A lot of pianists have performed on the Umstattd Performing Arts Hall stage with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, but the latest guest artist of the orchestra's concert series is taking the world by surprise. Since 2008, Alexander Schimpf has won competitions and acclimations few before him have managed.
Beginning with the German Music Competition, where no pianist had won first prize this century, Schimpf took home the top award. Again in 2009, he won first prize at the International Beethoven Competition in Vienna. Amid many other top awards since then, Schimpf won the 2011 first prize at a much closer-to-home competition: the Cleveland International Piano Competition, where he was the first German pianist to ever win this particular event.Mr. Schimpf is currently on a tour of Europe and the United States. He will perform Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in a minor on the Canton Symphony Orchestra concert tonight, November 24 at 7:30pm at Umstattd Performing Arts Hall (2323 17th Street NW - Canton).Continuing its legacy as one of the premiere orchestras in the country, performing world-class music with world-class guest artists, the evening lineup also includesThanksgiving and Forefather's Day from Charles Ives' Holidays Symphony and the ever-popular Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. The latter piece is a compilation of movements where each reflects one of Elgar's closest family and friends' personalities.Videos