Feature Friday 3.7.25: GFS Exclusive Interview with Pianist Chris Reynolds
Happy Feature Friday Friends, Patrons and Symphony Supporters,
The GFS is thrilled to share an exclusive interview with Pianist Chris Reynolds who will be joining the orchestra on Sunday, March 16, 2025, for the next concert in our 2024-25 season of Music, Movement and Memory!
Chris, a native New Yorker, has roots right here in our region! Chris has made a name for himself as both a soloist and a collaborator. His performances have been hailed by Opera News as “exquisite,” and played with “jaw-dropping virtuosity.” Previously an opera coach or répétiteur at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, he now serves on the music staff of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 2023, he completed his tenure at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as ensemble pianist. Last season he also had debuts at San Francisco Opera and the Kennedy Center. Recent seasons include performances with L.A. Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the New York Festival of Song.
Chris has performed at Bayreuth, Carnegie Hall, and Tanglewood. He is a three-time Juilliard Vocal Arts Honors Recital Auditions winner, which has led to recitals in Alice Tully Hall. He has been a fellow the Aspen Music Festival and School, and has worked at the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater. He holds Doctoral, Master’s, and Bachelor of degrees from The Juilliard School. In October 2022, he released his debut album, Past is Prologue, with Lexicon Classics. The album features his transcriptions of works ranging from Schumann to K-Pop.
Interview Exclusive with American Pianist Chris Reynolds:
GFS: How did you know you wanted to pursue performance?
CR: I think it’s often a myth that people know they want to do this as a career from day one. I knew I loved playing the piano as a young kid, since my parents had a piano at home and I loved to tinker around (mainly with film scores), but I think it took until high school for me to realize that this was a real career possibility. I had to eventually make the decision when applying for colleges, which path I would take, and I sort of bit the bullet and decided to apply for music conservatories. Clearly it all worked out!
GFS: What inspires you when both writing and performing music? And how has classical music influenced your process?
CR: Inspiration can take many forms. I think part of the point of being an artist is getting inspiration from all mediums of art, not just the one that one partakes in. I find myself inspired as a performer often by actors and pop singers, mainly be their dedication or their intensity. Recently I found myself very moved by Nicole Kidman in Baby girl, the way she could subtly convey multiple emotions at once. So of course, I tried immediately in my practice to find ways to do the same at the piano.
GFS: Where is your favorite place to practice?
CR: Here in Germany, I like practicing at work. There is a room at the Deutsche Oper that is on the 6th floor and has a view of all of the Charlottenburg neighborhood towards the sunset. After 8 years at Juilliard, where all of the practice rooms had no windows, it feels nice to practice while knowing where and when one is.
GFS: As a native of Saratoga Springs, what do you enjoy most about being home in our region?
CR: Stewart’s Shops Milkshakes. But in all honestly, this area just has a vibe that I love - it’s the perfect combination of natural beauty, friendly people, and lots of things to do. I have an interesting relationship now with Glens Falls as well - growing up I spent most of my time in Saratoga, but since my family has moved to Glens Falls that is now the place that I visit and it has been wonderful getting to know it as an adult!
GFS: As a solorepetitor at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and an advocate for new opera, how do you feel about an interdisciplinary approach that enriches and fosters connections with other art forms (ballet etc.) such as Paul Hindemith’s works?
CR: Opera is itself the most interdisciplinary of all the performing arts, which is partly why I find it so exciting! It feels fun to be so exposed to other artists in different areas and learn from them, and also to understand that you play all equally important roles in the creation of something larger. I think in the case of a piece like The Four Temperaments which was written as ballet music, but that we are performing now only as a concert piece, the understanding of dance brings a very joyous extra dimension to the work because one can appreciate what is essentially an undercurrent of dance throughout the entire piece. All artists are after the same goal, which is communication with an audience, so it can be refreshing and enlightening to expose oneself to other artists and realize that we can all learn from each other.
GFS: What do you appreciate most about the contemporary composition “The Four Temperaments” that you will be performing with the GFS on Sunday, March 16?
CR: I quite love that it is essentially chamber music. Often times, works for piano and orchestra fall more into the “concerto” category, where the piano takes on a very separate role from the orchestra. This is fun for showing off, but Hindemith’s approach is, for me, musically more gratifying. The piano shares equal duties with the orchestra, neither party working without the other.
GFS: You have known Maestro Peltz since your youth, when you spent time regionally at the Luzerne Music Center, in Lake Luzerne, NY. What are you looking forward to about being under Maestro’s baton once again?
CR: Maestro Peltz was the first person who I think I saw as a really serious musician who also took me seriously as a musician. I was lucky enough at Luzerne to play the piano part in Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony (quite an ambitious piece for a youth orchestra), and we spent one week on each of the four movements with him. I still remember how meticulous and passionate he was in his coaching to the orchestra, and how his passion was so infectious for all of us. I am looking forward to being under his baton again, now as a serious musician!
GFS: You performed in some amazing places and spaces, such as Opera houses in Stuttgart, Chicago, and San Francisco. The Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and Kyoto Summer festival just to name a few! What has been your most treasured performance thus far?
CR: My favorite performance would be a recital I did at the Kennedy Center in 2023 with my friend and soprano Emily Pogorelc. The recital was a representation of several things - she and I both did the Ryan Center training program in Chicago together, and then moved to Germany to begin our careers around the same time as well. We made an album with Deutsche Gramophone with very little preparation time, and then this recital allowed us to perform a large portion of this album live in front of our family and friends in America. I also performed one of my solo KPop transcriptions, which was probably one of the only times KPop was performed at the Kennedy Center!
GFS: Tell us a little about the inspiration of your 2022 debut album “Past is Prologue” and where we can access your music?
CR: Past as Prologue was the result of a few things! It came out of the pandemic, when I had lots of time to just sit at that piano and experiment with things. It also came out of a time when I was moving into opera and having to deal a lot with transcribing music not written for the piano onto the piano. So, the album became a sort of experiment in how far I could take transcription on the piano, something I had been doing for years at that point. Some pieces from the album I had transcribed years prior, and some I set as challenges for myself to attempt as I was making the album. All in all, I think of the album as an interesting summation of my musical interests, both in terms of genre (classical to pop), and in making the piano an unlimited well of possibilities. It’s available on all streaming platforms!
GFS: Please leave us with one orchestral work that everyone should hear in your opinion?!
CR: I always come back to Debussy’s Le Mer (the sea). Nothing in this world is more beautiful.
For more information about Chris Reynolds Music Click Here
To listen to Chris Reynolds on Spotify Click Here
About the Glens Falls Symphony Concert:
American Pianist Chris Reynolds with The Glens Falls Symphony and
Youth Piano Students from the Capital District Council for Young Musicians
Music Director – Charles Peltz
Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 4 pm
FREE pre-concert talk at 3 pm
First Presbyterian Church
400 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801
This concert is General Admission
Adults $33
Student/Child $12
Click Here to Purchase Tickets
or Purchase by Phone: 518.793.1348 / M-F 10 am-4 pm (Visa, Mastercard and Amex)
This concert is sponsored by: Arrow Bank