Listen Magazine interview with pianist Yuja Wang

Check out Listen Magazine's interview with pianist Yuja Wang.

Yuja Wang performs on the Celebrity Series of Boston 75th Anniversary Season at Jordan Hall on October 18.

Haochen Zhang plays J.S. Bach BWV 848 (video)

Pianist Haochen Zhang plays Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major, BWV 848 at the 4th China International Piano Competition in 2007. Zhang went on to win a gold medal at the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Compeition. Zhang makes his Boston (and Celebrity Series of Boston) debut on December 3 at NEC's Jordan Hall in Boston.

Zhang's interview with BBC Music Magazine

Interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer

Zhang's Wikipedia page

Student rush tickets avail. for pianist Fliter's recital Nov. 1

$20 student rush tickets are available for this Sunday's Jordan Hall recital by Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter. More details on student rush tickets are available here.

Ingrid Fliter on Chopin, Argerich and piano competitions

Ingrid Fliter

Pianist Ingrid Fliter is definitely at the point in her career in which people are beginning to know her music and want to hear her story. She spoke to The Times (UK) recently on a range of topics, including Chopin, pianist Martha Argerich, and winning the Gilmore Artist Award:

"Her big break was a once-in-a-lifetime chance — the intervention of
her all-time idol, the Argentine piano legend Martha Argerich, many of
whose best qualities she shares, though she would never admit the
comparison. 'A friend of mine told me that she was coming to Argentina
and that she wanted to listen to some young pianists — in four days’
time. So I practised 12 hours, 14 hours, on the one piece I wanted to
play, Chopin’s Sonata No 3.' After she had finished, Argerich told her
to pack her bags and go to study with Vitaly Margulis in Freiburg,
Germany. Then she gave her the keys to her flat in Geneva."

Read all of How Chopin came to the rescue of Argentine pianist Ingird Fliter.

Boston gets its first chance to hear Ms. Fliter on November 1 at NEC's Jordan Hall.

NY Times: "Searching for Chopin in Warsaw"

Have you been noticing more attention being paid to Chopin and his music of late? Well, there is a reason. For those of you who are not aware, 2010 is the bicentennial of Chopin's birth. For our part, Chopin is getting some additional Celebrity Series attention in 2010, too. Three of the four pianists on the Series are playing Chopin (and Pollini is playing only Chopin). The latest additional to the public discussion of Chopin comes from today's story in the New York Times about looking for clues, any clues, of Chopin's presence in Warsaw. Read Searching for Chopin in Warsaw.

I can't say this article left me feeling good about the state of Chopin's legacy in his home country, but it is an interesting micro-examination of the issue, at least.

Pianist Fliter's unconventional Schumann concerto in Chicago's Grant Park

Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter gave an unusual performance of Schumann's piano concerto in Chicago's Grant Park on August 5. Here is a bit of Dennis Polkow review for Classical Review:

"Fliter’s rubato remained a constant surprise: after such a fast, thrilling
opening, she quickly quieted down and slowly took the follow-up section,
offering a satisfying yet alternative interpretive contrast.  Her rolling
arpeggios were delivered with such precision and transparency that they often
came across as far more legato and less percussive, a quality which drew more
attention to the overall melodic shape of the piece, as if she were playing
Bach."

Read the complete review.

As this blog has written before, Ms. Fliter makes her Boston debut on November 1 in a recital at NEC's Jordan Hall.

La Guardia fake bomber also plays classical piano

Apropos of nothing, Scott McGann, the man accused of planting a fake bomb at New York's La Guardia airport, apparently plays classical piano regularly at Beethoven Pianos, a Manhattan music store on West 58th Street:

"'He's always welcome here,' said Perry Fellwock, marketing manager at the store. 'His piano playing is brilliant. He plays mostly classical music.'"

New York Daily News story

Stumbling into "The Rehearsal" in Aspen

Writer Erik Tarloff stumbles across pianist Yefim Bronfman rehearsing at the Aspen Music Festival in The Atlantic:

"I strolled down into the all-but-empty auditorium and grabbed myself a
great seat.  The superb Russian pianist Yefim Bronfman was rehearsing
the concerto with the Aspen Festival Orchestra under the conductor
Peter Oundjian, for a concert scheduled to take place tomorrow.  I had
just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

Read all of The Rehearsal.

Two new piano pieces by Mozart found

The Austria-based International Mozarteum Foundation has announced the discovery of two new piano works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. More details to come on August 2. Associated Press story.