Michael Kieran Harvey (born 7 July 1961) is an Australian pianist and composer whose career has been notable for its diversity and wide repertoire. He is renowned for commissioning, performing and composing new music. He has especially promoted the works of Australian composers and is also particularly associated with the piano music of Olivier Messiaen.
According to critic Clive O'Connell in The Age: "Few Australian pianists can touch Michael Kieran Harvey, one of the most exciting exponents of contemporary music in the country".[1] After Harvey's US debut at Pasadena's Ambassador Centre in 1994 critic Alan Rich wrote: "In intermission conversation at Michael Kieran Harvey's U.S. debut recital the name of Glenn Gould was often heard, and with reason. Not since the heyday of the late flamboyant Canadian had a pianist come forward with such extraordinary technique combined with so vibrant a gift for stirring up controversy. Like him or not -- both factions were represented -- it had to be one of the most stimulating debut recitals within anyone's memory…This was one hell of an interesting concert".[2]
Biography
Family
Michael Kieran Harvey was born in Sydney in 1961. He says that as a child he had great difficulty in coming to terms with being a musician, as he played four different codes of football and was also involved in surf lifesaving.[3] His brother, Dominic, was head of brass at the Australian National University and is a noted conductor; his sister Bernadette, is a pianist.[4] and another sister, Rowan Harvey-Martin, is a violinist and noted conductor.[5][6] His mother, Anne (a student of Alexander Sverjensky), abandoned her plans to become a concert pianist when her own father died in her mid-teens. His father, Francis, was a journalist and for a time a freelance cellist.[3] He is married to pianist Dr Arabella Teniswood-Harvey.[7]
At the time, this was the world's richest piano competition. He entered the competition not believing he could win, but as an excuse to go to Los Angeles to see Frank Zappa, who was very ill, and to seek permission to play his piano music in public. However, Zappa died of cancer on the day of the finals and Harvey did not meet him.
He has performed and recorded most of Olivier Messiaen's works involving piano to high critical acclaim. In 2005 he released a live 3-CD recording of the Australian premiere of the entire Catalogue d'oiseaux featuring Peter Cundall as narrator. Despite his close association with Messiaen's music Harvey is an atheist, who describes himself as having escaped Catholicism in his early teens, as did Frank Zappa.
He has made premiere recordings of Carl Vine's piano music (including the 12 Preludes of 2006), much of which was written for him. He commissioned Nigel Westlake's Piano Sonatas I (1998) and II (2004) and Piano Concerto (2000) and gave the premiere performances. Harvey has commissioned and recorded major Australian piano cycles by Larry Sitsky, Mike Nock, and Graham Hair, and promoted major works by Helen Gifford, Warren Burt, Eve Duncan, Tom Henry, and Brett Dean.[9]
Compositions
Harvey holds a PhD in composition and has recorded much of his own music.[9]
Title
Instrumentation
Year
Elektra
piano with live electronics
1992
Toccata DNA
piano
1993
Toccata DNA
trio for percussion, flute and piano
1993
Addict
piano with live electronics
1994
Spindrift
piano with live electronics
1995
Kazohinia
French horn, singer, piano, synthesiser, CD and live electronics
1997–98
Play the piano drunk until the fingers begin to bleed a bit
electric piano and CD
2002
Miles away
electric piano and CD
2002
...until the fingers begin to bleed...
amplified sextet (2 pianos, clarinet, viola, 2 electric guitars)
2002
Blood on the spinifex
suite of 12 movements for electric piano and CD
2003
Pink Nautilus
piano
2003
Piano Sonata No. 1
piano
2006
Kursk
cello and piano
2007
48 Fugues for Frank
cycle for piano/keyboards
2009
Makzurka
piano
2011
Etude for trumpet in C and piano
trumpet and piano
2011
Homage to Liszt
percussion and piano
2011
Fear
violin and piano
2011
Psychosonata (Piano Sonata No. 2)
piano
2012
City of Snakes
bass clarinet, drums, electric piano, bass
2013
Deus est fabula
clarinet, piano, violin
2014
N-Chromium
keyboards and rock ensemble
2014
Deaths Head Mandala
synthesiser, electric guitar and rock ensemble
2014
The Ride of the Little Star
piano
2014
Patañjali
suite of five movements for two keyboards and percussion
2015
Carpe Diem
piano
2015
"7"
baritone saxophone and piano
2015
"7"
alto saxophone and keyboards
2016
Portrait of Bob Brown
violin and piano
2016
Piano Sonata No. 3 "Aporia"
piano
2016
Homage to Liszt
violin and piano
2016
Homage to Liszt
solo piano
2017
The Green Brain
cycle of 20 movements for piano/keyboards
2017–18
Tubby the president
tuba and piano
2018
Module Fugue
piano
2018
Keen
piano
2018
Piano Sonata No. 4 "A. Gramsci"
piano
2018
Catalogue des Errances Bibliques (duo), Symphony in no need of an orchestra
cycle of 25 movements for duo keyboards
2018
Astro Labe, Coeur de Lion
duo for trumpet and electric piano/synth/sequencer
2018
PRTZL
solo for two opposing keyboards
2018
Catalogue des Errances Bibliques (ensemble), Symphony in no need of an orchestra
cycle of 25 movements for narrator and ensemble
2019
Aporia II
three pianos and percussion
2019
Divertimento
solo piano
2019
Gestalt Climate
for two pianos
2019
Duo for viola and piano
viola and piano
2019
Rameaustein
for iPads, iPhone and electric keyboard
2019
Inside the World of the Digital Narcissist
for soprano and percussion
2019
Piano Sonata #5: "GRETA", Concerto in no need of an orchestra
solo piano/electric keyboard
2020
Piano Sonata #6: '17 Graeme Lee Prints'
solo piano
2020
Lawyers Are Lovely Misunderstood People And We Should All Be Much Kinder To Them
solo piano
2021
Four Ballades
solo piano
2021
Death Cap Mushroom
Piano, toy piano, extended rock kit, lead guitar, vocals
2021
Piano Sonata #7: "The Sparrow and the Mead Hall"
solo piano
2021
Piano Sonata #8: "P. Singer" (War Sonata #1)
solo piano
2023
Piano Sonata #9: "Sonata da Caemmerer" (War Sonata #2)
solo piano
2023
Piano Sonata #10: "Riding With Death" (War Sonata #3)
solo piano
2023
Recordings
Title
Contents
Label/year
1 "Michael Kieran Harvey plays Liszt, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin"
Liszt B minor sonata, Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit, Rachmaninoff Etudes Tableaux 1–3, Scriabin Vers la Flamme
CDPP1, 1991
2 "Inspired 20th Century Piano Music"
Vine Sonata #1; Carter Sonata; Stravinsky Petrouchka; Graham Hair "Under Aldebaran"
CDPP2, 1992
3 "Vine Piano Sonata #1"
Vine Sonata #1
Tall Poppies TP 013, 1992
4 "Piano Miniatures"
works by 42 Australian composers
Red House Editions, 1994
5 "Anthology of Australian Music on Disc"
McSullea/Harvey, Music for flute, piano and computer-generated sound, Humble,Pollard, Walker, Yu, Banks, Worral and Burt
Shostakovitch preludes op 34 and piano sonata #1, Messiaen 8 preludes
Move MD3308 2006
23 "The Hinchinbrook Riffs"
Westlake sonata #1
Tall Poppies 187 2006
24 "The Way of The Seeker"
piano cycle by Larry Sitsky
Move MD3309 2006
25 "The Piano Music of Carl Vine 1990–2006"
Vine sonatas 1&2, bagatelles, Preludes, Red Blues
Tall Poppies 190 2006
26 "In the Time of Sakura"
The Piano Music of Mike Nock
Move MD3314 2007
27 "Crystal Vision"
The Piano Music of Kanako Okamoto
Move MD3319 2007
28 "Broadway Boogie"
Westlake (sonata #2), Byrne (6 Dances 2002), McCaughey (Toccata), Pollard (sonata 2006), Harvey (Sonata #1) and Ford (Broadway Boogie-Woogie)
Move MD3315 2007
29 "Curiosities"
Eve Duncan: Wave to the Depths I & II
Move MD3320 2007
30 "The School of Natural Philosophy"
Friedel " The School of Natural Philosophy", Knehans "Boyd Panels", Hair 3 Transcendental etudes, Paredes "Triptico", Meale/Harvey "Coruscations II" (for electric piano)
Move MD 3324 2008
31 "Dimensions of Night"
Piano Cycle of 10 movements by Larry Sitsky
Move MD 3325 2009
32 "Elektra"
Harvey – Elektra, Gould – 3 pieces for Piano, Gifford – Menin Gate, Ford – Folly,Yu – Sonata
Move MD 3329 2009
33 "48 Fugues For Frank"
Piano Cycle – Homage to Zappa – by M.K.Harvey, with concrete poetry by Dr Arjun von Caemmerer
Move MD 3339 2010
34 "Astra 60"
Humble – Sonata no. 1, Gifford – Three Pieces, Pollard – Krebs, Boland – Two Miniatures, Henry – Piano Sonata, Whiffen – Sonata no. 3
Move MD 3357 2012
35 "Psychosonata"
original works by Michael Kieran Harvey 2007–13: "Psychosonata" (Piano sonata #2), "Kursk" (cello and piano), "Fear" (violin and piano), "Makzurka" (piano), "Homage to Liszt" (percussion and piano), "Etude" (trumpet and piano), "City of Snakes" (bass clarinet, piano, bass and drums)
Move MD 3368 2013
36 "Inferno"
cycle of 15 movements for Michael Kieran Harvey by Elliott Gyger (2013); with Compass variations (1994) (live recording)
Move MD 3376 2014
37 "Siva"
Australian virtuoso piano music: Hanson – Sonata op. 12, Kerry – Sonata, Colbert – "Quicksand", Gifford – "Siva", Kelly – Untitled (Moths)
Move MD 3397 2015
38 "Patañjali"
a celebration of Patañjali's Yoga-Sūtra in music and āsana: composed for 2 keyboards and percussion by Michael Kieran Harvey 2015
Move CD/DVD MD 3399 2015
39 "126 Variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
the Young Person's Guide to Composition (2014) by Julian Yu
Move MD 3404 2016
40 "70 More Variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
from composers around the world (2014) Julian Yu (ed.)
Move MD 3405, 2016
41 "The piano music of Michael Bertram"
Piano Sonata and other works
Move MD 3407, 2016
42 "Portrait of Bob Brown"
Portrait of Bob Brown for violin and piano (Harvey, 2016), Homage to Liszt for violin and piano (Harvey, 2016), Aftermath for solo violin (Emily Sheppard, 2016)
Move MD 3415, 2017
43 "Aporia"
Australian Piano Music: Harvey 3rd Piano Sonata "Aporia" (2016), works by David Harris, Allan Walker, Paul Grabowsky and Simon Barber
Move MD 3418, 2017
44 "Concerto for Piano and Toy Band"
Piano concerto with jazz/rock ensemble by Adam Simmons, performed by Michael Kieran Harvey and Adam Simmons' Toy Band
Fat Rain CD FAT016, 2017
45 "Carmina Burana"
Orff, version for 2 pianos and percussion, performed by Sara Macliver, Paul McMahon, Jonathan Summers, Synergy, Cantillation, Australian Virtuosi (Michael Kieran Harvey and Bernadette Balkus), Sydney Children's Choir, conducted by Antony Walker
ABC Classics, ABC4814927, 2017
46 "The Green Brain"
Cycle of 20 movements by M. K. Harvey (2018) after the novel The Green Brain by Frank Herbert, with concrete poetry by Dr Arjun von Caemmerer
Move MD 3434, 2018
47 "Luz Meridional"
24 piano études no. 411 by Andriàn Pertout (2009–2012)
Move MD 3435, 2018
48 "Move 50"
24 composers celebrate 50 years of Move records (M.K.Harvey appears as interpreter and composer (Keen))
Move MD 3450, 2018
49 "Music from 4 to 40 Parts"
Vaughan McAlley's music interpreted by M.K.Harvey and Ensemble Gombert
Move MD 3437, 2019
50 "Dancing to the Tremors of Time"
Harvey interprets piano music by Brendan Colbert, Scott McIntyre, Don Kay, Elliott Gyger, Elizabeth Drake, Martin Friedel and Brendan Collins
Move MD 3438, 2019
51 "PRTZL"
Chamber works composed by M.K.Harvey: Module Fugue, Sonata No.4 "A.Gramsci", PRTZL, Astro Labe Coeur de Lion, Divertimento, Tubby the President, Gestalt Climate, Deus est Fabula, Toccata DNA (trio), Aporia II
Move MD 3447, 2019
52 "GRETA"
Piano Sonata #5 "GRETA" – Concerto in no need of an orchestra, composed and performed by M.K.Harvey in two versions – (a) solo piano (b) electric keyboards, with poem "Regret" by Dr Arjun von Caemmerer
Move MD 3452, 2020
53 "Piano Sonata #6"
Piano Sonata #6: '17 Graeme Lee Prints' with aphorisms by Arjun von Caemmerer (2020), composed and performed by M.K.Harvey
Move MD 3453, 2020
54 "Catalogue des Errances Bibliques"
"Catalogue des Errances Bibliques" (2019) for eight keyboardists and four percussionists, together with spoken narration written and spoken by Arjun von Caemmerer. Performed by M.K.Harvey, Tim Young, Peter Neville and A.N.A.M. pianists and percussionists.
Move MD 3457, 2021
55 "Chamber Concerto for Piano and Strings" by David Joseph on "Works for String Orchestra" by David Joseph
"Chamber Concerto for Piano and Strings" (1991/2) by David Joseph performed by M.K.Harvey and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra conducted by Spiros Rantos
Move MD 3460, 2022
56 "Shichiseki"
Works by Kanako Okamoto and Mark Pollard (violin and piano), Andrian Pertout (solo piano, piano with cello), Gabriella Vici (solo piano sonata), and songs by Bach, Wolf and Purcell, performed by Michael Kieran Harvey, Miwako Abe (violin), Alister Barker (cello) and Martin Niedermair (counter-tenor).
Move MD 3470, 2023
57 "The Sparrow and the Mead Hall"
Original works composed and performed by Michael Kieran Harvey: Four Ballades for Piano (2021), Piano Sonata #7 "The Sparrow and the Mead Hall" (2021), "Lawyers Are Lovely Misunderstood People and We Should All Be Much Kinder To Them" for piano (2021), plus "Death Cap Mushroom" (2021) performed by Theodore Pike (piano, toy piano), Alex Bull (drums), Ben Cannings (vocals and electric guitar) with text by Dr Arjun von Caemmerer.
Move MD3471, 2023
Legacy
In 2005 the Michael Kieran Harvey Scholarship was established and funded by Susan Mary Remington in honour of his contribution to Australian music, and to encourage future directions in keyboard art music.
Recipients: 2006 – Cameron Roberts; 2008 – Ashley Hribar; 2010 – Zubin Kanga; 2012 – Aura Go and Adam Cook; 2014 – Dr James Hullick; 2016 – Alex Raineri and Nicholas Young;[10] 2018 – Rohan Drape; 2020 – Dr Anthony Pateras; 2022 - Ayesha Gough; 2024 - Dr Erik Griswold.[9]
Honours and awards
Joint Grand Prix in the 1993 International Solo Piano Competition (usually referred to as the Ivo Pogorelić Piano Competition, after its founder) in Pasadena, with Edith Chen[8]
Debussy Medal (Guilde Français des Artistes Soloistes Concurs Paris 1985)[11]
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Kieran Harvey won four awards in that time.[15]
The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards commenced in 1984 and recognise outstanding achievements in dance, drama, comedy, music, opera, circus and puppetry.
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result
1994
Michael Kieran Harvey
Individual Award
awarded
References
^O'Connell, Clive: CD review of Messiaen's Catalogue d'Oiseaux performed by Michael Kieran Harvey and Peter Cundall, Move MD 3299, The Age, 22 October 2005
