|
Wang; Lanyi, Wu, Bennett and Lyapkova.
Popular works for solo piano from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a work by two members of the Beatles, and pieces by celebrated women composers are put in the spotlight in Classical Music Chicago's (CMC's) March 2023 nationally acclaimed noontime Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts series. Free to the public since its launch in 1977, and taking place each Wednesday of the month, the free performances offer dynamic programs featuring such works as Earl Wild's Virtuosic Etude after Gershwin’s “Embraceable You," Haydn's remarkable Sonata in C Major, Lennon and McCarney's widely known Golden Slumber from the Beatles' 1969 album "Abbey Road," (arranged by Takemitsu), Valerie Coleman's melodic Requiem Milonga for flute and piano, and one of the best-loved 19th century cello sonatas, Grieg's Sonata for Cello and Piano in A minor, to name but a few.
One of the country's forerunners in accessibility, creativity and inspiration, the Chicago Tribune has praised the series as "one of the nation's premier springboards for gifted young classical musicians."
DAME MYRA HESS MEMORIAL CONCERTS
MARCH 2023 CONCERTS
12:15 PM
Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago - 55 E. Wacker Drive
March 1, 2023
Chelsea Wang, piano
J.S. BACH
French Suite no. 5 in G Major, BWV 816
W.A. MOZART
Sonata in F major, K. 533/494
Earl WILD
Virtuosic Etude after Gershwin’s “Embraceable You”
Praised by The New York Times as an “excellent young pianist,” Chelsea Wang has performed extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia, appearing overseas in such venues as Konzerthaus Berlin, Munich’s Allerheiligen-Hofkirche, Konzertsaal at Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber, Dresden Hochschule fur Musik, Auditori Teulada Moraira in Spain, Chamber Hall of Warsaw Philharmonic, Seoul Arts Center, Taipei National Concert Hall, Kaohsiung Weiwuying Center for the Arts, and Taitung Cultural Performing Arts Center. U.S. venues include Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center, New York’s Merkin Hall, Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and more. A native of West Des Moines, Iowa Ms. Wang is a prizewinner and finalist of many national and international piano competitions including the Seoul International Piano competition, Washington International Piano Competition, New York International Piano Competition, Schubert Club Scholarship Competition, to name a few.
March 1 - Dame Myra Hess Classical Music Chicago
March 8, 2023
Ariel Lanyi, piano
Joseph HAYDN
Sonata in C Major, Hob XVI: 48
I. Andante con espressione; II. Rondo. Presto
César FRANCK
Prelude, Aria et final
I. Prelude; II. Aria; III. Final
In 2021 Ariel Lanyi won 3rd Prize (The Roslyn Lyons Bronze Medal) at the Leeds International Piano Competition, performing Brahms Concerto No.2 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrew Manze in the Finals. In the same year he was a prize winner in the inaugural Young Classical Artists Trust (London) and Concert Artists Guild (New York) International Auditions. Born in Jerusalem and now based in the UK, this season Lanyi records Mozart with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, and gives recitals at the Kissinger Festsommer, Fundaçion Juan March in Madrid, Wigmore Hall and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In addition, he undertakes tours of Argentina and the USA.
March 8 - Dame Myra Hess Classical Music Chicago
March 15, 2023
Christine Wu, piano
Franz SCHUBERT
Three Piano Pieces, D. 946
Franz LISZT
Les années de pèlerinage, Deuxième année: Italie, S. 161
VI. Sonetto 123 del Petrarca
Franz SCHUBERT; arr. Franz Liszt
Der Müller und der Bach, S. 565
LENNON/McCARTHY; arr. Tōru Takemitsu
Golden Slumbers
Praised in The New York Times by chief music critic Anthony Tommasini for her “arresting” playing, American pianist Christine Wu has performed in concert venues throughout North America and Europe, including Merkin Hall, the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Petit Palau de la Música Catalana, and Théâtre du Châtelet. A former member of the Frankfurt-based International Ensemble Modern Akademie, she has played in major contemporary music festivals including the Lucerne Festival, ManiFeste Paris, and Time of Music Festival in Viitasaari, Finland, and premiered over 20 new works. She is the third prize winner of the Ettore Pozzoli International Piano Competition.
March 15 - Dame Myra Hess Classical Music Chicago
March 22, 2023
Meghan Bennett flute and Maria Lyapkova, piano
Cécile CHAMINADE Concertino for flute and piano
Valerie COLEMAN
Requiem Milonga
Mel BONIS
Sonate pour flûte et piano
I. Andante con moto; II. Vivace; III. Adagio; IV. Moderato
Lili BOULANGER
D’un matin de printemps
Meghan Bennett has performed with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra, Round Rock Symphony and the Palmetto Opera Orchestra. She has been a recipient of fellowships to attend the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Brevard Music Center, Marrowstone Music Festival, National Music Festival and Spoleto Festival USA. An Assistant Professor of Flute at California State University, Fresno, Bennett was awarded top prizes in the South Carolina Flute Society Young Artist Competition, Morning, Afternoon and Eau Claire Music Club Competition, Atlanta Flute Club Young Artist Competition, Flute Society of Kentucky Young Artist Competition and Greater Philadelphia Flute Society Collegiate Young Artist Competition. Bennett has competed in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and the Fischoff Competition. She is a William S. Haynes Artist and performs on a handmade custom Haynes flute.
A native of Moscow, Russia, Maria Lyapkova has appeared at international music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival & School (United States), Spotlight on Young Musicians (France), and the Music of Norway (Norway/Russia). An accomplished collaborative pianist, she has performed with principals of leading orchestras such as the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and The Bolshoi Theatre. Currently, Maria serves as a Director of Collaborative Piano at the DePauw University School of Music. She made the first recording of the sonatas for keyboard and obligato violin by forgotten German composer A. F. Titz on a historical fortepiano. As a proponent of new music, Lyapkova has worked with prominent composers such as Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, and Bair Dondokov.
March 22 - Dame Myra Hess Classical Music Chicago
March 29, 2023
Michael Katz, cello and Victor Asuncion, piano
Rebecca CLARKE
Passacaglia on an Old English Tune
Edvard GRIEG
Sonata for Cello and Piano in A minor Op. 36
Manuel de FALLA; arr. G. Piatigorsky
Danza ritual del fuego
Hailed by Strad Magazine for his “bold, rich sound,” and The New York Times for his “nuanced musicianship,” Grammy-nominated cellist Michael Katz has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Kimmel Center, Lucerne KKL, Tokyo’s Oji Hall, and Jerusalem’s Henry Crown Auditorium. High in demand as a chamber musician, Mr. Katz has collaborated and performed with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Anthony Marwood, Donald Weilerstein, Peter Frankl, Roger Tapping, and Charles Neidich.
Praised by The Washington Post for his “poised and imaginative playing,” pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion has appeared in concert halls in Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Turkey and the USA, as a recitalist and concerto soloist. A chamber music enthusiast, he has performed with artists such as Lynn Harrell, Zuill Bailey, Andres Diaz, Antonio Meneses, Joshua Roman, Cho-Liang Lin, and many others. Asuncion is a Steinway artist.
March 29 - Dame Myra Hess Classical Music Chicago
Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts - Classical Music Chicago
The concerts are generously sponsored by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and by individual donors.
| 
