Pianist Stephen Hough has emerged as a unique presence on the international concert scene. From highly acclaimed performances of standard repertoire in recital and with the world's finest orchestras to a particular interest in unusual works by pianist-composers of the late 19th century, Hough (pronounced Huff) combines the imagination and pianistic color of the past with the scholarship of the present, illuminating the very essence of the music he plays.
Hough will perform some of the most virtuosic piano music of the 19th and 20th centuries in his recital program Friday, March 30, at 8 p.m. in Cornell's Statler Auditorium. Featured will be Chopin's "Four Scherzi" and George Tsontakis' "Ghost Variations."
Tickets for the concert at $20, $16 and $12 for adults and $12, $10 and $7 for students of any age are on sale at the ticket center at the Clinton House, 116 N. Cayuga St., Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed 2-3 p.m. Saturday; call 273-4497 or 1-800-284-8422) and at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Saturday, noon-5 p.m.; call 255-3430). Tickets also are available from the Cornell Concert Series web site at www.arts.cornell.edu/ccs.
Hough divides his time between homes in the United Kingdom and in New York City. Since winning first prize in the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1983, he has performed with most of the major American orchestras and with numerous European orchestras under conductors including Abbado, Dohnanyi, Gergiev, Levine, Rattle, Salonen, Temirkanov and Tilson Thomas. He gives recitals regularly in major halls and series all over the world and has been a frequent guest at many international festivals.
He has made about 30 recordings, many of which have won international prizes such as the Diapason d'Or, the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, Classic CD and Gramophone awards. His 1998 release "New York Variations" (chosen as Best Classical CD of the Year by Time magazine) includes the first recordings of John Corigliano's "Etude Fantasy" and George Tsontakis' epic "Ghost Variations." In 1996 his Hyperion CD of concertos by Scharwenka and Sauer, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Lawrence Foster, was awarded both Gramophone Magazine's Concerto Record of the Year as well as its overall Recording of the Year.
The Chicago Sun-Times has written, "When Hough performs in the area, it is a highlight not only of the season, but of the entire musical year."
| Cornell Chronicle Front Page | | Table of Contents | | Cornell News Service Home Page |