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Sunday October 13, 2019 3:00pm Sunset Center, Carmel Single Tickets: $60, $53, & $45 Web Links: Chopin: Polonaise in A-flat Major, "Heroic" Live from the Steinway Factory in NYC Program
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
George Gershwin
(1898-1937)
Sergei Rachmaninoff
(1873-1943)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
(1840-1893)
Alexander Scriabin
(1871-1915)
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev
(1837-1910) 
<- Previous Concert Next Concert -> Olga Kern, piano 
Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is now recognized as one of her generation's great pianists. She jumpstarted her U.S. career with her historic Gold Medal win at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the first woman to do so in more than thirty years. First prize winner of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition at seventeen, Ms. Kern is a laureate of many other international competitions. In 2016 she served as Jury Chairman of both the Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition and the first Olga Kern International Piano Competition, where she also holds the title of Artistic Director. Ms. Kern frequently gives masterclasses and since September 2017 has served on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. Additionally, Ms. Kern has been chosen as the Virginia Arts Festival's new Director of Chamber Music, beginning with the 2019 season.
In recent seasons, Kern served as Artist in Residence for the San Antonio Symphony's 2017-18 season , had her Chinese debut with the National Youth Orchestra of China tour, performed concerts with Detroit Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Colorado Symphony, the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Tivoli Symphony Orchestra, and La Jolla Music Festival, and recitals in Santa Fe, New Haven, Scottsdale, and San Francisco. Ms. Kern opened the Baltimore Symphony's 2015-2016 centennial season with Marin Alsop. Other season highlights included returns to the Royal Philharmonic with Pinchas Zukerman, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice with Giancarlo Guerrero, a month-long tour of South Africa for concerts with the Cape and KwaZulu Natal philharmonics, an Israeli tour with the Israel Symphony, solo recitals at Sarasota's Van Wezel Hall, New York's 92nd Street Y, and the University of Kansas' Lied Center, and recitals with Renée Fleming in Carnegie Hall and Berkeley. Ms. Kern's discography includes her Grammy Nominated recording of Rachmaninoff's Corelli Variations and other transcriptions (2004), Brahms Variations (2007) and Chopin Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3 (2010). She was featured in the award-winning documentary about the 2001 Cliburn Competition, Playing on the Edge. In 2017, Ms. Kern was gratified to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, joining other honorees including Rosa Parks, Buzz Aldrin, Coretta Scott King, and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. This commendation recognizes Americans who "embody the spirit of America in their salute to tolerance, brotherhood, diversity, and patriotism." |
For the 2018-19 season, Kern will perform with the Moscow Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony, as well as opening Pacific Symphony's season. Olga will also be featured soloist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, both in Glasgow, and on their Spring 2019 US tour. She will appear in recitals in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Southern California, Zurich, and Milan. 