Each of the works acclaimed Austrian pianist Till Fellner will perform in his Gilmore Festival debut - Schumann's Papillons Op 5 and Fantasie, Op 17; Berio's 5 Variationi, and Beethoven's Sonata Op 27/1 'Quasi una fantasia' - gave their first audiences reason to sit up and pay attention.
In an interview with Cara Lieurance, Fellner reveals the elements that gave these pieces by Schumann, Beethoven and Berio their sense of surprise.
After his Gilmore debut recital on Saturday, Till Fellner will fly to Baltimore, MD to step in for Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire on Sunday, when the Shriver Hall Concert Series presents the final event of its 50th anniversary season. Nelson Freire, who was also to appear at the Gilmore Festival on Tuesday, has canceledhis tour due to a family emergency. An admirer of the 71 year-old Freire, Fellner says Freire was on the jury in 1993 when Fellner won the Clara Haskil Competition.