By Tiffany Edwards, University Relations
Vladimir Viardo.
The popular musical event that comes around only once every two years, Focus on Piano Literature, returns this summer at UNCG with a romantic theme. The 2006 series of concerts and lectures will honor the Romantic Period in Russia (1860-1945), a time of emotional and poetic music composed by greats such as Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.
Renowned pianist Vladimir Viardo, British-born cellist Martin Storey and scholar Donald Manildi will join the faculty at the UNCG School of Music in celebrating the Russian contribution to the period’s piano literature. Concerts will be held Thursday through Saturday, June 8-10, at 8 p.m.
The Romantic period emerged in Russia in the 1860s with the formation of the nationalist school of composition and with the establishment of conservatories in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
“In the later Romantic period the use of national idioms - folk music, dance rhythms, etc. - played an important part, especially in countries that had not previously been in the mainstream of musical developments,” said Andrew Willis, director of this year’s event and professor of piano at UNCG. “To this day Russian piano playing is famous for its deployment of a powerful, rich tone and its absolute technical mastery. The music evinces Russianness in many ways: memorable melody, lush harmony, colorful sonorities, and a tendency toward melancholy moods.”
Guest artist Vladimir Viardo will perform some of the period’s most revered compositions Saturday, June 10, at 8 p.m. His program will include selections by Rachmaninoff, Medtner’s “Sonata Romantica in B flat minor, Op. 53, No. 1,” excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” and Prokofiev’s “Sonata #4 in C minor, Op. 29.” The guest artist recital is $25 per ticket and will take place at the Huggins Performance Center in Odell Hall on the campus of Greensboro College.
Viardo, who studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory, is highly acclaimed in the U.S. and abroad. After completing his academic studies, he was tenured as a soloist by the Moscow Philharmonia. He is a previous winner of the Grand Prix and Prix du Prince Rainier in Paris (1971), and winner of the Van Cliburn Competition. However, after having his travel visa revoked, he was confined to the USSR for 14 years. He has since resumed his international career, performing at the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw and the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. Currently he is professor/artist-in-residence at the University of North Texas.
The UNCG School of Music faculty will give concerts the two previous nights at 8 p.m. in the School of Music Recital Hall on the UNCG campus. Thursday night’s concert will feature the music of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin, performed by faculty pianists George Kiorpes, Joseph Di Piazza and Inara Zandmane with guest Martin Storey, who has served as principal cellist with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. The Friday evening concert will feature the music of Glazunov, Mussorgsky and Balakirev, performed by faculty pianists Andrew Willis, James Douglass and John Salmon, joined by baritone Robert Wells. Admission to each faculty recital is $15.
In addition to the performances, the piano faculty and guest Donald Manildi will give lectures throughout the three-day symposium. Manildi is curator of the International Piano Archives at the University of Maryland (College Park). For 17 years, he served as music producer for Minnesota Public Radio, where he hosted a weekly series called “The Romantic Piano.” He holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Washington (Seattle) and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Registration for the symposium is $130 before May 25, $140 thereafter. Student prices are $90 before May 25 and $100 thereafter. Separate fees are charged for the Friday banquet and Saturday luncheon.
For more information, contact Andrew Willis, director of Focus on Piano Literature, at (336) 334-5508. Information, including a full schedule, is also available on the web.
