Continuing its Piano Festival 2014, the Howland Chamber Music Circle presents a concert of works written for two pianos featuring pianists Frederic Chiu, in a return engagement, along with his frequent collaborator Andrew Russo.
Chiu’s intriguing piano playing and teaching springs from a diverse set of experiences and interests: his Asian/American/European background, his musical training, and an early and ongoing exploration of artificial intelligence and human psychology.
Russo is known for his diversity of interests and experiences, whether music, business or politics. His appearance as a finalist at the 2001 Van Clyburn International Piano Competition drew attention when he became the first pianist to perform a significant work, George Crumb’s A Little Suite for Christmas, using the inside of a piano.
For their concert at the Howland Center the two pianists have chosen to play Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos, Opus 17, Four Movements for Two Pianos by Phillip Glass and Igor Stravinsky’s own arrangement for two pianos of The Rite of Spring.
The concert takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main St., Beacon, followed by a reception to meet the artists. Tickets are $30 ($10 students). Call 845-297-9243. Visit howlandmusic.org.
