Ron Bierman
Ron Bierman was born in New York City. He began studying the saxophone and flute at a young age and has performed in several college and other orchestras. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where his studies included music theory as taught by Swiss pianist and composer Ernst Levy.
During a career with the Ford Motor Company he managed many large computer projects and traveled extensively in Europe, South America and the Asia Pacific regions, always taking advantage of the opportunity to listen to the music of the countries visited.
He now freelances as a writer and web developer, and has been writing for Classical Music Daily (previously Music & Vision Magazine) for several years. His published work includes hundreds of recording and book reviews for web sites and newspapers. He has an extensive library of books on music and over three thousand CDs. Now living in San Diego in the USA with his wife, he is the President of Advocates for Classical Music, an organization which has worked with local symphony orchestras to introduce many thousands of young students to classical music. He and his wife enjoy visiting classrooms with CDs and instruments in hand.
Articles by Ron Bierman
Ron Bierman listens to Musorgsky, Rachmaninov and Elgar in San Diego
Ron Bierman listens to Gill Shaham and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rafael Payare
Ron Bierman is impressed by J S Bach, Barber and Haydn, played by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra led by veteran Dutch conductor Edo de Waart
Ron Bierman assesses San Diego Opera's production of Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'
Ron Bierman reports on Mozart from the San Diego Symphony and Raphael Payare
Ron Bierman talks to Amerian opera director Kyle Lang
Ron Bierman experiences the mariachi opera 'The Miracle of Remembering'
Ron Bierman listens to orchestral music by Carlos Simon and by Wagner arranged by Lorin Maazel
Ron Bierman listens to a concert given by Latonia Moore and J'Nai Bridges, with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and conductor Bruce Stasyna
Ron Bierman listens to chamber music by Haydn, Ravel, Mendelssohn and Dvořák from Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lisa Batiashvili and Gautier Capuçon
Ron Bierman listens to some 'Fantastic Tales' at the La Jolla Music Society's Summerfest
Ron Bierman was at the opening of La Jolla Music Society's Summerfest season
Ron Bierman listens to Pacho Flores, Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra playing music by Roberto Sierra, Bernstein and Rachmaninov
Beethoven's Choral Symphony at the University of California San Diego
Ron Bierman listens to Brahms, Dvořák and Gity Razaz
Ron Bierman listens to Nicolas Reveles' 'Ghosts'
Ron Bierman is entertained by San Diego Opera's production of Puccini's 'Tosca'
Ron Bierman talks to American soprano Michelle Bradley
Ron Bierman appreciates music by John Adams, Mozart and Rachmaninov from Ingrid Fliter, Edo de Waart and the San Diego Symphony
Ron Bierman pays tribute to the late Nicolas Reveles, in the second part of his interview with the composer
Ron Bierman was in the audience for San Diego Opera's 'Suor Angelica' and 'Gianni Schicchi'
Ron Bierman talks to American mezzo Stephanie Blythe
Ron Bierman talks to opera composer Nicolas Reveles
Ron Bierman listens to Anne Akiko Meyers, Domingo Hindoyan and the San Diego Symphony
Ron Bierman listens to Isabel Leonard and Pablo Sáinz-Villegas in festive mood
Ron Bierman reports from San Diego on Gabriela Lena Frank's opera 'El último sueño de Frida y Diego'
As rehearsals begin for her new opera, Gabriela Lena Frank talks to Ron Bierman
Ron Bierman talks to conductor Rafael Payare
Ron Bierman talks to Canadian conductor Yves Abel
Ron Bierman talks to David Bennett, general director of the San Diego Opera Association
Ron Bierman takes a look at the current classical music scene in San Diego
Ron Bierman reports on the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, live at its upgraded outdoor concert hall
Ron Bierman reviews San Diego Opera's parking-lot production of Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville'
Ron Bierman reports on San Diego Opera's 'La bohème' from a parking lot in San Diego
Music for percussion by Chou Wen-chung, Chinary Ung, Lei Liang, Michael Pisaro and Edgard Varèse
Ron Bierman talks to the American tenor Carl Tanner
San Diego Symphony's new music director Rafael Payare conducts music by Mason Bates and Gustav Mahler
Ron Bierman reads Gillian Moore's 'The Rite of Spring, the Music of Modernity'
Ginger Costa-Jackson in Bizet's 'Carmen' at San Diego Opera
Ron Bierman talks to American mezzo Ginger Costa-Jackson
Ron Bierman reports on San Diego Opera's staging of Jake Heggie's 'Three Decembers'
Ron Bierman talks to Frederica von Stade, who is in San Diego to perform in Jake Heggie's 'Three Decembers'
Ron Bierman talks to coloratura soprano Alisa Jordheim
Shostakovich's 'Leningrad' Symphony performed by two symphony orchestras in San Diego, and conducted by Valery Gergiev
San Diego Opera's 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Ron Bierman talks to British opera director Stephen Lawless, whose 'Marriage of Figaro' is currently at San Diego Opera
Ron Bierman talks to Cuban-American soprano Elaine Alvarez
Ron Bierman talks to the American dramatic soprano Lise Lindstrom during rehearsals for Puccini's 'Turandot' at San Diego Opera
Jonathan Sheffer's 'The Conference of the Birds'. 'Recommended for its colorful, often striking orchestral effects.'
Lauren E Rico's ambitious first novel 'Reverie'
Piano music by Grant Foster. '... romantic and deeply-felt ...'
John McCabe plays Edvard Grieg. 'McCabe gets to the heart of these relatively unfamiliar pieces ...'
Arthur Gottschalk's 'Requiem for the Living'. '... a solid performance of both orchestra and choir.'
'Porgy and Bess' from San Francisco Opera. '... John DeMain leads the opera orchestra in a performance that blends well with the voices ...'
Juan Álamo's jazz for marimba. '... beautiful, rich tones ...'
Orchestral music by Lee Actor. 'Neoromantics should give this one a try.'
Symphonies by Per Nørgård. 'It's hard to imagine a more ideal presentation ...'
Music by Marty Regan. 'A few hearings should be enough to convince even skeptics ...'
Twentieth century Spanish songs. '... beautifully sung with spirited and intelligent accompaniment.'
Steven Osborne plays Musorgsky and Prokofiev. 'This is an outstanding release.'
Ron Bierman was at San Diego Opera's 'Don Quixote'
Concertos by Krzysztof Penderecki. '... an exceptionally worthwhile release.'
Ron Bierman concludes his conversation with Nuvi Mehta
Ron Bierman continues his conversation with Nuvi Mehta
Nuvi Mehta, the voice of the San Diego Symphony, talks to Ron Bierman
Iberian and Latin solo piano music. 'Rosa Antonelli over-caresses most of these nostalgic Latin pieces.'
Joshua Bell's Tchaikovsky in San Diego
American saxophone concertos. '... the two premieres are definitely worth hearing.'
Tasmin Little plays Strauss and Respighi. '... a winning program ...'
Joshua Pierce's tribute to John Cage. '... either hypnotic or annoyingly eccentric.'
Rachmaninov orchestral music. 'Vasily Petrenko gives us an extreme interpretation ...'
Piano music by Federico Ruiz. 'Clara Rodríguez ... has the right touch and interpretation for all of Ruiz's many styles.'
Music by Robert Ackerman. 'This is as diverse a program as I've ever heard.'
A recital by Wissam Boustany. 'He commands an exceptional range of styles and techniques.'
Recent concerti for strings. 'Warmly recommended.'
Music by American composers. 'Recommended for the mildly adventurous.'
Gaubert and Debussy for flute. '... a fine, well-played collection ...'
Music by Silvius Leopold Weiss. '... difficult to improve upon ...'
Music for flute and piano. 'The romantic-flute repertoire has never sounded better.'
Orchestral music by A Paul Johnson. '... performances that range from good to strong.'
Music by James Cohn. 'Conti is outstanding and in complete control throughout ...'
Christian Lindberg as trombonist, composer and conductor. '... an extraordinary character ...'
The Ramallah Concert. '... a tremendous, emotional, not-to-be-missed experience.'
A collaboration between Turnage and Scofield. '... well executed ...'
Music by Lee Actor. '... an outstanding release.'
Chamber music by Barbara Harbach. '... more humor than can be found in the entire oeuvre of many contemporary composers.'
A triple concerto by Graham Reynolds. 'Performances are equal to the occasion ...'
String quartets by David Matthews. 'The performances do full justice to the music.'
Music by Szymanowski, Webern and Schoeck. 'The quartet plays with authority throughout ...'
Music by Robert Baksa. 'The performances express Baksa's gentle optimism beautifully.'
Ensemble Polaris. 'Stockholm meets Nashville ...'
Bryan Beadle plays his own compositions. '... flashes of beautiful sound ...'
Music by Barbara Harbach. '... a worthwhile introduction to a valuable contemporary composer ...'
Music by Anna Bon di Venezia. '... nuanced and cleanly articulated ...'
Music by John A Carollo. 'Only partly my cup of tea ...'
Music by Yuanlin Chen. '... marvelous textures ...'
Sharon Bezaly plays Gubaidulina, Beamish and Takano. '... a beautiful tone at any volume in any octave ...'
John Corigliano's 'Circus Maximus'. 'The performances could not be bettered ...'
Emma Johnson plays Bernstein, Copland and Dankworth. '... outstanding performances ...'
Performances by the Ethos Percussion Group. '... performing excellence ...'
'The Sucker Punch Requiem' by Lisle Ellis. 'Recommended ... to classical listeners interested in expanding their listening domain.'
Music by Aaron Jay Kernis
Music for guitar quartet
Concertos and a symphony by Lee Actor
Orchestral music by Leroy Anderson. '... immediately appealing melodies ...'
Microtonal music by Monroe Golden. '... the overall effect is somehow stranger than the parts ...'
Wind Concertos by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. 'Strongly recommended ...'
Piano music by Sergei Taneyev. 'Performances are expert and loving throughout ...'
Music by Carson P Cooman. '... striking felicities of orchestral expression ...'
Music for two flutes and piano. 'Recommended, especially for Schickele and the "Dances" of Schocker.'
Malcolm Arnold string quartets. 'I recommend savoring the Maggini's outstanding advocacy ...'
Music by Lee Actor. 'Strongly recommended.'
David Hurwitz on Dvorák
A guide to Mozart's instrumental music
Music by Peter Blauvelt. 'There is some real passion in the sonata ...'
Orchestral music by Benjamin Britten. '... outstanding performances.'
Rameau ballet suites. '... intelligent performances.'
Orchestral music by Robert Kurka. 'Strongly recommended.'
Music by Kellogg and Crumb. '... an intriguing release with outstanding performances.'
Music by Tyzen Hsiao. 'Performances sound committed ...'
Boris Tishchenko's Symphony No 7. '... expert and at times wildly enthusiastic.'
Mozart wind concertos. 'The performances range from able to among the best.'
Music by Billy Cowie
Ramón Vargas sings Rossini and Donizetti arias. '... his singing is wonderfully musical.'
Discovering British light music. 'Sutherland and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia are ideal interpreters.'
The Romanesca trio's recording of Biber Violin Sonatas. '... the performances are outstanding.'
Benjamin Lees' Symphonies Nos 2, 3 and 5. 'The orchestra responds beautifully ...'
Gold and Lees piano concertos. '... a thoroughly convincing performance.'
Peter Sculthorpe's music for cello. '... beautifully-played cello.'
Contemporary American piano concertos. '... a masterful performance.'
Concertos for Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's centennial. '... filled with romantic gestures and crowd-pleasing virtuosity.'
The music of Antal Doráti. 'Sharon Bezaly's tone is gorgeous ...'
Music for two pianos and orchestra. '... all the technique these sometimes difficult pieces require ...'
Benjamin Lees' Symphony No 4. '... Buswell's playing is consistently rich and beautiful.'
Music by John Tavener. 'Recommended for those who like Tavener or Anonymous 4.'
The Talich Quartet plays Mozart
Ron Bierman met and talked to Benjamin Lees
David Lang's 'Child'. '... interesting melodic turns and mild Latin feel ...'
A chamber-music quality 'Nutcracker'. '... closer to what Tchaikovsky had in mind.'
Linden and Egarr play Bach Gamba sonatas, and Ron Bierman is impressed. '... a wonderful original instruments recording ...'
Ron Bierman listens to the music of Reynaldo Hahn
Ron Bierman explores Skrowaczewski's world
Music by Biber, played by The Parley of Instruments
The string quartets of David Stock
Ron Bierman is amazed by the playing of Marc-André Hamelin
The sacred choral music of Robert Evett
Ron Bierman recommends Jeffrey Khaner's flute CD on Avie
Ron Bierman listens to excerpts from previous Naxos releases
The 'Pièces de Clavecin', played in order of progressive difficulty. '... valuable for piano students.'
The Maggini Quartet plays Bax and Ron Bierman listens. '... enthusiastic, first-class performances.'