Leon Fleisher (c) Koichi Miura
Local audiences will have numerous opportunities to see, hear and enjoy legendary pianist and conductor when he visits 黑料不打烊 for a series of events from Sept. 29-Oct. 2.
Fleisher launches the 2015-16 series on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel in an event co-sponsored by the . He will perform selections from his vast repertoire and then engage in a moderated conversation with Ralph Zito, chair of VPA鈥檚 Department of Drama. The event is free and open to the public. American Sign Language interpretation and Communication Access Real Time will be available.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m., Fleisher will conduct a master class for piano students in VPA鈥檚 Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music. Additionally, on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m., he will conduct a chamber music master class for Setnor students. Both events will take place in Crouse College鈥檚 Setnor Auditorium and are free and open to the public.
Then on Friday, Oct. 2, Fleisher will join the 黑料不打烊 Symphony Orchestra as guest conductor for an 8 p.m. performance in Setnor Auditorium. The program will include Beethoven鈥檚 Coriolan Overture; Beethoven鈥檚 Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, with Setnor Professor Steven Heyman, piano; and the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor with Setnor Professor Fred Karpoff, piano. Tickets for the concert鈥$10 for the general public and free for SU students with a valid SU I.D.鈥攁re available at the . The concert will be .
All three events in the Setnor School are presented as part of the Baker Artist Series.
As master pianist and conductor, celebrated teacher and gifted lecturer, Fleisher has left an indelible mark in the worldwide music community. Currently on faculty at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Fleisher has fostered the talents of many great artists, including Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, Alon Goldstein, Louie Lortie and Andr茅 Watts.
He continues to impart his life-affirming artistry throughout the world, from his acclaimed Carnegie Hall workshops to master classes last summer at the Schleswig Holstein and Menuhin Festivals to residencies at music schools and conservatories across the United States. An inspiring conductor, Fleisher recently closed the Marlboro Music Festival. And he is leading orchestras in China and Japan this fall.
Fleisher began playing at age 4, at which time his parents pulled him from school, opting for private tutoring to allow more practice time (鈥淚鈥檝e long thought of entitling my biography 鈥業 Was a Kindergarten Dropout,鈥欌 he jokes). Fleisher鈥檚 most recent recording, 2014鈥檚 鈥淎ll the Things You Are,鈥 reached No. 1 on the classical charts and earned a 2015 Grammy nomination. He was the subject of the 2006 Oscar- and Emmy-nominated documentary 鈥淭wo Hands.”
The next University Lecture will take place Wednesday, Oct. 7, with SU alumna and best-selling author (鈥淭iny Beautiful Things,鈥 鈥淲ild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail) Cheryl Strayed 鈥02, who will speak about her writings and the power of memoir.
The Office of University Lectures welcomes suggestions for future speakers. To recommend a speaker, or to obtain additional information about the University Lectures series, contact Esther Gray in the Office of Academic Affairs at 315-443-2941 or eegray@syr.edu. More information can be found on the series鈥 and on .
