ABOUT THE EVENT
Fryderyk Chopin Society of Connecticut
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The Fryderyk Chopin Society of Connecticut presents world-class pianists, from emerging talents to some of the most distinguished names in music from around the world.
All shows begin at 3:00 pm in the Stanley Works Center.
Please note that due to COVID capacity limits, pre-registration is now required for all participants. Museum members enjoy free admission, but must register in advance.
For non-members, admission to the museum galleries is included with the purchase of your concert ticket. Fryderyk Chopin Society of Connecticut members receive a 50% discount ticket ($7.50). Ticket holders must check-in at front desk prior to event.
*Walk-in tickets will not be available on day of show.
Featuring:
March 27 - Jay Herschberger | THIS DATE HAS SOLD OUT!
Pianist Jay Hershberger has played throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His domestic performances include the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Library of Congress. He has also been frequent guest artist at the Great Romantics Music Festival in Canada. In years past he performed in Europe, including the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in southern Italy and the South Bohemia Music Festival in the Czech Republic. Recent tours have included major cities in China, and at music festivals in Scotland and Italy. He is a founding member of Excelsior! Trio, a chamber group that performs an eclectic mix of classical, folk, jazz, and fusion. Excelsior! Trio tours extensively in the US and in Europe.
Jay is currently Professor of Piano at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. His undergraduate students regularly win competitions and have been accepted into prestigious graduate schools in piano performance and pedagogy, many with teaching assistantships. An active adjudicator, Hershberger has judged for the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, the Phoenix Young Artist Competition, the San Angelo Symphony Sorantin Awards, the Lee Biennial Competition, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Young Artist Competition, and the Music Teachers National Association. He is vice president of the American Liszt Society. His first compact disc recording, featuring works by Franz Liszt was featured on Michael Barone’s New Releases radio program on Minnesota Public Radio.
Program:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
- Sonata in C major, K. 330
- Allegro moderato
- Andante cantabile
- Allegretto
Zhenmin Xu (b 1934)
- A Poem Written in Poshan Temple
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
- Vallée d’Obermann from Années de Pèlerinage I (Suisse)
Fryderyk Chopin (1810 - 1849)
- Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
- Allegro maestoso
- Scherzo: Molto vivace
- Largo
- Finale: Presto non tanto
April 24 - Piotr Alexewicz
One of the most talented Polish pianists of his generation, Piotr Alexewicz is a two-time winner of the Polish National Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition (2017, 2020). Born in 2000, he currently studies the piano under Professor Paweł Zawadzki at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. He participated in master classes led by such distinguished piano teachers as Dina Yoffe, Dang Thai Son, Pavel Gililov, Arie Vardi, Jacques Rouvier, Viera Nosina, Dmitri Alexeev, Mikhail Voskresensky, Vanessa Latarche, Eugen Indjic, Michel Beroff, and Jan Jiracek von Anim. He is a prizewinner of more than a dozen Polish and international piano competitions.
His other artistic achievements include: 2nd prize of the Jeunesses International Music Competition Dinu Lipatti in Bucharest (2016); Grand Prix, Musideco Prize and Audience Award at the Ville de Gagny Competition in Paris (2017); and Złoty Parnas won at the 13th International Pianist Forum in Sanok, Poland (2018).
An active performer since his early years, in 2018–20 he played at the Chopin and His Europe Festival in Warsaw (2018, 2019), the 73rd and 75th International Festival in Duszniki Zdrój, Gdańsk Music Festival, and Chopin à Paris: Hommage à Clara Schumann. He also made an appearance at the International Classical Music Awards gala in Katowice and the Théâtre André Malraux in Paris. He has collaborated with cunductors such as Howard Shelley, Tatsuya Shimono, Marek Pijarowski, Nicolae Moldoveanu, Benjamin Shwartz, and Rune Bergmann.
Mr Alexewicz regularly performs at home and abroad (Germany, Denmark, the UK, Italy, France, Switzerland, Japan, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia). He is the recipient of the Young Poland scholarship awarded by Poland’s cuture ministry and a Mayor of Wrocław grant. In 2019 the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw released his debut album featuring music by Liszt, Beethoven, Chopin, and Ravel.
Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
- Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux"
Fryderyk Chopin (1810 - 1849)
- Waltzes in D-flat Major and i A-flat Major, op. 64
- Polonaise in e-flat minor op. 26
Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)
- Faschingsschwank aus Wien op. 26
May 22 - Kate Liu
Pianist Kate Liu gained international acclaim after winning the Bronze Medal and Best Mazurka Prize at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland. She was also awarded the audience favorite prize voted by the Polish public on the Polish National Radio.
As a soloist, Kate has performed in many important venues, such as the Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Severance Hall in Cleveland, La Maison Symphonique de Montréal, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Shanghai Concert Hall, Osaka Symphony Hall, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Hall, Phillip’s Collection, and others. She has collaborated with orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Polish Radio Orchestra, Poznan Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Daegu Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and Evanston Symphony Orchestra. Her debut album of works by Chopin was released on the Fryderyk Chopin Institute label in 2016.
Born in Singapore, Kate began playing the piano when she was four years old and moved to the United States when she was eight. Her private studies then were at the Music Institute of Chicago with Emilio del Rosario, Micah Yui and Alan Chow. Early on in her career, she won 1st Prizes at the Third Asia-Pacific International Chopin Competition and the New York International Piano Competition. She received a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master’s and Artist Diploma degree from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Robert McDonald and Yoheved Kaplinsky.
Program:
pending