Pianist Karl Lutchmayer will give a free faculty recital on Wednesday, February 21 at 7pm in the Hockett Family Recital Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music at Ithaca College. His program will include music of Haydn, Liszt, the American premier of a piece by Humphrey Searle, and two works by Busoni.
Lutchmayer observed: “The program explores the effects of external influences on composers: Liszt reflecting on Dante’s Divine Comedy in one piece and a Verdi opera in another, and Busoni writing in the thrall of Schoenberg’s immense personality and exploring a kind of Italian Futurism. I bring two gifts to Ithaca from England: Haydn’s “English Sonata,” influenced by the new pianos of the time, and the American premiere of Humphrey Searle’s sonata, whose influences were as disparate as Liszt and Webern!”
Karl Lutchmayer enjoys an international career as both a pianist and lecturer. He studied at the Royal College of Music where he won numerous prizes and scholarships, and later held the prestigious Constant & Kit Lambert Fellowship awarded by the Worshipful Company of Musicians - the only time in its history that it has been awarded to an instrumentalist.
He has given recitals and concertos throughout the world, working with conductors including Lorin Maazel and Sir Andrew Davis, and performed at all the major London concert halls. He has broadcast on BBC Radio3 and Classic FM, and his regular recital series at the Warehouse has been received with critical acclaim. A regular chamber performer, particularly with his own ensemble, Dialogos, he is also a passionate advocate of contemporary music, and has given numerous premieres and had many works written for him.
