Pianist Shai Wosner To Perform Ullmann's 'The Coronet' with Wolfgang Holzmair at 92Y, 1/23

 Pianist Shai Wosner will perform songs based on a theme of war by composers Ullmann, Mahler and Debussy in the Kaufmann Concert Hall at the 92^nd Street Y on Monday, January 23, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.  Part of the 92^nd Street Y's multi-disciplinary series Will to Create, Will to Live: The Music of Terezín, the recital program includes a rare performance of Viktor Ullmann's setting of Die Weise Von Liebe und Tod Des Cornets Christoph Rilke for speaker and piano with baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, which the composer wrote from within the Nazi holding camp Terezín before being deported to Auschwitz. Mr. Wosner will also perform songs from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn sung by Mr. Holzmair interspersed with four Debussy piano pieces, "Pièce pour l'oeuvre du 'Vêtement du blessé,'" "Berceuse héroïque," "Elégie," and "General Lavine"-eccentric from Preludes, Book II. 

            Tickets, priced at $38 and $52, can be purchased online at www.92y.org, by calling (212) 415-5500 or in person at the box office at 1395 Lexington Avenue.  $25 tickets are available for patrons ages 35 and under.

Inspired by the story of a 17th-century relative who died in combat, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote the lyric story, Die Weise Von Liebe Und Tod Des Cornets Christoph Rilke, in 1899. It became a best-seller in Germany, and in the World Wars to come, young men would carry the book into battle with them. Viktor Ullmann's seldom performed setting of this work for speaker and piano was composed while Ullmann was being held in Terezín.  Shortly after composing this piece he was transferred to Auschwitz where he perished two days later along with other key figures from the cultural life at the holding camp.  The 92^nd Street Y presents this concert as part of it's Will To Create, Will to Live: The Music of Terezín series; a dynamic interdisciplinary series that reveals the significance of Terezín-a transition camp/ghetto in occupied Bohemia during World War II-in which, despite Nazi terror, great art, music and educational activity flourished.  Shai Wosner and Wolfgang Holzmair will also perform songs by Debussy and Mahler who lived during World War I and World War II, respectively.  The theme of war is, again, represented through these composers and these pieces provide us with insight into the turbulent times during which they were composed. 

Pianist Shai Wosner has attracted international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity, and creative insight. He is known for imaginative programming that communicates his intellectual curiosity and for finding interesting connections within the repertoire he performs. He has performed as soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras and conductors, and has established close artistic associations that are renewed season after season. He has appeared with the Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago,Houston, and San Francisco symphonies, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony, Staatskapelle Berlin, Vienna Philharmonic, among numerous others. He has also performed with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, conducting from the keyboard, and the St. Paul, Philadelphia and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras, and he toured as soloist with Daniel Barenboim's West-East Divan Orchestra.  As a BBC New Generation Artist he appeared extensively with the BBC Orchestras and in solo recordings on Radio 3. He is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.  Shai Wosner's upcoming New York performances include a duo recital with cellist Andreas Brantelid on April 1 at the Walter Reade Theater, chamber music with Jorg Widmann and the Parker Quartet on May 3 at Zankel Hall, and a concert featuring Beethoven and Poulenc with the Riverside Symphony on June 6 at Alice Tully Hall.  Following the success of his debut recital album of works by Brahms and Schoenberg, Shai Wosner recorded works by Schubert that incorporate elements of folk music for his newest CD released in October.  Both CDs are available on the Onyx label.

            Wolfgang Holzmair was born in Vöcklabruck, Austria, and studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art with Hilde Rössel-Majdan (voice) and Erik Werba (lied).  He performs recitals throughout the world, including London, Lisbon, New York, Washington, at the Risör Festival (Norway), Bath Festival (UK), Menuhin Festival (Switzerland), Bregenz Festival and Carinthian Summer Festival (Austria). Along with his outstanding artistic relationship with the British pianist Imogen Cooper and his collaboration with a number of important accompanists, he performs with some of the leading pianists of our time, most recently with Andreas Haefliger. Wolfgang Holzmair has an extensive discography, and his recordings have met with critical acclaim. These include lieder by Clara and Robert Schumann and Eichendorff songs by various composers, all with Imogen Cooper (Philips), various Schubert recordings with Gérard Wyss (Tudor), the Austrian Pasticcio Award winning Songs from the British Isles with Trio Wanderer (Cyprés), Pelléas et Mélisande with Haitink and the Orchestre National de France (Naive), and Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with Herbert Blomstedt, which won a Grammy award. He is a committed advocate of works, especially lieder, by victimized composers and he has recorded works by Krenek, Mittler, Zeisl, Schreker as well as a Terezín/Theresienstadt CD (Bridge Records). Most recent recordings include Wolf Songs with Imogen Cooper (Wigmore Hall Live Series) and Mahler Songs with Russell Ryan (Nightingale).  Since 1998 he has taught lied and oratorio at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and given master classes in Europe and North America. He is also a visiting professor and fellow of the Royal College of Music (London).