Pianist Ling-Ju Lai Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations in Midtown

Ann Arbor-based pianist Ling-Ju Lai will open the Chamber Music Society of Detroit's 2017-18 Midtown Series with Bach's keyboard masterpiece, the "Goldberg" Variations, Friday, October 13, 2017 at 8:00 PM. The concert takes place at Schaver Music Recital Hall, located at 480 W. Hancock (between Cass & Second Avenues), Detroit, on the campus of Wayne State University.

General admission tickets are priced at $30 for adults and $15 for students and are available by phone at 313-335-3300 or online at www.CMSDetroit.org. Student rush tickets priced at only $5 are available at the box office beginning fifteen minutes before concert start time (student ID required).

Ling-Ju Lai's performance is the first of CMSDetroit's 2017-18 inDepth three-concert miniseries exploring three epic sets of variations for the piano. Composed in 1741, Bach's Goldberg Variations is one of the composer's crowning achievements and to this day remains among the most important sets of variations ever written. The two remaining concerts of the series feature Beethoven's Diabelli Variations performed by Stewart Goodyear on February 16 and Rzewski's Variations on "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" performed by Ursula Oppens on March 2.

Ling-Ju Lai's October 13 performance, which marks her CMSDetroit series debut, will begin with a brief spoken introduction and, following the performance, end with an informal Talk Back between audience and artist. Audience members are invited to meet the artist at a post-concert lobby reception.

A native of Taiwan, Ling-Ju Lai has garnered critical acclaim for her creative interpretations of Baroque keyboard music, particularly the music of J. S. Bach. Ms. Lai has performed as a soloist at such leading international festivals and venues as the Royal Academy of Music in London, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Town Hall in Bruges, the National Theater in Taiwan, The Bach Festival in Leipzig, and the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland. She was named a "Rising Star" by two of Taiwan's most prestigious performance organizations, the National Taiwan Concert Hall and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. Ling-Ju Lai received graduate degrees in Piano and Harpsichord Performance from the University of Michigan and Eastman School of Music.

Concert Information at a Glance:

Ling-Ju Lai, piano

Friday, October 13, 2017, 8:00 PM

Schaver Music Recital Hall, 480 W. Hancock, Detroit

Bach: Goldberg Variations

Post-concert: Audience Talk Back with Artist, followed by Meet & Greet Reception

General admission tickets: $30, students $15. $5 Student Rush tickets available at the box office beginning at 7:45 on concert night; student ID required. Pre-paid $5 discounted parking at Hilberry Theatre lot also available; purchase online at www.CMSDetroit.org or by phone at 313-335-3300.