PianoArts Culminates its 20th Anniversary Festival with VIRTUOSI OF PIANO AND DANCE

PianoArts culminates its 20th anniversary festival with artistic partners who bring musical versatility and new insights into the performance of the classics.

At 8:00 p.m. on June 16, the Varshavski-Shapiro Duo will perform Igor Stravinsky's ballet score Petrouchka with their own arrangement for piano, four hands. Originally written at the piano, Stravinsky then scored his complex ballet music into a colorful and imaginative orchestral score. The duo's transcription brings the richness of the orchestral score to the piano as they retell the sad musical story about a puppet from Russian folklore.

Milwaukee Ballet choreographer Timothy O'Donnell presents his vision of Frédéric Chopin's études with a dance work for pianist Aleksandra Kasman and MBC dancers. Dancing to the études of No. 1, No. 3, and No. 12 from Opus 10, a set of pieces that Chopin dedicated to his visionary friend Franz Liszt, the work will conclude with one of Chopin's most recognized works, his "Revolutionary" Étude.

Christopher Taylor will bring the festival to a dazzling close when he rings out the four most famous notes in music, performing Franz Liszt's towering transcription of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. One of the most innovative pianists on the international stage, Mr. Taylor returns to the PianoArts stage for the first time following his performance of one of the most monumental works in the piano repertory, Olivier Messiaen's Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jésus.

At 7:00 p.m. on June 16, audiences are invited to attend a pre-concert lecture by Meaghan Heinrich, who will provide the back stories and an enlightening look at the revolutionary classics that are featured on the program

Tickets, priced at $35 and $25 for adults; and $15 for students, are available at the Marcus Performing Arts Center box office, 929 North Water Street, Milwaukee, 414-273-7206. Festival passes are available through PianoArts www.pianoarts.org, info@pianoarts.org, 414-962-3055.

From June 14-16, PianoArts will host a festival to celebrate its 20th anniversary of the launch of its Biennial North American Piano Competition. Joining the festivities will be over twenty artists: singers and actors, instrumentalists who include PianoArts competition winners, dancers, and jazz artists. Prior to the concerts, celebrated master teachers present workshops and lectures that bring insight into the concert programs.

Concerts and lectures on June 14 and 15 will be held at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 1584 North Prospect Avenue, and on June 16 in the Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. For more information, visit www.PianoArts.org

Online information about the artists: http://pianoarts.org/education/virtuosi-of-piano-and-dance/

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