Pianist joins violinist in concert
Violinist Lawrence Golan, concertmaster of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, will be joined by noted pianist Eva Virsik in a concert at Bates College on Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall. The public is invited to attend free of charge.
Their program will span musical eras from the classical through the 20th century, including a piece composed by Golan. Beethoven’s “Sonata #8 in G Major, Op.30 #3” will open the evening, followed by “Ciaccona,” from Bach’s “Partita #2 in d minor” and segments of Paganini’s “24 Caprices, Op. 1.” Golan’s “‘Fantasia’ for Solo Violin (1993),” concludes the first half of the program.
The second half of the concert begins with Schumann’s “Novelette Op.21 #8 in f-sharp minor” followed by Chopin’s “Waltz Op. 69 #1 in A-flat Major” and Liszt’s “Paganini Etude #3: ‘La Campanella.'” Paganini’s “Cantabile” and Kreisler’s “Liebesfreud” conclude the program.
Former principal second violinist of the Honolulu Symphony, Golan now leads the string section of the Portland Symphony and serves on the music faculty of the University of Southern Maine where he is director of string studies. With a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Univeristy of Indiana and a Ph.D from the New England Conservatory of Music, the young musician boasts an international orchestral career. Highlights include performances in London and Moscow conducted by Leonard Bernstein and a European tour with Sergiu Celibidache with stops in Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Milan, Geneva and Basel.
In the summer of 1994, Golan performed two concerts in Carnegie Hall as a member of a nationally selected orchestra under the direction of Sir Georg Solti, referred to as “the orchestral equivalent of the ‘Dream Team'” by the New York Times.
Pianist Eva Virsik, a native of Bratislava, Slovakia (the former Czechoslovakia), won numerous piano competitions in her homeland, including first prizes in the Czechoslovak Youth Competition and the “Virtuosi per Musica di Pianoforte” Competition (both at age 14), the Smetana Competition (at age 15) and the Piano Competition of Slovak Conservatories (at age 16.) A special student at the Conservatory in Bratislava, the prodigy continued her ascent as a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the former U.S.S.R., where she studied with Vladimir Natanson, Yakov Zak and the renowned Stanislav Neuhaus.
Upon moving to this country in 1987, Virsik made her American orchestral debut with the Portland Symphony Orchestra at the Opening Night concert in 1988. She has been featured on “Morning Pro Musica” on Boston’s WGBH Radio Network and recorded numerous works for Radio Networks and Television in Europe.
For additional information, call the Olin Arts Center at 786-6135.
