Ursula Oppens 70th Birthday Concert at Symphony Space March 6

Symphony Space will be hosting a concert in honor of the renowned American pianist Ursula Oppens on the occasion of her 70th birthday on Thursday evening, March 6th at 7:30 p.m. at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia. Pianists Winston Choi, Ran Dank, Soyeon Kate Lee and Anthony Molinaro, all former or current students of Ms. Oppens, will perform pieces that helped to define Ms. Oppens' legacy, such as Frederic Rzewski's, "The People United Will Never Be Defeated!" and Conlon Nancarrow's "Four Canons for Ursula," along with other selections.

One of new music's fiercest advocates, Ms. Oppens has worked with such leading composers as Luciano Berio, Willliam Bolcom, John Corigliano, John Harbison, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Harold Meltzer, Frederic Rzewski and Charles Wuorinen. The concert will celebrate her most significant performances, one of the most memorable being in Lisbon on April 25, 2011, on the 37th anniversary of Portugal's Carnation Revolution which saw the overthrow of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, when she caused a furor of approval by playing the Portugese national anthem as part of her performance of Rzewski's "The People United Will Never Be Defeated." The pianists featured in the concert are all accomplished musicians themselves, and demonstrate the influence that Ms. Oppens continues to have over the next generation of performers in the contemporary sphere.