- This event has passed.
RESCHEDULED PERFORMANCE
Yesterday’s World of the Piano performance featuring Philippe Cassard has been rescheduled for today, Monday, March 4, at 7PM due to yesterday’s inclement weather.
NOTE: There will be no pre-concert talk for the rescheduled performance on Monday, March 4. The piano masterclass is scheduled to take place at 10AM on Monday, March 4, in Armstrong Concert Hall. The masterclass will follow Shenandoah University’s campus closure/delay policy.
WORLD OF THE PIANO
An artist of international acclaim, French pianist Philippe Cassard is revered for his remarkable performances as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. He launched his career after performing a joint recital with Christa Ludwig in Paris in 1985 and established his international presence as a finalist in the 1985 Clara Haskil Competition and First Prize winner at the Dublin International Piano Competition in 1988. His interpretation of Debussy’s complete piano works has been presented and praised throughout world, and in 1994, he was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque Français for a recording of the composer’s works published by Decca.
PROGRAM
Debussy: Reflets dans l’eau
Debussy: Ondine
Debussy: Poissons d’or
Debussy: Brouillards
Debussy: La Cathédrale engloutie
Debussy: Jardins sous la pluie
Debussy: Voiles
Debussy: L’Isle Joyeuse
Schubert: Sonata in A Minor, D. 845
Program subject to change.
MEET THE ARTIST
Philippe Cassard has established an international reputation as concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician since giving a joint recital with Christa Ludwig in Paris in 1985. The same year he was finalist at the Clara Haskil Competition and in 1988 he won the First Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition.
His concerto appearances include performances with the London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Wales and Orchestre National de France. He has worked with many conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Jeffrey Tate, Vladimir Fedossejev, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Raymond Leppard, Charles Dutoit, Armin Jordan, Marek Janowski, Emmanuel Krivine and Thierry Fischer.
His performance of the complete piano works of Debussy (four recitals in a single day) received extremely enthusiastic press and media coverage. He has presented the cycle in London Wigmore Hall, Dublin, Paris, Lisbon, Sydney, Singapore and Tokyo. His Debussy recordings published by Decca have been awarded Grand Prix du Disque Français in 1994. He also visits China, Australia, South America and Canada regularly.
Cassard plays also a huge repertoire of chamber music, and he appeared with such artists as Natalie Dessay, Angelika Kirchschlager, Wolfgang Holzmair, Cédric Pescia, Paul Meyer, David Grimal, Anne Gastinel, Matt Haimovitz, Isabelle Faust, the Ebene, Modigliani, Takacs, Auryn, Vanbrugh, Danish and Chilingirian string quartets.
His recording of Schumann’s Humoresque and Fantasiestücke op.12 was awarded Gramophone Editor’s Choice and FM Magazine (2005). Philippe Cassard’s releases (Schubert 8 Impromptus, Brahms op.116 to 119) have been received very warmly.
Cassard joins soprano Natalie Dessay in 2012 for a Debussy Songs programme (Erato) and a Poulenc, Fauré, Duparc and Chausson recital in 2015. His recent release of a Schubert programme (Sonata D959 and four hands piano music with Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia) for La Dolce Volta, was awarded Choc 2014 by Classica magazine.
Philippe Cassard was the artistic director of the festival Nuits Romantiques du Lac du Bourget from 1999 to 2008, and since 2005, he has presented 430 live weekly programs on France Musique Radio dedicated to piano interpretation, which was selected as Best Radio Programme by Prix SCAM in 2007. He has written an essay on Schubert and a book on cinema and music links.
Visit www.philippecassard.com to learn more.
PRE-CONCERT TALK
There will no be no pre-concert talk for the rescheduled performance on Monday, March 4 at 7PM.
PIANO MASTERCLASS
Monday, March 4 from 10AM to Noon • Armstrong Concert Hall
The piano masterclass with Philippe Cassard is still scheduled for Monday, March 4 at 10AM. This event will follow Shenandoah University’s campus delay/closure policy.
Observe the guest artists as they work with Shenandoah Conservatory piano students. Masterclasses are held on the Monday following each Sunday World of the Piano performance from 10AM to noon in Armstrong Concert Hall. Limited seating is open to the public for quiet observation. Please arrive by 9:45AM.
ACCESSIBILITY
All facilities are wheelchair accessible. Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.
Photos by Jean-Baptiste Millot