Sean Chen, age 24 of the United States, plays with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin during final rounds of the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, USA on Sunday, June 9, 2013. (Photo by Ralph Lauer/ The Cliburn)
(POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.) – The Hudson Valley Philharmonic will pay tribute to Hudson Valley public radio station WMHT on its 25th anniversary with a concert at the Bardavon on Saturday, November 21, at 8pm, featuring works by Bartok, Ravel, and Sibelius, featuring Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner Sean Chen performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major. The program also includes Bartok’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and Symphony No. 1, Op. 39, E minor, by Sibelius.
Hailed as a charismatic rising star with “an exceptional ability to connect with an audience combined with an easy virtuosity” (Huffington Post), 26-year-old American Sean Chen won third prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and was also awarded the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship of the American Pianists Association in 2013. Since then, he has continued to earn accolades for “alluring, colorfully shaded renditions” (New York Times), and was recently named a 2015 fellow by the prestigious Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing Arts.
In the coming season, Chen will make return appearances with the San Diego, Carmel, and Sante Fe Symphony Orchestras, as well as perform with the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic, and the North Carolina, Hudson Valley, Pasadena, Bakersfield, Knoxville, Fairfax, and San Angelo Symphony Orchestras. He will be traveling across the United States for solo and chamber recitals, including concerts in Chicago, Denver, Louisville, and Los Angeles. He was featured on the cover of Clavier Companion in May 2015, and recognized as “One to Watch” by International Piano Magazine in March 2014. A multifaceted musician, Chen is an advocate of new music, and also transcribes, composes, and improvises himself. He has released three acclaimed recordings to date for the harmonia mundi, Steinway, and Parma labels.
Randall Craig Fleischer is the dynamic, engaging music director of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and celebrates his 21st season with the HVP this year. He is a leading force in the classical music scene all over the United States. His charismatic personality and contagious love of music ignite orchestral brilliance in every concert he conducts. Fleischer has an active guest conducting career with many major orchestras in the United States and internationally including repeat engagements with the Israel Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Boston Pops, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Houston Symphony, and others. Additionally, Mr. Fleischer is currently music director of the Anchorage Symphony and Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.
Also a composer, Fleischer is a national leader in symphonic rock and world music fusion. Pioneering these new and growing genres for more than 20 years now, he has worked with artists such as John Densmore (The Doors), Natalie Merchant, Blondie, Ani DiFranco, John Cale (Velvet Underground) Garth Hudson (The Band), and Kenny Rogers. Fleischer’s arrangements and orchestral works have been and are performed around the world.