The upcoming Concordia Piano Festival will celebrate the beauty and versatility of the piano with a series of free concerts open to the public, featuring the works of Chopin, Schubert, Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Brahms, as well as new contemporary compositions.
“It’s an extremely expressive instrument,” said Dr. Grigor Khachatryan, associate professor of piano at Concordia College, who is directing the event. “There's a sensation that someone is talking to you, that it's not a mechanical thing. I think of it as a vocal instrument, not as a percussive instrument.”
The concert series highlights the piano not only as a solo instrument but also as a collaborative one that can both enhance the music of others and draw an ensemble’s music together into a cohesive whole.
“It’s the force that brings everything together,” Khachatryan added. “In a way, it’s almost like a conductor and an instrument in one.”
Multiple Concordia musician-instructors will be featured in the Piano Festival, including Dr. Jay Hershberger, Dr. Albina Khaliapova, Dr. Eduard Teregulov, Dr. Victor Avila-Luvsangenden, and Khachatryan himself.
In addition, Dr. Matthew Cataldi will give a guest recital featuring the works of Chopin and Liszt beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24. Cataldi, who earned a Doctor of Music degree in piano performance and literature from Indiana University, is a performer, composer, arranger, and educator who currently serves as director of piano studies and associate professor of piano at Radford University, Radford, Virginia.
All Piano Festival concerts are in Christiansen Recital Hall in the Hvidsten Hall of Music at Concordia, and all are free and open to the community.
Attendees will also get to see and hear a handmade Yamaha CFX grand piano, the brand’s flagship model, brought from Popplers Music in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Piano Festival Events
- Dr. Eduard Teregulov, cello, and Dr. Albina Khaliapova, piano
3 p.m. Saturday, March 21
Johannes Brahms — Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
Dmitri Kabalevsky — Cello Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 71
Polina Nazaykinskaya — Waltz Noir for cello and piano - Dr. Jay Hershberger, piano
3 p.m. Sunday, March 22
Franz Schubert — Six Moments Musicaux, D. 780
Franz Schubert — Sonata in B-flat major, D. 960 - Dr. Grigor Khachatryan, piano
7:30 p.m. Monday, March 23
Frederic Chopin:
Four Mazurkas, Op. 30
Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20
Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. 31
Scherzo in C-sharp minor, Op. 39
Scherzo in E major, Op. 54
Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22 - Guest Artist Recital: Dr. Matt Cataldi, piano
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24
Works of Chopin and Liszt - Faculty Chamber Music Recital: Dr. Grigor Khachatryan, piano, Dr. Jay Hershberger, piano, Dr. Eduard Teregulov, cello, and Dr. Victor Avila-Luvsangenden, violin
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 25
Felix Mendelssohn — Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66
Franz Schubert — Fantasie in F minor for Four Hands, D. 960
More
- Study Music at Concordia
- Earn a Bachelor of Music Degree with a Piano Major at Concordia
- Dr. Matthew Cataldi