Pianist Inon Barnatan will give three performances in New York City over the course of a week, playing programs which include solo, duo, and chamber works. Following a series of orchestral engagements across the U.S., including a highly praised appearance with the Houston Symphony in January, Mr. Barnatan will return to his hometown of New York City for performances which range in repertoire from Schubert to MacMillan, demonstrating his artistic versatility.
On Saturday, February 26 at 8 p.m., Mr. Barnatan will give a solo recital at
Washington Irving High School as part of the Peoples' Symphony Concert Series. The program, "Inside Stories," comprises Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, Britten / Stevenson's Fantasy on Peter Grimes, Adès's Darkness Visible, Ravel's La Valse, and Schubert's Sonata in A Major; a selection of musically diverse pieces he says share a common thread. "The pieces that comprise this program all have different stories at their core," said Mr. Barnatan. "Some are poems, like Verlaine's Clair de Lune at the heart of Debussy's Suite Bergamasque or the Dowland song explored in Adès's Darkness Visible. Some are narratives, such as Britten's Peter Grimes which Stevenson reworked into his fantasy, or the
Edgar Allen Poe story that inspired Ravel's exuberant and sinister waltz. Finally, we're given a glimpse into Schubert's tortured inner life, his own personal story, in the second movement of his otherwise majestic and lyrical sonata."
The following Monday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m., Mr. Barnatan will join violinist Janine Jansen at (Le) Poisson Rouge in the West Village for a recital featuring violin sonatas by French impressionist composers Debussy and Ravel. The repertoire for the concert, which also includes Messiaen's Theme and Variations, was recently recorded by Ms. Jansen on her latest disc for Decca, Beau Soir. Later this season, Mr. Barnatan and Ms. Jansen will perform together once more in a chamber music program at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Finally, on Wednesday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m., Mr. Barnatan will take part in
Carnegie Hall's 'Making Music: James MacMillan' concert at Zankel Hall, performing the U.S. premiere of Mr. MacMillan's Raising Sparks with mezzo-soprano
Sasha Cooke and the specially curated 'Zankel Band.' Based on a Hassidic creation myth, Raising Sparks consists of six songs bound together by a recurring refrain. Mr. Barnatan will open the concert with MacMillan's Piano Sonata, a mournful work in three movements inspired by a bitter winter.
Pianist Inon Barnatan, who has been described by the New Yorker as "a player of uncommon sensitivity," is rapidly gaining international recognition for his poetic and passionate music making, communicative performances, and engaging programming. In the 2010-11 season, he makes debut performances with the Cincinnati Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and Academy of St.Martin in the Fields as conductor and pianist. Other highlights of the season include solo recitals in Chicago, Vancouver, and at the Concertgebouw, as well as concerts in Philadelphia, New York, and at Wigmore Hall with cellist
Alisa Weilerstein, a frequent collaborator. In January 2011, Mr. Barnatan returned to the Houston Symphony, with which he made his American concerto debut in 2007. Of his performance, the Houston Chronicle wrote, "Barnatan elevated all three movements [of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17] with his impeccable technique, inspired phrasing and gossamer touch."
Since moving to the United States in 2006, Mr. Barnatan has made debuts with the Orchestras of Cleveland, Philadelphia, and San Francisco; performed at New York's
Carnegie Hall,
92nd Street Y, Metropolitan Museum and Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall; and appeared at the festivals of Aspen, Blossom, Music@Menlo, Santa Fe, Spoleto USA, and Vail. Last season, he curated a three-concert series of late Schubert works for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Schubert Ascending, which was previously presented at the Concertgebouw, Festival de México, and
Library of Congress.
Mr. Barnatan's debut CD of Schubert piano works was released on Bridge Records and greeted enthusiastically. London's Evening Standard wrote: "The young, Israeli born pianist Inon Barnatan is a true poet of the keyboard: refined, searching, unfailingly communicative... This is musicianship of the highest caliber." His second CD of works for piano and violin by Beethoven and Schubert with violinist Liza Ferschtman also won many accolades, and was described by All Music Guide as "a magical listening experience."
In 2009 he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, one of the most prestigious prizes in classical music.
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