ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – On Wednesday, February 7, at 11:30 a.m., Musician-in-Residence Brian Ganz will offer his first PianoTalk of the 2024 spring semester in the Recital Hall of the Dodge Performing Arts Center, with a program entitled “Chopin’s Rainbow.” He will play and discuss the Romantic Master’s Nocturne in G major, Op. 37, No. 2, a new work for him and thus his first performance of this small masterpiece at the college. He will also premiere another work, Chopin’s sparkling Introduction and Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 16. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, go to http://bit.ly/2YCPDKS or call 240-895-4498.
“I call the nocturne in G major ‘Chopin’s Rainbow’ because of the astonishing variety of keys Chopin employs throughout,” pianist Ganz said recently. “Different keys are the composer’s color palette,” he continued, “and Chopin is known as a colorist because of his amazing skill and creativity in moving smoothly through a wide variety of keys. But in this nocturne he outdoes himself! I’ll bring a whiteboard and some colorful magic markers and ‘draw’ us through the rainbow of keys he employs. It will be both fun AND beautiful!” After the nocturne, Ganz will perform Chopin’s Introduction and Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 16. “Chopin’s rondos are his most neglected works. They deserve to be much better known. This one has one of Chopin’s most delightful and singable tunes. I defy anyone to hear it and not hum it the rest of the day!”
Ganz will also perform at Strathmore in North Bethesda on Feb. 24. This recital celebrates Ganz’s 13th in his quest to be the first to perform the complete works of the classical composer Frédéric Chopin. This recital includes Chopin’s most challenging and technically difficult works and is free for young people 7–17., Visit nationalphilharmonic.org or call 301.581.5100.
Ganz has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic, the Baltimore and the National Symphonies, the City of London Sinfonia, and L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo. He has performed in many of the world’s major concert halls and has played under the baton of such conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman, Jerzy Semkow and Yoel Levi. A critic for La Libre Belgique wrote of Ganz’s work: “We don’t have the words to speak of this fabulous musician who lives music with a generous urgency and brings his public into a state of intense joy.”
