Paul Schwartz

Paul Schwartz, whose father was the composer Arthur Schwartz and whose mother was the actress and dancer Mary Schwartz, commenced music instruction at age four before beginning organized piano study at six. At twelve he relocated to London, England, where he trained at the Royal College of Music and obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in composition and conducting. Following graduation he served as pianist and assistant conductor for several West End productions while also leading Ballet Rambert as conductor. Upon returning to the United States he joined the Washington Opera in Washington, D.C., as assistant conductor and later assumed the same position with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. While remaining active in classical music, he resumed work in musical theater as musical director for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song & Dance and The Phantom of the Opera. After writing scores for ballets and additional theatrical pieces, he signed with Astor Place Records and issued the 1997 album Aria, a joint project with Mario Grigorov that presented electronic reworkings of operatic arias and achieved notable success within the classical crossover genre. Revolution, released in 1998, featured his reinterpretations of Beatles material, and Aria 2: New Horizon, issued by Café Del Mar Music in 2000, likewise performed strongly on classical crossover charts. The thematically spiritual State of Grace, which appeared on Windham Hill Records in 2000, registered on the new age charts. In May 2002 the composer and conductor, recording under the name the Paul Schwartz Project, delivered Earthbound, the first album consisting solely of his original material. Subsequent releases continued earlier series with State of Grace II: Turning to Peace in 2003, Aria 3: Metamorphosis on Koch in 2004, and State of Grace III on Zakatak Music in 2006.