Thomas Pandolfi in his 2009 Opera House performance

Featuring Thomas Pandolfi

General Admission $15
($13 Opera House Members, $10 Students)
Great Performers Concert Series

After receiving a rousing standing ovation following his Evening of Gershwin concert in 2009, pianist Thomas Pandolfi returns to the Opera House for a bicentennial birthday salute to two of the world's renowned composers - Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt.

Critically acclaimed for his interpretation of the two great composers' works, Pandolfi will include several well-known and beloved pieces:

   Apres Une Lecture du Dante (Fantasia quasi Sonata) ... Franz Liszt
   Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat Major ("Dream of Love") ..... Liszt
   Valse Oubliee No. 1 ("Forgotten Waltz") ..................... Liszt
   Widmung ("Dedication") ...................... Robert Schumann/arr.Liszt
   Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in c-sharp Minor ............... Liszt

   Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. 1 ("Military") ....... Frederic Chopin
   Four Etudes .................................................... Chopin
        No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 25 ("Aeolian Harp")
        No. 12 in C Minor, Op. 10 ("Revolutionary")
        No. 8 in F Major, Op. 10 ("Sunshine")
        No. 3 in E Major, Op. 10 ("Tristesse")
   Fantasy-Impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Op. 66 ........ Chopin
   Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53 ("Heroic") ........... Chopin

Pandolfi is an exciting virtuoso who, with each passing season, is becoming more and more sought after by audiences, and showered with superlatives by critics for his passionate artistry and amazing technique.  His orchestral appearances often feature not only the beloved masterpiece concerti by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Liszt, but also the equally brilliant ones by Paderewski, Rubenstein and Moskowski.  Additionally, in the "pops" genre, Pandolfi is considered a leading interpreter of the works of George Gershwin.

Highlights of the 2009-10 season include the world premiere of British composer Simon Proctor's dazzling and unique "James Bond" Piano Concerto in London.  He also performed this work in the U.S. with the St. Augustine (FL) Symphony and with Symphonicity in Virginia.  Pandolfi also made guest solo appearances with the Maryland Symphony, the Great Falls (MT) Symphony, Pennsylvania's Allegro Chamber Orchestra and The George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest, Romania, among others.

A graduate of the Juiliard School, Pandolfi earned both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees as a scholarship student.

"Pandolfi is a standout among today's young pianists, demonstrating a great technician's grace, finesse and polish.  His virtuosity and strength might have had some believing that Liszt himself had taken over the keyboard." - Asheville Citizen-Times

"... high level pianism and tasteful, diversified musical ideas ... crystalline texture and deft coloration ... charm and bracing elan." - New York Concert Review

Listen to a clip of Pandolfi performing Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat (Dream of Love)