A concert by acclaimed pianist/composer Daniel Abrams will take place on
Wed. Oct 15 at 8 pm
at the MannesCollege of Music,
150 West 85 St, NYC
No charge: seating begins at 7:30 pm
The program includes the American premier of Abrams’ “Musical Portraits from
Wagner’s ‘ing’ (from Abrams’ “Opera For Piano” series)
More information: www.Daniel-Abrams.com/Opera-For-Piano
The program also includes ABRAMS’ Chaconne on “Dido’s Lament” from Dido And
Aeneas , Variations on “Voi Che Sapete” from The Marriage of Figaro, and
Variations on “Ein Engel Leonora” from Fidelio. Opera For Piano retains each
pieces original style, preserving its complex moods and subtle powers — as if
the composers themselves had written the operas as piano music. They are not
transcriptions, but music that Abrams’ deeply loves and wished to be able to
play on the piano. Abrams considers this series his most important legacy to
music and feels that Opera For Piano is adding some glorious music to the
performing pianist’s repertoire.
DANIEL ABRAMS has been internationally acclaimed as both a pianist and as a
composer. He had a double Fulbright in piano & composition (which was renewed
for a second year) to the Royal Academy of Music, and performed extensively
throughout Europe as an American Cultural Ambassador. His highly heralded New
York debut at Town Hall in 1957 brought him major management and years of
concertizing. Also, appearances on many TV and radio shows (including The Today
Show, the Mike Wallace show, Joe Franklin, Pegeen Fitzgerald, etc.) In 1962,
shortly after surviving a plane crash while on a concert tour in S. America,
Abrams accepted a teaching position at Goucher College and The Johns Hopkins
University. While in Baltimore, he founded and, for sixteen years, conducted
The Goucher/Hopkins Community Symphony. He has continued to perform as soloist
with orchestras and in recitals, but has restricted his appearances to the area
in which he lives. Recently, Martha Argerich heard some of Abrams’ music and
included it in her Lugano Piano Festival.
Following is an excerpt from The New York Herald Tribune review for the first
concert (of his four concert cycle) of the Mozart piano sonatas at the Kaufman
Y : Mr. Abrams, as has been noted before, is born to the piano; he cannot
help but make beautiful sounds and he brings to whatever he tackles not only
musicianship, technique and interpretative prowess, but a very special kind of
intellectual radiance that quite sets him apart. In short, the five sonatas
heard contained a veritable galaxy of refinements–indeed, the sort of
refinements that seem slowly to be creeping out of contemporary piano
playing. We urge you to attend.”
More information: www.Daniel-Abrams.com/Opera-For-Piano