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| Distinguished Artists Series - Zoltan Kocsis (10.16.2003) |
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| Tickets/Registration: 212.415.5500 |
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| Media Contact: Beverly Greenfield, 212.415.5452, email |
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| DISTINGUISHED ARTISTS SERIES - ZOLTÁN KOCSIS |
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| ONLY NEW YORK RECITAL THIS SEASON |
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| Thursday, October 16 at 8:00 p.m., $35 |
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| Presented by: 92ND STREET Y TISCH CENTER FOR THE ARTS |
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"[Kocsis had] a commanding, utterly personal approach to everything he touched... [He] has the ability to penetrate to the heart of a piece with an almost ruthless immediacy."
--The New York Observer (January 2001) |
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| New York, NY, September, 8, 2003—The 92nd Street Y continues its tradition of presenting the world's leading performers in its Distinguished Artists series. This season features the only New York recitals by pianist Zoltán Kocsis and violinist Kyung-Wha Chung, as well as a rare chamber music appearance by pianist Alfred Brendel with his son, cellist Adrian Brendel. |
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The series opens on October 16 at 8:00 p.m. when the Y provides a rare opportunity for New York audiences to hear Hungarian pianist Zoltán Kocsis in his only New York recital of the season. The performance follows Kocsis's appearance with the New York Philharmonic on October 9, 10 and 11. A highly respected conductor and composer, Kocsis is known as an electrifying pianist and chamber music player. |
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| Kocsis' recital at the Y features Beethoven's classic Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 (1814) and two works by Schubert: Sonata in E minor, D. 566 (1817) and Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960, Schubert's last instrumental work, finished less than two months before he died in 1828. Kocsis also performs music by Liszt: two pieces from the suite Années de pélerinage, troisiéme année (Years of Pilgrimage, Third Year, 1877-82) — "Les Jeux d'Eau á la Villa D'Este" (The Fountains of the Villa d'Este) and "Sunt lachrymae rerum, en mode hongrois" (loosely translated as "God, the inherent sadness of things, in the Hungarian mode") — and Liszt's dark Hungarian dance, "Csárdás macabre" (1881-2). |
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| Zoltán Kocsis launched his international career at age 18 by winning the coveted Hungarian Radio Beethoven Competition and subsequently was invited to perform throughout Europe. He founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra with Ivan Fischer in 1983 and remained one of its artistic directors until 1997; since 1998, he has been director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. He also performs internationally as a recitalist and soloist with the world's premier orchestras. |
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| ABOUT THE ARTIST |
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| Zoltán Kocsis is a pianist, conductor, chamber musician, composer and arranger. Born in Budapest, Kocsis began piano at the age of five. After attending music school and the Béla Bartók Conservatory in his native city, he entered the Franz Liszt Academy, where he studied with Pál Kadosa and Ferenc Rados. His international career began when he won the Hungarian Radio Beethoven Competition when he was 18. He was invited to perform throughout Europe, making appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, among other ensembles. He has since toured extensively in Europe, America, Japan, the Far East and Australia, performing with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Chicago and San Francisco symphonies, the Royal Philharmonic, and participating in festivals at Salzburg, Edinburgh and Lucerne. He has played under the batons of Abbado, Blomstedt, von Dohnányi, Dutoit and Solti, and Tilson Thomas, among many others. Kocsis was invited by Sviatoslav Richter to perform recitals for piano, four hands, at the Hohenems and Tours Festivals. |
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| Kocsis is well-known for his affinity for contemporary music; György Kurtág has dedicated several compositions to him, which the pianist has performed across Europe. Kocsis founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra with Ivan Fischer in 1983 and remained one of its artistic directors until 1997. Under his direction, the orchestra established itself at the highest level, and presented an enormously successful series in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Béla Bartók's death. In 1998, Kocsis was appointed Music Director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. His first year with the orchestra included an acclaimed performance of Schoenberg's "Gurrelieder," the highlight of the Budapest Spring Festival. |
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| Zoltán Kocsis now divides his time between playing and conducting. This season and next he tours extensively in Europe, the United States and the Far East with the Hungarian National Philharmonic, often performing his original transcriptions and compositions. As guest conductor or soloist he will work with New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel, the Philharmonia, the CBSO, the WDR Symphony and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and he gives recitals throughout Europe. Zoltán Kocsis has been an exclusive artist with Philips Classics since the late 1970s. He has also recorded for Denon, Hungaroton, Nippon Columbia and Quintana. His recordings have earned him critical accolades and major prizes, including a Gramophone award and the Edison Prize. He recently finished recording the complete series of Bartók's piano music, including both solo works and the pieces with orchestra. |
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| DISTINGUISHED ARTISTS: UPCOMING CONCERTS |
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On November 2, the Y presents South Korean violinist Kyung-Wha Chung in her only New York recital of the season.
On April 27, the Y welcomes back the pianist Alfred Brendel, whose gift for conveying the intellectual and emotional depth of the keyboard literature is legendary. The pianist performs with his son, cellist Adrian Brendel, who has been featured in Lincoln Center's Chamber Music II program for exceptional young performing artists. The elder Brendel is joined by his son for Beethoven's Sonatas for Cello and Piano in F Major (Op. 5, No. 1), A Major (Op. 69) and D Major (Op. 102, No. 2), and Beethoven's virtuoso variations on a theme from Handel's Judas Maccabaeus. |
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| CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERT DISCOUNTS |
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| A limited number of $10 tickets are available in the rear orchestra for each concert. High school and undergraduate college students with ID's may purchase tickets for $5. Senior citizens with ID's may obtain a 50% discount on the day of the concert. |
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| ABOUT THE 92nd STREET Y |
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| The 92ND STREET Y TISCH CENTER FOR THE ARTS, endowed through the generous support of the Tisch family, produces and presents world-class concerts of classical, world, folk and cabaret music, lyric theater and jazz. The Center's Unterberg Poetry Center, established in 1939, produces a renowned literary reading series that presents the most distinguished writers of our time and offers extensive educational programs for writers of all levels. |
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The 92ND STREET Y unites culture, education and community service in one multifaceted institution. Founded in 1874 by a group of visionary Jewish leaders, the Y has grown into an organization guided by Jewish principles but serving people of all races and faiths. Its mission is to enrich the lives of the 300,000 people who visit its three facilities each year.
People come to the Y to attend performances of classical and popular music, jazz, American standards and modern dance; to hear renowned novelists, poets and playwrights read from their work; to listen to world leaders, public figures and experts in every field discuss timely issues; to explore the richness of Judaism with eminent scholars; and to see thought-provoking foreign and independent films. Adults and children enjoy classes in art, music, dance, writing, wellness and fitness, while parents, families, teenagers, older adults, and young people with special needs participate in programs that help them reach their full potential.
Committed to sharing its programs with all New Yorkers regardless of economic circumstance, the 92nd Street Y provides over $1 million in annual financial assistance and an outreach program that brings the arts into the lives of 8,000 economically disadvantaged local schoolchildren.
For more information, visit
www.92Y.org/content/PRESS_RESOURCES.asp.
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© 2008 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association
All Rights Reserved. |
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