The Clayton Piano Festival celebrates its first season February 10-17, 2012 and will commence with concerts at the beautiful Clayton Center Performing Arts Auditorium in the historic downtown area of Clayton, NC— only fifteen minutes from the heart of the triangle. It is the mission of CPF to bring outstanding concert pianists from throughout the country to the Clayton community in order to perform concerts and participate in other musically enriching events throughout the community. Through interactive presentations in local schools, public classes for local piano students, and commentary with the concert performances, CPF aims to bridge the gap between performer and audience, bringing great music to people of all ages and levels of exposure to classical music and the arts. http://www.claytonpianofestival.org/
Romantic Fantasies
Date/Time: February 10, 2012, 7:30 pm
Venue: Clayton Center Performing Arts Auditorium
Address: 111 E. Second St., Clayton, NC 27520
Performer: Jonathan Levin, Piano
Artist website: www.jonathanlevinpianist.com
Tickets: $12 Adults, $8 Children and Seniors, College students with valid ID get in free
Description:
Jonathan Levin gives the opening concert of the Clayton Piano Festival. The program explores the genre of the Fantasy as envisioned by three titans of the Romantic era and seeks to reveal some of the hidden meanings behind them. The centerpiece of the program is Schumann’s Fantasy in C Major, one of the most intensely personal works of the 19th century, of which the composer himself admitted he had never written anything so passionate. Following this will be the F Minor Fantasy of Chopin with its marches, both martial and solemn. Music of Franz Liszt will close the program with his fantasy based on Dante’s Inferno from the Divine Comedy – music that takes you from hell to heaven – and back!
Performance Seminar
Date/Time: February 11, 2012, 11:00 am
Venue: First Baptist Church of Clayton
Address: 411 N. Fayetteville St. Clayton, NC 27520
Host: Angelo Rondello
Cost: Free admission
Description:
Angelo Rondello, will work publically with local piano students who are at an advanced level allowing students who are passionate about the piano to acquire more experience performing before an audience and to receive affirmation of their skills and musicianship in an open and friendly master class environment. There will also be a brief forum where Angelo talks about issues pertaining to life as a musician, the various skills required and career paths available to aspiring young musicians today.
Tales, Fables & Poetry
Date/Time: February 13, 2012, 7:30 pm
Venue: Clayton Center Performing Arts Auditorium
Address: 111 E. Second St., Clayton, NC 27520
Performer: Angelo Rondello, Piano
Artist website: www.angelorondello.com
Tickets: $12 Adults, $8 Children and Seniors, College students with valid ID get in free
Description:
Tales, Fables & Poetry takes music stemming from stories of various genres and eras. Pianist Angelo Rondello takes listeners from the stormy Greek tale of the two ill-fated lovers Hero & Leander, depicted in Liszt’s grand Ballade in b minor, to Alkan’s brilliant and humorous setting of the Aesop fables, and Schubert’s masterful handling of Göethe’s Erlkönig and Gretchen am Spinnrade. The final work on the program is Francis Poulenc’s highly unique Histoire de Babar, le Petit Elephant (The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant), in which the pianist narrates the timeless children’s story of Babar while playing the colorful setting Poulenc devised around it.
The Romance of the Piano
Date/Time: February 14, 2012, 12:00 pm
Venue: Smithfield Public Library
Address: 305 E. Market St. Smithfield, NC 27577
Host: Matthew Harrison
Cost: Free admission
Description:
Why do we keep falling in love with this magical instrument? Come celebrate Valentine’s Day with us as Matthew Harrison explores some of our favorite pieces, including Debussy’s Clair de Lune, to find out why we continue to be so charmed while listening to the piano. Mr. Harrison, who teaches piano literature at Manhattan School of Music, hosts an informal talk on the piano, its history and lore, sharing new insights through illuminating discussion and performance. Feel free to bring along your lunch and enjoy it while Matthew takes you on a journey through some of the world’s greatest music!
A Night at the Theater
Date/Time: February 16, 2012, 7:30 pm
Venue: Clayton Center Performing Art Auditorium
Address: 111 E. Second St., Clayton, NC 27520
Performer: Matthew Harrison, Piano
Artist website: www.masterworkconversations.com
Tickets: $12 Adults, $8 Children and Seniors, College students with valid ID get in free
Description:
Matthew Harrison explores the dramatic impulses behind three unique sonatas spanning over a hundred year range. The journey begins with Beethoven’s enigmatic “Tempest” sonata, a work which has captivated audiences since its inception with its often violent contrasts between stormy intensity and lyrical introspection. Then we are treated to a look at another side of the quintessential American composer, Aaron Copland, with his evocative Piano Sonata. The program concludes with the rarely performed First Sonata by Rachmaninoff, a work perhaps inspired partly by Geothe’s Faust.
Piano Music of the 21st Century
Date/Time: February 17, 2012, 7:30 pm
Venue: Clayton Center Performing Art Auditorium
Address: 111 E. Second St., Clayton, NC 27520
Performer: Christian McLeer, Piano
Artist website: www.christianmcleer.com
Tickets: $12 Adults, $8 Children and Seniors, College students with valid ID get in free
Description:
Praised for his “richness of ideas” and “charming and expressive musical panorama” by the New York Times, Christian McLeer plays the concluding concert of Clayton Piano Festival. The program will be comprised entirely of his own original compositions for the piano, some of which will be premieres commissioned especially for the festival. The diverse range of selections include music for piano and electronics and his song, Meaningful from G Train: The Musical.
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