Ithaca College

A day after making his Carnegie Hall debut with a performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1 in B-flat Minor -- the piece that won him a gold medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition -- Stanislav Ioudenitch will travel to Ithaca College to perform the work in a free concert on Sunday, April 6.

The concert will also feature the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra (SSO) accompanying Ioudenitch (pronounced You-DANE-itch) and reprising its previous evening's Carnegie Hall performance of Prokofiev's Symphony no. 5 in B-flat Major and Stravinsky's Scherzo à la russe. Part of the Rachel S. Thaler Concert Pianist Series, the performance will begin at 3:00 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.

Established in 1991 in honor of a talented pianist and longtime College supporter, the Rachel S. Thaler Concert Pianist Series has brought to campus such world-class virtuosos as Awadagin Pratt, Yefim Bronfman, Gilbert Kalish, and Garrick Ohlsson.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Ioudenitch studied with Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid and attended Italy's prestigious International Piano Foundation. He also studied with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Robert Weirich at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he is now on the faculty as artist in residence. His strong individuality and musical conviction have enchanted audiences throughout Europe, the United States, and the former Soviet republics.

In addition to winning top honors at the 2001 Van Cliburn competition, Ioudenitch received a Steven De Groote Memorial Award for the best performance of chamber music for his semifinal round collaboration with the renowned Takács Quartet. Hehas also netted top prizes at the Busoni, Kapell, and Maria Callas competitions and took first prize at both the 1998 Palm Beach Invitational and 2000 New Orleans International Piano Competitions.
Ioudenitch's debut on one of the world's most venerated stages coincides with the Carnegie Hall debut of Syracuse Symphony Orchestra conductor and musical director Daniel Hege. Named music director of the SSO in 1999, Hege is renowned for his fresh interpretations of standard repertoire and his commitment to creative programming. The April 5 performance will mark the fifth time the SSO has played at Carnegie Hall.

Contributed by Erik Kibelsbeck