Concert Preview—

Music For An Early Valentine’s Day Treat

Just in time for Valentine’s Day and for the third concert of the 2004-05 Newtown Friends of Music season, Trio Solisti will perform on Sunday, February 13, at 3 pm. NFoM concerts are performed in the theater at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street in Newtown.

Three eminent musicians – the violinist Maria Bachmann, the cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach and the pianist Jon Klibonoff – are Trio Solisti. Each artist is an outstanding soloist and together, their synergy results in one of the most respected piano trios today.

 Already known to Newtown audiences are Jon Klibonoff, who performed here last in 1996, and Maria Bachmann, who was the featured violinist in a program aptly called “Competition Winners.” It will be Miss Gerlach’s first appearance on the Newtown stage.

Trio Solisti excels in its repertoire of classics from Beethoven and Schubert to Ravel and Shostakovich. Additionally, it explores contemporary composers including Paul Schoenfield, John Anthony Lennon, John Musto, and Scott Johnson, as well as a little known early trio composed by the great Leonard Bernstein.

Pianist Jon Klibonoff was hailed by The Boston Globe as “ … master of touch, color, dynamics, and style …  and a first-class interpretive intelligence. There are concert and concerts, but this seemed a privileged encounter.”

Mr Klibonoff has established a versatile career as orchestra soloist, recitalist and chamber musician both nationally and abroad.  He is a graduate of The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music and has been on the faculty of both Hunter College and Concordia College.

He has won numerous awards for his accomplished work, including Silver Medal of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the Affiliate Artists Xerox Pianists Award, the Pro Musicis Foundation Award, First Prize in the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition and a Solo Recitalists Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Violinist Maria Bachmann has been a featured soloist around the world and has been profiled by Musical America, Mirabella, Time Magazine, CD Review and New York Newsday as “Outstanding Artist of the Year”.

The New York Times has spoken of Ms Bachmann as:  “A rare violinist  … she embraces a wide variety of styles with absolute confidence … crisply lean, warmly lyrical, unexpectedly sensuous …a major talent.”  Ms Bachmann has won first prizes at the Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition in Vienna, Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, the Pro Musicis Foundation Award and the Palm Beach International Competition. Ms Bachmann has also won top laurels at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

Cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach has performed as a soloist and chamber musician around the globe as well as in the United States. Ms Gerlach studied at The Juilliard School and with Aldo Parisot at Yale University.  The Strad described Ms Gerlach’s performance as:  “…. a superbly lyric and passionate …… to judge from the amazing level of artistry and technical professionalism, Alexis Pia Gerlach can take her place in the world of music anywhere.”

On Sunday afternoon Trio Solisti will offer a program spanning three centuries, starting with Haydn’s Piano Trio in G Major, Hoboken XV, Number 25 and Brahms’ Piano Trio in C minor, Opus 101.

Following intermission, the concert will conclude with Ravel’s Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello.

A post-performance reception and an opportunity to meet and speak with the artists will conclude the afternoon.

Early reservations are highly recommended for what planners expect to be a popular event. Tickets are $15 and are available in advance by calling 426-4670 or visiting www.NewtownFriendsOfMusic.org. As always, children between the ages of 5 and 14 will be admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.

Edmond Town Hall is wheelchair accessible. Free parking is available behind the building.

This program is sponsored by Western Connecticut Federal Credit Union.