Pianist

Music has always reflected the times we live in.  Troubled times often produce music of Empathy, Compassion, and what the late civil rights leader John Lewis called “Good Trouble.”  On Saturday May 10th at 1PM, Piano Spheres presents pianists Andres Jaramillo performing music from his program “A Journey of Immigrants,”  Althea Waites playing “Troubled Water” by Margaret Bonds, Thomas Kotcheff performing “Songs of Insurrection” by Frederick Rzewski, and Vicki Ray, Aron Kallay and Mark Robson playing contemporary arrangements of iconic American songs and anthems by Vicki Ray and Mark Robson. We promise to let the music do the talking!

EPSG:4326

Empathy, Compassion and Good Trouble – A Special Event!

Aron Kallay presents two new commissions written in memory of friends and family. Marek Zebrowski’s Capriccio notturno was written in memory of Aron’s grandmother, Cecilia Viola Kallay. Daniel Allas’ Analysis of a Dream was written in memory of Piano Sphere’s very own Sarah Gibson. On the rest of the program, Aron is joined by friends to play music that explores birds, warped time, the infinite, the play of light and dark on canvas, and wickedness without consequence.`

Aron Kallay – Friends and Family

Colburn School

Franz Liszt’s Liebestraum No. 3 elicits complicated reactions from musicians and audiences alike. Is it meaningless drivel or a profound exploration of the depths of love? Are audiences driven to eyerolls or to a state of ecstasy? Having no reaction is not an option.

Liebestraum is up there with Für Elise and Claire de Lune as some of the most performed and beloved solo piano works. Aron Kallay wants a reason to perform it! He also thinks it’s time for an update. ‘30 for 30’ composers Michael Frazier, Brandon Rolle, Zanaida Robles, and Daniel Allas use Liebestraum as a point of departure, creating new work on what it means to love, to dream. Composer Marek Zebrowski has written a new piece in honor of Aron’s Grandmother Cecilia Viola Kallay, who passed away in 2023 at the ripe old age of 100. She enabled Aron to pursue his own dreams by supporting him through college, even though she wasn’t a person of means. Zebrowski is the director of the Polish Music Institute at USC.

Piano Spheres: Aron Kallay – Love/Dream

Piano Spheres’ founding pianist Susan Svrček was known for her elegant and insightful performances. Her untimely passing in 2022 foreshadowed the loss of her husband of 32 years, influential composer Frederick Lesemann who wrote much of his later music for her and whose music she championed. This concert is a rare opportunity to hear all of Piano Spheres’ Core and Emeritus Artists on the same stage at the same time! They will perform works by Charles Ives, Arnold Schoenberg and John Cage often performed by Svrček, as well as music by Lesemann written for her. This concert is a love letter from Susan and Rick’s colleagues, students and friends, three of whom (composers Donald Crocket, Thomas Flaherty, and Bill Alves) have written pieces for this concert as part of the Piano Spheres ‘30 for 30’ commissioning program.

Piano Spheres Presents: For Susan and Rick

Equal temperament broke the world. This concert will fix it. Including works by Alexander Elliott Miller, Isaac Schankler, and Ben Johnston, with a new work for solo synthesizer by Matthew Brown and a new chamber concerto for retuned piano and American Gamelan by Akshaya Avril Tucker. Featuring Brightwork cellist Maggie Parkins, and guest ensemble Gamelan Light Streams.

Aron Kallay – The Blur of Time and Memory

2220 Arts + Archives

Brightwork Ensemble members Stacey Fraser (soprano), Aron Kallay (piano), Nick Terry (percussion), and Brian Walsh (clarinets) present music about love, longing, green skies, and an ever-expanding universe. Featuring Chris Cerronne’s I will learn to love a person and AJ McCaffery’s Murmurations.

Brightwork Ensemble: I Will Learn to Love a Person

Boston Court Pasadena

Californians! Some pass through – others put down roots and stay. Some write in microtones and others for electronics and toy pianos. There are minimalists and maximalists. Celebrating Californians past and present Ray/Kallay explores the rich tapestry of composers who have called California home, with works by Michael Byron, John Luther Adams (with video by Johannes Bosgra), Joao Pedro Oliveira, Rand Steiger, Nina Shekhar, Sean Friar, Veronika Krausas and Karen Tanaka. Concert will be at 2220 Arts and Archives.

Ray-Kallay Duo

In tribute to his impactful and innovative years serving as Distinguished Professor in The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, this concert features works of Distinguished Professor Emeritus James Newton, who was the leading force in the development of the UCLA Global Jazz Studies Program and who taught many students in the areas of composition and jazz styles, history, and analysis.
Among the pieces performed will be Professor Newton's Mass, his arrangement of "Amazing Grace," and other chamber works representing his vast and rich compositional repertoire.

Pianist

Aron Kallay

Events

Past events

May 10, 2025

Empathy, Compassion and Good Trouble – A Special Event! · Piano Spheres

Apr 15, 2025

Aron Kallay – Friends and Family · Piano Spheres

Future and recently performed repertoire

Piano in Liebestraum No. 3 by Liszt

Colburn School

Piano in Just a Phase by Alves

Colburn School

Piano in Three Quarter-tone Pieces by Ives

Colburn School

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