Rebecca Penneys
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Penneys is an American-born pianist of Russian-Jewish decent. Penneys is considered a world-class recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator, and adjudicator. In 1965, she was the youngest contestant to have ever entered the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland: “A sensational effect was created by the playing of Rebecca Penneys. She is a genius of the piano.”
Her mother, Rose Kaplan Penneys (1912–2010), worked for social causes, and her father, Alexander Penneys (1912–1994), was a radiologist. Sol Kaplan, her uncle, was a pianist-conductor-composer, and her cousin, Boris Gorelick, was an artist.
Raised as a prodigy, Penneys grew up in Los Angeles
studying piano from the age of 3, and dance from the age of 5. Her primary mentors in California were Carmelita Maracci
, dance, Victoria Front and Aube Tzerko, piano, and Leonard Stein, composition. She performed her first solo piano recital at the age of 9 and performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of 11. Other mentors were Rosina Lhévinne
and Artur Rubinstein.
and continued her formal education at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana
, studying piano with Gyogry Sebok and Menahem Pressler
, chamber music with Janos Starker and Josef Gingold, and composition with Iannis Xenakis
. She was awarded the unprecedented Special Critics’ Prize at the SeventhInternational Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw
, an award created in her honor.
She was a top prizewinner in the 1975 Second Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition
in Spain. In 1972, she made her New York debut at Alice Tully Hall
. The same year she was appointed to the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts
. In 1974, she founded the New Arts Trio at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
(with Carol Sindell, violin and Paul Cheifetz Hamilton, cello). The Trio won the Naumburg Award for Chamber Music in 1980 (with Piotr Janowski
, violin and Steven Doane
, cello). the members of the New Arts Trio are Jacques Israelievitch
, violin and Arie Lipsky, cello. The Trio has been Trio-in-Residence at the Chautauqua Institution
since 1978 and has made two United States Information Agency
Cultural State Department tours of Europe in 1985 and 1987. Penneys made a USIS State Department solo tour of Japan in 1980. She has taught and performed in such summer festivals as Sitka, Marlboro, Eastern, Aspen, Vermont Mozart, Montreal, Shawnigan Johannesen, Tel Hai Israel, Peninsula, Roycroft, Mammoth Lakes, and Music Mountain.
since 1980 and chairwoman of the Chautauqua Institution Piano Department since 1985. She has been a resident artist at the Chautauqua Festival since 1978. In 2001 she was appointed visiting artist at St. Petersburg College
in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1999 she founded the Salon Chamber Music Series, a five concert series with Misha Kopelman, violin and Stefan Reuss, cello. In 2010 she co-founded and became artistic chair of the Steinway Society of Tampa Bay. As a teacher, she received recognition for teaching a keyboard technique (Motion and Emotion) that allows pianists to achieve individual performance goals without physical strain or injury. Combining a busy concert schedule with seminars and master classes worldwide, she teaches international students at Eastman School of Music and at the Chautauqua Music Festival. Her current and former students include prizewinners in international competitions, and hold teaching posts on every continent. Penneys is a Steinway Artist and has given special concerts for Steinway & Sons
.
Fleur De Son Classics:
Early life
Rebecca Penneys was born on October 2, 1946.Her mother, Rose Kaplan Penneys (1912–2010), worked for social causes, and her father, Alexander Penneys (1912–1994), was a radiologist. Sol Kaplan, her uncle, was a pianist-conductor-composer, and her cousin, Boris Gorelick, was an artist.
Raised as a prodigy, Penneys grew up in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
studying piano from the age of 3, and dance from the age of 5. Her primary mentors in California were Carmelita Maracci
Carmelita Maracci
Carmelita Maracci was a dancer and choreographer.Her students included Paul Godkin, Donald Saddler, Allegra Kent, Geraldine Chaplin, Janet Collins, Tommy Rall, Julie Newmar, and Cynthia Gregory....
, dance, Victoria Front and Aube Tzerko, piano, and Leonard Stein, composition. She performed her first solo piano recital at the age of 9 and performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of 11. Other mentors were Rosina Lhévinne
Rosina Lhévinne
Rosina Bessie Lhévinne was a Russian American pianist and famed pedagogue....
and Artur Rubinstein.
Education and career
Penneys attended Beverly Hills High SchoolBeverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
and continued her formal education at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, studying piano with Gyogry Sebok and Menahem Pressler
Menahem Pressler
Menahem Pressler is a German-born American pianist, founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio.-Professional career:...
, chamber music with Janos Starker and Josef Gingold, and composition with Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
. She was awarded the unprecedented Special Critics’ Prize at the SeventhInternational Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, an award created in her honor.
She was a top prizewinner in the 1975 Second Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition
Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition
The Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition is a piano competition taking place in Santander, Spain every three years, organized by the Albéniz Foundation...
in Spain. In 1972, she made her New York debut at Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
. The same year she was appointed to the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
. In 1974, she founded the New Arts Trio at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music is an independent music school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conservatory teaches many types of music, including classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues...
(with Carol Sindell, violin and Paul Cheifetz Hamilton, cello). The Trio won the Naumburg Award for Chamber Music in 1980 (with Piotr Janowski
Piotr Janowski
Piotr Janowski was a Polish violinist, first Polish winner of the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition.Janowski was born in Grudziądz, Poland. In 1967, at the age of 16, he won the V International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznań, Poland...
, violin and Steven Doane
Steven Doane
Steven Doane is an American cellist and recitalist.Internationally acclaimed as a soloist, chamber musician, and master teacher, Steven Doane maintains an active performance schedule throughout the U.S and Europe. Starting cello at a young age, his principal teachers included Richard Kapuscinski,...
, cello). the members of the New Arts Trio are Jacques Israelievitch
Jacques Israelievitch
Jacques Israelievitch is a French violinist, and one of Canada's foremost chamber musicians.At 11 years old he was the youngest graduate in the history of the Le Mans Conservatory. He went on to study at the Conservatoire de Paris with Henryk Szeryng and René Benedetti, receiving three first...
, violin and Arie Lipsky, cello. The Trio has been Trio-in-Residence at the Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Institution
The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York, 17 miles northwest of Jamestown in the western part of New York State...
since 1978 and has made two United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
Cultural State Department tours of Europe in 1985 and 1987. Penneys made a USIS State Department solo tour of Japan in 1980. She has taught and performed in such summer festivals as Sitka, Marlboro, Eastern, Aspen, Vermont Mozart, Montreal, Shawnigan Johannesen, Tel Hai Israel, Peninsula, Roycroft, Mammoth Lakes, and Music Mountain.
Current professional life
Penneys has been professor of piano at the Eastman School of MusicEastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
since 1980 and chairwoman of the Chautauqua Institution Piano Department since 1985. She has been a resident artist at the Chautauqua Festival since 1978. In 2001 she was appointed visiting artist at St. Petersburg College
St. Petersburg College
St. Petersburg College is a fully accredited post-secondary educational institution located in St. Petersburg, Florida, serving some 65,000 students annually...
in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1999 she founded the Salon Chamber Music Series, a five concert series with Misha Kopelman, violin and Stefan Reuss, cello. In 2010 she co-founded and became artistic chair of the Steinway Society of Tampa Bay. As a teacher, she received recognition for teaching a keyboard technique (Motion and Emotion) that allows pianists to achieve individual performance goals without physical strain or injury. Combining a busy concert schedule with seminars and master classes worldwide, she teaches international students at Eastman School of Music and at the Chautauqua Music Festival. Her current and former students include prizewinners in international competitions, and hold teaching posts on every continent. Penneys is a Steinway Artist and has given special concerts for Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
.
Solo rcordings
Centaur Records:- Voice of the Piano CRC 2159
- Complete Chopin Etudes CRC 2210
Fleur De Son Classics:
- All Brahms FDS 57938
- Chautauqua Gems from Chautauqua FDS 67956
- Music of the Dance FDS
- An Eastman Recital FDS 57968
- Rebecca Penneys & Steinway FDS 57971
Trio recordings
Fleur De Son Classics:- Beethoven Arrangements for Piano Trio FDS 57931
- New Arts Trio in Recital FDS 57957
- New Arts Trio: 30th Anniversary Recital FDS 58000
- Society For Chamber Music; New Arts Trio: Beethoven Archduke SCMR 0005—1998
- Rochester Academy Of Medicine; Centennial Concert 2001
Publications
- “Fundamentals of Flow in Learning Music” by Rebecca Penneys & Ray Gottlieb (1993–1994)
- "Harmful Practices That Cause Injuries"
- Clavier Magazine, The Instrumentalist (1994)
- "Motion and Emotion", Clavier Magazine, The Instrumentalist (1992)
- "For Carmelita", Leaflets – University of Rochester (1991)
- Guest Editor, Seminars in Neurology, Thieme Publications, New York (1989)
- "Motion and Emotion: A Discussion of the Interaction Between Physical Motion and Human Emotion", Seminars in Neurology, Thieme Publications (1989)
- "Maachem" (1979)