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Impressive Pianists Conclude Young Artists Series
CHOPIN’s MUSIC, especially his piano music, has a signature quality that is hard to describe, but you know it as ‘Chopin’ (1810-1849) when you hear it. Which, of course, poses a challenge for pianists. Do they make it ‘the same’ or do they try to make it ‘their own’ and run the risk of... Read »
Ilana Vered Showcases Her Musicality
IN THE MUSICAL DOCUMENTARY “From Mao To Mozart,” violinist Isaac Stern implores a young student: “You don’t use music to play the violin; you use the violin to play music.” At the final concert of this year’s College of Charleston International Piano Series at the Sottile Theatre last Tuesday, we had an excellent demonstration... Read »
Piano Heaven at Piccolo
WHAT A WAY TO BEGIN one’s Piccolo Spoleto festival! The Young Artist Series blasted a packed house into piano heaven on Saturday with a beautifully balanced program focusing on transcriptions of early twentieth-century French works, with some Gershwin and Piazzolla thrown in as a climax to the darker seduction of the more impressionistic works.... Read »
Eric Clark Triumphs in IPS Finale
THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON’s excellent International Piano Series wrapped up its season in style with Eric Clark’s most impressive recital Tuesday at the Memminger Auditorium. Clark, a former student of IPS director Enrique Graf at Carnegie Mellon University, is in the process of launching a promising career, with several significant competition successes to his... Read »
Pianist Eric Clark at Memminger
The 2010–2011 International Piano Series (still temporarily relocated to Memminger Auditorium) will conclude April 5 with a concert by Eric Clark who has been heard throughout much of the United States and Europe in such prestigious halls as Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh and at Severance Hall in Cleveland. Having won First Prize in... Read »
Pianissimo Perfection
FRANZ LISZT has a way of dominating—nay, overwhelming—a concert, especially when he comes at the end of the program as he did Monday night at Memminger when guest pianist José Feghali unleashed the stupendous Sonata in B minor. Josés last five notes in particular—which he handled with his deft, lingering style—bowled us over. The... Read »
Christopher O’Riley at the Sottile
THE WELL-KNOWN HOST of NPR’s “From The Top” broadcast will be at the Sottile this Thursday as the second featured pianist in this year’s International Piano Series at the College of Charleston. You often hear Christopher accompanying his radio guests on the piano, but you have probably never heard him play this level of... Read »
Another Prize for Micah
THE COMPETITION took place in the castle of Ettlingen, Germany. Two hundred and sixty-seven young pianists from 41 nations applied. One hundred and eight were admitted to perform over the ten-day period of August 5–15. And history was made by awarding the top two prizes in the younger category to pianists from the United... Read »
Bach Keyboard Extravaganza
THE FANTASTIC FINALE to the International Piano Series at the College of Charleston is coming next Tuesday night. It features an all Bach program for multiple pianos accompanied by a string ensemble of members from the College of Charleston Chamber Orchestra and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lorenzo Muti. And all of the... Read »
Enrique Graf, piano mentor
AS PROMISED, below is part 2 of our interview with Enrique Graf, Artist in Residence at the College of Charleston, who will be performing next Tuesday night at the Sottile Theatre. The interview speaks for itself, but here are a few more interesting things you might want to know about Enrique’s background. He was... Read »
