Peter Serkin Replaces Murray Perahia During The Royal Conservatory Of Music's Season Finale Festival

The Royal Conservatory regrets to announce that American pianist Murray Perahia has had to cancel what would have been his Koerner Hall debut on May 1, during Koerner Hall's 10th anniversary season finale festival. A statement from his management reads, It is with great regret that Mr. Perahia has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming solo recitals in North America as a sudden medical setback has prevented him from performing publicly. Besides his date in Koerner Hall, Perahia has withdrawn from concerts at Carnegie Hall and Chicago's Symphony Center.

Mervon Mehta, The Royal Conservatory's Executive Director of Performing Arts, has been able to secure renowned American pianist, Peter Serkin, for the same date. Mr. Serkin will be making his Koerner Hall debut with a program consisting of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Adagio in B Minor, K. 540 and Piano Sonata No. 17 in B flat Major, K. 570, and Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.

Tickets for the Murray Perahia recital will be valid for Mr. Serkin and, as a gesture of goodwill, patrons are being offered a 25% discount to a future performance.

Serkin's playing was breathtaking in its limpidity; the instrumental textures were wonderfully nuanced, and the balance well nigh perfect, declared The Guardian. Mr. Serkin holds a singular place among today's classical music artists, admired equally for his performance of established repertoire and as a consummate interpreter of contemporary music. His music-making demonstrates keen understanding of the masterworks of J.S. Bach as well as an exceptional grasp of diverse musical styles, ranging from Stravinsky to Messiaen, T ru Takemitsu, and Oliver Knussen. He has performed with the world's major symphony orchestras, led by such eminent conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Simon Rattle, Herbert Blomstedt, as well as Claudio Abbado and Pierre Boulez. In chamber music, he has collaborated with Alexander Schneider, Pamela Frank, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Budapest, Guarneri, Orion, Shanghai, and Dover string quartets, among others. He was a founding member of the TASHI Quartet, with violinist Ida Kavafian, cellist Fred Sherry, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.

Peter Serkin's musical legacy extends to his grandfather, the distinguished violinist Adolf Busch, who established the Busch Quartet and the Busch Chamber Players, was a founder of the Marlboro School of Music, as well as a notable composer. Peter Serkin is also the son of the distinguished pianist Rudolf Serkin, who taught at the Curtis Institute of Music and led with distinction the Marlboro School for 40 years. Mr. Serkin currently teaches at Bard College Conservatory of Music and Yale University.

Peter Serkin is one of the handful of pianists who not only possess a cerebral understanding of the music of our time but the ability to communicate it with feeling. In his hands, even the most formidable works are fluid and expressive. (The New York Times)

The Royal Conservatory of Music's Season Finale Festival, which runs from April 30 to May 14, includes bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni performing operatic arias and duets as well as songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, and Franz Leh r with his father-in-law, the famed American baritone Thomas Hampson in an evening titled No Tenors Allowed; sitar master Anoushka Shankar in her fourth appearance at Koerner Hall; Art of Time Ensemble's evening titled Doghouse Roses The Music of Steve Earle, featuring Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje and singers Tom Wilson, Suzie Ungerlieder, and Andy Maize; jazz pianist Robi Botos with Tim Ries (saxophone), Randy Brecker (trumpet), Mike Downes (bass), and Larnell Lewis (drums); Canadian musical group Turkwaz in a free concert; and legendary Canadian band Lighthouse celebrating 50 years of their career with 50 Years of Sunny Days.

To post a comment, you must register and login.