Artist Series Concerts Celebrates Bernstein With Performances By Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman And His Son

Artists Series Concerts of Sarasota presents Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, joined by his son, pianist Peter John Stoltzman, in Celebrating Bernstein's World, Saturday, March 9, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 10, 3:00 p.m., at the Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Their program, which was created last year to commemorate the centennial anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birth, includes his Sonata for Clarinet and Piano and West Side Story Suite, as well as major works by George Gershwin and Charles Ives. Tickets are $25 - $45 and are available online at www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202, Monday Friday, 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Student tickets for the concert, priced at $10, are available with current student ID at the door.

Trailblazing clarinetist Richard Stoltzman is known as a captivating recitalist, chamber musician and jazz performer, as well as a prolific recording artist. He has been hailed for establishing the clarinet as a solo instrument and performed the first clarinet recitals in the histories of both the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall. He's also the first wind player to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize and has performed as soloist with more than one hundred orchestras. His chamber music performances and recordings include work with the Beaux Arts Trio and the Amadeus, Cleveland, Guarneri, Vermeer, Tokyo, Emerson, and American string quartets. He has received Grammy awards for his recordings with Richard Goode (1982) and with Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma (1997). He received an Emmy Award for best performing arts video for his performance of the Copland clarinet concerto with Dudley Moore and Michael Tilson Thomas. As a jazz musician, he has performed or recorded with such jazz greats as the Canadian Brass, Chick Corea, Judy Collins, Keith Jarrett, the King's Singers, Wayne Shorter, Mel Torm , and others.

Like his father, pianist Peter John Stoltzman has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and other prestigious venues across the globe. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a monster jazz piano player, Stoltzman has performed with such luminaries as Bob Moses, Yosvanny Terry, Julian Lage, and Tia Fuller. Other recent highlights include touring Japan and recording with drummer Steve Gadd, bassist Eddie Gomez and marimba virtuoso Mika Yoshida. Stoltzman and his father have been featured on WNYC, Sirius Satellite Radio, NPR, and CBS Sunday Morning. Stoltzman's piano playing and arrangements are also featured on his father's BMG Japan releases, Bach Fantasies and Variations and Lamento.

As a duo, the Stoltzmans have delighted audiences in the U.S. from Washington State to Washington DC and throughout Italy and Japan. They've been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR's Performance Today and Weekend Edition, as well as on the Voice of America network.

Richard Stoltzman is always such a crowd pleaser, and this duo with his pianist son Peter John will be no different, says Joseph Holt, artistic director of Artist Series Concerts. They each bring their own style and virtuosity to this collaboration, including a pair of arrangements by Peter John, and the result is reed and keyboard magic.

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