Ukrainian Phenom Valentina Lisitsa Debuts with Colorado Symphony

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Pianist Valentina Lisitsa joins conductor Mark Wigglesworth and Colorado Symphony in performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3; Colorado Symphony shines in Schubert's "Great" Symphony No. 9

Music lovers should prepare for magnificent performances when Ukrainian piano phenomenon Valentina Lisitsa and acclaimed British conductor Mark Wigglesworth join the Colorado Symphony for concerts featuring Rachmaninoff's passionate Piano Concerto No. 3 and Schubert's "Great" Symphony No. 9 on Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17. Lisitsa makes her Colorado Symphony debut in these concerts, which promise not only keyboard fireworks but also a truly brilliant performance from start to finish. The concerts also spotlight Schubert's extraordinary Ninth Symphony, a work that remained unperformed for more than a decade after his death. When a young composer named Robert Schumann discovered it buried in a pile of manuscripts and shared it with fellow composer Felix Mendelssohn, one of the greatest works in the repertoire was – at last – heard by the public. Tickets are on sale now and start at $34. To learn more about this concert and the Colorado Symphony, visit www.coloradosymphony.org.

Lisitsa, who has a large international fan base thanks in part to her YouTube Channel (more than 28 million views, with an average of 50,000 listeners every day) has already established a reputation as a favorite of audiences and critics alike. In its review of her concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote: "Lisitsa constantly made her scintillating technique the servant of her poetic conception of the piece." On her Ravinia performances, Chicago Classical wrote: "She played with flair and thoughtful insight as well as intense delight, racing through Liszt’s most manic, densely ornamented pages with blinding speed and machine-tooled precision. It was the kind of concert that left the audience exhilarated but exhausted. Lisitsa, on the other hand, finally wrapping things up with a serenely dappled Für Elise for an encore, looked like she could have played all night." For Colorado Symphony concertgoers, the choice of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto is particularly appropriate for Lisitsa's debut: Rachmaninoff composed it for his first tour of the United States during the 1909/10 season. It became a beloved cornerstone of his concert repertory after emigrating from Russia and settling in California.

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