Photo credit: Jay Malin
ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – On Sunday December 10th at 7 p.m. St. Mary’s College of MD Musician-in-Residence Brian Ganz will complete his series on “Chopin’s Virtuosic Summit,” in the Main Auditorium of the Dodge Performing Arts Center on the college campus. This will be pianist Ganz’s only full length recital of the semester. He will take audience requests for favorite works of Chopin on the first half of the recital, and then, after intermission, reprise his performance of what he calls “Chopin’s Virtuosic Summit,” all twelve Etudes, Op. 25. These are often considered to be the most difficult to perform of any of Chopin’s works. The program is free and open to the public. For more information call (240) 895-4498 or visit https://bit.ly/2YCPDKS
“Chopin’s 250 or so works are almost without question the most beloved ever composed for piano,” pianist Ganz said. “Many of them are within the technical reach of advanced amateur pianists,” he continued. “But about half of them are supremely demanding for even the most seasoned professionals. This year I am setting out to tackle the pinnacle of those demanding works, the 12 Etudes, or Studies, Op. 25,”
Ganz continued, “What is truly miraculous about them is that despite the fact that they are so hard to play, it is their beauty that the listener notices above all. Etudes.number 9 is the famous “Butterfly” Etude, one of the lightest and most sparkling. It’s almost a musical decoy, as it does not let on what is about to transpire. The final three etudes have been aptly called ‘colossi,’ as they make supreme demands on the pianist’s strength, endurance and emotional power. They are a fitting climax to his virtuosic summit.”
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.”
Ganz will continue his quest to be the first to perform all of Chopin’s musical compositions at the Musical Center at Strathmore on February 24th. The concert will begin at 7:30 pm at the North Bethesda concert hall.