UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The next virtual episode of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s “Front Row: National” will feature “in-the-moment” pianist Gilbert Kalish.
The virtual event will begin at noon Monday, Feb. 14, and will be available to stream until noon Friday, Feb. 18. The event is free, but registration is required. Visit Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State online for more information and to register.
The program includes George Crumb’s “Three Early Songs” for voice and piano (featuring soprano Tony Arnold); Franz Schubert’s “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” for soprano, clarinet and piano, D. 965, Op. 129 (featuring soprano Lisette Oropesa and clarinetist David Shifrin); and Johannes Brahms’ Quartet No. 3 in C minor for piano, violin, viola and cello, Op. 60 (featuring violinist Nicolas Dautricourt, violist Paul Neubauer and cellist Torleif Thedéen).
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han curate the “Front Row” series. A conversation among Finckel, Han and Kalish follows the performances.
The program commences the Center for the Performing Arts' spring 2022 “Up Close and Virtual” season. A grant from the University Park Student Fee Board helps make the program free of charge.
Kalish has a discography of more than 100 recordings embracing classical, 20th-century and contemporary repertoire, including Elliott Carter, Crumb, Ralph Shapey and Arnold Schoenberg.
“I love many composers, and I guess one of the things I believe in is playing music of our own time,” Kalish said in an interview with MLive.com.
The multiple Grammy Award-nominated pianist is known for his collaborations with mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and cellists Timothy Eddy and Joel Krosnik. In 1995, the University of Chicago presented Kalish with the Paul Fromm Award for distinguished service to the music of our time.
Kalish performed with Upshaw and Sō Percussion at Schwab Auditorium in 2017. Finckel and Han previously performed at the Center for the Performing Arts as a duo in 2005, and with violinist Philip Setzer in 2017 and 2018 for the Beethoven Piano Trios. Finckel also performed at Penn State — in 1990, 2002 and 2009 — when he was a member of Emerson String Quartet.
Foxdale Village, Elinor C. Lewis, Pieter W. and Lida Ouwehand, and Lam and Lina Hood provide support for the virtual presentation.
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