Rachmaninoff: A Two-Piano Celebration
Roman Rabinovich, piano | Orion Weiss, piano
Sunday, November 5, 2023 | 3PM
Sedona Performing Arts Center – 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Rd, Sedona, AZ 86336
Program
Frédéric Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat, Op. 61, for solo piano
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Suite no. 1 “Fantaisie-tableaux”, Op. 5, for Two Pianos
Intermission
Alexander Scriabin: Piano Sonata no. 4 in F sharp major, Op. 30
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Suite no. 2, Op 17, for Two Pianos
2023 marks the 150th birthday of one of the most beloved romantic composers of all time, Sergei Rachmaninoff. Two of today’s finest pianists, Orion Weiss and Roman Rabinovich, join forces for his two monumental two-piano suites, alongside other thrilling works by composers in his orbit.
Roman Rabinovich, piano
Praised by The New York Times for his “uncommon sensitivity and feeling”, the eloquent pianist Roman Rabinovich is the winner of the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. He has performed throughout Europe and the USA in such prestigious venues as Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Cité de la Musique in Paris and Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. Dubbed “a true polymath, in the Renaissance sense of the word” (Seen & Heard International, 2016), Rabinovich is also a composer and visual artist. In summer 2016 he embarked upon the Haydn Project, encompassing recitals of Haydn’s complete keyboard sonatas at Lammermuir and Bath Festivals in UK, and a three-concert Haydn Day in Wigmore Hall.
Rabinovich’s wide repertoire range expands from the English Renaissance keyboardists to Boulez and beyond. As a soloist he appeared with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Sir Roger Norrington, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Meininger Hofkapelle, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, KBS Symphony, Prague Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, all the major Israeli orchestras, to name just a few. His recent solo recital engagements took him to the International Piano Series at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Lofoten Piano Festival, Franz Liszt Academy of Music, 92nd St. Y, Vancouver Recital Society, the Washington Performing Arts Society and Wigmore Hall.
Mr. Rabinovich’s 2022-23 highlights include Tchaikovsky Concerto no. 1 with Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Ludovic Morlot, Greig Concerto with Edmonton Symphony and Michael Stern, Bach d minor Concerto with NFM Leopoldinum and Joseph Swensen, Schubert/Liszt “Wanderer” Fantasy with Israel Symphony and Christoph Koenig, Rachmaninov Concerto no. 2 with Punta Gorda Symphony, Mozart Concerto K. 488 with Helena Symphony. This season’s recital engagements include Portland Piano International, Royal Welsh College, Philip Lorenz Memorial Piano Series, Maverick Concerts and Music at MoCA Concert Series.
Rabinovich, “whose mature, self-assured playing belies his chronological age” (San Fransisco Classical Voice) made his Israel Philharmonic debut under Zubin Mehta aged 10, having immigrated to Israel a year before from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Rabinovich was the first of three young pianists to be championed by András Schiff, who selected him for his Building Bridges series.
During the 2020-21 global pandemic Rabinovich and his wife violinist Diana Cohen gave a very successful series of free weekly concerts from their front yard in Calgary, Canada. Together, they are co- artistic directors of ChamberFest Cleveland as well as newly inaugurated festival in Calgary, ChamberFest West.
Orion Weiss, Piano
One of the most sought-after soloists and chamber music collaborators of his generation, Orion Weiss is widely regarded as a “brilliant pianist” (The New York Times) with “powerful technique and exceptional insight” (The Washington Post). He has dazzled audiences with his passionate, lush sound and performed with dozens of orchestras in North America including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic.
Recent seasons have seen Weiss in performances for the Lucerne Festival, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, 92nd Street Y, and at the Aspen, Bard, Ravinia, and Grand Teton summer festivals. Other highlights include a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, a live- stream with the Minnesota Orchestra, the release of his recording of Christopher Rouse’s Seeing, and recordings of Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra with the Buffalo Philharmonic and JoAnn Falletta. Weiss can be heard on the Naxos, Telos, Bridge, First Hand, Yarlung, and Artek labels.
Known for his affinity for chamber music, Weiss performs regularly with violinists Augustin Hadelich, William Hagen, Benjamin Beilman, and James Ehnes; pianists Michael Brown and Shai Wosner; cellist Julie Albers; and the Ariel, Parker, and Pacifica Quartets. In recent seasons, he has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
A native of Ohio, Weiss attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and made his Cleveland Orchestra debut performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1999. That same year, with less than 24 hours’ notice, Weiss stepped in to replace André Watts for a performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Weiss’s list of awards includes the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist of the Year, Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and more. In 2004, he graduated from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax. Learn more www.orionweiss.com.
