UPDATE: Alessio Bax will launch the 45th season of the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concert Series (keyboardconcerts.com) at Fresno State. For 45 years, the series has brought some of the world’s most acclaimed pianists and organists to Fresno State for concert performances. The series open at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in the Concert Hall at Fresno State. Bax replaces Joseph Moog, who had to cancel his American dates unexpectedly.
Bax is the first-prize winner of the 2000 Leeds International Piano Competition and recipient of the prestigious 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant. The Italian-born Bax will perform works by Beethoven, Scribin and Mussorgsky.
ORIGINAL POST, 09/06/16:
“The Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concert Series allows us to enjoy the most renowned pianists in the world: from a 2016 Grammy Award Nominee to winners of international piano competitions,”said Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities (fresnostate.edu/artshum/). “This year’s lineup is both spectacular and exhilarating.”
The Keyboard Concert Series exists to enhance the quality of life in our community, said artistic director Andreas Werz, by bringing highly acclaimed international artists here to perform.
“Being an international traveler, I think I can very safely say:No other concert series in the world offers this level of artistry at such low cost for both our students and the community at large,” Werz said. “In addition to the superior artistic quality, the 2016-2017 season proudly continues its tradition of presenting artists from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. This year we are presenting musicians from Germany, Armenia, Italy, Canada, France, Korea, Poland, Israel, Greece and the United States. Also, the diversity of repertoire presented by these artists is quite remarkable. Our audiences will hear pieces from many different eras of music history spanning nearly 300 years, ranging from J.S. Bach to Ligeti.”
Also on the 2016-17 Keyboard Concerts calendar:
- 8 p.m. Oct. 14 – Sofya Melikyan; this concert is co-sponsored with the Fresno State Armenian Studies Program.
- 8 p.m. Nov. 4 – Giuseppe Andaloro
- 3 p.m. Jan. 8 – Ken Cowan (Organ); this concert is co-sponsored with the San Joaquin Valley Chapter, American Guild of Organists.
- 3 p.m. Feb. 12 – Lise de la Salle
- 8 p.m. March 1 – Seong-Jin Cho; this concert is co-sponsored with the Central California Korean Historical Society.
- 8 p.m. April 7 – Rafał Blechacz
- 3 p.m. May 7 – Kirill Gerstein
Keyboard Concerts also co-sponsors special events during the year:
- 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 – Vinia Tsopelas, piano
- 3 p.m. Jan. 29 – Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello, Noreen Polera, piano; this concert is co-sponsored with the Fresno State Armenian Studies Program.
- 8 p.m. April 1 – Miles Ishigaki, clarinet/Thomas Loewenheim, cello/ Andreas Werz, piano. This concert marks the debut performance of a newly formed chamber music ensemble comprised of clarinetist Miles Ishigaki, cellist Thomas Loewenheim, and pianist Andreas Werz, all music professors at Fresno State. Educated at prestigious institutions including the University of Oklahoma, Indiana University, and the Freiburg Conservatory in Germany, these three colleagues have been active with great success as performers, pedagogues, competition jurors, and recording artists in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.
Tickets for concerts in the Keyboard Concert Series are $25 general, $18 for seniors and $5 for students. Season tickets are available for the eight main concerts: $160 general, $120 seniors and $30 students. Parking is available in Lot C (corner of Shaw and Maple avenues). For ticket reservations, please call 278-2337.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 