UF hosts Sixth Annual Steinway Piano Festival March 3-7

March 3, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Renowned pianists and piano aficionados from around the world will assemble March 3-7 on the University of Florida’s campus for five days of intensive piano study and performances at the Sixth Annual Steinway Piano Festival.

Over the past five years the Steinway Piano Festival, organized by College of Fine Arts professor Boaz Sharon, has brought an outstanding array of artists to UF, including Phillip Entremont from France, John Perry from University of Southern California, Boris Berman from Yale University and Ian Hobson from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This year’s festival will feature Leonel Morales, a Cuban-born pianist and president of the International Piano Competition “Composers of Spain” in Madrid. He will perform at 7:30 p.m. on March 5 in the University Auditorium and will include pieces by Beethoven, Albéniz and Liszt, and will be followed with a reception. Also, as part of the festival, Morales will be teaching daily masterclasses to School of Music students.

“With the Steinway Festival we provide a high level of artistic guidance to our students through performance and masterclasses,” said Sharon, head of the piano area in the School of Music. “Leonel Morales is an absolutely brilliant pianist who plays with a lot bravura and has tremendous audience appeal.”

Morales continues the Steinway Festival’s mission of bringing an international perspective to the piano program at UF.

Other artists attending include Clara Shin, Katsura Tanikawa, Anastasiya Naplekova, So Yeo Park and Meng Lu. Master classes with the faculty of distinguished artists and teachers will be given daily, in addition to student concerts. All events will take place at the Keene Faculty Center in Dauer Hall and the University Auditorium. They are free and open to the public.

The Steinway Piano Festival coincides with the University of Florida’s current efforts to become an All-Steinway School. Announced in Fall 2003, the University of Florida’s Steinway Initiative is a $2 million fund-raising campaign to purchase 64 new pianos, restore three existing pianos and establish an endowment to provide financial resources to maintain this significant investment. To be designated an All-Steinway School, 90 percent or more of the acoustic pianos owned by the institution must be produced by Steinway & Sons. When it reaches its goal, UF will join company with 27 other institutions including the Oberlin Conservatory, the Yale School of Music, and the Juilliard School. Excellent Steinway Pianos will greatly benefit both students of the instrument and members of the community who attend musical events.