Photo: PianoArts - Facebook
Bradley Symphony Center with piano on stage
The Bradley Symphony Center
Three young pianists from three nations, selected more than two years ago to advance in the preliminary round of the PianoArts North American Competition, will meet in the competition’s final round at the Bradley Symphony Center. The trio of finalists will perform with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under conductor Yaniv Dinur in front of an audience and three internationally known jurors: Pavlina Dokovska, Alan Chow, and Boris Slutsky. There will be cash prizes and other awards.
The finalists are: Godwin Friesen, age 23, from Toronto, Ontario, performing Dmitri Shostakovich's Concerto No. 2; Solomon Ge, 19, from San Jose, CA, performing Ludwig van Beethoven's Concerto No. 1; and Ailun Zheng, 23, from Shanghai, China, performing Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor.
“It’s been a long wait, due to COVID,” said Zheng, “but through the past two years, I’ve grown so much as an artist. While I was in Shanghai, I couldn’t play for audiences. I’m very excited that I am finally able to come to Milwaukee and PianoArts and to perform Schumann's Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.”
PianoArts, founded in 1995, was one of the first competitions to offer career-bound pianists the opportunity to perform with a major orchestra, giving the competitors a chance to work alongside professional classical musicians.
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The concert takes place 7:30 pm, Wednesday, June 1 at Bradley Symphony Center, 212 W. Wisconsin Ave. Concertgoers can meet the finalists at 6:30 p.m. during Concert Conversations hosted by PianoArtist Aleksandra Kasman. Tickets are on sale through June 1 at the MSO Box Office: 414-291-7605.
Other Festival Events
Duo Recital with MSO Musicians
At 7:30 p.m., May 31, the three pianists will also perform with MSO musicians at the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay, 218 E, Silver Spring Drive. Tickets are available at the door or at PianoArts.org. The program includes Robert Schumann’s Piano/Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor; Johannes Brahms’ Piano/Violin Sonata in A major, Opus 100; and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano/Violin Sonata in D minor, Opus 40.
Piano Promenades – 2018 Competition Winners Join the Festival Celebration
On Sunday, May 29, at 7:30 pm, Derek Hartman, Tianyuan Liu, and Muzi Zhao will present a “Piano Promenades Recital” at the Charles Allis Art Museum, 1801 N. Prospect Avenue. Inspired by the museum's rich and diverse art collection, the pianists will perform solo and duet masterpieces by Franz Schubert, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Zhang Zhao.
Concertgoers are invited to visit an exhibit of award-winning costumes from Downton Abbey, “Dressing the Abbey,” with reduced tickets reserved at info@vtcamuseums.org, and attend an artist reception following the recital. Parking is available at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Tickets will be available at the door or at PianoArts.org.
