December 15, 2015—With two concerts complete in the six-concert 2015-16 ChamberMusic@Beall concert cycle, the University of Oregon is pleased to present one of the most anticipated performing arts events on the Eugene winter calendar: a recital by the esteemed pianist Olga Kern scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 10 in the historic Beall Concert Hall.

Recognized as one of her generation’s great pianists, Kern will bring her confident musicianship to three sonatas by Scarlatti, Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata, Mendelssohn’s Serious variations, Schumann’s Kinderszenen, and Liszt’s Reminiscences of Don Juan. The program will also include Frenkshteyn’s Homage Variations to Edward Grieg and Béla Bartók (works dedicated to Kern).

Patrons can purchase reserved-seating tickets in advance from the Hult Center for the Performing Arts (541-682-5000) or the UO Ticket Office (541-346-4363).

Audience members are also invited to a free pre-concert "Musical Insights" talk at 2:10 p.m. delivered by UO musicologist Eliot Grasso in room 163 of the Frohnmayer Music Building, UO campus.

The ChamberMusic@Beall series is known throughout Oregon for bringing renowned live chamber musicians to the ears of Willamette Valley music-lovers. Beyond the Kern recital, the 2015-16 series will include performances by the American Brass Quintet on Feb. 21, the St. Lawrence String Quartet on March 6, and the Collegium Vocale Gent on April 17. Complete details are available online.

Olga Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, and began studying piano at the age of five. She jumpstarted her U.S. career with her historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas as the first woman to do so in more than thirty years.

Steinway Artist and First Prize winner of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition at the age of seventeen, Kern is a laureate of many international competitions. Her performance career has brought her unique sense of artistry to many of the world’s most important stages.

Kern opens the Baltimore Symphony’s 2015-2016 centennial season with Marin Alsop. The first Olga Kern International Piano Competition has been announced to take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico in autumn 2016, where Kern will serve as Artistic Director and President of the Jury.

With the ChamberMusic@Beall series, the Oregon Bach Festival has established a year-round presence in the Willamette Valley musical landscape. The OBF partners with the UO School of Music and Dance in administering the series, hosted by the historic Beall Concert Hall located at 961 E. 18th Ave in Eugene, on the UO campus. The hall is an intimate venue known up and down the West Coast for its incredible acoustics.

Event Details

Sunday, January 10
Olga Kern, Piano
3 p.m., Beall Concert Hall, Frohnmayer Music Building
$45, $38, $32, $19. Reserved seating tickets.
Purchase tickets: http://bit.ly/CMBtickets15-16 | 541-682-5000