Alon Goldstein, Piano July 17, 2010

Downtown Piano Works warmly welcomes back our favorite, international concert Pianist Alon Goldstein, to our Fine Artist Concert Series for an evening of works including Beethoven's "Appassionata", Schuman's Fantasy and more!. As always, the concert is free, but space is limited to 65. Please RSVP (301) 631-1234 to guarantee a seat for this performance.

Alon Goldstein is one of the most sensitive artists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence and dynamic personality. Alon’s artistic vision and innovative programming have made him a favorite with audiences and critics alike throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. Goldstein made his orchestral debut at the age of 18 with the Israel Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Zubin Mehta, and in April of 2008 made a triumphant return with Maestro Herbert Blomstedt. In November 2009 the Kansas City Symphony, under the baton of music director Michael Stern, will give the world premiere performance of a piano concerto written for Alon by rising star Israeli composer Avner Dorman and will also perform the world premiere of a concerto by Mark Kopytman with Avner Biron and the Jerusalem Camerata Orchestra. Other 2009-10 season appearances with orchestra include Chopin Concerto no. 2 with the Delaware Symphony, Mozart Concerto K. 453 with the Jerusalem Symphony and a return engagement with the Bucharest Philharmonic 'George Enescu'.

In 2009-10 Alon returns in recital with the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. as well as return appearances throughout Israel, including his annual recital, broadcast live, at Henry Crown Symphony Hall. Alon will be featured at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival performing all three Schumann piano trios and can be heard performing chamber music concerts at the Peoples’ Symphony Concerts, Society of the Four Arts and The Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival with principals from the Berlin Philharmonic and violinist Nikolaj Znaider. Alon debuts in recital with the International Keyboard Festival Master Series at Mannes College, Tannery Pond Concerts, Civic Music Association of Oklahoma City, Muhlenberg College, The Reif Center and Matinee Musicale. Alon is proud to be honoring Dame Myra Hess in a recital celebrating the 70th anniversary of the series.
In the 2008-2009 season, Alon made his Carnegie Hall debut in the Mozart Triple Concerto alongside Joseph Kalichstein and Shai Wosner. His recent Beethoven concerto cycle with the Rockford Symphony, which expanded the traditional concert experience to a multi-media presentation contextualizing Beethoven’s life and work, resulted in unprecedented attendance and subsequent subscriptions. He returned to the Rockford Symphony with a series of concerts illuminating the works of Johannes Brahms and Robert and Clara Schumann, again resulting in enthusiastic audience attendance and response. In recent seasons, Alon has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco, St. Louis, Houston, Vancouver, Kansas City and North Carolina Symphonies, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and orchestras on tour in Paris, Russia, Romania and Bulgaria. An ardent chamber musician, Alon has collaborated with violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson as well as the Tokyo String Quartet at the 92nd Street Y in New York, in trio performances with cellist Amit Peled and violinist Ilya Kaler and clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein.

Alon has longstanding relationships with the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and the Bell Series in Jackson, MS. Alon has appeared at the Gilmore, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Marlboro, Seattle, and Steamboat (Colorado) festivals in the United States as well as Prussia Cove (England), the Verbier Festival (Switzerland) and Klavier Festival in Rühr (Germany). He performed at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the recently opened Millennium Park in Chicago with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. Over the past several years he has also taught and played at the "Tel Hai" international piano master classes held in Israel.

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London recognized Alon’s distinctive musical and interpersonal skills and created the position of Performance Fellow for him. As such, he initiated an innovative chamber music concert series, collaborating with students and faculty members as well as organizing annual festivals devoted to the 4-hands piano repertoire. After the residency in London, Alon spent two seasons as "Artist-in-Residence" at the Theo Lieven International Piano Foundation in Lake Como, Italy. In this inspiring environment, as one of only eight promising young pianists in residence from around the world, he was able to enjoy private master classes with world-renowned musicians.

He is the winner of numerous competitions, among them the Arianne Katcz Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, Nena Wideman Competition in the US and the Francois Shapira competition in Israel. He is also the recipient of the 2004 Salon di Virtuosi Career Grant and the America Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships. The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC chose a live recording of one of Alon’s recitals there for its first CD release. Other recordings include solo recital programs through the Jerusalem Music Center "Mishkenot Sha’ananim" and the Israeli Music Institute featuring works by Israeli composers. Alon graduated from the Peabody Conservatory where he studied with Leon Fleisher and served as his assistant – a position assigned only to his most exceptional students.