Valentina Lisitsa Performs Liszt at PS 142 for Neighborhood Classics, 11/4

Simone Dinnerstein's Neighborhood Classics season continues with a concert by dazzling Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa on Friday, November 4 at 7pm at PS 142 (100 Attorney Street, NYC). Lisitsa offers music by Franz Liszt, in honor of the Hungarian composer's 200th birthday. She will play Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, his Ballade No. 2, and "La danza sacra e duetto finale," a transcription by Liszt from Verdi'a opera, Aida. All ticket sales will benefit PS 142.

As the mother of a six-year-old-son, performing as part of Neighborhood Classics is a perfect fit for Lisitsa, who now makes her home in North Carolina. With more than 30 million YouTube channel views, she is one of the most sought-after classical musicians on the web, as well as on the stage. She has performed around the world, and has recorded three independently released DVDs, including a best-selling set of Chopin's Etudes which long held the coveted No. 1 spot on the Amazon music video list. Lisitsa has recently completed recordings of the complete concerti of Rachmaninoff and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Sonatas of Charles Ives with violinist Hilary Hahn for Deutsche Grammophon. The Chicago Tribune reported that her "singing grace and a limpid sensitivity of touch were a pleasure to hear."

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein founded the Neighborhood Classics series at PS 321, the school that her son attends and where her husband teaches, in 2009 and at Manhattan's PS 142 in 2010 in an effort to build relationships at a local level between neighborhoods and musicians. These one-hour, family-friendly performances, which are hosted by Dinnerstein and feature musicians she has admired and collaborated with during her career, are open to the public and raise funds for the schools. The musicians performing donate their time and talent to the program, and the concerts are organized and administered by PTA volunteers and faculty members. Neighborhood Classics has already raised enough funds to bring back the fourth grade band program at PS 142. At PS 321, proceeds benefit the school's PTA, which helps to fund art, chess, band, and chorus programs.

The Neighborhood Classics season continues on Sunday, December 4 at 2pm, the Kaufman Center's popular teenage new music group Face the Music takes Neighborhood Classics to PS 69Q in Queens (7702 37th Avenue, Jackson Heights) with a program that includes music by Osvaldo Golijov, Steve Martland, Anna Clyne, and Brooklyn's own Robert Honstein. On Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 7pm, back at PS 321 in Brooklyn, Simone Dinnerstein celebrates the release of her newest Sony album, Something Almost Being Said, which features the music of Bach and Schubert. On Friday, March 30 at 7pm at PS 321, master lutenist Paul O'Dette presents one of his signature programs of music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. On Thursday, April 26 at 7pm at PS 142, the elegant San Francisco-based Cypress String Quartet performs music by Haydn, Glazunov, and Dvo?ák. To close the season, Face the Music returns for a performance at PS 321 on Sunday, June 3 at 2pm.

"This concert series is about bringing communities together around music," explains Ms. Dinnerstein. "It is a way for students, parents, teachers and neighbors to gather in a familiar and comfortable setting to listen to great music."

More About Valentina Lisitsa
Known for performing a vast range of music, from Bach and Mozart to Shostakovich and Bernstein, Lisitsa's orchestral repertoire alone includes more than forty concertos. Recent highlights for pianist Valentina Lisitsa include debuts with the Chicago Symphony, Seattle Symphony, WDR Cologne, Seoul Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony, collaborating with conductors Manfred Honeck, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, among others.

In May 2010, she performed the Dutch premiere of Rachmaninoff's "New Fifth" Concerto in her debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and in August 2011 she made her debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Brasileira under the baton of Maestro Lorin Maazel. Her 2011-2012 season includes debut performances with the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Colorado Symphony and recitals at Ravinia, Teatro de Colon in Buenos Aires and the Casals Festival.

Lisitsa has recorded three independently released DVDs, including her bestselling set of Chopin's Etudes which long held the coveted No. 1 spot on the Amazon music video list. Lisitsa has recently completed recordings of the complete concerti of Rachmaninoff and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the London Symphony Orchestra under conductor Michael Francis, as well as a recording of all of Charles Ives' Sonatas with violinist Hilary Hahn for Deutsche Grammophon.

A champion in the use of new media, Lisitsa pushes traditional boundaries to reach out to audiences around the globe. With more than 30 million YouTube channel views, Valentina Lisitsa is one of the most sought-after classical musicians on the stage, and on the web. Last summer, thousands of music fans worldwide witnessed the live broadcast of Lisitsa's practice sessions, allowing her to show a different aspect of her artistic persona. For two weeks, world audiences watched her learn and prepare with utmost detail almost four hours of new music in daily, 14-hour long sessions. Similar initiatives followed for the recording sessions of her upcoming CDs, receiving the enthusiastic approval and support from fans around the world.

For more information, please visit www.valentinalisitsa.com.