Celebrating Liszt's 200th birthday...

My students are asking me: "why are having all these birthday celebrations?" - finally they are understanding the importance of Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, and Mendelssohn - iconic figures of music's great Romantic period. My studio class will give it's third annual Spring recital April 8 - "A Liszt Retrospective." Starring Alfred Meneses, John Shannon, Katherine Adams, Tyler Bechtle, Grace Han, Juan Rogers, Austin Clark, Kate Sobleman, Karen O'Connell, Noel West) On April 15 I'll present my annual faculty recital. This year, to accomodate an upcoming concert tour to China in May, my program will include five Waltzes by Chopin (hope one of them is your favorite), Moszrt's dramatic Sonata in A minor, K. 310, and to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Liszt (2011) I'll perform his powerful Vallee d'Obermann, a couple of the Petrarc Sonnets (Nos. 123 and 104) and the energetic Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12. In March, I joined the Brevard Symphony Orchestra for performances of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major. It was a blast! Next season is already in the planning: April 13 I'll join the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Butterman in a performance of Beethoven's Concerto No. 3, then the following weekend I'll give a recital of four of Beethoven's most beloved piano sonatas ("Tempest," "Pathetique," "Moonlight," "Waldstein").

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