Fellner Replaces Moravec

PCMS has just learned that, due to medical reasons, pianist Ivan Moravec has called off his fall trip to the U.S. – thus canceling his October 19 PCMS recital at Perelman Theater.

Fortunately for the Society, we have found an alternate pianist for the same evening – Till Fellner – an outstanding young Austrian pianist that the Society has been interested in presenting for two years now. Mr. Fellner is finishing up his own recital tour of the final three Beethoven Sonatas and has graciously offered to extend his stay in the U.S. to visit Philadelphia for the very first time.

A "refined intellectual musician" (New York Times), Till Fellner began as one of Alfred Brendel’s most accomplished students and is now "among the foremost keyboard virtuosi of the day" (Observer UK). Over the past three years, the Viennese pianist has undertaken to perform all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas in order, across the world—in London, Paris, and Carnegie Hall. At PCMS, the fiercely precise pianist ends this journey, embracing Beethoven’s final three sonatas, perhaps the most breathtaking examples of the form in existence.

Fellner plays with scrupulous musicianship, purity of style, and sparkling keyboard command – qualities that have earned him plaudits throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan. His readings of the works of Bach and Beethoven, in particular, have already placed him among the elect in this repertoire, and the inspired ingenuity of his performances of such 20th-century masters as György Kurtág and Elliott Carter have earned him many accolades. In 1993 Mr. Fellner came to world attention by winning First Prize at the important Clara Haskil International Piano Competition at Vevey, Switzerland. During his relatively short period on the international scene, Mr. Fellner has appeared as guest soloist with many of the world's foremost orchestras, working with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christoph von Dohnányi, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and Leonard Slatkin, among many others. He has also performed as partner to some of the leading younger instrumentalists and singers of our time, including cellist Heinrich Schiff, violinist Viviane Hagner as part of a trio with violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Adrian Brendel, and in recitals with the noted English tenor Mark Padmore, with whom he tours Schubert’s Winterreise this season.

Till Fellner, piano Tuesday, October 19 at 8pm

Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center Beethoven: Sonata in E Major, Op. 109 Beethoven: Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110 Beethoven: Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111

Beethoven: Sonata in E Major, Op. 109 Beethoven: Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110 Beethoven: Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111

Beethoven: Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110 Beethoven: Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111

Beethoven: Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111