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Superstar pianist to perform with Battle Creek Symphony
With rock star good looks and a blazing, passionate style, Andrew von Oeyen is considered among the most captivating pianists of his generation.
Come experience this piano sensation in concert as he performs Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Battle Creek Symphony on Saturday, May 3, 7:30pm at W. K. Kellogg Auditorium. The concert, “Piano Passion,” is a featured event of the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival.
That evening the orchestra will also perform two audience favorites from the modern ballet, Copland’s “Billy the Kid” and Stravinsky’s “Petrouchka.”
Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody” is a fascinating example of “theme and variations” taken to an extreme degree. He reconstitutes and re-imagines Paganini’s famous “Caprice in A minor” 24 different ways. The most famous variation is the 18th, "Andante Cantabile," which was popularized as the theme for the Mackinac Island love story, "Somewhere in Time."
Andrew von Oeyen rose to prominence with his debut at age 17 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. In recent seasons, Mr. von Oeyen has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Singapore Symphony, and many other world-class orchestras. He has appeared in recital at Ravinia and in France at the “Piano en Valois” Festival.
He won the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award in 1999 and took First Prize in the Lení Fé Bland Foundation National Piano Competition in 2001. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, and he has been a featured guest on NPR’s “Performance Today.”
The concert is sponsored by Friends and Family of Morris Stulberg. The event is also a collaboration with the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, which runs April 14 through May 13 throughout West Michigan.
Advance tickets to “Piano Passion,” $6 to $42, are available at the Music Center by calling 269 565-2199. For more information, visit www.battlecreeksymphony.org. For more on the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, visit www.thegilmore.org.