Scottsdale Center Welcomes Back Jeffrey Siegel

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is thrilled to welcome back pianist Jeffrey Siegel to Scottsdale for the 40th anniversary of Keyboard Conversations in Scottsdale, a series of concerts-with-commentary. Siegel's brilliantly engaging series combines captivating remarks with world-class performances of masterpieces of the piano repertoire and conclude with a fast-paced question and answer session.

While many classical series offer verbal insights into classical music, Keyboard Conversations® is different. Every program includes uninterrupted, full-length performances of the scores Siegel discusses. He was among the first to combine commentary with classical music, starting nearly 50 years ago in Chicago.

"As I look back on presenting 40 years of Keyboard Conversations in Scottsdale, providing the transformative power of great music, I believe the need for these musically enriching programs is greater today than when these concerts with commentary programs began at the Center four decades ago," Siegel said.

The repertoire of each Keyboard Conversations® performance is focused a single composer or a theme that connects different composers. Below is the schedule for his four appearances at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, all on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Virginia G. Piper Theater.

The Joyous Music of Beethoven, Dec. 11. Acclaimed pianist Jeffrey Siegel returns to the Center to kick off his 40th anniversary of Keyboard Conversations®. Siegel explores the humor and high spirits of Beethoven's music, from the "Farewell" Sonata to "Rage Over a Lost Penny."

Celebrating Rachmaninoff and Debussy, Jan. 15. The French Claude Debussy and the Russian Sergei Rachmaninoff defined separate streams of musical aesthetics: the Impressionist and the late Romantic. Siegel looks at the connections between the two and plays some of that era's most glorious music.

The Romantic Connection: Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, Feb. 12. In a program designed for the week of Valentine's Day, Siegel will explain why the "Romantic" era deserves its name and performs music intended to touch the heart of the beloved.

Chopin in Paris, March 12. Though born in Poland, Frédéric Chopin spent most of his professional life in Paris, where he composed beloved waltzes, polonaises and mazurkas, as well as the enchanting Barcarolle. Pianist and commentator Jeffrey Siegel explores the influence of the City of Light on Chopin.

Tickets: $49 (M $41) / $39 / $29

Photo by Peter Schaaf