Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Appears at USU's Wassermann Festival

In the world of international piano competitions, one event rises to the top ­— the Van Cliburn Competition. The competition is held every four years and the foundation that coordinates the event has a goal to promote and advance promising young artists.

 

Those goals are shared with Utah State University’s Wassermann Festival, and over the years the festival has been able to bring a number of prize-winning Van Cliburn pianists to the Logan campus for performances and master classes.

 

This year, after slight schedule adjustments, the 2010 Wassermann Festival brings the most recent gold medal winner, Haochen Zhang, to campus for a solo recital Tuesday, March 9, with a 7:30 p.m. performance in USU’s Performance Hall.

 

Tickets for the event are available at the Caine School of the Arts Box Office, located in the Chase Fine Arts Center, FAC 139-B on the USU campus; online (http://csaboxoffice.usu.edu/) or call 435-797-8022. Adult reserved seats are $20 and student tickets, available to all students — not just USU students, are $8.

 

The Wassermann Festival is presented by the Department of Music in the Caine School of the Arts at USU and is directed by music department faculty member Dennis Hirst. Concerts and master classes form the festival, with 2010’s offerings presented over a two-month period, February-March.

 

Hirst attended the 2009 Van Cliburn competition in Ft. Worth, Texas, where he was able to hear Zhang perform in the competitive rounds. Hirst heard the pianist from varying points in the auditorium, from the main floor to the balcony.

 

“Haochen was a consummate artist both technically and musically,” Hirst said. “He played with a very big, rich sound that filled the entire hall. The Cliburn competition audiences were wildly enthusiastic.”

 

Upon hearing Zhang’s first performance at the competition, Hirst turned to Gary Amano, head of USU’s piano performance program, and said, “there’s your gold medal winner.”

 

Zhang was the youngest competitor at competition, and, as it turned out, captured the gold medal four days before his 19th birthday.

 

Perhaps a true prodigy, Zhang’s talent emerged early. He began piano study at the age of 3, and at age 5 made his recital debut at the Shanghai Music Hall. His orchestral debut followed a year later when he performed a Mozart concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. At age 17, he became the youngest winner ever of the China International Piano Competition in 2007.

 

Zhang’s Wassermann program is ambitious and opens with Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C major, K. 330 followed by Klavierstucke, Op. 119 by Brahms.

 

“The opener is a light, charming, delightful piece,” Hirst said. “It’s effervescent.”

 

If the Mozart piece is a sorbet, the Brahms work could be compared to a fine pastry chef rolling out the dessert cart, Hirst said.

 

“It’s rich sounding and decadent,” he said.

 

In a nod to the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth year, the program leads to intermission with Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52.

 

Following intermission the program continues with Schumann’s Fantasy in C major, Op. 17 and Stravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petrouchka.

 

The latter work is a showpiece, a virtuosic selection that displays the breadth and depth of a pianist’s technical and artistic abilities, Hirst said.

 

In the tradition of the Wassermann Festival, Zhang will conduct a master class Monday, March 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Performance Hall. The public is invited to attend, and tickets are available at the door. Admission is $10 for the master class, free for USU students.

 

For information on the 2010 Wassermann Festival, visit the festival Web site or contact Hirst at (435) 797-3257, Dennis.Hirst@usu.edu.

 

 

Writer: Patrick Williams, 435-797-1354, patrick.williams@usu.edu