Soyeon Kate Lee and Rank Dank To Perform In Cooperstown

Virtuosic pianists Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank will perform works for four-hands and solo piano at the Otesaga Resort Hotel ballroom on Sunday, August 12 at 7:30pm as part of the 20th anniversary season of the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival.

Dank and Lee, world-class pianists who are also husband and wife, will offer a program featuring works by Mozart, Debussy, Stravinsky, Granados and Barber.

"We have put together an eclectic, rich program that is both stimulating and accessible," says Dank. "The first half will open with a bright, effervescent Mozart sonata, followed by the colorful Petite Suite by Claude Debussy, and will end with the virtuosic arrangement by Guido Agosti of the Firebird Suite by Stravinksy.

"The second half will feature two Spanish pieces by Granados inspired by paintings of Goya," Dank continues, and Barber's lighthearted Souvenirs rounds out the concert. The resulting program is one that Dank hopes will allow the audience to "experience fresh and less-familiar repertoire in a unique way."

Lee and Dank have each won many individual accolades and both maintain busy careers as soloists. They first appeared on stage together in 2013, when they gave a demanding piano four-hand performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City just four days before their wedding.

"Four-hand playing is one of the most rewarding chamber music collaborations," Dank says. "The effect is almost orchestral in quality. It is also very challenging." Lee almost certainly agrees - in her introductory address to the audience at that 2013 concert, she suggested that performing a piano duo concert at such a stressful time in their lives would be a "good test of their relationship."

That collaborative relationship extends beyond matrimony and the piano. The couple is also the founding artistic directors of the New York concert series Music by the Glass, which pairs chamber music in an intimate setting with curated wine selections. In a video promoting the series, Lee says that the goal of the series is to have "great music, great wine, great conversation, and to hopefully forge new friendships."

Cooperstown music lovers and first-time concert-goers alike will not want to miss this opportunity to forge a new friendship with this powerhouse couple.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students.

Purchase online at www.cooperstownmusicfest.org; by phone through Brown Paper Tickets, (800) 838-3006, or at the door.

There is no service charge for tickets purchased online or by phone.

Founded in 1999, the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival has been bringing world-class chamber music performances to the Cooperstown area for 20 years. The festival has featured performances by the Tokyo String Quartet, the American String Quartet, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Kurt Elling, Tim Fain, Bill Charlap, Hilary Kole, Simone Dinnerstein, Mark O'Connor, the Sonia Olla Flamenco Dance Company, and many more.

Cooperstown is home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the Glimmerglass Festival, and the Fenimore Art Museum as well as many galleries, restaurants, and a historic Main Street.

Concerts are held in venues across Cooperstown, including Christ Church (the church of author James Fenimore Cooper) and the ballroom of the grand Otesaga Hotel.

Celebrated graphic artist Milton Glaser (best known for the I Y NY campaign) has created a series of 17 posters for the Festival featuring violins and cows, a nod to Cooperstown's rural character. Performance Today host Fred Child has said, "Not only do they do interesting concerts, they have great posters."

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

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