Richard Cionco, piano • (916) 278-7983 • Send Email

Pianist Richard Cionco, praised by Donal Henahan of the New York Times for his "sensitive pianism", first performed as soloist with orchestra at age nine, and has since performed with many orchestras including the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, the Oakland Civic Symphony, and with the Seijo Symphony of Tokyo. In Europe, he has performed concerti with the Czech State Chamber Orchestra and with the North Bohemian Philharmonia as a winner in the Prague Spring International Music Competition. Recently, he performed Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 seven times on tour in Japan and Taiwan with the California Youth Symphony; the performance in Osaka was broadcast on Japan Television and has been released as a live and unedited CD recording.

Mr. Cionco has also performed in recital and given master classes at the Kolding Kommune Musikskolen in Denmark. He has delighted audiences in major concert halls such as New York's Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, and Steinway Hall, as well as the Chicago Cultural Center and The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. He has made recent recordings for Innova Records and Cantilena Records, and has been heard on National Public Radio. While living in New York, he appeared frequently on the well-known WQXR live radio show "...from the listening room."

His performances of Liszt's complete 12 Transcendental Etudes have brought him rave reviews. An International Steinway Artist, Mr. Cionco is a graduate of the University of Maryland and The Juilliard School, studying with Rudolf Firkusny, Thomas Schumacher, and Audrey Bart Brown. A recipient of a Solo Recitalists Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a career grant from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts in New York City, he is also winner of many competitions.

An enthusiastic promoter of new music, he performs annually at the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, with several premieres to his credit. As chamber musician, his many appearances include Lincoln Center's FOCUS! Festival, and two performances at the Mozart Bicentennial Celebration at Lincoln Center. As recitalist, he has been a guest artist of the Washington Chamber Society, and at the American Liszt Society Festival, as well as at numerous universities, including New York University, San Francisco State University, and Memphis State University.

Mr. Cionco was a Teaching Fellow and Assistant to David Dubal at The Juilliard School for four years, and he joined the piano faculty at California State University, Sacramento in 1993. He also teaches and performs at the Schlern International Music Festival in northern Italy each summer. Recently, Mr. Cionco was awarded the Outstanding University Service Award for 2007 at Sacramento State, and was featured in the University Bulletin.

Mr. Cionco can be heard on the following albums:

  Sound clips for you to enjoy:

Harlequin dances from Daniel Kingman's La Commedia
Pantaloon's Complaint from La Commedia
Fantasy-Mosaic: Homage to Stephen Foster
Andalucia Suite: Gitaneris from Latin American Music for Solo Piano
Odeon: Tago Brasileira from Latin American Music for Solo Piano
Suite de Danzes Criollas: Allegro cantabile from Latin American Music for Solo Piano
Danzas Argentinas: Danza del Gaucho Matrero from Latin American Music for Solo Piano

Excerpts from Critical Reviews - RECORDINGS

• "all of the playing is excellent" (Cantilena 66014-2; Take a Walk on the Wilder Side) American Record Guide
  
  
• "The artists provide satisfying and skillful performances of Kingman's delightful look at the past with eyes of the present." (innova 504; La Commedia) Pan Pipes Magazine
  
  
• "This delightful and well-crafted piece receives a performance of great sensitivity and technical clarity by Richard Cionco." (innova 504; La Commedia) The Sonneck Society Bulletin

Excerpts from Critical Reviews - CONCERTS

• "The overall effect of the piece (Joseph Schwantner's '...and the mountains rising nowhere' for piano and wind ensemble) was like listening to a glacier crack and splinter into icy shards. The piece's thrills were augmented by playful piano passages admirably executed by Richard Cionco." Sacramento Bee
  
  
• "Richard Cionco's sensitive pianism served the music and singer well." The New York Times
  
  
• "Phenomenal pianist" Gentry Magazine
  
  
• "Richard Cionco is not just a terrific pianist. He is that rarest of artists: a champion of twentieth century music...his coloristic sense and attention to structural clarity rendered even the thorniest of recent works accessible. The Washington Post
  
  
• "...inquisitive artistic venture, and colossal piano playing! Richard Cionco is a pianist who probes beneath the surface of the note to find artistic meaning. The stamina and strength of Richard Cionco is astonishing."
  WGTS-FM Washington, D.C.
  
  
• "Classics at First, a new tradition of great music sponsored by the First Church of the Nazarene, got off to a brilliant start Friday evening. After an intermission break...came one of the most fascinating and interesting new piano pieces (Sebastian Currier's Piano Sonata) that I've heard in years; and this extravagant praise certainly does include the performance, as Cionco played sensationally. It was a glorious experience; there was great applause and shouts of "Bravo!" at its conclusion. The recital was an enormous success." KXPR/KXJZ News, Sacramento
  
  
• "...a first rate performer. It was with considerable anticipation that a nearly soldout house awaited the appearance of Richard Cionco in the California State University, Sacramento, Music Recital Hall on Tuesday evening for a performance of the seldom-heard Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 44. Cionco rose to the challenges quite wonderfully with technique to spare and a firm grip on the contrasting moods. He is a performer who eschews visual effects. Instead of often meaningless hand gestures, he sits calmly at the keyboard concentrating only on the music." The Sacramento Union
  
  
• "I have rarely heard as fine a piano recital as the one Richard Cionco gave on Sunday. The program (Liszt's 12 Transcendental Etudes) was difficult and unusual. Cionco's virtuosity was impressive and he drew beautifully varied tone colors from the instrument. Cionco recently received his graduate degree from Juilliard and is beginning what, with some luck, could be a solid international career." The Washington Post
  
  
• "...one could happily settle for the high level pre-professionalism that Juilliard students displayed in an all-Mozart program at Alice Tully Hall. Natsuki Anne Fukasawa and Richard Cionco teamed up well." The New York Times
  
  
• "Cionco, who has a light touch and a rare sense of timing, finished with a series of fine solo pieces from Chopin, Schumann and Strauss. He is a major talent." - The Journal Newspaper (Washington, D.C.)
  
  
• "Richard Cionco began most impressively with Brahms Intermezzo in C, showing the value of understatement. His fine feeling for proportion and sensitivity in voicing exquisite chords combined for a memorable performance of Debussy's "La Cathédrale Engloutie"." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  
  
• "Cionco's choice of Bach-Busoni's Prelude & Fugue in D Major to open the program was a nice touch. He showed a good command of the piece's ebb and flow of tension, and put a dependable octave technique to work in climactic passages...the pianist established rapport with the music." The Indianapolis Star