Jack Gibbons facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack Gibbons
Gibbons in 2004
Background information
Born	1962
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Pianist, composer

Jack Gibbons (born 2 March 1962) is an English-born American classical composer and amazing piano player. He is known for his incredible skill and for bringing old music back to life.

Jack Gibbons' Story

Jack Gibbons was born in England in 1962. His dad was a scientist, and his mom was an artist. He started playing the piano when he was very young in Stockton-on-Tees. Later, he continued his studies in Oxford.

He began performing for audiences at just 10 years old. When he was 17, in 1979, he played his first big concert in London. This concert featured only music by a composer named Charles-Valentin Alkan.

At 20, Jack won First Prize in the Newport International Pianoforte Competition. He played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra. In 1984, he performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. After this show, a newspaper called The Times said he could be "Britain's answer to Ivo Pogorelić", another famous pianist. Since then, Jack Gibbons has played in many famous places and festivals around the world.

From 1990 to 2005, Jack gave yearly concerts in London that were all about George Gershwin. He would play Gershwin's music, including his own special versions. These versions were like putting together a puzzle to recreate Gershwin's original improvisations (music made up on the spot). Over these years, Jack performed at least 48 Gershwin pieces that had been lost or forgotten. He also gave similar Gershwin concerts in New York at places like Carnegie Hall.

In 1992, Jack Gibbons released his first recording. It was nominated for a big award called a Gramophone Award. Between 1992 and 1997, he recorded a special 4-CD set called "The Authentic George Gershwin." This collection was praised as a "unique testimony to Gershwin's genius."

In 1995, Jack Gibbons made history in Oxford. He became the first pianist to play all 12 of Alkan's Douze Etudes dans les Tons Mineurs in one concert. He also recorded this work, and Gramophone magazine called it "among the most exhilarating feats of pianism I've heard." That same year, he played at the famous BBC Proms concert series. The BBC called him "THE Gershwin pianist of our time."

In 2001, Jack was in a serious car accident. His recovery was talked about a lot in the news. After his accident, Jack started focusing more on composing his own music. He had composed as a child but stopped for 25 years to focus on performing. Now, his own music has been played at Carnegie Hall and recorded by the BBC. He has written over 40 songs and choral works, 20 solo piano pieces, and two works for string orchestra.

Jack Gibbons still performs alongside his composing. In 2007, he played Alkan's Concerto for Solo Piano at Carnegie Hall. He also continues to host an annual summer piano festival in Oxford, which he has done every year since 1988. In 2010, he became an artist-in-residence at Davis and Elkins College in the U.S. In November 2023, Jack Gibbons became a naturalized American citizen.

Jack's Music: What He Composes

Here is a list of some of the music Jack Gibbons has composed:

Orchestral

• Lament for strings, Op. 41
• Serenade for strings, Op. 71

Choral

• Cradle Song, Op. 64a
• Ave verum corpus, Op. 89
• Ave verum corpus, Op. 90
• My heart is like a singing bird, Op. 91
• Christmas Bells, Op. 92
• The Lamb Child, Op. 95
• Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, Op. 100
• The Virgin's Cradle Hymn, Op. 101
• Wiegenlied, Op. 103
• O Magnum Mysterium, Op. 105
• Winter Song, Op. 102
• Lovely Kind, Op. 104
• Christmas Song, Op. 108
• Balulalow, Op. 109

Songs

• Sonnet: Remember me, Op. 12
• Phantom of Delight, Op. 13
• When We Two Parted, Op. 14
• I'll Not Weep, Op. 15
• Beloved Again, Op. 16
• Music, when soft voices die, Op. 17
• Echo, Op. 18
• Sleep Not, Op. 19
• Why?, Op. 20
• Epitaph for a child, Op. 21
• The Garden of Love, Op. 22
• In The Lane, Op. 23
• Weep you no more, Op. 24
• The Linnet, Op. 25
• Roses for the flush of youth, Op. 26
• The Bourne, Op. 27
• Among the flowers, Op. 28
• Love me, I Love You, Op. 29
• If I Could Shut the Gate, Op. 31
• Oh What Comes Over the Sea, Op. 32
• Mariana, Op. 33
• Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee, Op. 34
• When I am Dead My Dearest, Op. 36
• Echo's Song, Op. 40
• Once, Op. 43
• Perhaps (to R.A.L.), Op. 47
• A Life Beyond, Op. 52
• The Sun Is Set, Op. 57
• Sapessi pure!, Op. 58
• Sing A Song of Spring, Op. 60
• May, Op. 61
• A Red, Red Rose, Op. 62
• I Love My Jean, Op. 63
• Cradle Song, Op. 64
• A Love Alive, Op. 65
• Life, Op. 67
• The Parting Day, Op. 68
• The One Grief, Op. 69
• How Sweet I Roam'd from Field to Field, Op. 72
• Longing, Op. 73
• The Aspen, Op. 74
• Roses, Op. 75
• Lullaby of an Infant Chief, Op. 76

Solo piano

• Siciliano, Op. 30
• Prelude in A flat, Op. 37
• Tarantella, Op. 38
• Waltz in E major, Op. 39
• Prière, Op. 44
• Song Without Words, Op. 45
• Contredanse, Op. 46
• Song from the Old World, Op. 48
• Waltz in G major, Op. 49
• Music Box, Op. 50
• Lullaby (in memoriam), Op. 51
• Waltz in F minor, Op. 53
• Sarabande, Op. 54
• Waltz in E flat minor, Op. 55
• Prelude in E major, Op. 56
• Shanty, Op. 59
• A New World Song, Op. 66
• Waltz for a musical box, Op. 77
• Waltz in F major, Op. 78
• Nocturne in F sharp, Op. 79
• Melody in F sharp, Op. 80
• Minuetto malinconico, Op. 81
• 7 Esquisses, Op. 82
• Andantino, Op. 83
• Preludio, Op. 84
• Menuetto antico, Op. 85
• Nocturne in D flat, Op. 86
• Menuetto semplice, Op. 87
• Consolation, Op. 88
• Nocturne in B flat minor, Op. 93
• Romance, Op. 96
• Impromptu in C major, Op. 98
• Folk song, Op. 99
• Appalachian Fancy, Op. 107
• Solace, Op. 110
• Piano Suite in E, Op. 111
• Fantaisie, Op.116

Chamber music

• Siciliano for flute and piano, Op. 70
• Siciliano a quattro mani Op. 70a
• Siciliano for flute, cello and piano, Op. 70b
• Song Prelude, for piano duet, Op. 94
• Valse élégiaque, for piano duet, Op. 106

See also

In Spanish: Jack Gibbons para niños