Chih-Long Hu (Submitted photo)
A free concert Saturday will feature the music of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Pianist Chih-Long Hu, a faculty member at East Tennessee State University, will play Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra, a press release said.
The concert starts at 2 p.m. Saturday in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Oak Ridge. Although there is no admission charge, modest donations to help support the orchestra’s routine operating expenses will be appreciated, the press release said.
Here is more information from the press release:
An active pianist, Hu has performed extensively in Asia, Europe and throughout North America, appearing as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. He has won coveted piano performance competitions in Taipei, Italy, Andorra, Japan, and San Jose, California. Hu’s performances have been broadcast in “Performance Today” through NPR stations across the country, and televised in Taiwan, China and Japan.
His recent CD album “Formosa Caprices” has received critical acclaims, and was nominated as “Best Crossover Album,” with Hu as “Best Performer” for the 2009 Golden Melody Award. Another CD of complete Etudes-tableaux by Rachmaninoff was released in 2010.
Originally from Taiwan, Hu received the doctor of musical arts in piano performance from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree from the Taipei National University of the Arts, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from National Taiwan University.
The 2nd Piano Concerto is one of the most beautiful compositions by Sergei Rachmaninoff (April 1873–March 1943). It represents a significant change from the genre of classical piano concertos. Instead of the piano solo being layered on top of an orchestral accompaniment, the piano mingles with the orchestra, sometimes becoming part of the orchestra score, and then emerging into a solo on its own. The opening nine bars, with the piano playing dramatic chords, is a preview of the novel style the listener can expect in the three movements.
No doubt, this fusion between piano and orchestra grew out of Rachmaninoff’s skill as an accomplished pianist coupled with his extensive experience as a composer. The 2nd and 3rd movements were composed in the autumn of 1900, and debuted in a December 1900 performance with Rachmaninoff as the soloist. By his second performance in November 1901, he had added the first movement.
In 1917, Rachmaninoff fled his homeland in Russia, because of the revolution. He settled in the United States in 1918. Both he and his wife eventually became U.S. citizens on Feb. 1, 1943.
His last recital was given Feb. 17, 1943, in the Knoxville alumni gymnasium of the University of Tennessee. A statue commemorating that last performance stands in the Knoxville World’s Fair Park.
The Oak Ridge Community Orchestra is a nonprofit, volunteer organization. Anyone wishing to regularly participate in the orchestra can contact Personnel Manager Alex Wilson at orcopersonnelmanager@gmail.com. The orchestra welcomes musicians of all ages with at least four years of experience, the press release said. For more information, visit www.OakRidgeCommunityOrchestra.com.
The First Baptist Church is at the corner of the Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive.
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