It’s not too difficult for Dennis Hirst to select pianists to invite to the Wassermann Festival. “I don’t just choose the pianists I like, but pianists who bring excellence and diverse interests to the concerts,” he said in a phone interview with Reichel Recommends.
And since the artists who come to Utah State University for the festival also do a series of master classes while there, Hirst sees the need to embrace artistic diversity. “I bring in people who can give something that the students can take with them.”
Marc-André Hamelin (Photo Credit: Fran Kaufman)
This year Hirst, who is the festival’s director, has invited three exceptional pianists, two of whom have been to Logan as part of the Wassermann Festival in the past: Marc-André Hamelin, Kevin Kenner and Norman Krieger. “Kevin was here in 2009 and Norman in 2006,” Hirst said. “Both are so fantastic and we’ve had multiple requests to have them back.”
Kenner was a Gina Bachauer winner in 1998 and has won several other prestigious competitions while launching a highly successful concert career. “I am so excited to have him back,” Hirst said. “He is a rare person in our field who is truly a great artist and wonderful with students.”
Hamelin and Kenner will each hold master classes and play a recital. Krieger, on the other hand, will only give master classes. But while he is in Utah, he will travel down I-15
Norman Krieger
to Provo where he will hold workshops and play a free recital at Brigham Young University at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 (in Madsen Recital Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center).
Hirst noted that the programs that Hamelin and Kenner will play are both very distinctive. Hamelin has chosen an ambitious program for his recital on Feb. 24. Opening with a sonata by Joseph Haydn, it also includes Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, Franz Liszt’s imposing Sonata in B minor, and Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Klavierstück XI. “This will be the first Stockhausen for the Wassermann Festival,” Hirst said – and perhaps also for Utah.
Kenner will play an all-French program for his March 1 recital that will include a large sampling of Claude Debussy’s music in the first half and Frederic Chopin’s 24 Preludes, op. 28, in the second half.
Kevin Kenner
“Marc-André and Kevin bring a lot of passion to their playing,” Hirst said, “and we’re thrilled to have them at our festival this year.”
Below is a listing of festival events. Unless otherwise noted, all events take place in Performance Hall on the Utah State University campus. Master classes and lecture/demonstrations are open to the public.
Feb. 23
- 7-9 p.m. – Norman Krieger Master Class.
Feb. 24
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. – Norman Krieger Master Class.
- 1 p.m. – Announcement and Celebration Program featuring prize winning students of the USU piano program (free, no tickets required).
- 2:30-4:30 p.m., Tippetts Balcony Room – Norman Krieger Lecture/Demonstration, “Celebrating a Master: Recollections of My Teacher, Adele Marcus.”
- 7:30 p.m. – Marc-André Hamelin Recital.
Feb. 25
- 10-11:30 a.m., Marc-André Hamelin Question and Answer Session
- 1:30-3:30 p.m., Norman Krieger Lecture/Demonstration, “Transcending the Piano: Technical Tools that Help Us Project Our Musical Conceptions.”
Feb. 28
- 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Kevin Kenner Lecture/Demonstration
- 1:30-3:30 p.m., Kevin Kenner Master Class
Feb. 29
- 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Kevin Kenner Lecture/Demonstration
- 1:30-3:30 p.m., Kevin Kenner Master Class
March 1
- 7:30 p.m., Kevin Kenner Recital
For ticket prices and event information log on to www.usu.edu/wassermann/ or call 435-797-3257.