florida, and began playing piano at age eight in 1966, learning to play by ear. [1] "He's a musical genius." said his former piano teacher. "I remember he walked In and played the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 [1] by Franz Liszt after hearing it on the Tom and Jerry cartoon," she said. "Back then, he couldn't even read music." [1] [2] Kastle studied with Ivan Davis. [3] He began composing piano concertos as a teenager while studying with Davis. [3] He continued his studies as a piano major at the University of North Texas, where he was expelled for calling in sick on his final recital. [3] An official at the music department recalled Kastle, but said that neither he nor anyone else could remember enough about the case to comment. [3] Kastle said that it was his refusal to dress formally for concerts that ultimately got him expelled from the music department. [1] [4] He later made monthly performances at clubs in Venice and Santa Monica, California where he built a following of young, often college-age, listeners. [1]
Kastle made his network television debut in 1989 on CBS's The Pat Sajak Show , [1] [5] after an appearance on Canadian teen show Pilot One. [6] He signed with Virgin Records in 1991 and released the album Streetwise in the same year. [7] Kastle's television appearances include a performance and interview on The Joan Rivers Show [8] and NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. [4] Kastle promoted his national tour on the episode that aired July 3, 1991. [8] The tour included solo concerts [9] and appearances with comedians George Carlin [10] and Jay Leno. [11] [12] [13] In 1992, he recorded his Piano Concerto No. 5, also known as the Royce Concerto, [1] with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. [4] He appeared at Lincoln Center on November 8, 1996, performing his own compositions and works by Chopin and Liszt. [14] Titanic Symphony is his third symphony and is based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic. [3] He conducted the premieres of his Titanic Symphony and Symphony No. 5 at Lincoln Center on November 6, 1999. [5] [15] Kastle has composed eight piano concertos. In 2003, he played arrangements of Beethoven's sonatas for piano and orchestra and premiered his Piano Concerto No. 8. [16] He performs piano recitals on college campuses. [17] [18] A print biography about Kastle was published by Dic Press in 2012. [19]
In 1976, the mayor of Hialeah proclaimed March 30 in honor of Kastle. At the time, he was a student at Hialeah Miami-Lakes High School who had just competed successfully for a music scholarship. [5]
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Streetwise is the debut studio album by American classical pianist Richard Kastle, released on March 5, 1991 by Virgin Records. The album has a warning label that reads: "Parental Advisory: This album contains classical music, no lyrics whatsoever." The musicians debut album was also a part of a larger scheme by Virgin Records to seek out and develop a new and younger audience for classical music. Record companies, in the early 1990s, used innovative and hip marketing techniques in an effort to attract younger audiences to classical music.
Royce Concerto is the second studio album by American classical pianist and composer Richard Kastle. It is also a three movement concerto for piano and orchestra, that was composed by Kastle and included in the album. The Philharmonia Orchestra also performs on the album released by Yum Recordings on September 30, 1997.
Titanic Symphony, the third symphony composed by Richard Kastle, is based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It is a four-movement piece for orchestra that begins with the ship leaving the dock on her maiden voyage. Its last movement describes the ship's sinking. Because Kastle felt the sea's rhythm was vital to the piece's creation, he composed it on Venice Beach, where he lived in the late 1980s.
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...began on the piano at age 8, learning to play by ear Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 after watching the characters Tom and Jerry play the same piece on television... It was Kastle's refusal to dress formally for concerts that ultimately got him expelled from the music program at the University of Texas, he said. During his first performance there, Kastle appeared in old blue jeans, paint-stained sneakers and a torn Jack Daniels T-shirt... Performing his own compositions in clubs in Venice and Santa Monica...(he) built a following of young, often college-age, listeners...(He made) appearances on several television programs, including The Pat Sajak Show"...
He's a musical genius." said Mary Anne Quick, Kastle's former piano teacher. "I remember he walked in and played the Hungarian Rhapsody by Franz Liszt after hearing it on the Tom and Jerry cartoon," she said. "Back then, he couldn't even read music.
Richard Kastle's third symphony is based on the sinking of the Titanic..."He was a very bright boy with lots of technical facility" says Ivan Davis, a former teacher of Kastle's...As a high school student in Hialeah, Fla., Kastle studied under Davis for a time and began writing concertos... (He) went to North Texas State University...but was expelled in his fourth year for calling in sick on his final recital...an official at the music department recalled Kastle, but said that neither he nor anyone else could remember enough about the case to comment...
...at the University of Texas, tapped out Mozart's Sonata in A Major in a torn Jack Daniel's T-shirt and ripped jeans with arrows shaved on his scalp...Kastle just got back from London where he did A recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra...
..along with punk styled classical pianist Richard Kastle..
a disc called Streetwise by Richard Kastle
wears leather and spikes his hair, but pianist Richard Kastle plays classical, not rock, at Cafe Largo
a set of classical piano pieces by Richard Kastle
Kastle is the opening act tonight
Richard Kastle is scheduled to open at 8 PM
Today – Jay Leno, Richard Kastle, Caesars Palace
Kastle's Piano Concerto No. 8 and arrangements of piano sonatas by Beethoven. Thalia at Symphony Space
Richard Kastle, who looks more like a punk rock star than a classical musician, performs at Penn State
Nationally known classical pianist and recording artist Richard Kastle will perform