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 Scarsdale, NY - The Hoff-Barthelson Music School is pleased to present pianists William Komaiko and Edmund Niemann in a collaborative recital of piano solo and duo works on the HB Artist Recital Series, Friday, November 7 at 8 pm, at the Music School, 25 School Lane in Scarsdale.
A composer/pianist with a dual background in jazz and classical performance, William Komaiko was educated at The Juilliard School. Critics have cited his style for “beautiful, shifting colors, detail – like a Calder mobile.” (Leighton Kerner, The Village Voice) He was the recipient of a commission by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Kennedy Center. He has performed with many orchestras and conductors, including Pierre Boulez and Christian Badea, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival, Serious Fun at Lincoln Center, and the American Ballet Theatre. He has also been seen at jazz venues such as the Village Gate and Village Vanguard clubs.
Edmund Niemann is a founding member of Parnassus and a longtime member of Steve Reich & Musicians. He has been guest artist with Speculum Musicae, New Music Consort, Group for Contemporary Music, Da Capo Players, New York New Music Ensemble, and The Mother Mallard Band. The New York Times said of his solo debut, “Throughout the evening his playing was technically dazzling, his musicality unquestionable.” Edmund Niemann and Nurit Tilles formed Double Edge in 1978, a piano duo for which they have received critical praise. The New York Times noted their “ferocious concentration and unremitting intensity.” In 1990, John Rockwell wrote “What makes Double Edge so good is their superb feeling for each other’s playing. They really make two pianos sound like one taut, hugely sonorous instrument.”
The recital program is an eclectic mix of jazz and classical pieces. Mr. Komaiko will play Brahms’ Intermezzo in E-Flat minor, Op. 118 No. 6; Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasie in A-Flat Major, Op. 61; and his own composition, a Fantasy on I Hear A Rhapsody, in memory of Robert Helps. Mr. Niemann will present Debussy’s Estampes and will take a jazz turn with Here’s That Rainy Day, with the Jimmy Van Heusen tune arranged by Bill Evans. Together, the two pianists will present a duo-piano arrangement of the Brahms Piano Quintet, transcribed by Brahms as the Sonata in F minor, Opus 34; Debussy’s Nuages (from Nocturnes) arranged by Maurice Ravel; and four Bach Chorales, transcribed for two pianos by Gyorgy Kurtag.
The Hoff-Barthelson Music School, one of Westchester County’s most cherished and active cultural resources, has achieved national recognition as a premier community music school for its unsurpassed leadership in education, performance and outreach for more than half a century.
Admission to the concert is $14 regular, $13 seniors, $12 Friends of Hoff-Barthelson, and free of charge for students. Information: 914-723-1169
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