Pianist

Celebrate the centennial of Pierre Boulez, the unparalleled French composer, conductor, and cultural visionary, with a captivating duo piano recital. Born on March 26, 1925, Boulez transformed post-war contemporary music, leaving an indelible mark on the 20th century. His extensive conducting career and foundational role in institutions like Paris's Cité de la Musique and IRCAM highlight his monumental influence.

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Celebrating Pierre Boulez 1925-2025

UCLA Nimoy Theater

“One of the most adventurous interpreters of contemporary music around” (The Washington Post), GRAMMY and Emmy award-winning pianist Gloria Cheng performs ROOT PROGRESSIONS, an evening of solo commissions by a host of jazz artists and composers representing the vanguard of innovation. The recital includes the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning pianist and composer Anthony Davis, Bay Area jazz icon Jon Jang, bassist Linda May Han Oh, flutist James Newton, pianist Arturo O’Farrill, and composer Gernot Wolfgang.

Gloria Cheng: Root Progressions

SFJAZZ Center

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

Colburn School

This Vienna/LA double portrait pairs Schoenberg’s delightful Presto in C Major with Schubert’s Quartetsatz in C minor. His debt to Schubert is heard in Transfigured Night. Solo piano works illustrate the composer in LA. Eldon Rathburn’s Schoenberg vs. Gershwin: A Tennis Match portrays close friends and tennis partners. The Canadian film composer won the LA Philharmonic Orchestra Young Artist Award in 1945 for which Schoenberg was a judge. Erich Zeisl’s Pieces for Barbara were composed for his young daughter who married Schoenberg’s son Ronald. Ernst Krenek, who emigrated in 1938, composed the witty and heartfelt George Washington Variations. Set to Lord Byron’s protest of tyranny, Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon, composed during WW II, extols Washington.

Pianist

Gloria Cheng

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 3, 2026

Adams, Cheung & Lanao · Los Angeles Philharmonic

Past events

May 30, 2025

Celebrating Pierre Boulez 1925-2025 · UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance

Jan 25, 2025

Gloria Cheng: Root Progressions · San Francisco Jazz

Future and recently performed repertoire

Piano in Introduction to the Gurrelieder by Schoenberg

Colburn School

Piano in ConcorDance by Flaherty

Colburn School

About

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