This preview has been provided by the Clayton Piano Festival.
Thursday, February 14th, the Clayton Piano Festival presents a special Valentine’s Day party, “An Evening In Vienna.” The event starts at 5:30 p.m. with hors d’œuvre and dinner, followed by an evening concert, dessert and artists reception. The Historic Wagner House in Clayton, NC provides the ultimate romantic Valentine’s Day setting.
Husband – wife pianists Matthew Harrison and Vlada Yaneva will provide the evening’s performances which will be reminiscent of what one might have heard in a Viennese salon of yesteryear. Sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven, waltzes of Chopin, Ravel, and Friedman-Gartner, all pay homage to Vienna’s long connection to classical music and particularly, the waltz. After Godowsky’s lovely tribute to Vienna, Alt Wien (Old Vienna), the couple will conclude their program with Brahms’ fiery Hungarian Dances.
Harrison has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division for the past eight years. Yaneva shares her passion for the arts as a teaching artist with the New Victory Theater working with students from the New York Public Schools.
The Clayton Piano Festival, founded by prize-winning pianist and Clayton, NC native Jonathan Levin, will open its second season Feb. 7 with a series of recitals, lectures and master classes designed to bring great music to people of all ages.
Levin said that the Festival programs are meant to be both informative and informal. “The idea is not just to put on great concerts but to engage the audience in a personal, relaxed and meaningful way,” he said.
Admission to “An Evening In Vienna” is $35 per person and includes a full course meal, the concert, dessert, and a reception with the artists. Reservations and tickets can be purchased by calling The Wagner House at (919) 550-0065.
Other Clayton Piano Festival evening concerts on Feb. 8, 11, and 15 will be held at The Clayton Center Performing Arts Auditorium in Clayton, NC. Tickets are $12 adults, $8 students and seniors, children eight and under are free, and may be purchased at the door or online at etix http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/venueSearch.jsp?venue_id=1959&cobrand=theclaytoncenter
For more information and detailed descriptions of programs and venues, call (919) 606-9703 or email: claytonpianofestival@gmail.com
About the artists
Multi-talented Matthew Harrison founded “Masterwork Conversations,” a project with fellow pianist Vlada Yaneva, which focuses on creating a stronger bond between the audience and the music through open conversation with the performers. In addition to being an accomplished pianist and musician, Matthew is also a fine writer. His recent article on Edvard Grieg was published in the Wall Street Journal. As a teacher, he has been on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division for the past eight years.
Vlada Yaneva began her piano studies at the age of six at the National School of Music in her native Sofia, Bulgaria where she graduated with high honors. After garnering many music awards and honors in her home country, Vlada’s career has taken her to stages in Italy, France, Finland, Bulgaria, Greece, England and the United States where she now lives. In addition to performing, she became a team leader of the first Children’s Music Social Project at New York Cares, an organization working with kids in transitional shelters. Vlada continues to share her passion for the arts as a teaching artist with the New Victory Theater working with students from the New York Public Schools.
