March 28, 2014
Contact: Janet Kessin, Gloria Gottschalk, (212) 721-0965
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PIANIST FEI-FEI DONG, A FINALIST IN THE 14th VAN CLIBURN COMPETITION, IS
WINNER OF JUILLIARD’S 2014 WILLIAM PETSCHEK PIANO RECITAL AWARD AND
WILL BE PRESENTED IN RECITAL IN ALICE TULLY HALL
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2014 AT 8 PM
Program Features Works by Clementi, Chopin, Schumann,
Liszt, and Juilliard Alumnus Lowell Liebermann
Pianist Fei-Fei Dong, a finalist in the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2013 Van Cliburn Finalist Fei-Fei Dong) has won Juilliard’s 33rd Annual William Petschek Piano Recital Award and will be presented in recital in Alice Tully Hall on Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 8 PM. The program features Clementi’s Sonata in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 5; Schumann’s Novelette in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 21, No. 8; Chopin’s Rondo in E-Flat Major, Op. 16; andJuilliard alumnus Lowell Liebermann’s Gargoyles, Op. 29; and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B Minor. Ms. Dong is in the second year of the master of music degree program at Juilliard where she studies with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky.
Petschek Recital tickets at $20 are available online at www.juilliard.edu/petschek, through CenterCharge (212) 721-6500, or at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office. Senior/student tickets at $10 are available at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office only. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu/petschek.
Composer Lowell Liebermann received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Juilliard, and his composition teachers included David Diamond and Vincent Persichetti.Mr. Liebermann was just awarded the inaugural Virgil Thomson Award for Vocal Music of $40,000 from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for his vocal works. Liebermann’s Gargoyles, Op. 29 is a set of four character piano pieces intended to evoke the moods inspired by these iconic artifacts. The work was commissioned by the Tcherepnin Society, and pianist Eric Himy, to whom the work was dedicated, gave the first performance on October 14, 1989 in Alice Tully Hall.
Chinese pianist Fei-Fei Dong, praised for her “natural musicality and beauty of tone” (Cincinnati Enquirer), landed among the top six finalists of the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Her inaugural season as a Cliburn winner includes debuts with the Corpus Christi and Big Spring symphony orchestras with John Giordano and recital appearances across the United States. An active chamber musician, Ms. Dong made her trio debut at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in February 2014 as part of its Conservatory Project.
Born in Shenzhen, Ms. Dong grew up near Hong Kong and became interested in the piano when her older sister started taking lessons. She began her piano lessons at the age of five, and her early repertoire included Chinese folk songs and Western classics. Ms. Dong gave her first recital at age 10 and made her orchestra debut three years later, performing Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto with the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has since appeared with the Aspen Music Festival, Hong Kong, Juilliard, Shanxi, and Shenzhen symphony orchestras. Ms. Dong has made debuts in Alice Tully Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, and the Louvre Auditorium, and has been featured multiple times on New York’s WQXR radio.
Ms. Dong moved to New York to study at Juilliard, earning her bachelor of music degree under the guidance of Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky, chair of Juilliard’s piano department and artistic director of Juilliard’s Pre-College Division. Two-time winner of the Juilliard Bachauer Piano Competition in 2012 and 2013, Ms. Dong continues to study with Dr. Kaplinsky in pursuit of her master’s degree.
Previous Petschek winners have included Michael Brown, Frederic Chiu, Jeremy Denk, Akira Eguchi, Jon Kimura Parker, Joyce Yang, Orion Weiss, and Zhang Zuo.
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PROGRAM LISTING:
FEI-FEI Dong, piano
Juilliard’s William Petschek Piano Recital
Thursday, May 8, 2014, 8 PM, Alice Tully Hall
CLEMENTI Sonata in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 5
SCHUMANN Novelette in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 21, No. 8
CHOPIN Rondo in E-Flat Major, Op. 16
LIEBERMANN Gargoyles, Op. 29
LISZT Sonata in B Minor
Petschek Recital tickets at $20 are available online at www.juilliard.edu/petschek, through CenterCharge (212) 721-6500, or at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office. Senior/student tickets at $10 are available at the
Alice Tully Hall Box Office only. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu/petschek.
