“Preludes & Fantasies” – Pianists Hsing-ay Hsu and Larry Graham present a scrumptious array of both sweet and savory musical morsels, ranging from Bach through Debussy. Joined together by their sympatico approach to con spirito music making (and a passion for key relationships), this is their third joint appearance at Schmitt Music Denver.
The program features both solo piano and duet performances, including Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Saint-Saens.
Watch Hsu and Graham perform “Shubert Fantasie & Allegro, Grusin Hall, CU-Boulder, 2013:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/oskHOI9ofnk[/youtube]
Since her stage debut at age 4, Chinese pianist Hsing-ay Hsu (“Sing-I Shoo”) has been performing at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and internationally in Asia and Europe. Her thoughtful and passionate interpretations have won her international recognition, including the Juilliard William Petschek Debut Award, William Kapell International Piano Competition, Ima Hogg National Competition first-prize, Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship, Gilmore Young Artist Award, and the Presidential Scholar of the Arts Award from President Clinton, among others. She has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, NPR’s Performance Today, Chinese National Television, and Danish Public Radio. Concerto highlights include the Baltimore, China National, Colorado, Houston, New Jersey, Pacific, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras. Solo recordings on Pacific Records and Albany Records have won critical acclaim. A passionate chamber musician, Ms. Hsu recently co-founded a trio with CSO principals Yumi Hwang-Williams and Silver Ainomae.
Always interested in innovative programming, she has produced multi-venue projects focused on a specific composer or theme. Upcoming themes include a program of Chinese Piano Music for the Denver Art Museum, and The Russian Soul at CU-Boulder. Born in Beijing, Hsu studied piano with her parents and uncle Fei-Ping Hsu, Herbert Stessin at Juilliard, and Claude Frank at Yale. She is the Artistic Director for Pendulum New Music at CU-Boulder, piano faculty at Metro State College of Denver, artist teacher for DU Enrichment, and creator/teacher of Conscious Listening™ music seminars. Ms. Hsu is a Steinway Artist and resides in Colorado with her husband, composer Daniel Kellogg, and one daughter. Concert/seminar info and media can be found at hsingayhsu.com.
Larry Graham (Piano, M.M., B.M., Juilliard) launched his career with numerous successes in piano competitions such as the Kosciusko, and Concert Artists Guild auditions. He was winner of the coveted “Prize of the Public” by overwhelming vote at the Queen Elizabeth Concours in Brussels. Graham has performed over 35 different concerti with orchestras, and numerous solo engagements. Graham has also performed extensively with chamber music ensembles, including the highly acclaimed Pablo Casals Trio. For 25 years he was Professor of Piano at the University of Colorado. He is devoted to teaching and continues working with gifted pre-college students. His students have won important prizes locally, nationally, and internationally.
