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Arnaldo Cohen, piano Saturday, November 22, 8pm
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—San Francisco Chronicle
Program
BACH/BUSONI: Chaconne
ALBERTO NEPOMUCENO: Air (from Suite Antiga, Op. 11)
LORENZO FERNANDEZ: Three Studies in Sonatina Form
RADAMES GNATTALI: Valsa No. 7
LUIZ LEVY: Valsa Lenta No. 4
FRANCISCO BRAGA: Corrupio (Valse Capriccio)
ERNESTO NAZARETH: Odeon, Apanhei-te, Cvaquinho
CHOPIN: Four Ballades
ENCORE:
CHOPIN: Waltz No. 6 in D flat 'Minute' Op. 64, No. 1
LISZT: Consolation #3 in D flat Major
About This Performance
A lifelong journey from his native Rio de Janeiro to the major academies and concert halls of Europe and North America has brought this pianist to the attention of those who recognize a truly great artist. Along the way he has been a professional violinist, a teacher of physics and mathematics, and an avid soccer fan—an unconventional background that contributes to the aura of discovery at his performances. Reviewers compare him to the great Romantic pianists and describe his artistry as “captivating,” “mysterious” and “thrilling.”
Artist Biography
Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen enjoys an increasingly successful career that has taken him to the major concert halls of Europe and North and South America. He has performed with the Royal Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome under such leading conductors as Kurt Masur, Yehudi Menuhin and Edo de Waart. A December 2006 New York Times review declared him “technically flawless in treacherously difficult selections” of Chopin’s Preludes and called his performance “a model of balance and imagination.” His command of the piano repertoire in this and other recital and orchestral engagements has consistently drawn similar praise, such as the Milwaukee Journal’s review of his Brahms Concerto No. 1 with the Milwaukee Symphony under Andreas Delfs in March 2006: The combination of technical command and expressive insight he demonstrated is every musician’s goal.”
Mr. Cohen’s recent North American performances with orchestras have reached a broad swath of audiences, literally spanning the U.S. from Oregon to Florida, from Texas to Wisconsin, highlighted by engagements with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. His demand as a recitalist continued with appearances at prestigious university and concert series throughout America, including a critically acclaimed performance at New York’s Town Hall. His 2007-08 engagements include a return to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Delfs and performances with the Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony and Utah Symphony, in addition to recital engagements in the US, Canada and South America.
Mr. Cohen came to prominence after winning First Prize at the 1972 Busoni International Piano Competition and making his solo recital debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. For five years he was a member of the acclaimed Amadeus Trio and has performed with many string quartets, including the Lindsay Quartet, Chillingirian Quartet, Orlando Quartet, and the Vanbrugh Quartet. He is a frequent recording artist, with recent discs including a 2005 rendering of the two Liszt Piano Concertos and the Totentanz with the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra for BIS Records. August 2004 saw the release of Mr. Cohen’s second CD on the same label, an all-Liszt solo recording that includes the B Minor Sonata, Funérailles, Vallée d’Obermann, and Spanish Rhapsody. His pioneering CD, Three Centuries of Brazilian Music on the BIS label has also been widely applauded by critics, with Bryce Morrison of Gramophone praising Cohen as “an intrepid explorer and immaculate pianist.”
An artist of diverse interests and talents, Mr. Cohen began his musical studies at the age of five, graduating from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with an honors degree in both piano and violin, while also studying for an engineering degree. He went on to become a professional violinist in the Rio de Janeiro Opera House Orchestra to earn a livelihood while continuing piano studies with Jacques Klein, a disciple of the legendary American pianist William Kapell. At the urging of Klein, Mr. Cohen pursued further training in Vienna with Bruno Seidlhofer and Dieter Weber.
Mr. Cohen is the recipient of a fellowship awarded by the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and until recently held a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After living in London for 23 years, he recently relocated to the United States with his wife Ann, where he holds a piano professorship at Indiana University in Bloomington
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