Program
Thomas Schwan, piano
Nocturnes
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810 - 1849)
No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1
No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9 No. 2
No. 3 in B major, Op. 9 No. 3
No. 4 in F major, Op. 15 No. 1
No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2
No. 6 in G minor, Op. 15 No. 3
No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
INTERMISSION
Three Meditations for piano (2026)
(World premiere performance)
THOMAS SCHWAN (b. 1985)
Lento e misurato
Abissale, come un inno
Lento e misurato
Toccata in E minor, BWV 91
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 - 1750)
Feuillet d’Album (“Album Leaf”)
Poème Fantasque (“Whimsical Poem”)
Prélude in E-flat Major:
Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, KV 310
W. A. MOZART (1756 - 1791)
Allegro maestoso
Andante cantabile con espressione
Presto
Thomas Schwan, piano
Thomas Schwan (Milano, 1985) is an Italian–German-American pianist and composer. As a pianist, he performed extensively in Italy, the Netherlands, France, England, Russia, Panama, and the United States. Music honors include First Prize at the World Bach Competition in Boulder, Colorado (2020) and the Honors Diploma and Monte dei Paschi di Siena Prize from Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy (2011). While cultivating a repertoire that spans the whole history of Western music, he is currently specializing in the music of J. S. Bach and recently gave multiple live performances of the complete Well-Tempered Clavier. His live interpretations of both books of the WTC (2019 and 2022) and the complete Chopin Nocturnes (2024) have gained an extraordinary following on YouTube and are widely appreciated by audiences, critics, and fellow musicians. He was deeply influenced by the instruction and mentorship of pianists Joaquín Achúcarro, with whom he studied at Southern Methodist University and at Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and Pamela Mia Paul, his major professor at the University of North Texas.
As a composer, his music was performed and/or commissioned by members of the Asko|Schoenberg Ensemble Amsterdam, Voices of Change, Dallas Chamber Music Society, Meadows Wind Ensemble, Quartetto Mitja, Trio Chénier, and other renowned ensembles and soloists in Europe and in America. In 2017 he was awarded the Odyssée Artistic Residency as a composer and pianist at Abbaye Royale de Saint-Riquier (France), where he was commissioned the work Canone Infinito for piano six-hands, to be premiered onsite. His piano work Notturno Op. 14 (2024) was recently recorded by Liudmila Georgievskaya on the international label Odradek Records. Upcoming performances include the premiere of his sacred choral work PATER NOSTER (2024) by the Accademia Corale Milanese in Milan, Italy in May 2026. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas (D.M.A., 2021), where he studied piano with P. M. Paul and composition with J. Klein, and Southern Methodist University (Artist Certificate, 2009; M.M., 2011 and 2014), where he studied piano with J. Achúcarro and composition with K. Hanlon. Former teachers include G. Galletta, A. Fortuna, G. Possio, E. Brusa, and S. Sargon. He taught piano and composition masterclasses in Italy, the Netherlands, and Panama, and maintains an active performing and teaching schedule worldwide.
Also an avid fine art photographer, he is strongly indebted to the work and mentorship of Italian photographer and writer Giovanni Chiaramonte. Some of his prints have been featured in art galleries across the United States and were acquired by world-renowned collector and photographer Joaquim Paiva (Rio de Janeiro). www.thomasschwan.com