Steinway Society -The Bay Area
Announces 2010-2011 Piano Series

Steinway Society will present a series of six piano recitals from September 2010 through April 2011 bringing to the greater San Jose area a unique and enviable line-up of superlative pianists some of whom have not been heard in the Bay Area.

The series offers a musical experience like no other in the area – performances of first class international artists in an intimate setting that rivals some of the best musical salons of 19th century Vienna. Four of the six recitals will take place at Le Petit Trianon Theatre, an acoustically ideal hall seating approximately 340 people. Two of the recitals will take place at the McAfee Center in Saratoga, an equally intimate and acoustically ideal theatre for piano recitals.

In addition to the six subscription recitals, SSBA presents two afternoon Community Access concerts that are free to the public. One of these, The Young Artists Concert, traditionally showcases local young accomplished artists who have won prestigious competitions at the local or national level.

Steinway Society is also proud to present Ruth Slenczynska in a special event program of “conversations on music-making” where audiences have the opportunity of a lifetime to hear Ms. Slenczynska perform and talk about her legendary career, her life travails and especially her experience as a young performer interacting with some the most legendary classical musicians of 20th century. This event will take place on the campus of San Jose State University.

Tickets go on sale as follows:
Subscription Renewals – May 22nd; New Subscriptions – June 20; Single Tickets – August 1st

Subscription Series Program

Joel Fan, pianist Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 7:30 PM Le Petit Trianon Theatre, San Jose Diane Walsh, pianist Saturday, October 30, 2010, 7:30 PM Le Petit Trianon Theatre, San Jose Sergio Tiempo, pianist Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 7:30 PM Le Petit Trianon Theatre, San Jose Greg Anderson, pianist Saturday, February 5, 2011,7:30 PM Le Petit Trianon Theatre, San Jose Dennis Lee and Chee Hung Toh, duo pianists Sunday, March 20, 2011, 7 PM Le Petit Trianon Theatre, San Jose Dubravka Tomsic, pianist Sunday, April 10, 2011, 7 PM McAfee Center, Saratoga Special Event Appearance Ruth Slenczynska, pianist Saturday, October 9th, 4:00 PM San Jose State University, Music School

LOCATIONS: Le Petit Trianon 72 N. 5th Street, San Jose, CA 95112 McAfee Theatre Saratoga High School 20300 Herriman Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 TICKETS: Subscriptions full series: $138-$240 Subscriptions 4 series: $180-$100 Single tickets: $25-$45 Discounts for Seniors and Students Box Office: (408) 286-2600 x23 www.steinwaythebayarea.com

Biographies

Joel Fan is a dynamic performer who embraces traditional piano literature as well as an eclectic range of repertoire, including new music commissioned especially for him. Mr. Fan’s debut album World Keys released in 2006 became a classical music best-seller charting #3 on Billboard’s Classical Chart. The music on this recording includes world premiere recordings of composers such as Dia Succari, Peteris Vasks as well as traditional repertoire from Liszt, Prokofiev and Schumann. His second album West of the Sun, released in 2009 it also landed on the Billboard Top 10. On this disc music from the Americas by Nazareth, Ginastera, Villa-Lobos and Piazzola demonstrates Mr. Fan’s versatility. Known as a champion of “new music”’ Mr. Fan collaborated with the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma on the Silk Road Ensemble with whom he performed at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as New York Philharmonic and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and has performed under the baton of conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Gustav Meier and David Zinman. He is also a winner of international piano competitions including the Busoni International and the Kosciuzko Foundation Chopin Prize.


Sergio Tiempo born in Caracas, Venezuela has developed a reputation as one of the most individual and thought-provoking pianists of his generation. Tiempo established his international credentials at an early age, making his professional debut at the age of fourteen with the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. While at the Fondazione per il Pianoforte in Como, Italy he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, Fou Tsong, Murray Perahia and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He has received frequent musical guidance and advice from Martha Argerich and Gustavo Dudamel with whom he performed concerts with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. His portfolio boasts recordings on EMI Classics’ 'Martha Argerich Presents' label, performing Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit and three Chopin Nocturnes. Most recently, Sergio Tiempo released a disc of French music for two pianos with Karin Lechner for Avanti Classic entitled La Belle Epoque. In the current season, Tiempo appears with the Bournemouth Symphony, Iceland Symphony, RTÉ Dublin, Gothenburg Symphony, Malmö Symphony and the Hallé Orchestra and makes his recital debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus and London’s Wigmore Hall.


Diane Walsh is an artist with a varied repertoire, ranging from Bach to Berg. In the fall of 2007, Diane Walsh joined the cast of 33 Variations, the new play by Moisés Kaufman in its debut production at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. The work is focused on Beethoven’s last years and his composition of the Diabelli Variations, which Ms. Walsh performs on stage throughout the play. Ms. Walsh has appeared in 113 performances, including performances with Jane Fonda. Diane Walsh has been guest soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco, St. Louis among others. She toured with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. In recital, Ms. Walsh has been presented in many of the country’s most distinguished venues, among them New York City’s 92nd Street Y, Merkin Concert Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Miller Theatre, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC and Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. In addition, she has released 15 discs of diverse repertoire for Nonesuch, Sony and others. Most recently she recorded Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations and volume one of Schubert’s Piano Sonatas.


Greg Andersen has been touring the world as a recitalist, orchestral soloist and lecturer to universal acclaim. He has performed at major international venues in Japan, Canada, Barbados. In the US he performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center in New York, the Cliburn Concert Series in Forth Worth, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival in Salt Lake City and others. His performances with orchestras include St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Julliard Orchestra, and the Aspen Concert Orchestra. In 2006 he has released his first solo album On the Wings of Song. That same year Mr. Andersen’s composition “Star Wars Fantasy” for two pianos was performed at Alice Tully Hall on the “Cinema Serenades” concert series. His compositions for The 5 Browns appear on EMI and Sony labels.


Dennis Lee is a Malaysian born pianist whose musical talents blossomed while studying at the Royal College of Music in London. He won the Tagore Gold Medal for the most outstanding student there and later received his Masters Degree. He also studied in Vienna and Milan. Winner of many prizes at prestigious European competitions, Mr. Lee has performed with the BBC orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony to name a few. In the US ha has appeared at the Kennedy Center, National Gallery in DC, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia.


Chee-Hung Toh was born in Singapore and like Mr. Lee, studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She has won top prizes including the Christie-Moore Award and the MacFarren Gold Medal. She has performed extensively throughout Europe including London, France, Denmark, Germany, Holland and Italy. As the result of winning the East and West Artists Auditions in New York, she performed her debut recital at Carnegie Hall for which she received high acclaim in New York Times. She has also performed as a soloist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and St. Martin in the Fields. She teachers and gives master-classes in Hong Kong and is very sought after for appearances at various Festivals around the world.


Dubravka Tomsic is a celebrated “grand-dame” of piano who recently has taken the US and other parts of the world by storm with extensive recital tours that may even rival Madonna’s schedule. Born and bred in Slovenia, she continues to make her home there where she teaches at the Ljubljana University. However, the world would not know it given her extensive engagements all over the US and Europe. In April 2008, Tomsic’s tour took her to Boston, San Francisco, Kansas City, the Gilmore Festival, Monterey California and Honolulu to name a few. Some recent highlights include performances with Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa, a recital at the Tanglewood Festival and New York’s Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Tomsic was the only protégé of Artur Rubinstein who glowingly mentioned her in his memoirs, My Many Years. She has performed more than four thousand concerts to date, all over five continents and has recorded more than 80 recordings since 1987.


Ruth Slenczynska is a legend in the full sense of the word. American born, in Sacramento she was mentored to become a star pianist by her violinist father whom she wrote about in her memoirs, Forbidden Childhood (NY 1957). Her musical talent was further developed under the tutorship of legendary greats such as Arthur Schanbel, Alfred Cortot, Joseph Hofmann and Sergei Rachmaninoff. She performed her debut in Berlin at age six and played with a professional orchestra at age eleven in Paris. At the ripe age of fifteen, following a strained touring schedule she took a hiatus from performing. Back in the US her career resumed in 1954 and she established her herself as a pianist of impeccable technique and musical insight. From 1964-1987 she was Artist-in-Residence at the Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. Most recently she traveled to Japan in 1998 where she played a recital at the Okayama Symphony Hall to great acclaim. She has an extensive discography that is archived at the Southern Illinois University’s Lovejoy Library and many of her older recording are widely available for purchase over the internet.