Interchanging Idioms

Dedicated Proponents, Pianists Adam Tendler & Christopher Taylor Will Reveal the Intricacies of These Linked Works in a Pair of Linked Concerts at Jacaranda Music’s February 22nd Mid-Century Modern Program Jacaranda's 10th anniversary season continues on Saturday, February 22, 2014 with a dinner break — a break that separates the performances of two 20-movement mid-twentieth-century masterworks by John Cage and Olivier Messiaen. Each cycle is played by an American pianist with whom the music has become synonymous: Adam Tendler and Christopher Taylor, respectively. The consecutive concerts (Tendler at 5:00 p.m. and Taylor at 7:30 p.m.) will take place at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Jacaranda’s first decade gave extensive attention to the centenaries of Messiaen (1908-92) and Cage (1912-89). As a nod to that legacy, artistic director Patrick Scott chose for the 10th anniversary two works for solo piano that link the...

INCLUDES DELUXE LIMITED EDITION WITH BONUS DVD “MY LIFE WITH CHOPIN” AVAILABLE OCTOBER 9 The music of Chopin – universally loved for its beauty and communicative power – has long been a dynamic force in Lang Lang’s life, propelling him through a number of career-defining experiences. Now, in his 30th-birthday year, Lang Lang records his first album entirely devoted to the great composer’s solo piano masterpieces. The Chopin Album – Lang Lang’s third album for Sony Classical – includes the second set of Chopin’s Études (op. 25), the Andante spianato & Grande Polonaise and a selection of shorter works that he has long enjoyed performing, including three Nocturnes and the Waltz op. 64 no. 1, popularly known as the “Minute” Waltz. Chopin “speaks with such a universal voice,” Lang Lang says. “I genuinely believe he’s a true ambassador for classical music among the great composers. He appeals to everyone.” Chopin has accompanied Lang Lang throughout his career. One of the fir...

Russian pianist Olga Kern and guest conductor Peter Oundjian will join the Colorado Symphony for a weekend of Masterworks performances when Olga Kern Plays Grieg at Boettcher Concert Hall on Friday and Saturday, May 18-19 at 7:30pm and on Sunday, May 20 at 2:30pm. This weekend will mark Olga’s 5th appearance in Denver with the Colorado Symphony. Ms. Kern is a well-loved pianist among CSO patrons dating back to her first performance with the Symphony during the 2004/05 season. To learn more about this concert and the Colorado Symphony, visit www.coloradosymphony.org .

The Golandsky Institute has announced the performers for its 2012 International Piano Festival , to be held at Princeton University for its ninth consecutive summer, July 8th – 14th. The Festival will feature six recitals by internationally acclaimed artists from the classical and jazz piano music worlds. This year’s season will also feature an Evening of Songs with soloists from Opera New Jersey. The first four of the six concerts will be held in the Berlind Theatre of the acclaimed McCarter Theatre Center, the last two in Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University. On Sunday, July 8th at 8:00 p.m., 15 year old artist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner makes his Princeton debut at the Golandsky Institute on opening night. The youngest student ever to attend Juilliard’s College with a portfolio of critical accolades from Baghdad to the White House, this young emerging star will dazzle, charm and touch your heart. The performance will be held at the Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theatre Cente...

The five finalists for a prize valued at more than $100,000 from the American Pianists Association will be showcased in performance on New York’s classical station, WQXR (105.9 FM and online at wqxr.org) on Wednesday, May 19 at 9pm. There will be a simultaneous broadcast on WFYI in Indianapolis, home of the American Pianists Association. The program, hosted by Robert Sherman, is part of The McGraw Hill Companies Young Artists Showcase. It was recorded last month when the names of the finalists for the 2013 ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association were revealed at Steinway Hall. The Program: Andrew Staupe, 27, will open the broadcast with Pierre Jalbert’s Toccata; followed by Sara Daneshpour, 25, in Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in B minor, K. 27 and Rachmaninov’s Etude-tableau in A minor, Op. 39/6. Claire Huangci, 22 – the youngest finalist – will play three etudes by Alexander Scriabin: Op. 42/3, Op. 8/10, and Op. 8/12. Sean Chen, 23, will pe...

Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS closes its 2012 Michael Palm Series of house concerts on Thursday, May 17, with a memorable evening of song from soprano Christine Brewer and pianist Craig Rutenberg. Held in the Tribeca loft apartment of supporters Simon Yates and Kevin Roon, who have hosted all concerts in the series since 2010, the upcoming recital is part of the New York City-based salon series named for the charity’s late benefactor. The performance begins at 7:30pm, following an hour of wine and hors d’oeuvres; tickets for this series-closing concert may be purchased online at www.classicalaction.org or by calling Classical Action at (212) 997-7717. For the first time in the history of the Michael Palm Series, the music may also be enjoyed beyond this cozy salon setting: the recital will be recorded for a broadcast presentation at a later date on SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall, channel 76. Grammy Award-winning American soprano Christine Brewer, named one of the top 20 ...

“An accomplished and adventurous pianist with boundless enthusiasm and stamina” — Anthony Tommasini, New York Times To mark the May 15 release of his Nonesuch label debut, pianist Jeremy Denk will make his first appearance at Le Poisson Rouge, taking over New York City’s musical hotspot for a one-night-only Ligeti/Beethoven celebration on Monday, May 21 at 7:30 pm. The concert program comprises Book 1 of Ligeti’s Piano Études and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111. (His new CD adds selections from Ligeti’s Piano Études, Book 2). Denk blends repertoire from some of his most recent critically-acclaimed appearances, comparing and contrasting these composers as only this inspired pianist and intellectual can. Denk is thrilled to be joining the prestigious Nonesuch roster, and his unusual musical explorations are a fantastic fit for the groundbreaking label. Critics, too, have praised Denk’s ability to creatively tackle a diverse array of repertoire. Harry Rolnick of Concert...

Young Pianist makes her EMI Classics Debut with Complete Beethoven Sonatas, to be released exclusively on iTunes for $9.99 on May 22 “In her hands, Beethoven has moved from VHS to Blu Ray in a heartbeat. Everything is dangerously invigorating, strikingly original. This is the kind of album that will save the classical recording industry.“ The Telegraph The brilliant 24-year-old Korean pianist HJ Lim, who signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics in September 2011, has recorded her first project for the label, an ambitious traversal of the Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas. As an unheard of feat in launching a new artist, EMI will release Lim’s Complete Beethoven Sonatas on the iTunes Music Store for only $9.99, a strategy commonly used with compilations, but never with a new release until now. A Yamaha exclusive artist, HJ was also the first to record the complete sonatas on a Yamaha CFX concert grand piano, the crown jewel of their remarkable piano collection. Pianists who r...

During a media event at Steinway Hall on April 24, the American Pianists Association (APA) revealed the names of the five pianists who are finalists for a prize valued at more than $100,000 – the 2013 ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association. In the coming season, the finalists – selected from America’s foremost young pianists aged 18-30 – will perform in a variety of settings: from solo recital, song, new music, and chamber music to concerto appearances with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. At the conclusion of these and other activities on April 20, 2013, a distinguished panel of international judges will name the APA’s 2013 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellow, a musician with the potential to make significant contributions to American cultural life. “One of the great things about the American Pianists Association is our unique competition format,” stated Joel Harrison, President/CEO and Artistic Director...

Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has long been recognized not only as one of today’s great soloists but as a first-choice partner for the finest vocalists. Acknowledging his catalytic role in a recent song recital, the New York Times observed that the pianist “provided the...intense atmosphere in which the vocal line thrives, and from which it draws much of its power.” Now, hot off a nationwide solo recital tour and high-profile concerto appearances for his multi-season “Beethoven: A Journey” project, Andsnes embarks on a U.S. recital tour with German baritone Matthias Goerne, “the most intellectually and vocally gifted male art-song interpreter of his generation” ( Philadelphia Inquirer ). With a striking program of songs about love and death by Shostakovich and Mahler, their five-city tour launches at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre (April 23) and concludes at New York’s Carnegie Hall (May 1). Later in May, Andsnes reprises “Beethoven: A Journey,” performing the composer’s First and Third P...

"Perhaps most remarkable was Aimard's consistent, deeply-felt musicality, delivered sans affectation or pretension." — Denver Post After wrapping-up his recent four-city U.S. recital tour, French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard returns to Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on April 21 and 22 for back-to-back recitals that represent the only US performance of his acclaimed 2011 Deutsche Grammophon recording, The Liszt Project , in its entirety. Known specially for his innovative musical explorations, Aimard released the double album to mark the Liszt bicentenary, presenting performances of music by the legendary composer/pianist alongside works by those who influenced him and by those he inspired: Bartók, Berg, Messiaen, Ravel, Scriabin, Stroppa, and Wagner. This musical study offers new insight into Liszt’s compositional process, as well as revealing fascinating links between him and his near contemporaries. The Liszt Project was named one of 2011’s best recordings by n...

Highlighting Busy Spring for Acclaimed Pianist / Writer / Blogger “ So many recitalists these days mix old and modern music, but few have Denk’s gift for stacking both halves of the deck with works of such iconic grandeur, and then pulling off the mammoth recital as if it’s all in a day’s work. ” — Boston Globe On May 15, Jeremy Denk makes his Nonesuch label debut with Ligeti/Beethoven, a solo recording featuring selections from the first and second books of Ligeti’s Piano Études, plus Beethoven’s Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111. Denk played the Ligeti works in a series of recitals last year to stunning effect, with the New York Times reporting that the performances left audiences “grasping for superlatives at intermission.” The sets of etudes, six from Book 1 and seven from Book 2, bookend Denk’s recording of Beethoven’s final piano sonata. Denk’s performance of Beethoven’s Opus 111 at the 2010 Mostly Mozart Festival brought this enthusiastic response from the Times: “This account, ...

IN ANTICIPATION OF THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW ALBUM, DARKNESSE VISIBLE Music and literature, pictures and paint have been brought together in a collaboration between pianist Inon Barnatan, filmmaker Tristan Cook and artist Zack Smithey. The three have created a series of evocative video vignettes that expand upon the themes in Inon Barnatan’s new recording, Darknesse Visible, to be released by Avie records on April 10.

21C Media Group is pleased to announce that it now represents the American Pianists Association (APA), recognized by the New York Times for offering “profound early-career assistance” to world-class young American classical and jazz pianists. Over the coming season, the APA will present the finalists for the 2013 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship Award. The Fellowship offers one of the piano world’s most substantial prizes, valued at over $100,000, awarded every four years to a classical pianist at the conclusion of a unique 13-month-long competition process. The names of the five finalists for the 2013 award, selected from America’s foremost young pianists ages 18-30, will be announced on April 24 at a media event in New York’s Steinway Hall – to be recorded for future broadcast on WQXR and other classical radio stations. The mission of the American Pianists Association is to discover, promote, and advance the careers of young, American, world-class jazz and classical pianists. ...

French pianist Alexandre Tharaud makes a rare New York appearance when he performs at Le Poisson Rouge, Manhattan’s popular downtown music club, on Monday, April 9. The program includes excerpts from Book 1 of Debussy’s Preludes, selections from Tharaud’s recent Virgin Classics release, Scarlatti: Sonatas (one of NPR’s 50 favorite recordings of 2011), and works from his upcoming jazz-inspired album, Le Boeuf Sur le Toit ( The Ox on the Roof ), which pays tribute to the swinging 1920s in France with a number of special guests and a captivating mix of repertoire. The new album, scheduled for release this fall, takes its name from a historic cabaret where Parisian classical musicians discovered jazz (it’s also the title of a surrealist ballet by Jean Cocteau based on a score by Darius Milhaud). Alexandre Tharaud is increasingly recognized as one of today’s most inventive pianists, traversing a wide variety of repertoire – from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary compositions – with ...

“The playing of the British violinist Daniel Hope…is not just distinguished by its tonal beauty, but by its compelling rhetorical quality.” — The Wall Street Journal For his ninth season as a performer and his eighth as Associate Artistic Director at the Savannah Music Festival (March 22-April 7), Daniel Hope has curated an extraordinary array of concerts that make up the classical portion of Georgia’s largest cross-genre musical arts festival. As a violinist, Hope will make nine appearances during the 2012 Savannah Music Festival (SMF), primarily as part of the Daniel Hope & Friends series, presented in the dramatic Rotunda of Savannah’s Telfair Academy. Highlights include Hope’s recital of the complete Brahms violin sonatas with Sebastian Knauer; an evening with old friend and Beaux Arts Trio colleague Menahem Pressler; three performances with keyboard star Kristian Bezuidenhout and the period chamber orchestra l'arte del mondo (which makes its U.S. premiere at SMF 2012); an...

“Aimard has an ingenious knack for juxtaposing old and new works to tease out fascinating resonances.” – Anthony Tomassini, New York Times After making “riveting” (New York Times) appearances with the Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, French pianist and musical luminary Pierre-Laurent Aimard returns to the U.S. for a four-city recital tour in late March. This sees the pianist’s debuts in Denver, Co (March 22) and Santa Barbara, CA (March 26), as well as performances in Detroit, MI (March 24) and San Francisco, CA (March 27). One of the most celebrated interpreters of contemporary music, Aimard has been called “the composers’ favorite pianist” (Economist); his tour program features works by one of his frequent collaborators, György Kurtág, alongside Debussy’s complete Préludes, Book II, and music by Schumann and Liszt. Following the tour, Aimard presents a pair of recitals at New York’s Lincoln Center (April 21 & 22), with repertoire from his recent Deutsche Grammophon doub...

Recording of World Premieres by Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau – and Original Jazz Band Rhapsody in Blue Pianist Kirill Gerstein, whose masterful technique, musical curiosity and probing interpretations have led to explorations of classical music and jazz, brings those worlds together at Boston’s Berklee College of Music on March 30 with “ An Evening with Kirill Gerstein: Rhapsody in Blue. ” The Russian-born pianist will perform the world premieres of works by Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau, commissioned by Gerstein using prize money from his 2010 Gilmore Artist Award. The jazz-inspired program also features the original 1924 jazz-band version of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with a 25-piece ensemble consisting of Berklee faculty and students. Vibraphonist Gary Burton, clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, and cellist/composer Eugene Friesen are special guests. Produced by Gerstein and directed by Berklee professor Phil Wilson, “ An Evening with Kirill Gerstein: Rhapsody in Blue ” is being r...

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 com...

Darknesse Visible , pianist Inon Barnatan’s debut recording for Avie Records, will be released in the U.S. on Tuesday, April 10 and in Europe on Monday, April 23. This recording brings together colorful works by British and French composers which are inspired by literature and evocatively explore the interconnection of darkness and light. The works on the CD are: Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit and La valse, opening and closing the CD respectively; Thomas Adès’s Darknesse Visible, from which the recording takes its name; Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque; and Ronald Stevenson’s Fantasy on Peter Grimes, based on themes from Benjamin Britten’s opera. Mr. Barnatan, described by the London’s Evening Standard as “a true poet of the keyboard”, explains why he chose the CD title: “When British composer Thomas Adès titled his piano piece Darknesse Visible he was remembering two towering English figures: John Milton, who used the phrase "Darkness Visible" to describe the fires of hell in...