Grand Valley continues to bring the young piano champions of the world to West Michigan with a concert by Maxim Philippov, silver medalist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The solo concert is the second in Grand Valley's Van Cliburn Medalist Series, which hosts all four winners of the 2001 competition.
Maxim Philippov will perform on February 12, 2002, in the DeVos Center's Loosemore Auditorium on GVSU's Pew Grand Rapids Campus, 401 W. Fulton St. The recital begins at 8 p.m. and is followed by a reception. Tickets are $30 for the general public, $15 for piano instructors, and $10 for all students. Reservations are required; for tickets or information call (616) 895-3484.
The Moscow native is described in The Washington Post as an almost note-perfect pianist with a supple, caressing tone and a powerful technical command of his instrument. Philippov began studying piano at the age of five and made his public debut when he was eight years old. A laureate of several major international piano competitions including the Leeds, Rachmaninoff, Rubinstein, and Tchaikovsky, he was awarded first prize at the 1996 Esther Honens Calgary International Piano Competition. Named one of two silver medalists in the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition last year, Philippov, then 29, was awarded two years of concert engagements, career management, and a compact disc recording.
Philippov has performed recitals in major concert halls throughout Europe, Canada, Russia, and the United States. Emerging as one of today's most engaging interpreters of Rachmaninoff, he has recorded two discs devoted to the solo works of this composer. He now resides in Moscow where he serves on the faculty of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Philippov's program on February 12 includes Moments musicaux, Op. 16, by Rachmaninoff as well as Haydn's Sonata in A Major, Schumann's Fantasiest¿cke, Op. 12, and Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 15.
Grand Valley has established a tradition of celebrating the Van Cliburn competition, held every four years, by hosting solo concerts by the top winners. Israeli pianist Aviram Reichert, a medalist in the 1997 competition who performed at Grand Valley that year, recently returned to Grand Valley as a member of the Music Department faculty.Grand Valley will continue its Van Cliburn Medalist Series this fall with concerts by the two gold medal winners of the 2001 competition. Times and dates will be announced.
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was begun in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1962 to celebrate resident Van Cliburn's sensational 1958 victory in the first Tchaikovsky Competition. In December 2001, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts recognized Cliburn's lifelong contributions to American culture with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor.
