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2010 International Piano Festival

Presented by Moores School of Music at University of Houston - Moores Opera House

February 12-February 14, 2010

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The University of Houston's Moores School of Music presents the 2010 International Piano Festival.

Celebrated for more than 25 years as a breathtaking weekend of recitals and master classes with the world's greatest keyboard virtuosos, the International Piano Festival is led by festival founder Abbey Simon, University of Houston Cullen Professor and one of the most recorded classical artists of all time.

The 2010 line-up includes:
Abbey Simon, University of Houston Cullen Professor of Music and one of the most recorded classical artists of all time.

“Is there a more elegant and unflappable pianist than Stephen Hough? In any setting, in any repertoire, the British player can make the greatest concertos of the Romantic tradition full of life and power without even a whiff of vulgarity.” – Chicago Sun-Times

Stephen Hough is regarded as one of the most important and distinctive pianists of his generation. Mr. Hough has appeared with major American and European orchestras, plays recitals regularly in the world’s distinguished halls, and is also a guest at festivals such as Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Tanglewood, and the BBC Proms, among others.

An exclusive Hyperion recording artist, many of Mr. Hough’s recordings have garnered international prizes, several Grammy nominations, and eight Gramophone Magazine Awards. In 2010 he continues recording all of the Tchaikovsky piano concertos in live concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra. His most recent release is Stephen Hough in Recital, a program juxtaposing variations by Mendelssohn and Beethoven with waltzes by Weber, Chopin, Saint-Saëns, Chabrier, Debussy, and Liszt. A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, Stephen Hough is also an avid writer and composer. In addition to critically acclaimed CD liner notes and articles for music publications, he has written for The Guardian, The Times, and blogs for the Telegraph Media Group. Mr. Hough recently composed a string sextet for a National Gallery exhibition in December 2009.

A resident of London, Stephen Hough is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music and holds the International Chair of Piano Studies at the Royal Northern College in Manchester. www.stephenhough.com.

Gilles Vonsattel  “Mr. Vonsattel used his razor-sharp technique to make the older works sound as adventurous as the more recent ones.” –New York Times

Whether as a soloist and a chamber musician, Gilles Vonsattel displays a musical curiosity and sense of adventure that has gained him many admirers. A student of Jerome Lowenthal, Mr. Vonsattel earned his master’s degree at The Juilliard School and began touring after capturing the top prize at the prestigious 2002 Naumburg International Piano Competition.

He made his Alice Tully Hall debut that same year and has since performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic; at Zürich's Tonhalle, Warsaw's Chopin Festival, and Tokyo's Opera City Hall; and in the U.S. with the Utah, Santa Fe, Nashville, and Grand Rapids symphonies, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. The top prizewinner at the 2006 Geneva International Music Competition, Mr. Vonsattel is also a laureate of the Cleveland and Dublin piano competitions. Deeply committed to the chamber music repertoire, he was a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society from 2006-2009 and has performed with the Seattle and Philadelphia chamber music societies.

Winner of the 2008 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Vonsattel has been heard frequently on NPR's Performance Today, Radio France Musique, and the BBC. Mr. Vonsattel's recording of Liszt solo works and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 with L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève was released in 2007 on the Pan Classics label to critical acclaim. www.gillesvonsattel.com.

Schedule of Events: 

Friday, February 12
7:30 p.m. Abbey Simon Recital
Moores Opera House

Program- Mozart
Sonata in A Major, K.331

Schumann
Carnaval, Op. 9

Chopin
24 Préludes, Op. 28

Saturday, February 13
9:00 a.m. Gilles Vonsattel Master Class
Dudley Recital Hall

12:30 p.m. Artist Conversation Luncheon (brown-bag lunch and artist panel discussion)
Moores School of Music Room 118

2:00 p.m. Abbey Simon Master Class
Dudley Recital Hall

7:30 p.m. Stephen Hough Recital
Moores Opera House

Program- Bach/Cortot/Hough
Toccata & Fugue in D Minor

Fauré
Nocturne in D-flat Major
Impromptu in F-sharp Minor
Barcarolle in F-sharp Major

Franck
Prélude
Chorale & Fugue

Chopin
Nocturne No. 1 in B Major
Sonata No. 3 in B Minor

Sunday, February 14
11:30 a.m. Stephen Hough Master Class
Dudley Recital Hall

3:00 p.m Gilles Vonsattel Recital
Moores Opera House
IPF Discovery Series

Program- “Un soupcon de musique française”
Poulenc
Les Soirées de Nazelles

Debussy
Images Books 1 & 2

Martin
3 Préludes

Honegger
Homage á Ravel

Ravel
Gaspard de la Nuit