Simone Dinnerstein Explores Bach and the Romantics in Solo Recital at Miller Theatre

Simone Dinnerstein (photo Lisa Marie Mazzucco)

(NEW YORK, N.Y.) – On Thursday, February 2, at 8 p.m., Brooklyn-based pianist Simone Dinnerstein offers selections from her eagerly anticipated new CD in this first solo recital at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre. Her inventive program alternates between Bach’s partitas and gems of the Romantic era by Brahms, Chopin, and Schubert, juxtaposing evocative nocturnes, intermezzos, and impromptus with Baroque dance-inspired courantes, allemandes, and sarabandes. The program, which also features the New York premiere of Daniel Felsenfeld’s Cohen Variations, is inspired by the repertoire on Dinnerstein’s album, Something Almost Being Said, released on Sony Classical on January 31.

Best known for her inspired recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Dinnerstein – a protege of the Berkshires’ Peter Serkin and a one-time Tanglewood Music Center Fellow — is “a consummate musician and a captivating performer,” according to Miller Theatre director Melissa Smey. “Her interpretations of Bach are notable for their incredible freshness, and I look forward to hearing her bring that same sense of discovery to her performances of Schubert, Chopin, and Brahms.”

Dinnerstein’s recital is part of the popular Bach and the Baroque series investigating Bach’s music in depth, featuring interpretations by several of New York’s finest performers. The series, which began in October with Jennifer Koh’s marathon performance of Bach’s solo violin works, continues this spring with two more concerts: a recital mixing Bach keyboard works with those of the Romantic tradition that followed; and an evening centered on a cantata by one of Bach’s heroes, Dietrich Buxtehude.

Thursday, February 2, 8 p.m.

Simone Dinnerstein

Bach and the Romantics

 

PROGRAM:

Frederic Chopin: Nocturne for Piano No. 8 in D-flat Major, Op. 27

Daniel Felsenfeld:  The Cohen Variations

Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2 in A

Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826

Franz Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D899, Op. 90

Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825

 

Simone Dinnerstein (photo Lisa Marie Mazzucco)

Simone Dinnerstein is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Peter Serkin. She also studied with Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music and in London with Maria Curcio, the distinguished pupil of Artur Schnabel.

For two summers, she was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Dinnerstein has fast been gaining attention as a commanding and charismatic artist, and as one of the most compelling women pianists performing today. She has enjoyed critical acclaim in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Gramophone Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, O The Oprah Magazine, Slate.com, The American Record Guide, and Fanfare.

She has made live appearances on National Public Radio’s Performance Today and WNYC’s New Sounds and Soundcheck. Since being featured by the New York Times as an artist “poised for a breakthrough” in September 2006, she has performed to a sold-out audience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s prestigious Accolades series, debuted with the American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein, and signed an exclusive recording contract with Telarc International.

Recent highlights include her debut recital at the Salle Cortot in Paris and recitals at Philadelphia’s Bach Festival and the Copenhagen Music Festival. Dinnerstein received the Classical Recording Foundation Award for 2006 and 2007 for her recordings with cellist Zuill Bailey of Beethoven’s complete works for piano and cello on the Delos label.

Columbia University’s Miller Theatre is located north of the Main Campus Gate at 116th St. & Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall. Subscriptions and single tickets are now available online at Miller Theatre.

The public may also purchase tickets through the Miller Theatre Box Office in person or at 212.854.7799, M–F, noon–6 p.m.

 

 

 

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