Friday February 28, 2020 at 7:30 pm
Valerie Tryon piano
in Recital
One of the greatest pianists of our time, Valerie Tryon has had a distinguished career of performances around the world in recital, as a concerto soloist with many of the greatest international orchestras, and as a prolific recording and broadcast artist.
Valerie Tryon’s career as a concert pianist began while she was still a child. Before she was twelve she had broadcast for the BBC and was appearing regularly before the public on the concert platform. She was one of the youngest students ever to be admitted to the Royal Academy of Music where she received the highest award in piano playing and a bursary which took her to Paris for study with Jacques Février.
Her place among Britain’s acknowledged artists was assured when a Cheltenham Festival recital brought her the enthusiastic acclaim of the country’s foremost critics. Since then she has played in most of the major concert halls and appeared with many of the leading orchestras and conductors in Britain. Her career has latterly taken her to North America where she has appeared in such cities as Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Washington, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. She now lives in Canada where she was the Artist-in-Residence at McMaster University, but spends a part of each year in her native Britain. In recent years, Ms. Tryon has made a series of concerto recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Soon to be released is a new CD with the RPO featuring the music of Rachmaninov, Dohnanyi and Richard Strauss.
Her repertoire is enormous and ranges from Bach to contemporary composers; it includes more than sixty concertos and a vast amount of chamber music. Among British composers, both Alun Hoddinott and John McCabe have dedicated works to her. She is well known for her sensitive interpretations of the romantics — Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninov in particular. When the BBC launched its Radio Enterprises record label, some years ago, Valerie Tryon’s performance of Rachmaninov’s Etudes Tableaux, op. 39, was the first classical disc to be released. More recently she has recorded the complete Ballades and Scherzos of Chopin for the CBC’s “Musica Viva” label, which Harold Schonberg of the New York Times described as “the best Chopin recording of the past decade.” Notwithstanding her involvement in the music of the 19th century, she retains a deep love of Scarlatti, whose keyboard sonatas she has delighted in playing in public since her childhood and early youth, and to which she remains deeply committed. Likewise, her ongoing series of the complete piano music of Claude Debussy, represents a special passion: she has twice performed this important repertoire in a demanding cycle of five successive recitals. One of Ms. Tryon’s chief enthusiasms is chamber music. Two of her best-known duo partners in England were Alfredo Campoli (violin) and George Isaac (cello), with both of whom she made a number of significant recordings. Her performance with Isaac of Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata is now considered to be a collector’s item.
Valerie Tryon has been awarded several distinctions for her services to music. She was an early recipient of the Harriet Cohen Medal. More recently the Liszt Memorial Plaque was bestowed on her by the Hungarian Minister of Culture in recognition of her lifelong promotion of Franz Liszt’s music.
PROGRAMME
D. SCARLATTI: Three sonatas
CHOPIN: Ballade No. 1 in G minor
Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 1
Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2
CHOPIN: Etudes, Op. 25
No. 1 in A flat major
No. 2 in F minor
No. 6 in G sharp minor
CHOPIN: Ballade No. 4 in F minor
– Interval –
SCHUMANN-LISZT: Devotion (Widmung)
LISZT: Un Sospiro
LISZT: La Leggierezza
LISZT: Consolation No. 2 in E major
Consolation No. 3 in D flat major
Consolation No. 6 in G sharp minor
LISZT: La Campanella
Single tickets $40 adult, $35 senior, student $20, $10 child (age 10 and under)
Tickets available in the GYMC Office or buy online at squareup.com/store/gymc
featuring vocalist Derek Hines
“This fantastic big band packs an irresistible wallop of musical entertainment— spirited, talented and fun!” says Grand River Jazz Society’s president Stephen Preece
“This fantastic big band packs an irresistible wallop of musical entertainment— spirited, talented and fun!” says Grand River Jazz Society’s president Stephen Preece. The Big Band Theory has brought a great variety of programs to their audiences: from Count Basie and the old swing dance classics, to punchy horn bands of the 70’s and 80’s, as well as contemporary big band arrangements by Gordon Goodwin and L.A.’s Big Phat Band.
Come check it out, and be prepared to be blown away—“This band will part your hair!”
7 pm Jazz combo, hors d’oeuvres & beverages in upper foyer; 7:30 pm Concert in Recital Hall; desserts at intermission
Only $30 per person. In support of music programming at the GYMC
Tickets available in the GYMC Office or buy online at squareup.com/store/gymc
A Charlie Brown Christmas is an Emmy Award-winning holiday tradition enjoyed by children everywhere. Equally magical is the soundtrack created by Vince Guaraldi—Who doesn’t know the popular Christmas Time is Here? Join us again at the Guelph Youth Music Centre this holiday season as we bring back this jazz classic featuring Adam Bowman on drums, Thomas Hammerton on piano, and Tyler Wagler on bass, as they perform the album, top to bottom. They will be joined by The Kingsbury Music Singers directed by Shannon Kingsbury.
The Friday show is SOLD OUT. An EXTRA SHOW has been added for Thursday December 19 at 7:30 pm.
Single tickets $15 adult, $10 senior, $5 child 14 and under
Tickets for December 19 available in the GYMC Office or buy online at squareup.com/store/gymc
Special thank you to Cascades for their sponsorship of this concert series!
