CCM’s Illustrious Piano Faculty Artists Celebrate Warm Music From Cold Countries on Nov. 15

Faculty performers receive the spotlight at CCM during the 11th annual Pianopalooza concert on Sunday, Nov. 15. This year’s program features CCM’s esteemed piano faculty artists performing a collection of fiery music from Russia and elsewhere.

In the spirit of the approaching winter season, this installment of Pianopalooza celebrates warm music from cold countries, including Chopin’s Winter Wind Étude, Edvarg Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King and “Waltz of the Flowers” from the classic holiday favorite, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite.

The concert’s grand finale features a stunning 12-hand piano arrangement of “Mars” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets.

“During the chilliest winters, these composers have warmed our hearts and fired our imaginations,” explains CCM Piano Department Chair Michael Chertock. “This music celebrates the season, defies the cold, longs for spring and summer, and sometimes simply shivers.”

In addition to Chertock, who also serves as the concert’s master of ceremonies, Pianopalooza XI includes performances by faculty members Dror Biran, Caroline Hong, Hitomi Koyama, Kate Lee, Donna Loewy, Sandra Rivers, James Tocco and Andrew Villemez.

CCM’s world-class pianists also welcome special guest Daniel Weeks to the stage for this concert. A critically acclaimed tenor, Weeks joined CCM’s faculty as Associate Professor of Voice this fall.

Chertock promises that the concert will be an intimate and moving affair. “CCM’s Werner Recital Hall harbors two of the most beautiful pianos in the entire state of Ohio,” Chertock observes. “It’s the perfect acoustical space to experience this warm music.”

The Nov. 15 concert is the first of two Pianopaloozas scheduled for CCM’s 2015-16 performance season. Next semester, CCM’s extraordinary young artists will take the spotlight for the Pianopalooza: Student Showcase on Sunday, April 3.

Performance Time
7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15

Location
Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to “Pianopalooza: Warm Music from Cold Countries” are $15 general admission, $10 for non-UC students and FREE for UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/concerts/piano.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
____

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

CCM is proud to be an All-Steinway School

CCM’s Sandra Rivers Performs at Steinway Hall This Thursday

Photography by Jay Yocis.

Professor of Collaborative Piano Sandra Rivers continues CCM’s 2010-11 Steinway Hall Series of Concerts this Thursday, Dec. 9. Her program will include Beethoven’s Sonata Op.54 in F Major, Chopin’s Ballade in A-flat Major; Rachmaninoff’s Etudes Tableaux Op. 39 Nos. 8 and 9 and Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes. The concert is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Steinway Hall, 109 West 57th Street in New York City. The CCM Steinway Hall Series is open to the general public, but seating is limited. The next installment of this concert series will occur on Thursday, Jan. 13 and will feature Hitomi Koyama, a doctoral student of Elisabeth and Eugene Pridonoff.