Liszt Festival to showcase piano virtuosity: Free admission Nov. 1

October 25, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Franz Liszt was the rock star of his times. Born in Hungary in 1811, Liszt toured from a young age, performing piano recitals throughout Europe and creating a sensation everywhere he went. Today, he is considered one of the most famous pianists in history for his role in elevating piano composition and piano performance to the highest level and laying the groundwork for future developments of the repertoire for the instrument.

To showcase the artistry of his compositions and the talents of piano students in Florida universities, the College of Fine Arts School of Music at the University of Florida hosts the Liszt Festival, 7:30 p.m., Nov. 1 at the University Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

“To play Liszt’s music requires not only astonishing virtuosity but also great sense for poetic and dramatic expression,” said festival creator Boaz Sharon, a professor of piano in the School of Music and head of the piano area.

Festival organizer Gila Goldstein, a visiting professor in the School of Music, said Liszt, who stopped publicly performing and turned solely to conducting and composing at 36, is often credited with redefining piano playing itself and his influence is still visible today, both through his composition and his legacy as a teacher in Weimar, Germany. She added that Liszt is also credited with inventing the modern piano recital.

Liszt was a very versatile musician: a pianist, composer, arranger, teacher, conductor and writer. He was also a compassionate man who quit music for a decade to move to Rome and take up the priesthood. His versatility can be heard in his compositions, and the upcoming concert at UF will expose Liszt the poet, the magician, the virtuoso, the devout Catholic, the Romantic and the Dramatist.

Sharon and Goldstein, who is Sharon’s temporary replacement at UF while he is on sabbatical, have been Liszt aficionados and members of the American Liszt Society for many years. Sharon, who has been a member of the School of Music piano faculty since 1985, said it is essential for young gifted students to play and perform the works of Liszt to develop their technical and artistic skills to the highest possible level.

“In order to play Liszt properly one must be not just a virtuoso, but a very fine musician,” Sharon said. “It is not all about technique with Liszt, as many might think, but it is indeed only exceptional technique that can bring out the musical and poetic meanings as well as the orchestral and operatic sound images of his pieces, something he was striving to achieve.”

In addition to performances by UF College of Fine Arts School of Music piano students, Maria Gorodestkaya, Joanna Kim, Seung Hye Kim and Schumann Ren, the concert will feature three students from other universities: Jamila Tekalli from the University of Central Florida in Orlando (a student of Laurent Boukobza); Sarah Mingle from the University of South Florida in Tampa (a student of Svetozar Ivanov) and Matthew Cataldi from Florida State University in Tallahassee (a student of Read Gainsford).

The concert will include the following works: “Vallee d’Obermann, 5 Etudes” (Feux Follets, Eroica, Gnomenreigen, Waldesrauschen, La Campanella), “Sonneto 104 del Petrarca,” “Pensee des Morts,” “Mephisto Waltz,” transcription of Schumann song “Widmung” and transcription of Wagner’s “Senta’s Ballade” from “Flying Dutchman.”

The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 1, at University Auditorium on Newell Drive, and is free and open to the general public. As part of the festival, Read Gainsford, an associate professor of piano of Florida State University, will give a Liszt master class at 1 p.m., Nov. 7, at UF’s Keene Faculty Center in Dauer Hall.