William Fried

My work as a pianist focuses on French music and various postwar Avant Garde traditions. My other interests include electroacoustic music, collaboration with dance, and the realization of unconventional notation. A “Ferneyhough pianist” who “plays IRCAM stuff” is how colleagues have described me.

Some concert highlights include performances at the LA Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series, Vancouver New Music Festival, Roerich Museum (NY), UC San Diego Wed@7 Series, La Giralda de l’Arboç, and New England Conservatory’s Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice. Critics have described my playing as “poised and remarkably dexterous… hypnotic”—The Boston Globe, “in possession of an incredible technique”—Vancouver Classical Music, “particularly forceful”—The San Diego Union Tribune, “subtly shaded and delicately phrased”—SanDiego.com, “truly engrossing”—I Care if you Listen, and “awe inspiring”—Beacon Sound.

As a specialist in new music, I have premiered numerous new works, and recorded for Mode, Carrier, Centaur, and various independent releases. My latest solo album, featuring the complete solo piano sonatas of French composer and electroacoustic pioneer Philippe Manoury, was released earlier this year on Centaur. An earlier solo album features music of Bach, Fauré, and Messiaen. My playing has also been featured on Universal Music Publishers Classical online, and my recordings and live performances broadcast on WDAV Classical Public Radio. 

My writing has been published in Perspectives of New Music, Piano Magazine (formerly Clavier Companion), American Music Teacher, and College Music Symposium, and my playing featured on Universal Music Publishers Classical online. I have contributed video essays and lectures to The Frances Clark Center’s From the Artist Bench series and the Lifelong Learning Collaborative’s Brown Bag Webinar Series. 

I also remain active as an interpreter of traditional repertoire, appearing as soloist with the Palomar Symphony, UC San Diego (UCSD) Chamber Orchestra, the Jordan Winds, UCSD Wind Ensemble, Hillcrest Wind Ensemble, San Diego East County Youth Orchestra, and the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra, in concerti by Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré, Rachmaninoff, Falla, Gershwin, and Hanson.

Locally, I have appeared in several productions of Charlotte’s Sensoria Festival of the Arts, including accompanying the Paul Taylor Dance company during their 2017 visit, as well as performing for local opera and dance productions at UNCC, CPCC, Winthrop, Charlotte SHOUT and other venues. During its ten-year run, I was a frequent guest at the Charlotte New Music Festival where I premiered countless new works (I also did similar work as member of resident new music ensembles at the University of California, San Diego, and the Atlantic Music Festival). I often serve as masterclass clinician and adjudicator throughout North Carolina.

My undergraduate degree was in mathematics; during subsequent graduate studies in music, I studied piano with Aleck Karis and Stephen Drury.

Teaching

MUS 050, 055, Applied Music (Non-Credit)
MUS 155, 255, 356, 357, Applied Music (Credit)
MUS 225 The Avant Garde