SARATOGA — Noted Bay Area native and Cliburn Gold Medal winner Jon Nakamatsu headlines the opening concert for Steinway Society — The Bay Area’s 25th anniversary season.
The concert, to be held Saturday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at McAfee Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, is also the inaugural performance of the annual Frieda Ann Murphy Memorial Concert Sponsored by MTAC, Santa Clara County Branch.
Murphy was a native Californian who was an accomplished concert organist, as well as a member of PEO, the American Guild of Organists, and of the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC). The MTAC Santa Clara Branch has established this annual concert in her memory.
“We are so thrilled to have the Bay Area’s own Jon Nakamatsu as the featured performer for this new concert series,” said Kathy You Wilson, president of Steinway Society – The Bay Area. “Ever since Jon was awarded the Gold Medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997, classical music lovers in Silicon Valley have been among his most ardent fans. It’s only fitting that the inaugural concert honoring our beloved colleague Frieda Ann Murphy will feature ‘our own’ internationally acclaimed artist.”
A San Jose native, Nakamatsu graduated from Stanford University. He has performed widely in North and South America, Europe, and Asia, including appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Paris, London, and Milan. Last season, Nakamatsu performed for the Steinway Society with clarinetist Jon Manasse.
This season, the Steinway Society concert season’s nine performances will be held at several locations in the San Jose area. In addition to the Sept. 21 concert at the McAfee Performing Arts Center, concerts will be held in San Jose at the Susan & Phil Hammer Theatre and at Independence High School, and at West Valley College in Saratoga. Season subscriptions and single concert tickets are now available.
Pre-concert lecture at 6:45 p.m. Meet-the-artist time follows the concerts.
McAfee Performing Arts & Lecture Center is located at 20300 Herriman Ave., Saratoga.
Single tickets: $40-$60. Senior/student discounts available. Student rush$10, 30 minutes prior to performance. Go to www.steinwaysociety.com or call (408) 990-0872.
Program:
Chopin, Impromptu in A-flat Major, Op. 29
Chopin, Impromptu in G-flat Major, Op. 51
Schubert, Four Impromptus, Op. 90
- C Minor (Allegro molto moderato)
- E-flat Major (Allegro)
- G-flat Major (Andante)
- A-flat Major (Allegretto)
Brahms, Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Allegro molto e con fuoco
Finale: Allegro con fuoco