Matthew Hagle Performs Liszt’s Piano Concerto, No. 1 May 22

In his debut performance with the Highland Park Strings, pianist Matthew Hagle will perform Liszt's Piano Concerto, No. 1 in E-Flat Major under the baton of Francesco Milioto at 3 p.m., Sunday, May 22, at Highland Park High School, 433 Vine Ave. Continuing the commemoration of Liszt's bicentennial birthday, the Strings also will play Liszt's celebrated tone poem Les Préludes, as well as Brahms' monumental Symphony No. 4 in E Minor. Admission is free to the final concert of the 2010-2011 series and to the preconcert conversation with Stephanie Ettelson at 2 p.m.

An important presence on the Chicago musical scene, Hagle has performed at Ravinia, Symphony Center and the Chicago Cultural Center, as well as on WFMT. In this country, his career has taken him to Symphony Space in New York, the National Gallery of Art and the United States Supreme Court and, abroad, to England, Australia and Japan.

As a collaborator, he is best known to local audiences as the principal recital partner of violinist Rachel Barton Pine. Their CD American Virtuosa, released on the Cedille label, garnered many favorable reviews and reached No. 12 on Billboard magazine's classical chart. He also performs with members of the Chicago Symphony and as a piano duo with his wife Mio Isoda-Hagle.

Hagle serves on the piano faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago where he is director of the musicianship program. He is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory with masters and doctor of musical arts degrees from Yale University where he also received a Fulbright Scholarship for private piano study in London. He studied with Claude Frank, Robert Weirich, Donald Currier and Maria Curcio-Diamand.

Tickets are not required for the May 22 free concert. Now in its 32nd season, the Highland Park Strings is supported primarily by the Park District of Highland Park. For more information, call 847-831-3622 or visit the Strings online at www.hpstrings.org.