Portland Ovations to Welcome Gilmore Award-Winning Pianist Rafal Blechacz, 10/4

Portland Ovations brings pianist Rafal Blechacz to Merrill Auditorium for an afternoon concert on October 4th at 3pm.

Blechacz began piano lessons at the age of five, and at the age of 20 he became the sole recipient of all five first prizes at the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, taking First Prize and the polonaise, mazurka, sonata, and concerto prizes. No other pianist has ever achieved this feat. According to ABC News, one of the judges, Professor Piotr Paleczny, said that Blechacz "so outclassed the remaining finalists that no second prize could actually be awarded." According to PBS, another judge, John O'Conor, opined "He is one of the greatest artists I have had a chance to hear in my entire life". Blechacz was the first Polish pianist to win the prize (given every five years) since 1975, when Krystian Zimerman won.

Recent winner of the coveted Gilmore Award, piano's equivalent to the MacArthur " genius" grant Rafal Blechacz is rapidly becoming one of the world's most renowned young pianists. With NPR describing his talent as, "...an uncanny combination of confidence and abandon. ... the music pours out naturally, with unmannered dexterity."

Ovations Offstage will offer a pre-performance lecture at 2pm in the rehearsal hall at Merrill Auditorium where Laura Kargul will demonstrate from the piano, using examples from a broad range of Chopin's styles, to illustrate the alchemy where deceptively simple accompaniments impose meaning, create complex emotional worlds and transform melodies into pure gold.

Tickets for Rafal Blechacz are $37.80 for Ovations' Members, $42 for the general public and a limited amount of $10 student deal tickets are also available. WBACH is a media sponsor and the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Humanities Council and the Cricket Foundation all provide support for the Rafal Blechacz performance.

Maine Magazine, Maine Home and Design and Old Port Magazine are Media Sponsors of the Portland Ovations 2015-16 season.

To purchase tickets, visit www.portlandovations.org, contact PortTix at207-842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.

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