On May 28, Thomas Rosenkranz performs one of the masterpieces of piano literature, J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” on the Atherton Studio’s concert grand Bösendorfer piano. This technically challenging composition, originally written to be performed on harpsichord, begins with a musical aria and is followed by a set of 30 diverse variations. “These variations have such diversity, from ecstasy to sadness from high jinks to outright zaniness,” said Rosenkranz. “The piece is an epic journey that plunges into the deepest human emotions.”
Tickets to this concert by Thomas Rosenkranz of the “Goldberg Variations” are $30 general, $25 for HPR members, and $15 for students with ID, plus online service charge. Reservations may be made at www.hprtickets.org or by calling the station (955-8821) during regular business hours. The Atherton Studio is located at Hawai?i Public Radio, 738 K?heka Street. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
About the artist
Hailed as “one of the best new music performers around" (American Record Guide), Thomas Rosenkranz enjoys a musical life as a soloist, chamber musician, and artist teacher. Since winning the Classical Fellowship Award from the American Pianists Association, his concert career has taken him to four continents. He is a former Cultural Ambassador to Tunisia and Lebanon sponsored by the U.S. State Department. His repertoire extends from the works of J.S. Bach to premieres of works written exclusively for him, often including improvisation in his performances.
During recent years, he has concertized in many of the major cities of Asia including Bangkok, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Shanghai. For the last decade he has been a member of the faculty at the soundSCAPE Festival in Italy and recently became the co-director of Maccagno Piano Days, a piano festival in the Italian Alps. His first solo CD entitled Toward the Curve was recorded in surround sound and was released on Blu-ray in the spring 2015 on the Oberlin Records Label.
He studied with Robert Shannon at the Oberlin Conservatory, Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music, and Yvonne Loriod in Paris. He was formerly on the faculty of the University of Hawai?i, and is currently an Associate Professor of Piano at the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University.
