The annual Rachel S. Thaler Concert Pianist Series at Ithaca College will bring renowned pianist Alex Slobodyanik to campus for a free recital on Saturday, September 10. Featuring sonatas by Beethoven and Prokofiev, etudes and a scherzo by Chopin, and Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood," the concert will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
At age 15, Slobodyanik became the youngest pianist ever to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Grand Prize at the Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition and the Gilmore Foundation's Young Artist Award.
Slobodyanik's recent tour of North America and Great Britain with the Kirov Orchestra under maestro Valeri Gergiev was highlighted by performances at the Barbican Center in London, New York's Carnegie Hall, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Slobodyanik has also performed with the Chicago Symphony, London's "Philharmonia" Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra. His first compact disc was recently released on EMI Classics to rave reviews.
Established in 1991 in honor of a talented pianist and longtime College supporter, the Rachel S. Thaler Concert Pianist Series has brought to the College such world-class virtuosos as Awadagin Pratt, Yefim Bronfman, Gilbert Kalish, and Garrick Ohlsson.
For more information about Ithaca College School of Music concerts, visit www.ithaca.edu/concerts or call (607) 274-3717.
