Peter Collins Guest Piano Recital

Join us for an evening of artistry at the piano as our local guest pianist Peter Collins performs the next recital in his ongoing series of the music of the First Viennese School. This recital will include sonatas of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, inviting the listener on a thoughtful and engaging musical journey through the Classical era.

Please be aware that details are subject to change. Check back for up-to-date info, or sign up for our mailing list!  

This event is free and open to the public.

Biography

Peter Collins resides in New Orleans and is active as a performer, independent piano teacher and
music researcher. He holds the distinction of Professor Emeritus from Missouri State University
where he taught and served as keyboard area coordinator for twenty-five years.

He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory under
the instruction of Lillian Freundlich. After winning awards in several piano competitions he was
granted the Regents’ Fellowship at the University of Michigan to pursue his Doctor of Musical Arts
degree with Professor Louis Nagel.

While on the faculty of Missouri State, Peter Collins received College and University Awards in
teaching and research. He originated the Missouri Chamber Players and toured Scandinavia several
times with members of the ensemble in concerts of music by American composers. Other important
European performances include Philharmonia Hall and the Chopin Institute in Warsaw, the Liszt
Academy in Budapest and the Polish National Orchestra.

Peter Collins has completed ten compact-disc recording projects (for the Albany, MSR and Centaur
labels) focusing on works of living American composers, music by women composers, original
arrangements and transcriptions, and piano music of nineteenth-century New Orleans.

The First Viennese School (approximately 1765-1828) refers to the three most influential composers
active in the important musical center Vienna: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig
van Beethoven. While Haydn and Mozart were Austrian, Beethoven was born in Germany but made
Vienna his home early in his career. Franz Schubert is generally also included in the First Viennese
School. Born in Vienna considerably later than the other composers, his short life ended only a year
after Beethoven’s. Encompassing the high Classical era and the flowering of Romanticism with
Schubert and late Beethoven, the First Viennese School provides countless models for composers of
future generations and remains at the core of all piano literature.

During the five-year course of The Sonata Series, Peter Collins will perform the complete piano
sonatas of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert as well as the important sonatas of Haydn in a series of
thirty-two recitals. Visit petercollinspianist.com to view the entire series as well as scheduling updates
and addresses of recital venues.

Season III (2025-2026)
Steinway Piano Gallery of New Orleans
Christ Church Cathedral
John Calvin Presbyterian Church
Loyola University Nunemaker Auditorium
Christ Church Cathedral
Trinity Episcopal Church
(All recitals at 3:00 pm)